Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?

[IAMICHABOD]

While researching these pages for my next Motor Home I saw a few threads discussing Rentals, most were Pros and Cons but very few posts from people who had purchased one.

I thought it may be a good resource and helpful to hear from these people. The good, the bad, what they liked and what they didn’t. Also if they had any problems, things they changed, if they would recommend this to others or do it again.

Here is my story: I am not a novice, having owned a Class A for more than 15 years and doing the camping thing with my wife and two daughters, I can say “been there done that” But life changes, and I sold everything so I have been away from this for several years. Starting over I lurked here for a while and got a lot of good insight then went looking.

My criteria was: A Class C within by budget, less than 30 feet so I can keep it at home, saving storage $, a rear bed, and a lot of storage space.

What fit that was Winnebago, Fleetwood and a few others, what I found mostly was Jamboree / Tioga 26Q. In the year models 2002 thru 2006. I did my home work looking at NADA and other sites to find the fair prices for the models that I was looking for.

After several months of searching the internet, Craigslist, private ads and Dealerships for a Class C that suited my budget and needs, this is what I found. Of the dozen or so I inquired about.Most were upsidedown in their payments, owing more than they were worth. All were on Ford Chassis, 7 needed tires, all had the original 7 to 10 year old tires, and they all needed repair of the awning and most needed some work inside or out and the maintenance records were sketchy, but most had low mileage. The Dealerships offerings were better but they had a profit margin to maintain so I got older models within my budget or huge up sales that didn’t work for me.

My next step was looking at the rental market for sales. In my area there are 2 large companies that have rental sales, Cruise America and El Monte RV,who also sell Class A RVs.

First up was El Monte RV Their units are production RVs that are made by major manufactures, with TV antennas and hookups inside and out, Ducted A/C and heat, 2 house batteries, a rear ladder and parts are readily available from those manufacture’s. I looked at their web site and it detailed their warranty and what was checked and serviced by their factory trained technicians. The unit I looked at was like new inside, the upholstery on all the seats was new as was the floor mat in the driver’s area, it had a new mattress, still in plastic and a new bedspread. All of the curtains were new also. Newer (2010 mfg date) tires with 98% rubber and the mileage was ninety thousand (90,000).

Then there was Cruise America: Their units that I looked at seemed to be Spartan,no TV antenna or hookups for one,non-ducted A/C,small counter space and only one battery, no rear ladder for inspection and maintenance of roof and built just for them, they were all “refreshed” their words not mine. They offered extended warranties at a huge cost. All had high mileage, one hundred and thirty thousand (130,000) or more and the price range seemed a little high. The sales staff had a take it or leave it attitude and were not very forthcoming when asked about maintenance records and service,they claim to have proprietary info in those records,It doesn't seem to be a problem for El Monte RV.

At El Monte RV I took a test ride; This Unit was a 2006 Tioga 26Q on a Chevrolet Chassis it rode
Drove and handled much better than the Fords that I had driven. It also had more leg room and was quieter. We got back and I asked about the service and maintenance on it, the salesman, Joey, handed me a 28 page single spaced document asked if I wanted some coffee or something to drink and said “read this and if you have any questions I will answer them”.

It detailed everything that was done before and after each rental, the mileage, generator hours and hours billed. Each time it was washed and detailed inside and outside, all fluids were checked and replenished if needed, the holding tanks were washed, LP system was checked for leaks, all torque on wheel lugs were checked, brakes front and rear checked for wear and cracks, pressure in tires, all appliances, generator oil, lights inside and outside, the list goes on and on.

It also listed all oil changes,coolant change,trans service,fuel injector service and cleaning,fuel filters,air filter, new brakes, all repairs and replacements all with date, mileage and time spent in complete detail from day one to when it was pulled from the rental fleet and was refurbished. I have a complete service record on this vehicle.Also the service records on the Onan Generator,all oil changes,air filter and spark plug replacement with hours and date. I negotiated a good deal with them and am very happy with my purchase.

It came with a 1 yr. 12000 mile power train warranty and 30 day on all appliances. It also came with a 28 page maintenance record that detailed everything. Also the original sales packet from Fleetwood with the manual and serial numbers on all appliances,refrigerator, microwave,furnace, AC, water heater, etc. and the manual for the Chassis. I have had no problems with it so far.

