1988 Fleetwood 32'

[sequimbrewer]

I am planning on going to look at a 1988 Fleetwood class a Motorhome. it has 38000 miles and seems to be in pretty good shape. I am wondering if anyone has experience with these motor homes and can tell me if any issues that I should be looking for while inspecting the vehicle. I used to work on RVs and have some experience in repairing them but I do not want to get into a never ending project any information that anyone can send me on these motorhomes would be greatly appreciated thank you and happy camping

[RLS7201]

DSDP Don wrote:
I'm not sure what they did in 1988, but my 1989 Ford E350, Fleetwood Jamboree, Class C had a 460 with throttle body injection, E40D transmission and a catalytic converter. It was a 27' and got about 8.5 mpg/7.5 mpg towing. The engine ran strong for the fourteen years/65000 miles that we owned it. We towed a 4500 pound boat most of time.

On my model, Ford install what could best be described as a pair of small plastic trumpets in the air cleaner air box. They were designed to force feed air at low speeds. I cut those out and improved top end performance and mileage, but lost a little low end acceleration. I'm not sure about the Class A, but the Class C had a catalytic converter that was known to plug. Ford ran the exhaust out of the engine at 3", into a 2.5" converter and then back out to a 3" exhaust. You can cut the converter ends to 3" and weld the exhaust back on. This was another performance boost and allowed the converter to run cooler.

Other than that, the drive train was solid and pulled hard in the hills.

In that year model, mine had the rubber roof which was a pain over the years. That would be my biggest concern on a coach that old.

Ford never used throttle body injection on a 460. While there was a two barrel throttle body in the center of the engine, the fuel was delivered to each port with 8 injectors. Thus port injection. Ford went straight from a carburetor to port fuel injection on the 460 in 1988.

Richard

[DSDP_Don]

I'm not sure what they did in 1988, but my 1989 Ford E350, Fleetwood Jamboree, Class C had a 460 with throttle body injection, E40D transmission and a catalytic converter. It was a 27' and got about 8.5 mpg/7.5 mpg towing. The engine ran strong for the fourteen years/65000 miles that we owned it. We towed a 4500 pound boat most of time.

On my model, Ford install what could best be described as a pair of small plastic trumpets in the air cleaner air box. They were designed to force feed air at low speeds. I cut those out and improved top end performance and mileage, but lost a little low end acceleration. I'm not sure about the Class A, but the Class C had a catalytic converter that was known to plug. Ford ran the exhaust out of the engine at 3", into a 2.5" converter and then back out to a 3" exhaust. You can cut the converter ends to 3" and weld the exhaust back on. This was another performance boost and allowed the converter to run cooler.

Other than that, the drive train was solid and pulled hard in the hills.

In that year model, mine had the rubber roof which was a pain over the years. That would be my biggest concern on a coach that old.

[RLS7201]

superk wrote:
I was looking at a 1988 fleetwood as well. After hours of research I decided against buying it for 1 main reason (caused by 2 sub-reasons). Basically, it brings a new meaning to the term gas guzzler. A 1988 wont be fuel injected, and as such will suck it back like beer on a hot summers day. Secondly, lack of a 4th (or overdrive) speed in transmission.

Here is a comparison. My friend and I decided to go for one last trip in the fall, not far, only a few hours away. I got there and back for roughly $120. His trip cost him about $200-$220, for a ligher, smaller class c, versus my 20,000lb monster of a class a.

In the end, if your not going far, or just looking for a fancy camper, then by all means, grab it up, but even if its only a few thousand (like the 1988 I was looking at), you will make up for that with terrible fuel economy.

Not to mention that after 27 years, any rubber anywhere on the coach that hasnt been replaced, will most likely need replacing.

If you want to go for it, here is a few things to make SURE about:

• Check the tires. Cracked or worn tires are about $2000 right off the top for decent ones.
• GO underneath and check for corrosion, specifically on brake and fuel lines. Chassis corrosion should be fairly noticable.
• While underneath, check your rubbers! Bushings, boots, seals all dry up. It can cost a few hundred dollars to change a seal worth about 5 bucks!
• Check the roof!!! Especially if its not rubber, it may also have corrosion or patched leaks.
  
  These are just the bare essentials, and I am sure someone else will chime in and add to the buyers beware checklist. Hope this helps!

Just an FYI. Ford built their first F53 motor home chassis in 1988 with port fuel injection and E4OD 4 speed over drive transmission

Richard

[superk]

I was looking at a 1988 fleetwood as well. After hours of research I decided against buying it for 1 main reason (caused by 2 sub-reasons). Basically, it brings a new meaning to the term gas guzzler. A 1988 wont be fuel injected, and as such will suck it back like beer on a hot summers day. Secondly, lack of a 4th (or overdrive) speed in transmission.

Here is a comparison. My friend and I decided to go for one last trip in the fall, not far, only a few hours away. I got there and back for roughly $120. His trip cost him about $200-$220, for a ligher, smaller class c, versus my 20,000lb monster of a class a.

In the end, if your not going far, or just looking for a fancy camper, then by all means, grab it up, but even if its only a few thousand (like the 1988 I was looking at), you will make up for that with terrible fuel economy.

Not to mention that after 27 years, any rubber anywhere on the coach that hasnt been replaced, will most likely need replacing.

If you want to go for it, here is a few things to make SURE about:

• Check the tires. Cracked or worn tires are about $2000 right off the top for decent ones.
• GO underneath and check for corrosion, specifically on brake and fuel lines. Chassis corrosion should be fairly noticable.
• While underneath, check your rubbers! Bushings, boots, seals all dry up. It can cost a few hundred dollars to change a seal worth about 5 bucks!
• Check the roof!!! Especially if its not rubber, it may also have corrosion or patched leaks.
  
  These are just the bare essentials, and I am sure someone else will chime in and add to the buyers beware checklist. Hope this helps!

[Bumpyroad]

whem2fish wrote:
should not be rubber

my 93/4 fleetwood flair and 94/95? fleetwood bounder were rubber. what were the 1988s?
bumpy

[whem2fish]

should not be rubber

[BULLETLS1]

It IS! a neverending project!!!!, call it a "therapy"!!!

[Bumpyroad]

a 27 year old rubber roof if it hasn't been replaced.
bumpy