When the door on my office closes for the last time the FT will be loaded and ready to leave. Maybe for 6 months...a year...or who knows how long. I've always believed in preventive maintenance while recognizing that "stuff happens"....so I like to eliminate as much "stuff" as possible.
So let's assume we found our perfect 1995-2005 FT with, let's say, 100,000 miles. While I recognize the seller.....maybe even on of you "guys or gals"...may have kept perfect records let's assume for this exercise that we bought from an estate where the heirs can't find those perfect records. The coach looks immaculate but I want to make sure we can take off in it after eliminating much of the "big stuff".
So, what would a good ballpark cost be for replacing/servicing the following items. Please add any items/costs that I've missed and specify anything that would be smart to upgrade on the items listed. Thanks in advance for your help.
1. Tires (assume no tag)
2. Brakes
3. Airbag replacement
4. Complete engine fluids and filters
5. Complete engine belts, tensioners and hoses
6. Complete tranny fluids, filters and hoses
7. Complete air filters and related "breather" components
8. Complete generator service
9. Complete slide maintenance
10. Complete Aqua Hot service
11. Replace house batteries
12. Replace engine batteries
13. Replace inverter
OK...so if that's not enough, what's a good ballpark for:
1. Replace awning (assume mechanical on this age coach)
2. Replace window awnings
Did I miss anything important?
Randy in Florida
Randy,
Do you plan on doing the work your self or hiring it done as labor could out cost the price of parts on your list.
Pamela & Mike
Randy,
Depending what you buy, you will never need to do. Some of this and the rest can be done over time. I did all the stuff to my coach over seven years not seven weeks or months and it's pretty well done but there's always something.
Suggest you budget about 10 to 15,000 in the first year for maintenance.
1995 to 1998 no slides.
Tires range from mid $300's to over $600
I purchased 8 air bags for around $1,100 labor would be about the same.
engine filters and fluids vary by engine and where serviced hard to ballpark
engine belts and hoses on all, tensioners only on certain engines. Do you want to include the fuel lines as part of the hoses? If so add around $1,000 labor and $800 parts.
Transynd @ $45.00 gal approx. 10 Gal Filters around $80.00 pair. labor? no hoses need servicing
Air filter varies big time by engine type.
I'll skip 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 for someone else
Inverter replaced only if failed not preventive maintenance
You would want to include the air drier though.
Service all systems belts water pump theromostat belt idlers. Check tires for date and condition if they are no more than 4 years old and good shape run a few more years. Check the age of the batterys condition of cables as long as they are good and no more than 2 years old run them. Service the chassis, and brakes. My coach is a 1999 and still running the original hoses,AC's, refrigerator, inverter microwave/ convectionstarting batterys are 5 years old.
In short these coaches are very durable they are very reliable. We full time in ours, we just take things as they come. Weather you have a new or used coach the grimlins will be around.
Randy
Since you are looking for a coach in the relatively near future - probably should let us know what years or price range are. Slide(s) or no slide? Length? how will it be used? How many people? Full time? Driving a lot or sitting a lot? Boondocking?
Not sure what your needs are, but your list of questions suggested to me a bit of concern about the reliability and cost to maintain these fine machines.
One member on the forum is selling his 2001 U-320 36" single slide coach at Motorhomes of Texas. It is as close to mechanically perfect as they come, has had a slew of upgrades and recent extensive maintenance, almost all of it not required, but the owner is sort of a self described "gear head"
Here is a link to the coach
2001 Foretravel U320 36 Priced at $ 109500 (http://motorhomesoftexas.com/coachrv/foretravel/2001--u320--36--C1885)
The owner is Dave Metzger, if you search the forum for his plots you will see he has done HUGE amount of upgrades and maintenance. The upholstery and tile shows some age and you might want to update the interior, but a LOT of stuff like airbags, tires, fuel lines, batteries, residential refrigerator and a host of other things done. The buyer of this coach will get all those maintenance items for next to nothing.
