Test Driving a Coach

[barmcd]

How do you do it?

What types of driving should you include?

What should you look and listen for.

[tropical36]

prstlk wrote:

prstlk wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

vector wrote:
We wanted to test drive a used Winnie Journey last summer as the search for a newer rig was narrowing down to a few models. The dealer insisted we sign a purchase agreement before we test drove the unit. Supposedly there was an "out" clause in the fine print that would let us escape the deal if the test drive proved unsatisfactory. We edged away from that salesman and hightailed it out of there. Never before had we heard of such an arrangement. Is this common in today's market?

They either get a lot of tire kickers or they didn't believe you had the money to pay for it.
On our last purchase, we actually had a salesman ask in a rude way, if we had the means for buying it. Probably because with the way I was dressed and being prepared for crawling down under to inspect it's workings. Called the next day, said I was coming to see it again, but only with a different salesman. Made a deal and paid cash for it and most sure to the knucklehead's surprise.
I was looking to buy a reasonably priced home when first starting out and the agent asked where I worked, with a look of doubt on his face and probably considering, my youth. Should have told him, that I didn't have to work for a living.
Looked at this high end home, while on our way to the beach once and this very young and obviously inexperienced young lady asked if our purpose, was with seeing, how the other half lived. Not too smart, I'd say.
Another time, we actually bought a waterfront home, while dressed in a bathing suit and an old T shirt, coming from the beach. No problem that time with the agents being a little smarter in their judgement for trying to pick out a horse by it's color.

Had a good friend stopped by the Cadillac dealer after winterizing his lake front cabin. Salesman said "are you sure you can afford a car like this"
He left, bought a caddy elsewhere, sent the invoice to the first dealers owner with a brief note of explanation.
Nutf said

I love those kind of stories. Just can't believe that even a first day salesman, that's worth a darn, doesn't know better than that.
Training for some of these individuals must be p**s poor, as well.
Stopped to look at a Mercedes roadster once. The salesman was standing in the corner at attention and reminded me of a servant that was waiting to be summoned by his Master. Didn't seem much interested with my questions about the car, until I told him that my DW wasn't all that happy with her late model Vette and wished to trade it in. Quick change of attitude at that point and I then bid him goodbye. Never did make a deal on any Mercedes, no matter how hard, I tied, but did end up with a BMW roadster, by making a half a**ed deal with some lawyer, who had bought his wife a Honda sports car.

[prstlk]

prstlk wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

vector wrote:
We wanted to test drive a used Winnie Journey last summer as the search for a newer rig was narrowing down to a few models. The dealer insisted we sign a purchase agreement before we test drove the unit. Supposedly there was an "out" clause in the fine print that would let us escape the deal if the test drive proved unsatisfactory. We edged away from that salesman and hightailed it out of there. Never before had we heard of such an arrangement. Is this common in today's market?

They either get a lot of tire kickers or they didn't believe you had the money to pay for it.
On our last purchase, we actually had a salesman ask in a rude way, if we had the means for buying it. Probably because with the way I was dressed and being prepared for crawling down under to inspect it's workings. Called the next day, said I was coming to see it again, but only with a different salesman. Made a deal and paid cash for it and most sure to the knucklehead's surprise.
I was looking to buy a reasonably priced home when first starting out and the agent asked where I worked, with a look of doubt on his face and probably considering, my youth. Should have told him, that I didn't have to work for a living.
Looked at this high end home, while on our way to the beach once and this very young and obviously inexperienced young lady asked if our purpose, was with seeing, how the other half lived. Not too smart, I'd say.
Another time, we actually bought a waterfront home, while dressed in a bathing suit and an old T shirt, coming from the beach. No problem that time with the agents being a little smarter in their judgement for trying to pick out a horse by it's color.

Had a good friend stopped by the Cadillac dealer after winterizing his lake front cabin. Salesman said "are you sure you can afford a car like this"
He left, bought a caddy elsewhere, sent the invoice to the first dealers owner with a brief note of explanation.
Nutf said

[prstlk]

tropical36 wrote:

vector wrote:
We wanted to test drive a used Winnie Journey last summer as the search for a newer rig was narrowing down to a few models. The dealer insisted we sign a purchase agreement before we test drove the unit. Supposedly there was an "out" clause in the fine print that would let us escape the deal if the test drive proved unsatisfactory. We edged away from that salesman and hightailed it out of there. Never before had we heard of such an arrangement. Is this common in today's market?

