best advice for getting an older used class A for a newbie

[iowabob4]

Hi everyone,

We are newbies to the RV experience, and would like some good advice as to which older (early to late '90s) class A would be a solid, reliable choice for a young family of 5 to travel and live in for 6 mo. to a year.
We are on a very limited budget (under 15k), and tons of gadgets and lots of luxury doesn't matter much to us.
For enough room, we are thinking 30-35' but would consider shorter too.
When parked we would be spending lots of time outside of it.
I understand that the Tiffin Allegro is a well made RV. There is a '95 Allegro gas 32' for sale, asking $8900, 35k miles: http://stjoseph.craigslist.org/rvs/3948324202.html
I have read through the top ten pieces of advice for a newbie, and that is some really great stuff.
Any opinions on any of this would be greatly appreciated, such as what you have had and loved, didn't love, what is reliable vs. lemon, in the years between '90-99 or so.
Thanks a bunch!

Don

[2Bargos]

I moved from a f350 and fver to a class A.Mine is a 96 ford with the 460 and 16 inch tires.So far I well pleased.
Anything will work properly when used as designed and intended.
With the 16 inch tires just pay attention to you weight limits and you should have no problems.
As mentioned the 460 and 454 engines are very reliable and will give a long service life if they are properly maintained.

[bsinmich]

I had an '89 460 and it was already EFI so I don't' think you will find a carburetor on anything after that. '88 was the last year for a carburetor for them. We had a '96 P 30 on a 35' Pace Arrow with the Vortec motor. That was a great MH and had no handling problems. We also had a rubber roof that never caused a problem. Winnebago has also had their own problems with the fiberglass roofs coming loose at the sides. If you look for a Newmar you may get a slide in that vintage also. Newmar was the first with slides in '90 on production models. The extra space is great.

[frankdamp]

My only caution, based on very expensive experience, is to avoid anything that still has a carburetor. We bought an '85 Class C, on the E350 chassis with the 460 engine, as our first RV. What a POS, almost all due to the engine.

It had enough smog gear to run an aircraft carrier. It got incredible under-hood temperatures. Even with foil-faced fiberglass insulation on the engine side of the doghouse and carpet on the cab side, it still got hot enough to melt the soles of DW's tennis shoes.

I don't know when the 460's EFI system got good enough by modern standards, but I'd recommend paying careful attention to gas mileage data from the seller. We got about 6 mpg at sea level and about 4.5 above 2000 ft altitude.

[ddndoug]

Jagtech wrote:
As I (and others) have mentioned. the 460 Ford is a great engine; but best to look for one that is fuel injected, as opposed to a carburettor version.

My 96 Allegro has the 460 and it is fuel injected.


Doug

[iowabob4]

Thanks for all the great information Everyone! All much appreciated.
I'm going to look at the Tiffin tomorrow and have it checked out by a RV service center.
Love this site and all the helpful people on here, thanks again!

Don

[vegasfoodguy]

Jagtech wrote:
There's no reason to avoid the pre-99 Fords. They are affordable, the 460 engine is bullet-proof, and has sufficient power for a rig of the size you want. Those chassis were used for many years, there's a lot of them still on the road, including mine, in very good roadworthy condition. Its better to focus on things like tires, check for leaks / rot, and find something that suits you and your budget. Good hunting!

X2, I had a 1994 Aerbus, 36' f-53 tag, Drove it for 10 years, NO problems. I would put it up against any other gasser, any year. The people who bought it still love it.

[Daveinet]

ddndoug wrote:
He mentions "new tires"... check the manufacture date and not the tread depth. They may look new but could be dry rotted...Doug

I would suggest to be careful not to misinterpret this to mean, you can look at a tire and confirm no dry rot, or age damage. I would suggest to let the date code speak for its self. Because RV tend to sit for extended periods, the tires age much faster.

BTW: Don't know how strongly one should suggest leaning toward fuel injection with Ford. Ford's FI software was extremely primitive in its early years.

[Jagtech]

As I (and others) have mentioned. the 460 Ford is a great engine; but best to look for one that is fuel injected, as opposed to a carburettor version.

[ddndoug]

iowabob4 wrote:
Hi everyone,

There is a '95 Allegro gas 32' for sale, asking $8900, 35k miles: http://stjoseph.craigslist.org/rvs/3948324202.html

Don

Ha ha! That's my RV... or at least the sister to it. The only differnece I noticed is the dinnette and kitchen are swapped in mine, and mine has the optional overhead pulldown bunk over the drivers area.

