2004 Forest River Georgetown - questions

[grey2112]

Obviously I will do a VIN check (paid, unless someone can do one for me) as it looks like it was bought at an auction.

Looks to be the model with 2 slides (main room and bedroom). Ford v10, 26,000 miles. 50 Amp, 2 AC units. Claims that it runs perfect and has updated interior. Looks great.

Anything I need to know about this model? Red flags? I know the v10 is a great motor and other than the spark plug issue (easily fixed) I think it is solid. F550 chassis I know little about.

Thanks for any help!

[dodge_guy]

Even though you have reconsidered, the spark plug issue was fixed mid 02. The 04 V-10 and 4R100 were solid power trains.

We went from a 35ft TT and an Excursion to our Current 12 Georgetown 350 TS. Personally I will not tow another TT. Far too much setup and breakdown and well as booking up.

Good luck in you search. I’m sure you’ll find something that’s exactly what you want!

[map40]

grey2112 wrote:
Thanks, guys. After considering a lot of things, and talking to the wife, we've gone back to wanting to go back to having a travel trailer instead of a Class A. Much better for our expected use. Thanks for the info, though. Lots to consider.
And wow, I didn't know about the Flood damaged RVs - running the VIN, just the free one, shows some issues. Walking away from this one.

Unfortunately some people do this kind of things. And it is not surprising you found issues with the VIN, being an auction coach

[grey2112]

Thanks, guys. After considering a lot of things, and talking to the wife, we've gone back to wanting to go back to having a travel trailer instead of a Class A. Much better for our expected use. Thanks for the info, though. Lots to consider.
And wow, I didn't know about the Flood damaged RVs - running the VIN, just the free one, shows some issues. Walking away from this one.

[map40]

OK, so a few comments:
1) a 2004 is old enough to be in good shape or in bad shape, depending how was taken care of. Sounds like you are new to this, and a Forest River is not the top of the line. If it was not maintained properly it could be a money pit
2) A 2004 Ford Chassis with 26k miles should be fine, but the transmission would be a concern. If everything work as it should I would do a full service as soon as possible. Main reason is that the chassis is limited to 75MPH, if you keep flooring it the tranny will downshift but remain at the same speed, which is not good for the tranny. This is the reason why many Class A with this chassis have tranny problems
3) The roof, even if it was taken care of, it will need to be recoated. I would recommend https://www.sealallroofkit.com/see-customers-use-seal-all-roof-kit/ (I don't have any interest vested in them, but after recoating dozens of roofs with every material available, this is the best I have used)
4) Bought in an auction? How long have they been offering it for sale? Cars are sold in auctions as a standard practice, but RV until a few month ago would only go to auction if they could not sell them. With the market as strong as it was, everything was being sold in a matter of days. I WOULD RECCOMEND THAT YOU HAVE IT INSPECTED. If this was a 45' tag axle or a weird RV it could be OK from an auction; but this is a pretty standard model. Also, be aware that we already started seeing in Florida the flooded units from IAN, and a lot of people that did not have insurance coverage normally make them look OK and try to sell them with no disclosure. (My first RV almost 30 years ago was a undeclared flooded unit sold to me by General RV)
5) The v10 is unbeatable. In my rental fleet we only had V10s and we have run them up to 300K miles with no problems. By the way, the spark plug issue is on previous models, this one was already fixed when Ford added more threads to the plug that only had 3.
I have owned dozens of RVs on my fleet, and this model (Chassis and House) are not bad if they are in good shape.

[Rick_Jay]

grey2112,

Have you seen the rig yet? I don't know why but every time I see or hear "bought at an auction" I tend to be more skeptical of the vehicle. It's probably just me, but I guess I just think that if it was as good as they said it was, it wouldn't have had to be sold at an auction. But, I guess there are some reasons why it could be that are valid.

One minor correction, the chassis is an F53, not an F550.

Is this your first Class A RV?

Our rig is about the same age and our roof is in pretty good shape. BUT I have kept after it and have used eternabond tape on many of the roof penetrations and self-leveling sealant on the others. I wash it once a year. Proper roof condition would be a top priority and any evidence of leaks should raise a red flag or two. If the leak was tended to promptly, not so bad. But if not, be very cautious.

How many hours on the generator? Generators usually need regular use to keep the carb from gumming up, so low hours on a generator might signal that there could be potential issues in that area.

I don't know exactly what "updated interior" means specifically. We haven't done much to ours other than replace the old CRT TVs with larger LCD screens, and replace the refrigerator with a regular 120V household unit. But if a lot of renovations such as carpeting, upholstery, new ceiling, etc. were done, I'd be a bit cautious about that as well. Perhaps it's an attempt to hide something.

Repair to slideouts and/or leveling jack problems can ring up some big repair bills, so make sure they work properly.

Awnings can be replaced, but best if they were already in good shape. At that age, the main awning will probably need to be replaced, if it hasn't been already. If it has awnings over the slides, those, too, will probably be in need of replacement soon. We've replaced our slide-out awnings once already and will probably have to do it again next year. They get a lot more exposure to the weather than the main awning, which we rarely use.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck,

~Rick

[Lwiddis]

In addition to an inspection, is there a maintenance manual? Good maintainers keep records.

[mleekamp]

Would be worth the fee to pay to have it inspected. Mechanically both the Ford chassis and the RV systems. Make sure all RV systems work (fridge, furnance, AC, etc). Not that an issue or two would stop your purchase, but if it's fixable and/or you can negotiate that into the sale, that is best.

Other things to consider during inspection: need tires? Brakes? fluids (brake, coolant)? critical inspection of roof. Etc. Etc.