First time buyers considering a 1997 Four Winds class A

[JamesFerg]

Hi, James and Sami here and we are first time buyers getting ready to take the plunge. We're getting ready to go take a look at a 1997 Four Winds motorhome with a Ford 460 gas with a slide out. I'm going to inspect the roof thoroughly and look at the tires and engine for any obvious signs of problems, but apart from that I have no idea of questions I should ask or potential pitfalls to watch out for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[bsinmich]

VinCee wrote:
Newer rigs from 2000 or so are almost exclusively Ford V10's as GM got out of the RV business.

You haven't kept up on the business. Workhorse was a huge supplier of MH chassis using the 8.1L GM and the Allison Transmission. They made many MH chassis until GM dropped production of the 8.1 motor. They are still making chassis for UPS trucks and many other trucks. I have had 460 Fords, 454 Chevy's and now the 8.1/Allison combo. This is the best we have had and have been doing this since 1969.

[VinCee]

Well James I'd take the rig with 40K vs. over 100K too, especially if its a gasser. Very few motor homes will get used into the 100K club, whether they are diesels or gas, the exception being perhaps high end high dollar DP like Prevost or Newell's that will go into the hundreds of thousands of miles. Newer rigs from 2000 or so are almost exclusively Ford V10's as GM got out of the RV business. Don't forget to take a creeper with you on inspection to take a good look underneath the rig. Oh, by the way, if I fill my water tank up with a high pressure faucet, about 20% or more of it will flush out of the overflow hose. When added nice and slow, I'll get a full tank that will last me at least a couple of days more with out water hook ups. Could be the same problem facing the rig your looking at and the owners never figured that out.
One last thought is to check the spark plugs out on the 460, they did have an issue with them rusting into the blocks. Good Luck and welcome to this forum.

[JamesFerg]

ddndoug, thanks a lot, these things are great...thanks to OldBiscuit as well.

[RedJeep]

in 2009 I bought a 1986 Ford powered class c. terrible fuel mileage but ran trouble free for several thousand miles. you have been given a lot off great advice here. my own experience was that I should have bought all brand new tires when it was convenient rather than during a big trip. and, I should have been more thorough in checking out the generator. I also agree with the folks that say don't fear higher mileage motorhome. I would have no problem buying a motorhome with 100k miles. a high mileage motorhome that was well cared for is, to me, a better deal than a very low mileage motorhome that was never used. anyway, enjoy!

[ddndoug]

Regardless of whether you buy this one or another older MH these might come in handy for you. I can't take credit, that goes to Old-Biscuit, but I thought it was great information for people who are DYI-ers. You may want to print them off and have them stored somewhere in your MH. Old-Biscuit RV diagrams

Doug

[2bzy2c]

My fear on an RV of that vintage is you may spend more time fixing than driving. Don't mean to be a kill joy, but rubber, seals, belts, and appliances are well past their prime. Not from use, just from age.

[RLS7201]

The Ford 460 is a very durable engine. Major fault is the exhaust manifold bolts. Headers are the only permanent cure.
Put a Banks Transcommander on the E4OD transmission and it will live as long as the engine.
Radiator is subject to leaking at the end tank gaskets.
The ZF emergency brake assembly is subject to leaking. May require a seal job. Don't let it run dry or it will get expensive.
As designed, the service brakes are good but require bi-annual maintenance. i.e. Remove calipers, clean and lube slide pins, flush brake fluid. Some have never got the brakes to meet their needs, mine have always worked well.
Front end can be made to drive well. i.e. Install front track bar and set toe-in a little strong. Keep all front end components well lubed.

I have the same chassis (460 F53) that you are looking at. It has 130,000 miles on it with only minor failures. Resealed the ZF emergency brake at approx. 70,000 miles. Water pump at approx. 80,000 miles. Plug wires at 112,000 miles. Headers at 40,000 miles. Radiator gaskets at 65,000 miles.

Richard

[John_Joey]

On the 460 keep an eye out for the back passenger side exhaust header bolt being broken off, and the calipers. Make sure you're happy with the braking power and ride of that rig (I never was.)

IMO Four Winds has a bad reputation for quality. Never owned one, but seen a few that were falling apart.

On Edit:

I read a few of your prior posts. Things I learnt or at least feel when it comes to mileage. Ford v8's will have low miles because they are hard to drive. From that era will have 40-65K miles on them. GM v8's from that era will have about 100K miles on them since they drive easier. They will have problems but their owners are loyal. The ford v10 is really what you want. It is a commercial engine and will go a very long way. I'm guessing 200K and from the miles some are racking up, they must drive OK.

[WA7NDD]

We bought a 1998 Four Winds 5000 class C with 36K miles on it last September in very good shape with new tires and batteries. It came with all the manuals but no service records. There were no major problems, but I have put in another 4K in preventive maintenance and upgrades. I've done the upgrades myself, except for the new Dometic 320 toilet, to hard to get on the floor for me.

What I am saying, plan on investing a lot more money in an older RV. For instance with only 36k miles on my unit, it needed tie rod ends and a pinion seal. I did a lot more than that to it. So put money aside, you will most likely need it for repairs and upgrades not obvious a the time of purchase.

[JamesFerg]

Roman Duck Wow, that advice is totally counterintuitive from what I was thinking. I guess I understood that sitting around isn't great for an RV, but we have passed on other rv's because of the higher miles (this one only has a little over 40K) as my assumptions were that the standard Ford 460 or Chevy 454 gas engine from the 90's trucks are in these things and getting anything more than 100k out of them is the ultimate lottery. I understand that high miles on a Diesel wouldn't be something to worry about, but figured the gas engines were comparable. What is the average lifespan of one of these Ford 460's, Chevy 454's, and I guess I've seen a few V10 Triton's?

[Roman_Duck]

Owned seveval used MHs. Watch out for low milers, as they have sat and will be prone to all kinds of little problems.
I buy a MH with 130,000 miles over the same year with 30,000 mile.
Check the dot date on the tires, its located on 1 side of tire sidewall.
Most exspenive items are the frig,AC, and the leveling system.
older coachs will have more dry rot on the gaskets, slide replacement gaskets can run a few hundred dollars.
Close inspection of the roof is inportant to, as that's another exspenive item
Overall perform a close inspection on all areas of the MH.
When buying a coach from the original owner, it's normaly been taken care of.


Enjoy; the older ones are great, but it helps if your handy, or a lottery winner

[Monaco_Montclai]

james ferg, u can count on the idiot lites lying to u.watch how much u use the tanks. then when u move from one place to a nother, before u leave, put a 5lb bag of ice in the toilet, then when u get to the first cg, do the dump thing. wont hurt a thing. and the ice is a bit cheaper too
now its all happy-camping

[JamesFerg]

Here's another question, probably silly but you don't know what you don't know. Are Thor and Four Winds the same company? Did they merge at some point?

[Monaco_Montclai]

james ferg, u can count on the idiot lites lying to u.watch how much u use the tanks. then when u move from one place to a nother, before u leave, put a 5lb bag of ice in the toilet, then when u get to the first cg, do the dump thing. wont hurt a thing. and the ice is a bit cheaper too
now its all happy-camping