You're right, Tiffin made a good product. But they used the same equipment such as stoves, water heaters, refrigs, ect. that everyone else did. Not sure about your mechanical abilities, but when you buy an RV of this age you need to be able to do some repairs yourself otherwise repairs and up-keep will eat you alive.

My biggest concern in this MH would be the transmission, Ford's E4OD is kind of a weak link in the drivetrain. Not trying to alarm you, just a friendly word of advice, make sure you have the means to replace if necessary.

He mentions "new tires"... check the manufacture date and not the tread depth. They may look new but could be dry rotted.

Other than that, IF the roof doesn't leak (go up top and inspect it) and everything works.... I'd go for it.


Doug

P.S. Welcome to the forum.

[Mike___Fran]

I agree there is alot of good older M/Homes out there. Also agree the 460 is one of the toughest gas engines out there. As far as frames, we had 92 Southwind with a Oshkos(spelling) now freightliner frame. It rode and handled great!!The only reason we traded was slideouts. Good luck and take your time, you will find one..

[Daveinet]

crimmps49 wrote:
Check the tires---these will require $3000 plus to replace and could kill a budget. Check that everything really does work--turn it all on and try it all. Looks like a nice unit--good luck.

Probably 16 inch wheels, which would make it more like 1200 bucks.

As far as 16 inch wheels being OK or not OK really has to do with load ratings. As motorhomes got heavier, larger tires were required to meet the load rating. Now the problem comes in, where the coach makers began to exceed the load rating specs, which meant the 16 inch tires were often overloaded. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a 16 inch tires, as long as they are within the load rating of the actual weight of the coach. If the OP is buying a shorter length coach, he will likely be OK. I would suggest staying under 32 feet from that time period, both for the load rating, as well as the handling. Those light weight chassis did not like the longer lengths, which is why you see negative comments above. Stay with shorter lengths, and the lighter chassis will be tolerable.

[Bumpyroad]

John&Joey wrote:



"I did not want one of the old fords with 16 inch wheels." meaning you never own one or even drove one for any length of time.

So many "experts" gain their knowledge from what they read and regurgitate it over and over on this forum.

Me, I drove all over on those 16 inch tires, never had a problem. Now that I think of it, there were many that have.

If that is all you can afford then go for it. Is newer better, of course it is. Is newer going to cost more, most likely.

The OP asked for comments from folks here. my "expertise" is listening/reading various comments on this forum over many years. yes, it is second hand information but just as valid as the original person who posted it.
I do know that when I was selling my Bounder on a P-30 chassis one potential purchaser towed a race car way overloading anything but a diesel pusher, but he towed it with a gasser and he said that he travels with another driver who had a Ford on 16 inch rims and that the other driver continually had tire issues.
If 16 inch rims is not an issue, why did they go to 19.5 and 22.5? just curious.
and if the OP is thinking about a chevy P-30 chassis, he should be sure to check on the front axle capacity on anything he is looking at. that was the one with the air bags on the front that was easily overloaded. at one time the writeups in Trailer Life/Motorhome had comments that some of the units were so front heavy that you could not put anybody in the passenger seat. but then that is not first hand information so you can just ignore it.

another thing that the OP should be wary of is to check both the year of the motorhome and the year of the chassis as the chassis could be several years older than the model year of the motorhome.
bumpy

[John_Joey]

Bumpyroad wrote:

iowabob4 wrote:

Bumpy, how bad are the pre'99 Ford chassis? Bad enough to stay away from completely? Also I am told that the roof is fiberglass, though I am trying to find exact specs for this model, and the seller doesn't have the owners manual, rather has the service manual.
Any ideas where I can get the specs by the VIN? I already emailed Tiffin, we'll see.
Thanks again everyone!

Don

the older chassis, both ford and chevy, had limited carrying capacity, they had to stick on a second rear axle, (using bailing wire I think 🙂 ) to get any capacity. the minute I got wind of the new ford chassis, I ordered my winnebago as I did not want one of the old fords with 16 inch wheels.
bumpy

:S


"I did not want one of the old fords with 16 inch wheels." meaning you never own one or even drove one for any length of time.

So many "experts" gain their knowledge from what they read and regurgitate it over and over on this forum.

Me, I drove all over on those 16 inch tires, never had a problem. Now that I think of it, there were many that have.

If that is all you can afford then go for it. Is newer better, of course it is. Is newer going to cost more, most likely.

[V10guy]

Do you know a reputable mechanic or RV shop that can do a once over? A few hundred dollars today might save thousands tomorrow. Just a thought.

Hope you find what you want and it works out!