How many of you have F-450s, over 28ft with over 100K and...

We bought a 2004 former rental in 2008. No major expenses in our 8 years, other than tires. There were some minor difficulties with the house that I took care of myself. It makes a lot of difference if you take an interest in how it all works and can take care of most maintenance yourself.

The 2004 Ford engines have some spark plug changing difficulties. I have already found a mechanic I trust for that job coming up in a couple of years at 100 k miles.

The words in this discussion are very encouraging to us V10 Class C owners. I have only around 65K on ours, so hopefully it has many more miles left in it!

Not to rain on the parade, BUT ... our 5-speed TorqShift transmission mated to our V10 did go out at only around 61K miles on the MH. :(

Both our excellent commercial truck service garage mechanic and the transmission shop owner had no idea why our Ford 5R110 tranny failed that soon. The transmission fluid was a healthy pink color at the time of failure.

I had them replace it with a heavy duty remanufactured version of the 5R110 transmission (new ones are no longer available) and it responds noticeably better than the original 5R110 did. It's especially smoother when in it's TOW/HAUL mode - which I use a lot now - much more well behaved in it's up-shifts and down-shifts.

I would have thought that a 12,000 lb motorhome on a 14,050 lb. rated chassis could in no way tax the transmission enough to destroy it. It's a mystery as to what caused the failure. (I do go up long 6%-8% highway grades now at only 45 MPH instead of 58 MPH ... like I used to.)

100K miles is barely broken in on an E450. That same powertrain is used on hotel shuttle buses, rental car shuttles, etc. The house will completely wear out long before the machinery.

cgmartine, that's kind of what I thought. :) I'd be really surprised if you needed a rebuild at that low of miles unless you were really unlucky.

I just lost my right motor mount at 427,000 miles. Took out the exhaust manifold in the process when I downshifted for a steep grade.

I've also had to do the alternator, radiator, idler pulley, heater hose each once, and replace the starter relay a few times.

I change my oil every 7-12,000 miles depending on number of short trips, and do the transmission fluid every 100,000. When I hit 500,000 I'll start looking for a new rig, most likely another v10. In fact, the power train doesn't even worry me. It's the small stuff that's starting to bug me, like worn out power lock motors, worn out seats, extra squeakes and rattles etc.

Really, for an ex rental, it's the condition of the house if be most concerned about.

rjstractor, no. Just some humor on my part. The only thing ever done was a change of plugs and all the other minor service items. What I tried to say is that even with 110,000 miles, it is nowhere near the end of its life expectancy.

cgmartine wrote:
I'm still breaking in the Triton engine (Kryptonite) during its adjustment period. Another few thousand miles and I'll be able to go above 62 mph.

I'm a little confused. Did you have the engine replaced or rebuilt?

Happy owner of prior rental 2008 Tioga 31M. 110,000 miles. I'm still breaking in the Triton engine (Kryptonite) during its adjustment period. Another few thousand miles and I'll be able to go above 62 mph.

2004 Ford E-450 Fourwinds 28ft with 99,000 and still going strong. Had small exhaust leak way back when and other than some oil leakage around valve covers, motor is running strong and so is the tranny. Great motor with plenty of power. Now I know I've jinxed myself for my weekend trip to the beach :(

Jerseydevil wrote:
^^^^Poop hose into fresh water fill tank...Lol..how is that even physically possible. A duct taped funnel?? You should of took pics of that one.

After you've been a RVer long enough to do your first RV dump, you'll know exactly what the this poster meant. :S

That said, Camp-in-family, ignorance, willful or otherwise, of RV system usage is not just an affliction of renters. In my 14 yrs of FTing, camping 24/7/365, I can't tell you how many times, just talking about "poop issues" I've seen a total disregard for a sanitary process amongst all types of RVers. It is not just limited to using the "poop flushing hose" for filling ones fresh water tank. Folks will put their actual poop discharge hose directly over and around the fresh water tap on their site and flush their hose onto the ground never minding the transfer that may occur when the next camper attaches their fresh water hose to the tap's contaminated threads.

A total disregard as someone unloads their poop discharge hose from their basement and throws it on the picnic table or their neighbor's located on the utility side, till they're ready to finish hookups.

Bleach is your friend. When getting a new to you RV, disinfect your tank. When hooking up to a water tap, spray the tap with a bleach solution.

OP, my V10 doesn't have 100,000 miles yet but it appears to my non mechanic senses that it is a workhorse of an engine.