(ON EDIT) 5 Years and close to 14000 miles.Just Scheduled Maintenance and new tires,old ones were at the 5 year mark and I wanted new Michelin LTX M/S2s.

There were a few things that it didn’t have as it was a rental and the ones from private parties did have.
• Power steps, outside Stereo/CD don’t need or want them.
• An Awning, this I wanted and had installed. A Swivel Seat and a new Window in The Door that I installed.
• Wheel Simulators, I like the looks so I had them installed and at the same time had Tire Man valve stem kit put on.
• Replaced the Chinese WFCO with a US Made converter/charger
• It came with mini blinds and not the day/night that most have, these are more practical and have a lot less failure.

• It also came with Stainless Steel sinks,easier to maintain than the cheap plastic ones that come in the noncommercial units.
  

I am very happy with my Rig, it suites my needs and it was in my Budget range, I think I got a good deal.

So if you bought a rental please share your experience here for others to use as a resource.
Or if there are any other questions that have not been covered in these pages, just ask, there are many helpful people on this thread.

[mredneck]

Perick wrote:
I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have shared your experiences with ex-rental units. I was leery at first but after reading the experiences here and the things to look at/for, I really don't see us buying from a local dealer. Especially since the 2 local dealers we've been to so far have had used C's that haven't been cleaned, had broken parts (hinges on cabinets, dinette table loose, and I didn't even get under the unit or on the roof yet) and are asking 38k+ for these units. These have been 06-08 units with 30-50k miles, but it has amazed us how they are showing the units in the state of disrepair they're in.

I would rather have a unit with 120k miles that has been maintained for $25-30k, than a non-rental that was traded in in a state of disrepair with only 30k miles on it for $40k.

We're looking to upgrade from our current TT and really want a unit with a slide to give us more space. (plus the kids are wanting to bring friends) So it looks like El Monte is the only rental place that has those for sale, which means an airplane ride to go see them. Has anyone bought from the Orlando office from El Monte? Or the Texas one? Those are the 2 closest to us so we're hoping to plan a vacation around the visit based on the inventory they have. May even drive home with a new camper 🙂

I purchased mine from el Monte in McKinney TX. Great experience.

[Perick]

IAMICHABOD wrote:
Perick,first welcome to the Forum and the Rental thread.

There have been a few people here that have been to and bought from both locations but they may not be following this thread.They all seem to be happy with their choice. Hopefully they will chime in soon.

El Monte RV has a program to reimburse the cost of a flight if you buy from them,they will take that cost off of the purchase price.

Mike Dwan,the National Sales Manager will happily tell you all about it and answer any and all questions that you may have on a purchase from El Monte RV. He can be reached @ 562-438-4949 or at mikedwan@elmonterv.com

I hope that this helps in your search for that RV.
Good Luck.

Thank you for that info! I'll get in touch with him then.

[IAMICHABOD]

Perick,first welcome to the Forum and the Rental thread.

There have been a few people here that have been to and bought from both locations but they may not be following this thread.They all seem to be happy with their choice. Hopefully they will chime in soon.

El Monte RV has a program to reimburse the cost of a flight if you buy from them,they will take that cost off of the purchase price.

Mike Dwan,the National Sales Manager will happily tell you all about it and answer any and all questions that you may have on a purchase from El Monte RV. He can be reached @ 562-483-4949 or at mikedwan@elmonterv.com

I hope that this helps in your search for that RV.
Good Luck.
(on edit) That phone # is 562-483-4949 sometimes I get a little dyslexic.

[w3ozwizard]

Perick Exactly our experience when we were looking as well. We love our CA 28A so far and look forward to many more happy miles. I could put 20K into repairs and still come out ahead of what I would have paid for some of the junk we saw for sale on local lots and at private listings in the papers and Internet.

[CatchinBluegill]

Snowman9000 wrote:
I know you trust your mechanic, but the spark plug problem is overblown IMO. And fixable. Get the MH that fits you.

As it turns out, after driving 2 Workhorse-based ones (one Itasca Suncruiser, one Bounder) and 1 Ford-based one (another Bounder) - and put a refundable deposit (pending RV inspection) on the Ford chassis Bounder. They were about equally comfortable to drive, but I thought the Ford rode better and didn't wallow as much as the W22-based ones, even though both of those had Bilsteins and steering stabilizers, and the Ford-based one doesn't.

