A couple of questions for the group.

ron.dittmer wrote:
Life expectancy?

So much depends on "what" you bought, how it has been stored, and how you will be storing it. Is it going to be stored indoors or outdoors. If outdoors, will it be protected by the elements in some fashion? What is the quality of the house construction. Not all motor homes are made the same. Some are built to be affordable and others are built to last.

We have been very fortunate to be able to store our quality-built motor homes inside year round and heated in the wintertime.

We bought our first motor home HERE new in 1983 and owned it for 24 years and it had a lot left to go with only 107,000 miles on the odometer. We sold it only to buy one with more creature comforts.

Our current motor home HERE we bought new in 2007. Today it has 32,000 miles. We hope to keep it going for 35 years when we are too old to safely drive it. Hopefully we'll be using it more in the coming years now that I am retired....well....sort-of retired. Being on an E350-V10, I won't be worried about miles driven. It would be great if we could have 200,000 on the odometer when we say good bye to it. In it's late years, I won't be worried about the miles as much as the condition of the house. Rain water will be it's worst enemy. Being quality-built, I hope to have addressed that concern, but time will tell.

How many 35 year old motor homes are out there today? That would be a 1982 model year. I think we can do it.

I have a 94 with 60K miles, so shes a bit old but she has been well taken care of. Wear and tear items of course have been replaced eg, brakes, shocks, black water valve, heater blower motor. Occasionally I cover it but I am religious about seam inspections, I do it at least twice a year by walking my roof and looking for cracks. No leaks to date and the only appliance that has been entirely replaced was the roof A/C. It might help that its only a 21 footer so the body has less flex while driving...

One thing you want to do with a class C of any age is a cold start and an immediate light revving of the engine. Listen closely for a "tap tap tap" noise coming from the dog house. Could indicate a exhaust gasket failing. Van chassis' are notorious for this, and you could use it to haggle down the price or make them fix it.

2008 Fleetwood Tioga 31M with 112,000 miles. I am still breaking it in.

Life expectancy?

So much depends on "what" you bought, how it has been stored, and how you will be storing it. Is it going to be stored indoors or outdoors. If outdoors, will it be protected by the elements in some fashion? What is the quality of the house construction. Not all motor homes are made the same. Some are built to be affordable and others are built to last.

We have been very fortunate to be able to store our quality-built motor homes inside year round and heated in the wintertime.

We bought our first motor home HERE new in 1983 and owned it for 24 years and it had a lot left to go with only 107,000 miles on the odometer. We sold it only to buy one with more creature comforts.

Our current motor home HERE we bought new in 2007. Today it has 32,000 miles. We hope to keep it going for 35 years when we are too old to safely drive it. Hopefully we'll be using it more in the coming years now that I am retired....well....sort-of retired. Being on an E350-V10, I won't be worried about miles driven. It would be great if we could have 200,000 on the odometer when we say good bye to it. In it's late years, I won't be worried about the miles as much as the condition of the house. Rain water will be it's worst enemy. Being quality-built, I hope to have addressed that concern, but time will tell.

How many 35 year old motor homes are out there today? That would be a 1982 model year. I think we can do it.

Mine is 41 years old now. I've had it for 4. I plan on having it until I die.

I see no reason to upgrade "just because" something is old. I buy what I actually need and want the first time and only replace when something won't work anymore. But I do that with everything. The microwave in the house lasted over 25 years - sure I looked at newer ones with their fancy stuff (turntable), but mine still cooked just fine. When it finally died, I happily replaced it, but not until that moment.

Thanks to all who have responded this has been very helpful. klutchdust brought up another question I had, but I think I will start a different thread on it.

09 Cambria purchased used 2 years ago with 19K miles. It now has 40K. Regular and consistent maintenance on all drive-train parts will greatly improve longevity, I use Mobil 1 oil.Each trip I return with a few notes on items that need attention, sometimes a drawer screw or add a dab of silicone or recently a rear Differential fluid change. Taking care of small items is a must because they turn into larger ones. Don't fear the repair as there are tons of people here to help you with that. The Tech section is worth the read. Lets face it, we are driving a box down the road held together with staples, screws, and glue, something will always rattle ,squeak ,or tap.

At about the ten-year point we had to replace the fridge, roof AC, water pump, converter charger, house batteries and awning fabric on our 2004 Class C plus tire changes every 5 years or so. We used the roof AC, fridge, house battery parked in the driveway a lot in Socal heat during our home remodel/renovation and wife's concurrent treatment and recovery from breast cancer. Roof AC and fridge, etc. may last longer with less prolonged use. Park as level as practical for best fridge life.

24' Class C owned since new bought Labor Day weekend 2011. 45k miles on it, so usually 8-9k a year. How do we use it? Just got back from a typical trip: home base at a race track, spending last week at the Sebring 12-hour. It took leaving the northeast a couple of days early to beat a snowstorm, overnighting along I-95 then stashing the RV in the long-term lot at MCO, flying home and then returning to it Wednesday, heading to the track and then leaving for home Sunday getting back mid-day Monday. Total nights = 6; total miles = 2400. We usually end up with about 40 days a year in it.

I plan on keeping it to the 12 year point; maybe a couple past that, roughly in line with when I plan to retire and I'll be ready for the next unit.

No real outrageous maintenance. The Michelin recall got me 6 new tires; that set has another year or two to go. I just replace the original house battery with a pair of Group 31 AGM's. Had a few annoyances during the warranty period that I just took care of, as well as am a seam checker 3x or 4x a year. Currently dealing with what I think is a dead fuel pump (common problem), but after 950 hours of run time, result of all that dry camping, and just oil, plug and air filter changes I guess it's allowed.

Like you I also went from a Class A that I had and used when my kids were the same age as my grandkids now but life changes and I went with a Class C.

My 2006 Class C started life as a Rental for its first 5 years and I have had it more than 5 years now,with more than 100000 miles on it and have had no major problems,just do Scheduled Maintenance and the general maintenance I do my self.

I travel 3-5000 miles a year,and plan to keep it for as long as I want to keep camping and I think it's life expectancy may be more than mine...:B

We have a 2005 31' Itasca Sundancer Class C that we've had for 6 years. travel about 4K miles a year. She at 30,000 miles now and doing good. Just general maintenance stuff is all so far. Just the Wife and I travel, well, the dog too! We like to spend a week up to a month in any particular spot, so we spend totaling all together about 3-4 months a year in her.

Dave