engine longevity?

[billy1davis]

Seems like most c's and b's run gassers. Also seems like they go up for sale around 50 to 60 k on the odometer.
So what is the experience out there. Is that all the engines have in them for longevity...around 50 to 60 k?

[Harvey51]

I’m one of those who bought a former rental class C - a 2004 in 2008 wth 70 000 km. Everything worked then and its still working. In 2019 I got thinking it is probably at the half way point in our use so I took it to a garage for the first time and got the serpentine belt replaced. This year I took it to the same local garage for coolant, transmission and rear end fluids changes. Also, the dreaded spark plugs. It’s at 120,000 km. I asked around for a mechanic that had experience with Triton engine spark plugs. I said we won’t need it until spring so the work is proceeding slowly as it is the busiest garage in town and it has been a tough winter here near where the Alaska Highway begins. The spark plugs are replaced with no problems.

[Grit_dog]

Skid Row Joe wrote:
I have rust on my unit's frame from just visiting a few days most Winters Up North. I don't know when it becomes a problem though. Same with my Mercedes-Benz autos. A couple weeks most every Winter up North, and bits of rust show wherever bare metal is. It's part of the North Country Winters.

Never experienced life north of the mason Dixon line, eh?

Short answer, find something else to worry about. And if you can’t, a couple rattle cans of gloss black will make your perceived potential issue disappear from your purview.
Otherwise, it’ll be fine either way. the frame and structure will outlast you.

[klutchdust]

Skid Row Joe wrote:
I have rust on my unit's frame from just visiting a few days most Winters Up North. I don't know when it becomes a problem though. Same with my Mercedes-Benz autos. A couple weeks most every Winter up North, and bits of rust show wherever bare metal is. It's part of the North Country Winters.

Surface rust is going to happen. Having lived in upstate New York I have seen firsthand what salted roads can and will

do to your vehicles.

I like to take a creeper and go underneath my rig and i do it on a regular basis. You may want to try that and poke

around at the rust and see what is going on.

As you describe your adventures, my guess is you have just some surface rust. As was said, take a hammer and tap on

some metal, if the rust falls off you may have some issues.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

I have rust on my unit's frame from just visiting a few days most Winters Up North. I don't know when it becomes a problem though. Same with my Mercedes-Benz autos. A couple weeks most every Winter up North, and bits of rust show wherever bare metal is. It's part of the North Country Winters.

[sullivanclan]

Any thoughts when you compare the Ford F53 found in most class A compared to the class C E450? Both engines have been around a long time.

[crawford]

Look most motor homes are not on the roads during the weather you are talking about. First not good in snow not good stopping, Most people who take out a mortgage payment take care or the second home. My 20 year old class C was in great shape I needed a A class with my slides because my family grew a little. Yep 2 large husky's and us need more room LOL.

[crawford]

bobndot wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
RUST is the enemy.

I agree 100%.

It is very concerning if you see rusted brake lines. Another indicator is if you hit the main frame just forward of the rear tires, with a hammer, and it showers down rust, I would stop right there and kindly leave.

We live near Chicago where salt is used on winter roads. Our rig is stored in our heated garage during that time. I bring it out well after the spring rains have washed the salt off the roads.

It would be different if we were snow birds or winter campers. I would not let that get in the way of enjoying our rig. But we use it seasonally anyway, so it is easy to apply best practices. If we ever sell our rig, it will be a "Hot Buy" for the like-new condition it is preserved in.

Ditto, we camped on the Canadian border while we snowmobiled from our 4x4 TC that lasted 12 yrs at 70k due to rust despite trying to rinse the undercarriage using an oscillating sprinkler hooked up to a hot water line.
I too installed SS brake lines once I began to notice rust.

I thought we were the only nuts camping in an rv in -25F temps. We just got back from our first 2020 'cabin' winter vacation where we saw some out of state people in a new class 'A', winter camping while riding, I wonder if they realize what that road salt is doing to their rig ? It's an expensive lesson and it seems we always had to make the 12 hr trip in blizzard conditions !

[PatJ]

valhalla360 wrote:

It's other things failing and then it's not worth fixing...if you have a 20yr old car that needs $2k in suspension work, you are usually better to put that $2k towards a newer used car...same thing with RVs.

It is very much the oddity to "wear out" an engine, so it really isn't a consideration.

Agree 100%, its been at least 25 years since I "wore out" an engine, any engine, including air cooled rototiller/pressure washer/mower etc., let alone a vehicle. What a glorious time we live in.

I've wondered if it is really premium production tolerances, premium construction materials, premium lubricants, or a combination?? Either way I'm not going to complain!