Inspection is next week. Will keep you all posted 🙂

[Perick]

I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have shared your experiences with ex-rental units. I was leery at first but after reading the experiences here and the things to look at/for, I really don't see us buying from a local dealer. Especially since the 2 local dealers we've been to so far have had used C's that haven't been cleaned, had broken parts (hinges on cabinets, dinette table loose, and I didn't even get under the unit or on the roof yet) and are asking 38k+ for these units. These have been 06-08 units with 30-50k miles, but it has amazed us how they are showing the units in the state of disrepair they're in.

I would rather have a unit with 120k miles that has been maintained for $25-30k, than a non-rental that was traded in in a state of disrepair with only 30k miles on it for $40k.

We're looking to upgrade from our current TT and really want a unit with a slide to give us more space. (plus the kids are wanting to bring friends) So it looks like El Monte is the only rental place that has those for sale, which means an airplane ride to go see them. Has anyone bought from the Orlando office from El Monte? Or the Texas one? Those are the 2 closest to us so we're hoping to plan a vacation around the visit based on the inventory they have. May even drive home with a new camper 🙂

[GalinAZ]

We were quoted an $120 for 6mos 250,000/500,000 on the 2011 Majestic 23A by Geico for insurance. Our own credit union wouldn't finance a rig over 50K miles but Cruise America has one that does and at very competitve rate. And Cruise America puts the mileage right on the window. We also ran a CarFax report on the VIN#. Best buying experience so far.

[BoxinTheCompass]

Thanks for that advisement!

[samven1]

Just for those that are confused about the Ford spark plug issue. There were 2 problems. On the older motors there were not enough threads to hold the plugs and there was a problem with the engine spitting the plug out and stripping the plug hole which then required the head to be replaced or helicoils to be installed. The 2nd problem was that Ford used a 2 piece spark plug and the hex drive was on the upper half and if the plug got tight from age or mileage or lack of antisieze the top of the plug would break off with nut. Ford made a special tool to remove the plug but you had to go to Ford because they would not sell it to independent garages. There is an aftermarket 1 piece plug that does not have this problem and any mechanic worth 2 cents would not put the factory original plug back in after getting the old ones out. I do not know if or when Ford stopped using the problem plugs but you could just pull a boot and check the plug number to see if its the aftermarket or original.

[D_E_Bishop]

Hi All, We are looking at El Monte and I asked the salesman how many miles were on the '08 rig I looked at, he would only say "they're all over 100K". I'm not worried but I have changed my mine about the '08 and we're now considering a '14 Jamboree Sport 31N. Has anyone out there looked at one of their '14s and if so, what was the mileage. We're a couple months out but I do have pre-approval for >$50K, which is more than I plan on financing and the Insurance agent asked about MSRP and mileage.

A PM would be appreciated as looking for a thread isn't something I normally do.

TIA, David

[GalinAZ]

path1 wrote:

Aliceinwl wrote:

We've put a down on a 2011 (2010 chassis) Cruise America Class C 23A RV. It's the Ford E-350 V8 SuperDuty. We plan to flat haul a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport behind it and use a Brakemaster system. Any comments or suggestions?


Mine had a sticker not to tow over 3,500 pounds and forget how much tongue weight sticker said. How much does your Jeep weigh???

Found this in FAQ's. http://www.cruiseamerica.com/buy/buyers_resources/faqs.aspx

Can I tow a car behind the RV?

Yes you can. All sales coaches are equipped with a receiver hitch. Our Class III hitches are rated to tow up to 3,500 lbs as equipped, and can be upgraded to tow up to 5,000 lbs. Check with your Sales Pro on limits with your expected RV travel activity.

Not playing weight police but, One ton model...And you've checked out your CCC in owners manual to make you're OK? Should be no problem. (CCC= Cargo carrying capacity)

Manual explains it all...

http://www.cruiseamerica.com/buy/buyers_resources/owners_manuals.aspx


When the vehicle is in service as a rental, it is placarded to 2,500# and 200# tongue weight. Fourwinds allows up to 5,000 pounds if memory serves me correctly.

