? help on used MH

[luberhill]

Ok looking at a 2002 Fleetwood, 30ft, 18k miles,,,very nice shape...has the v10 Ford engine,,,many upgraded items,,,here's my /'s

1) should I be concerned about this engine with the sparkplug issues etc ?

2) there are 2 coach batteries but,,,you cant use the tv unless plugged into shore power or generator is on, shouldn't it run off the coach batteries ?

3) got all new tires and upgraded steering...led lights inside...no signs of delam or leaks...

wants 20k for it,,,,thoughts ?

[CharlesinGA]

Get a 12v TV. Go to Best Buy, look at the Insignia brand, they have a 120v cord that supplies a power supply brick in the cord (like a laptop computer does) and then the cord plugs into the TV. Look at the TV specs on the back, it is 12v. You cut the cord a few inches from the TV and splice appropriate cord to it to connect to your 12v system (with a switch, the TV will have a vampire current draw). This is much more efficient than running an inverter just to view the TV.

Charles
2007 Winnebago View 523H on a 2006 Dodge (Daimler-Chrysler aka Mercedes) Sprinter 3500 chassis (T1N). Bought Sept 2015 with 18K miles on it, Prog Ind HW30C, Prog Dymanics PD4645, Chill Grille, PML/Yourcovers.com deep alum trans pan, AutoMeter 8558 trans temp gauge, Roadmaster sway bar, Fantastic Ultra Breeze hood, added OEM parabolic mirrors and RH aspherical mirror.

[Harvey51]

Spark plug issue 2004 and later
http://www.expertswrite.net/ford-5-4l-triton-3valve/5-4l-triton-spark-plug-removal.html#

Some info on 2002:
http://www.fordproblems.com/trends/triton-engine/spark-plug-ejection.shtml

[bigred1cav]

Pay for a truck repair center to examine the entire drive train. Pay to have the total inspection of the coach at a reputable RV repair center. AC goes bad you're out 3000, refer 1500, furnace 1200, water heater 500 etc. Transmission 6000 (I just replaced one). Engine 15000, brakes 1500

[Grit_dog]

luberhill wrote:

darsben1 wrote:
how do you know it has "all new tires"
There could be an inverter that needs to be turned on for tv to work without shore/genny power.
good post about the spark plug problem and fix at
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/929820-puking-up-spark-plugs-spark-plug-blowouts.html
if it the one in Sodus it looks nice

Because he just put 6 brand new tires on it ,,,,receipts

How do you know the receipts are real??? Jk
Lol at the original question.

The spark plug issue was real, but as others said, you may be just out of that issue. Read up on it, I believe the fix was more threads in the head. Should be able to find that out and just pull a plug and check.
By the same token, I had a few 5.4s /6.8s during the spark plug popping time and drove em all like a rented mule and no issue.
If well maintained and stored properly, 18kmi is like new. Congrats on the new rig!

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

luberhill wrote:
Ok looking at a 2002 Fleetwood,

2) there are 2 coach batteries but,,,you cant use the tv unless plugged into shore power or generator is on, shouldn't it run off the coach batteries ?

No - it is not supposed to run on battery power when the coach was built.

2002 was almost a decade and a half ago - and was two generations ago in RV power technology, and at least four generations ago in television technology.

Is it a tube TV or has it been upgraded to a modern flat screen, hopefully a one or two year old LED?

RV Power is setup with two systems - a 12 volt DC system from the batteries, and a 120 volt AC system from the generator / shore power.

Older, and cheaper, RVs have converters designed to run the 12 volt system off 120 power from the pedestal. Some of the newer RVs have inverters - which can do the 120v to 12v conversion, but can also convert 12v DC battery power into 120v AC for the wall plugs to work off batteries.

Here is the issue - two coach batteries are unlikely to have enough power to run a tube type TV for very long - minutes only. Those TVs use a lot of power. Newer / newest LED TVs use relatively low amounts of power.

Even if the TV works, the batteries won't store enough power to run the AC, the microwave, the water heater or heavy power usage appliances like a coffee maker, toaster, curling iron or hair dryer.

Few battery systems can run a heater/furnace blower all night to supply heat in the winter.

In 2002, RVs were designed to give you enough battery power for lights for two or three days while camping without access to electrical power. Nothing more.

You can add an inverter to your system. Depending on the size, and how comfortable you are at doing power wiring yourself - the cost can run from a couple hundred dollars into the several thousand dollars. If you want to add an inverter, I suggest only get a "pure sine wave" model. They are more expensive but they are necessary to protect modern electronic devices such as newer TVs.

[doxiemom11]

Our tv only runs on 110 - must be plugged in to work. We have a 2000 with ford chassis and V10. No problems - nice strong motor.

In addition --- the tv also operates when the generator is running.

[darsben1]

luberhill wrote:

darsben1 wrote:
how do you know it has "all new tires"
There could be an inverter that needs to be turned on for tv to work without shore/genny power.
good post about the spark plug problem and fix at
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/929820-puking-up-spark-plugs-spark-plug-blowouts.html
if it the one in Sodus it looks nice

Because he just put 6 brand new tires on it ,,,,receipts

Then it seems a very nice deal
TV issue is minor
spark plug issue is easily repairable IF it happen to you. Carry a spare helicoil (the one ford recommends) and it seems to be a straight forward fix.Not to expensive either.

[luberhill]

darsben1 wrote:
how do you know it has "all new tires"
There could be an inverter that needs to be turned on for tv to work without shore/genny power.
good post about the spark plug problem and fix at
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/929820-puking-up-spark-plugs-spark-plug-blowouts.html
if it the one in Sodus it looks nice

Because he just put 6 brand new tires on it ,,,,receipts

[dodge_guy]

As far as the spark plug issue, from my research ford had that fixed by late 01 or early 02. However with how RV manuf. by chassis's it is very possible the chassis is an 01!

Not sure on the other stuff, but usually only a select few items will run off he inverter.

Check the date codes on the tires. They should be from the last 6-9 months.

20k sounds like a decent price of it checks out!

[bsinmich]

By '02 I believe Ford had cured the spark plug issue. You probably have a 110V TV and the coach batteries are either 2X6V in series or 2X12V in parallel. Either serup will give you 12V of power. Higher end MHs may have an inverter that changes 12V to 110V but that is not common in kiwer cost models. You would need more batteries to do this for very long or get a 12V TV. The generator also puts out the 110V. There is nothing wrong with your coach in that regard. Your Refrig will need the 12V even to run on propane necause of the circuit board that contrils it.

[darsben1]

how do you know it has "all new tires"
There could be an inverter that needs to be turned on for tv to work without shore/genny power.
good post about the spark plug problem and fix at
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/929820-puking-up-spark-plugs-spark-plug-blowouts.html
if it the one in Sodus it looks nice

[tenbear]

I don't know about the V10 Ford or the value of the coach but the TV usually operates off 120vac. If you want to run it off the 12v, you will need an inverter.