They either get a lot of tire kickers or they didn't believe you had the money to pay for it.
On our last purchase, we actually had a salesman ask in a rude way, if we had the means for buying it. Probably because with the way I was dressed and being prepared for crawling down under to inspect it's workings. Called the next day, said I was coming to see it again, but only with a different salesman. Made a deal and paid cash for it and most sure to the knucklehead's surprise.
I was looking to buy a reasonably priced home when first starting out and the agent asked where I worked, with a look of doubt on his face and probably considering, my youth. Should have told him, that I didn't have to work for a living.
Looked at this high end home, while on our way to the beach once and this very young and obviously inexperienced young lady asked if our purpose, was with seeing, how the other half lived. Not too smart, I'd say.
Another time, we actually bought a waterfront home, while dressed in a bathing suit and an old T shirt, coming from the beach. No problem that time with the agents being a little smarter in their judgement for trying to pick out a horse by it's color.

[tropical36]

vector wrote:
We wanted to test drive a used Winnie Journey last summer as the search for a newer rig was narrowing down to a few models. The dealer insisted we sign a purchase agreement before we test drove the unit. Supposedly there was an "out" clause in the fine print that would let us escape the deal if the test drive proved unsatisfactory. We edged away from that salesman and hightailed it out of there. Never before had we heard of such an arrangement. Is this common in today's market?

They either get a lot of tire kickers or they didn't believe you had the money to pay for it.
On our last purchase, we actually had a salesman ask in a rude way, if we had the means for buying it. Probably because with the way I was dressed and being prepared for crawling down under to inspect it's workings. Called the next day, said I was coming to see it again, but only with a different salesman. Made a deal and paid cash for it and most sure to the knucklehead's surprise.
I was looking to buy a reasonably priced home when first starting out and the agent asked where I worked, with a look of doubt on his face and probably considering, my youth. Should have told him, that I didn't have to work for a living.
Looked at this high end home, while on our way to the beach once and this very young and obviously inexperienced young lady asked if our purpose, was with seeing, how the other half lived. Not too smart, I'd say.
Another time, we actually bought a waterfront home, while dressed in a bathing suit and an old T shirt, coming from the beach. No problem that time with the agents being a little smarter in their judgement for trying to pick out a horse by it's color.

[prstlk]

I would insist on a second TD if you are pretty sure this is the "one". Get a rider from your insurance company for fire, theft, collision, comprehensive etc. Ask for the MH for overnight. They will squak then show them the insurance rider. If they won't let you take it, show them the letter of credit from your lender, or your bank balance if your paying cash.
If they don't want to play....it's latter gator.

They fear this type of thing as you will find more things they need to fix.
If they still whine ask for a 30 day bumper to bumper warranty.

These offers should be communicated directly to sales mgr. Not the sales man.
Before your sign you are in the drivers seat after they don't know you.

[wolfe10]

Be very careful with screening in front of the air intake for a front engine (gas or diesel). You would be shocked how much reduction in air flow there is from all but the most open-mesh screening.

When Chevy used to conduct Maintenance Seminars at the FMCA Conventions, they spent a lot of time on this.

[Dale_Traveling]

Chowan wrote:

2oldman wrote:

Dale.Traveling wrote:
h. Reasonable wind, road, engine and house noise.

Wind noise will drive you nuts.

HOw much wind noise is unaccetable.

What can you do to reduce the noise?

Whistles you can track down and seal. My grill would whistle between 50 and 60 MPH. I fixed by installing winding screen across the front.



Windows can whistle if the seal felt or gaskets are worn. Entry door could also whistle. Easy fix for both.

What I had in mind is the general back ground noise such that the side view mirrors will generate. There's going to be rolling noise from the tirees on the road, gear train wind and such. Everyone has a limit on how much is too much. Myself I just turn the radio up.