------------------------------
Thanks for the info. The jeep curb weight is 3,194, The GVWR on the RV is 12,500, 500# tongue weight, 5000# tow weight. I should be good to go!

[CatchinBluegill]

Good info on the V-10 tuner, Motoviking. Is that similar to/work-alike with the tuner that comes with a Banks Power Pack?

[themotoviking]

I thought I would share some good info here for upcoming potential buyers. We had recently purchased a 29A from Cruise america. We chose not to get the extended warranty. They do come with a 30 day bumper to bumper and then a basic warranty for 12,000 miles.

We had already put 2 trips under our belt within those 30 days and found some small things and one big thing. the small things were like window seals, locks, headliner etc. but the one big thing is the tranny had shuttered a little built while going up a steep grade just south of Flagstaff.

To make a long story short the issue happened within the 30 days but its getting serviced now well outside the 30 days. When I had dropped it off for the tranny work I also mentioned the fridge "appeared" to be leaking they offered to check that out and he said worst case they will replace the fridge. That was 2 weeks outside the 30 days.


Next
the V10 is a decent machine but its so detuned its a gutless wonder. After a mountain of research I settled on the 5 star tuner. This is a specific PCM tune for the Class C Ford V10. I got the "87 Octane" tune. HUGE difference. No it did not turn it into a racing machine but instead mainly played with Shift points in the transmission. Hills I was down to 35 on I was cruising at 50. The stock tune winds the motor way up before shifting where as the new tune just shifts more but also stays in gear when needs to. It does also play with other things like Air/fuel ratio and timing a bit.

We never lost mpg but we gained power for sure. We were hauling gear for 5 days with about 4 wheelbarrows worth of firewood and a trailer on the back hauling 3 motorcycles and we got 8.1 mpg going from far east valley Phoenix to Mexican Hat Utah.

I have always been skeptical about tuners but the fact this tune is built specifically for this RV helped me make my decision and I don't regret the purchase at all.

[Mocoondo]

path1 wrote:

Aliceinwl wrote:
We've put a down on a 2011 (2010 chassis) Cruise America Class C 23A RV. It's the Ford E-350 V8 SuperDuty. We plan to flat haul a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport behind it and use a Brakemaster system. Any comments or suggestions?

Mine had a sticker not to tow over 3,500 pounds and forget how much tongue weight sticker said. How much does your Jeep weigh???

Found this in FAQ's. http://www.cruiseamerica.com/buy/buyers_resources/faqs.aspx

Can I tow a car behind the RV?

Yes you can. All sales coaches are equipped with a receiver hitch. Our Class III hitches are rated to tow up to 3,500 lbs as equipped, and can be upgraded to tow up to 5,000 lbs. Check with your Sales Pro on limits with your expected RV travel activity.

Not playing weight police but, One ton model...And you've checked out your CCC in owners manual to make you're OK? Should be no problem. (CCC= Cargo carrying capacity)

Manual explains it all...

http://www.cruiseamerica.com/buy/buyers_resources/owners_manuals.aspx

When the vehicle is in service as a rental, it is placarded to 2,500# and 200# tongue weight. Fourwinds allows up to 5,000 pounds if memory serves me correctly.

[path1]

Aliceinwl wrote:
We've put a down on a 2011 (2010 chassis) Cruise America Class C 23A RV. It's the Ford E-350 V8 SuperDuty. We plan to flat haul a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport behind it and use a Brakemaster system. Any comments or suggestions?

Mine had a sticker not to tow over 3,500 pounds and forget how much tongue weight sticker said. How much does your Jeep weigh???

Found this in FAQ's. http://www.cruiseamerica.com/buy/buyers_resources/faqs.aspx

Can I tow a car behind the RV?

Yes you can. All sales coaches are equipped with a receiver hitch. Our Class III hitches are rated to tow up to 3,500 lbs as equipped, and can be upgraded to tow up to 5,000 lbs. Check with your Sales Pro on limits with your expected RV travel activity.

Not playing weight police but, One ton model...And you've checked out your CCC in owners manual to make you're OK? Should be no problem. (CCC= Cargo carrying capacity)

Manual explains it all...

http://www.cruiseamerica.com/buy/buyers_resources/owners_manuals.aspx