1994 Safari Trek ..?

[The_Texan]

Looking for the good, the bad and the ugly on a 1994 Trek with the Isuzu 3.9L TD.

Our youngest DD has found one that looks interesting for their family and wants to know what to look for when she goes to see it. I have advised her to take it to PMS RV Center in Clearwater for a through inspection, before making any offer.

[Chopperbob]

Be sure to check the bed motor mount. They need
to be upgraded. Very important!
Bob

[rgatijnet1]

Shoalster wrote:

oldmattb wrote:
Owned one. 60k miles of driving with no engine or trans issues. you will go 10 mph up steep hills. exhaust brake will stop you on a 12% grade. harsh ride even with suspension mods. never flush the jatco transmission - sometimes kills them. isuzu parts available at gm dealers. 12 mpg towing our toyota echo. do not add propane injection - acceot the slowness. we did 12 mph for 1.5 hours once going up the mountains - stopped once to let the trans cool. add trans temp, tach and pyrometer gauges and use them!

Matt b

Hi,
I'm in Florida. I just saw a '94 trek 24 on the net with 54k miles. Isuzu diesel drive train. New fridge, new carpet, new roof ac, new tires for $13900 @ a rv lot in Cocoa, FL. Genset has 600 hrs. I understand it's underpowered but I don't plan on leaving Florida or encountering any Hills. May tow a 650# boat. What do you think?

That sounds like a fair price but go to the Trek owners website and give them the details. I'm sure that someone on there probably even knows the good and the bad on that particular RV. The current or previous owner may still belong to that site. Trek owners

[Shoalster]

oldmattb wrote:
Owned one. 60k miles of driving with no engine or trans issues. you will go 10 mph up steep hills. exhaust brake will stop you on a 12% grade. harsh ride even with suspension mods. never flush the jatco transmission - sometimes kills them. isuzu parts available at gm dealers. 12 mpg towing our toyota echo. do not add propane injection - acceot the slowness. we did 12 mph for 1.5 hours once going up the mountains - stopped once to let the trans cool. add trans temp, tach and pyrometer gauges and use them!

Matt b

Hi,
I'm in Florida. I just saw a '94 trek 24 on the net with 54k miles. Isuzu diesel drive train. New fridge, new carpet, new roof ac, new tires for $13900 @ a rv lot in Cocoa, FL. Genset has 600 hrs. I understand it's underpowered but I don't plan on leaving Florida or encountering any Hills. May tow a 650# boat. What do you think?

[frankdamp]

Another vote from me for the Trek Owners web-site. We seriously considered one before we got the Georgetown and I did a lot of research on that site. The "Magic Bed" was a turn-off for us because DW and I tend to get up at different times, and there's very little floor space left when the bed is down. There were many lengthy strings on the site about disasters with the bed and members' designs for replacement mechanism bits.

I didn't like the performance of that 3.9L diesel, getting out run by city buses and VW Combis didn't appeal. I never saw any Treks with the 6.0L gas engine that Isuzu offers in the truck.

On the plus side, they were easy to drive and seemed to be well made.

[The_Texan]

Thanks for all the replies, but this one is out.....seems the "owner" is either pulling a fast one, or is NOT the owner. When I questioned him, he had no idea what model it was, had installed a "new" engine recently, but could not provide documentation and on and on. Again thanks for the replies.

[vtbig]

If you want information directly from Trek Owners, go to this site. There is a plethora of information here.

http://www.nwtfc.com/forum/

[oldmattb]

1994 model 2600 with 3.9 liter turbo diesel. about 70k miles when bought and 130k miles when sold. alternator replaced by previous owner, belt and idler pulley bolt replaced by me. no other drivetrain repairs. :-)the nprr trucks with the samedrivetrain usually rebuild the injection pump at 300k and send it back out for another 100-200k of abuse. probably most reliable rv drivetrain ever.

Matt b

[The_Texan]

Matt, was yours the 94 model or an earlier model with the smaller engine? Thanks for the info.

[oldmattb]

Owned one. 60k miles of driving with no engine or trans issues. you will go 10 mph up steep hills. exhaust brake will stop you on a 12% grade. harsh ride even with suspension mods. never flush the jatco transmission - sometimes kills them. isuzu parts available at gm dealers. 12 mpg towing our toyota echo. do not add propane injection - acceot the slowness. we did 12 mph for 1.5 hours once going up the mountains - stopped once to let the trans cool. add trans temp, tach and pyrometer gauges and use them!

Matt b

[rgatijnet1]

The Texan wrote:
Yes, I agree that PMS is a great place for service, both on the house and the chassis. I started using them in the late 90's and now days that is the ONLY place in the TB area that I will let touch my coach.

Thanks for the info. Do you know of any peculiarity she should watch for on an inspection?

The drive train is pretty much bullet proof IF it was maintained properly. I would certainly have them check out the tranny and engine to make sure that everything is tight and running like it should. At almost 20 years old, I would guess ALL vacuum lines need to be changed. Vacuum is used for the exhaust brake as well as other items that can affect the operation of the engine.
The Trek has the bed that drops down from the ceiling so you will want to check the operation of that feature. Replacement motors are available if that is a problem. By now I would guess that many things have been replaced and maybe upgraded when it comes to appliances, TV, etc. Doug can have one of his guys check the operation of all of the systems.

[The_Texan]

Yes, I agree that PMS is a great place for service, both on the house and the chassis. I started using them in the late 90's and now days that is the ONLY place in the TB area that I will let touch my coach.

Thanks for the info. Do you know of any peculiarity she should watch for on an inspection?

[rgatijnet1]

PMS is a great place and where I take my coach to do work that I don't want to bother with. The '94 Trek does not have a lot of power but it will cruise all day at 55-60, which is just about the maximum speed. As mentioned, it does not have a lot of excess power with only 135 HP so it is not the best RV for towing another vehicle. She can expect to get 12-15 MPG and the coach is small enough to fit almost anywhere. If she has any questions I would go to this website that is just for Trek owners. Trek Tracks