You can also PM Dave if you have any questions.
Not related to Dave, and have no interest in the sale of his coach, but I was just in NAC this week getting fuel lines and other stuff done, and your post made me think of this coach.
Randy, say you buy a 2001 U320 without a tag, average miles, maybe 110,000. Well maintained and from an owner who cares about it...
Like Tim said, maybe none of this and probably not all at once. A U295 or a U270 will have different needs.
1. Tires (assume no tag). Michelins, $4500, others as low as $3200 perhaps. If they are old the price should reflect that
2. Brakes, no idea, I haven't done them yet, basic service is not much
3. Airbag replacement by someone else, low $2000's
4. Complete engine fluids and filters, $250-$400
5. Complete engine belts, tensioners and hoses, belts for mine (2) $35
6. Complete tranny fluids, filters and hoses, transsynd, just over $400
7. Complete air filters and related "breather" components, great air filters are less than $100
8. Complete generator service, do it yourself for less than $150
9. Complete slide maintenance, basic leak check at HWH, about $60. Bladder replacement > $2K, electronics and valves, few hundred to $2K
10. Complete Aqua Hot service. Annual by a pro, just over $200
11. Replace house batteries, $450-700 each.
12. Replace engine batteries, Optimas are about $175 each, maybe more. Other brands can be less.
13. Replace inverter, if it isn't broken, don't. Otherwise about $3K. Big range here based on brand
Some coaches, same year, same miles will need more sooner. Average temp and humidity where they live, stored inside or outside and many other things seem to influence when these things need to be done.
I was going to suggest Dave M's coach as well. It needs some interior cosmetic stuff, not much more than most its age, a few other things too, but all of the mechanical and time and miles stuff is done.
If you are going to FullTime then many choose a 40' or 42' ... you have to watch tow capacity in the '95-'98 range, it changes. With no tag, you have to watch axle loads. With a tag look for a 42' to end up with about the same basement space as a 36' with no tag
I'm a Certified Financial Planner....not handy in the maintenance sense....other than cleaning and polishing. Thus the questions about professional maintenance and paying for quality work. So I'm looking for a "worst case" scenario rather than the % of purchase price rules of thumb I've seen. As we get closer I really understand about buying from someone who'd be selling something in the condition I've turned over our previous Rv's to.
The coach will determine a lot of this. For instance I have done everything and more on the list in the last couple years. Fluids are an every year thing to multiple times a year depending on use, with the exception of the transmission. Simply put, budget about 6k year and it will cover everything. Some years more and some years less. Tires for me with tag are 6500, two oil changes a year for me too but tires last seven years. Batteries about six years and the fuel lines 15 years as well as airbags. I find reminds throw the cost way way higher but those are optional.
We had Foretravel service our coach in March. Total cost for replacing all oil, transmission fluid, all filters, lube, etc. was just over $1500.
We put on four new tires when we bought the coach for about $2500 using the Michelin discount program. Two new 8D batteries cost about $900 installed. Our original awnings are fine. I replaced the inverter and converters/chargers but don't remember what it cost. We haven't replaced the airbags - yet.
$10-15,000 for initial repairs/upgrades is a pretty good figure. You are better off buying a coach that needs little repair work, even if it costs a bit more, than buying one that needs the work and is listed for less. The reason is that the seller won't get back what he spent on the new tires, batteries, etc., so buying the coach that needs some work and doing the work is likely to cost you more in the long run than buying the one that has new tires, batteries, etc.
I bought a 1995 320 and have spent about 20,000 including paint. One thing to do imho, is to flush out the aqua hot if you have it. This might even save the unit from being damaged beyond repair. Some mild solution to break up the calcium that builds up in the coils seems important to me, as this process saved my aqua hot!
Depending on year and condition add in Koni Shocks. 1,400.
+1. I know Brett had KONI design some no BS shocks we're riding on. Can you say "smooooth" ? ^.^d