Advice on buying older diesel

[cgreer00]

Hey everyone,
My wife and I have been looking to purchase our first motorhome for several months now and have been scouring all of the classifieds trying to find one that we like. We have looked at several and they have each had some issues, and it seems pretty hard to find one that is in great shape, needs nothing, and ticks all of our boxes, for our budget which is no more than $25,000.

Here is my current quandary: I have found a 1996 Monaco Dynasty (79,000 miles, 8.3 Cummins w/ 6 speed Allison) that looks to be in excellent cosmetic shape. The older retired lady that owns it has poured a ton of money into it. Over the past 4 years she has replaced: the PAC brake, new tires, new 12V batteries, new chassis battery, new king pin, new alternator, new battery isolator, 8 new Bilsteins, 8 new air bags, a new driveshaft, and all of the fluids have been done. She has given me the contact info for her RV technician that does all of the work to check on all of this. She said she is selling because it is too big for her (it is 40 feet) and she wants a Class B. She lives pretty far from me so I am contemplating hiring an RV inspector to go check it out and if all is good, then going and purchasing it.

BUT, here is my quandary: I have heard some horror stories about the costs of a diesel pusher. We have 2 young children and want to travel the U.S. and Canada every summer to show them the beauty of this country. We would tow a car/SUV behind us as well. We are many years away from retirement so this would not be a full time arrangement for us, but I think we would do one 3000-5000 mile trip every summer (maybe a month or 2) and then 5-10 weekend trips throughout the year (with perhaps a week thrown in for spring break or fall break).

What are your thoughts about buying a DP of this vintage? I am relatively handy and change the oil in our cars/motorcycle and do basic maintenance, but I have never owned a diesel. If there are videos online that show how to do things, I can usually watch them and then do it, so I think I could do SOME of the maintenance myself on the coach. However I would not be able to take on a big repair. I love the thought of purchasing something of high quality and keeping it for many years (the interior and overall craftsmanship of this coach is far beyond all of the gassers we have looked at) but I also know that a really nice coach costs more to fix as well.

I would love to hear your thoughts, and I have attached a photo of the coach.


Not sure if you all can see the photo above...it isn't showing up for me and it won't let me post a link to it either.

[lj2654]

I think it looks like a good deal for what has been done already. Be sure to check the roof real good for any weak spots or any spots that may have had leaks. I have a 2001 Beaver coach and it has been good to us. We bought it 5 years ago.....Iv'e put about $10000 into it in that time,tires, genset rebuild a few weeks ago, all the roof covers replaced, thermostats, wheel seals....

[Ventureman]

Good luck and please let us know how it goes. Fingers crossed for you, seems like a rare find!!

[cgreer00]

Thank you everyone, he is going to go look at it on Tuesday. He is very well-reviewed and I asked him about the delamination and if he always recommends people to walk away when he finds it. He said not necessarily and he will check the structural rigidity of that entire wall before he determines if it is a major problem or not. So I guess for $300 I'll know if it is a gem or not worth the money.

[Mr_Mark1]

cgreer00, personally, I think it's worth it to get in inspected. The inspector will let you know if the delamination is really bad or just cosmetic. If it passes the inspector, you might can even fix it by trying to re-glue the section that has come loose.

For the price range that you are looking in, it appears that you found a gem.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.
MM.

[Ava]

Good advice above, doing your homework on this rig. I bought a 94 36' Bounder diesel about 4 years ago and it has been a great Rv. Previous owner looked after it very well, it was even repainted. I fully expect the Cummins diesel, the Allison trans, the OshKosh frame and Rockwell rear end to outlive the rest of the motorhome. I use mine for about the same as you are expecting to, it runs fine every time. I hope this works out for you as I am very happy with mine.

[cgreer00]

Thanks everyone...so the consensus seems to be that just because it has a little bit of delamination it is still worth looking into? When I do research online everyone is scared to death of delamination and I keep reading "run, don't walk, away" but maybe that is overblown?

[jwolf55]

In your price range it sounds like a good deal, quality built lasts. something newer not built as well is not the answer. Your budget in not in any new class A range. There are licenced RV inspectors (NRVIA) just like home inspectors, they charge $250-$500 around here. Search NRVIA in your area. https://nrvia.org/ I guarantee they will find something wrong, but new similar equipped coach is going to run you $150,000 plus.
As far as service I change my own oil once a year and it runs under $80.
Warning if you get a DP with air ride it will be hard to ever go back the truck leaf spring suspension.

[bluwtr49]

Certainly worth a look. The fact that it's a diesel of that vintage does not mean higher expenses....in fact I would consider it to be a big advantage. The whole diesel is expensive thing is vastly overblown since engine problems are the least of the costs. As was stated most expenses are coach related not engine.

Spend the $$$ for an inspection. Another one that looks as good as this may be a long time a-commin

[johnhicks]

Do engine oil, gen oil, coolant and trans fluid analysis before purchase.

[cgreer00]

Thanks everyone. She has been very forthcoming about the motorhome, and did tell me that it suffered from the classic mid 90s Monaco problem of a leak behind where the awning mounts to the frame. She caught it early and had it resealed, but it caused some delamination along the top ridge. This was 2 years ago and she said it is solid if you hit it with your hand and the delamination hasn't increased at all. I have read stories about immediately running away if there is any delam, but I have also read that when you are talking about coaches that are 20 years old, you are going to see it pretty frequently. She claims it is just fine and that she doesn't think the RV inspector will be that concerned about it at all. You can kind of see it under the awning in this pic:



So do you think it is worth paying the $290 to get it inspected or should I just walk away?

[jplante4]

I'd have no qualms about buying this Monaco, especially if it's in your budget. It looks like she's already taken care of the things that would need attention. The engine/transmission combination is a proven setup used on almost every DP on the road. It's very nice cosmetically.

I can't tell from the pic, but are those Ontario tags? If so, research what needs to be done to import a motorhome.

[2gypsies1]

For all she's done to it in the last 4 yr. and the picture.... it looks like a well cared for RV. Does she have the receipts for all the items? If you could find someone to inspect it that would be a plus. Mobile RV repair might be a start for someone knowing the appliances, etc. A diesel facility for the engine. Have the oil tested. Good luck!

[cgreer00]

Thank you for your advice!

[fyrflie]

It appears that this coach was well maintained.
Yes, diesel repairs could be very expensive but I would think your expenses on this rig would be RV related rather than chassis related. I.e. Refrigerator, holding tank maintenance, etc.

There is a bit more maintenance on a diesel but not that much that makes it not doable.
I have read on the forums that many folks pay for service work so as not to have to deal with the larger quantity of oil found in diesels. To each their own.

Filters are filters. Diesel filters cost a little more but typically have a longer service life. Special installation procedure for fuel filters, maybe. But they all spin on and off. Most of the time easier to replace than on a car.

The worst thing for any RV is to let it sit in storage.
Good luck on your purchase and the countless family memories out on the road.