[valhalla360]

pnichols wrote:

I had a college professor who maintained that "the least expensive way to own a vehicle" is to maintain it, and keep it, and use it - as long as possible. IMHO, a complex and expensive piece of equipment such as a personal transportation or recreational vehicle should not be considered as a "disposable item" (... other than we need to soon come up with vehicles that don't destroy the Earth's atmosphere ... and therefore replace a bunch of vehicles on a world scale).

If you are buying new or nearly new...there is a lot of truth to your statement. This is also why buying used is usually far cheaper than buying new.

But as you near the end of a vehicles functional lifespan, there comes a point where you could buy a newer better condition vehicle for less than it costs to maintain the old one.

The only exception would be if you are into classic cars or there is some sentimental value...but now financial logic goes out the window.

[pnichols]

valhalla360 wrote:

T18skyguy wrote:
When I was in engine school, about when electricity was introduced, we we're taught that engine wear is most proportional to the amount of fuel that's put through it. The number of miles is a very loose metric. Plus throw in the number of cold starts. All things being equal, a V10 in a motor home will probably have more wear on it at 100,000 than a pickup truck, just by virtue of the fact that the motorhome uses more fuel. Then if it sits too much, all bets are off and anything can happen.

Problem with this theory is even most passenger cars go to the junkyard with functional engines in the modern world.

It's other things failing and then it's not worth fixing...if you have a 20yr old car that needs $2k in suspension work, you are usually better to put that $2k towards a newer used car...same thing with RVs.

It is very much the oddity to "wear out" an engine, so it really isn't a consideration.

Apparently ... some vehicle manufacturers take pride in it not being acceptable for certain parts of their vehicles to ever fail: A few weeks ago the transmission in our 18 year old Lexus sedan - with over 195,000 miles on it - failed completely. The Lexus dealer installed a remanufactured transmission in it for FREE after getting approval from Lexus headquarters. That's "free" as in no charge for the transmission and no charge for the labor -> an over $3600 Christmas gift!

I had a college professor who maintained that "the least expensive way to own a vehicle" is to maintain it, and keep it, and use it - as long as possible. IMHO, a complex and expensive piece of equipment such as a personal transportation or recreational vehicle should not be considered as a "disposable item" (... other than we need to soon come up with vehicles that don't destroy the Earth's atmosphere ... and therefore replace a bunch of vehicles on a world scale).

[ron_dittmer]

valhalla360 wrote:

T18skyguy wrote:
When I was in engine school, about when electricity was introduced, we we're taught that engine wear is most proportional to the amount of fuel that's put through it. The number of miles is a very loose metric. Plus throw in the number of cold starts. All things being equal, a V10 in a motor home will probably have more wear on it at 100,000 than a pickup truck, just by virtue of the fact that the motorhome uses more fuel. Then if it sits too much, all bets are off and anything can happen.

Problem with this theory is even most passenger cars go to the junkyard with functional engines in the modern world.

It's other things failing and then it's not worth fixing...if you have a 20yr old car that needs $2k in suspension work, you are usually better to put that $2k towards a newer used car...same thing with RVs.

It is very much the oddity to "wear out" an engine, so it really isn't a consideration.

I agree. If reasonably taken care of with oil changes at proper intervals along with maintaining the oil level, the basic engine is the last thing to "wear" out. It's everything around it that goes first, and corrosion (rust) accelerates the life of most everything else.

The only exception to my comment would be a neglected cooling system failure. Running an over-heated engine for too long of a time will fail at any age with any mileage.

[suprz]

The part about low mileage on older model RV's is correct. Bought my 2006 with only 18,000 miles on it in 2015. Now...that being said... it now has 43,000 miles on it

[valhalla360]

T18skyguy wrote:
When I was in engine school, about when electricity was introduced, we we're taught that engine wear is most proportional to the amount of fuel that's put through it. The number of miles is a very loose metric. Plus throw in the number of cold starts. All things being equal, a V10 in a motor home will probably have more wear on it at 100,000 than a pickup truck, just by virtue of the fact that the motorhome uses more fuel. Then if it sits too much, all bets are off and anything can happen.

Problem with this theory is even most passenger cars go to the junkyard with functional engines in the modern world.

It's other things failing and then it's not worth fixing...if you have a 20yr old car that needs $2k in suspension work, you are usually better to put that $2k towards a newer used car...same thing with RVs.

It is very much the oddity to "wear out" an engine, so it really isn't a consideration.

[T18skyguy]

When I was in engine school, about when electricity was introduced, we we're taught that engine wear is most proportional to the amount of fuel that's put through it. The number of miles is a very loose metric. Plus throw in the number of cold starts. All things being equal, a V10 in a motor home will probably have more wear on it at 100,000 than a pickup truck, just by virtue of the fact that the motorhome uses more fuel. Then if it sits too much, all bets are off and anything can happen.