[Gjac]

In addition to Dale's fine list and other's I always check the seat to see if I can slide it back when the slide is in(arthritis in knees). Can I see all the gauges. You will be probably testing a number of MH's and they will probably not be on the same roads or on on 6% grades. So what I do to test the performance between MH is check the time from 40-60 mph at WOT. The one with the lowest time will have the best performance on the hills. Specs, engine noise, and seat of the pants dyno's can be very subjective.

[2oldman]

Chowan wrote:
HOw much wind noise is unaccetable. What can you do to reduce the noise?

When it's louder than the radio. Try putting pieces of tape in various places to see if you can find where it's coming from. Sometimes I'll wear Bose headphones. Yeah, I know it's technically illegal, but try and stop me! 🙂

[supercub]

You should be able to test drive a unit without signing a contract. I've test driven several different units, at several different dealers over the years, and have never signed any contract. It's just like test driving a car. If you see something you're interested in, ask for a test drive.
Don't just test drive one, and think that's the coach. Test drive several different makes and models, preferably on different manufactured chassis. If you've never driven a class A, don't be concerned, sales people deal with first timers frequently. We've all been there.
As for what to watch and listen for:
1. Drive on a highway at highway speeds, drive on rough roads, and if possible, find a long grade several miles) to drive up and down. You'll want to see how it climbs a grade as well as descends if it has some kind of engine braking sytem. Don't just take it around the block, your spending BIG $$ for this item, make sure you like how it handles. Trust me, they're no all the same, some ride rough, while others ride nicely. Some take constant correction's on the wheel, while other tract with minimal corrections.
2. Listen for noise, wind, rattles, etc. They all have noise and rattles to some degree.
3. Pay attention to how it rides, again, some ride rough, some ride like a car.
4. If you find something you like, have a 3rd party (reputable RV garage) do a pre buy inspection.
The more you drive different motor homes, over different road conditions, the more knowledgeable you'll become, and you'll eventually will find something that you like. DON'T get in a big hurry, again, drive lots of different motor homes. Visit lots of different dealers.
Brian

[Chowan]

2oldman wrote:

Dale.Traveling wrote:
h. Reasonable wind, road, engine and house noise.

Wind noise will drive you nuts.

HOw much wind noise is unaccetable.

What can you do to reduce the noise?

[Two_Jayhawks]

the bear II wrote:
I would take it through the paces.... rough roads, panic stops, aggressive lane change, backing up into tight spot, parallel park, freeway/highway on ramp (merge into traffic) hill climb and down grade at least 6% grade.

Find the blind spots....

Listen for silence....the quieter the better.

If it sounds like an old pickup full of pots and pans with a few pigs thrown in then shy away from it. Squeaks, groans, squeals, bangs are not good...

Good advise I suppose but I am glad no one showed up to look at any of my coach's and took it through the paces. I sold both through private sale with test drives etc. Not saying it is abusing the coach it's more that I always baby my equipment and it would be difficult watching someone drive it aggressively.

[2oldman]

Dale.Traveling wrote:
h. Reasonable wind, road, engine and house noise.

Wind noise will drive you nuts.

[barmcd]

Dale.Traveling wrote:
I got lucky when I was shopping. Salesman handed me the keys and said have fun just don't run it out of gas. Just the Navigator and myself in the coach and I drove it like I stole it. Navigator got a lesson on limiting movement inside a moving coach and then I got a lesson, which include verbal and physical feedback, on how to tell her what I'm about to do.

My bigs on the drive -
a. Straight line stopping and a functional antilock (ensure passengers are ready before standing on the brakes).
b. Smooth shifting thru the gears, both up and down.
c. Smooth acceleration of the engine. No hesitation or drop outs.
d. Reasonable visual blind spots.
e. No steering wheel shake at both low speed (bent wheel) or high speed (wheel balance, front end wear).
f. Reasonable lane wonder (suspension, alignment).
g. All dash indicators function properly.
h. Reasonable wind, road, engine and house noise.
i. Reasonable steering null (how much input before the coach moves).

I was shopping used so there was some expectation of noise, vibration and such which is why I stated reasonable. Each prospective owner will have limits on what might be acceptable and what isn't. Some evals may need a knowledgeable drive to assess also. Remember anything you don't like you can walk away from or use to negociate the price down. Lane wonder could just be over inflated tires but use it as an unknown that will cost you to have checked post sale.

This is a good list, thank you