Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa (Read 2764 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #50 –
Al, I did see that one in Arlington.  It looks to be in pretty good shape as well.

Thanks
Rory
Looking
USMC Retired
Austin, TX

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #51 –
I noticed some owners mentioned that they don't like aqua hot.  What are some advantages/disadvantages of aqua hot?
Rory
Looking
USMC Retired
Austin, TX

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #52 –
For me it is the yearly service costs and the future repair costs to pay for.  Those with the units love them when they work, and they do so much so well.  But as I understand they are complex, with all they need to do. 

We have a small leak in our water heater.  I can get a new one for around $600 for the 3 way replacement model.  I can change it out without too much trouble.  If it were the Aqua Hot, I would need to switch off the unit, and not have coach heat, or engine pre-heat, or hot water.  As I have read, a leaking Aqua Hot rebuilt unit is $7,000 plus labor.

Yes I have two noisy gas furnaces to listen to, as well as a noisy gas water heater if we are not plugged into an electric source for heat.
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #53 –
Ditto what Dave Cobb said.

We also have two noisy propane furnaces. Two can be a good number if one of the two should happen to fail. It has happened to us.

My plan was to buy a FT with Aqua-Hot. We do some traveling in cold weather. We got one without AH. Propane furnaces have worked well even in temperatures around 0F. One failure was due to dauber nests on the flame grid. Have had no problems since I installed insect screens.

Wife prefers two noisy furnaces after hearing a couple of Aqua-Hot repair stories. Folks with Aqua-Hot mostly say they would prefer to deal with AH issues rather than go back to propane furnaces. Establish your budget and make your choices.
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #54 –
Much less temperature swings with the aqua hot.  Versus too hot then too cold. 
Plus the three zone with the bath having its own control there and the heated tank bay.

Plus it does have continious hot water output.  Reduced flow to do it as I understand. 

Quieter for sure. 

For backup we have heat strips not heat pumps which works at low temps the pumps won't put out heat at.

Bob
"Riding and rejoicing"
Bob
1997 U320 40' Mid entry, build 5132,  wtbi ce27, 4th owner
2007 Solara convertible
2 prodeco tech outlaw ss electric bikes

1095 watts solar
08 Ls 460 and a sc430
2000 Ford F-250 superduty 4x4

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #55 –
Quote from: fkjohns6083 –
We have a 91 GV with the 300 horse Cat engine.  Would like to know the negative factors with that engine.  It is also a side mounted radiator with a hydraulic fan motor driven by the steering hydraulics.  I'm having trouble thinking of any problem with the engine or cooling arrangement  ----  Am I missing something??  Thanks and have a great day  ----  Fritz

I have a 89 GV the same as yours, 3208T  300HP Cat, 
Negative Factors, I heard all sorts, They spin out big ends at 25,000 miles, Need rebuilding at 80,000 miles, Throw away engine, Etc Etc,
So I got onto the Caterpillar Engine Forums to check it out, A lot of it was just personal opinions, Pure Bunk,
But these motors are doing an excellent job in fishing trawlers, You dont put crap motors in fishing trawlers, Your life depends on it,
So I think we have a very good motor in the 300 HP Cat, I also have the 4 speed Allison,

After 1200 miles, I have found my Motor to be very good in pushing the weight of my GV, It never struggles, 2nd gear coming down hills, holds it there, Nothing gets hot, Or excited,

Clicks into top gear at around 130 Kays, and then it gets up and Tangoes, Quite surprising the grunt its got in top gear,
Cheers,
Brian,

Toys, 1989 Grand Villa, 36 foot, ORED with 300 Hp Cat. 2002 Gemini 34 foot Sailing Catamaran, 2006 Honda Super Blackbird 1100XX, 2002 ZR7 750 Kawasaki,
25 HP Chinese tractor and Backhoe,

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #56 –
Maintenance costs higher.

Quieter than propane furnace - a lot!! Runs on diesel, no worries running out of propane during extended stats Two or three zones of heat in coach Endless hot water vs 6/10 gal. With typical attwood propane HWH.
Tim Fiedler    2025 LTV Unity MBL on Order
2000 Chevy Tracker 2 Door Convertible 4WD Now lifted 4.5"
1985 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston
Murphy Rebel on wheels with 175HP Titan
Cessna P337
1980 48' Westport MY (!/4 Share)

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #57 –
Had propane in first two FT, aqua hot for last five years

Never go back.catastrophic repairs rare and generally result of misuse
Tim Fiedler    2025 LTV Unity MBL on Order
2000 Chevy Tracker 2 Door Convertible 4WD Now lifted 4.5"
1985 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston
Murphy Rebel on wheels with 175HP Titan
Cessna P337
1980 48' Westport MY (!/4 Share)

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #58 –
If you live back east, you are probably familiar with diesel home heating. Works well but diesel burners need maintenance much more frequently than propane or natural gas heaters doing exactly the same job. Too bad the AquaHot was not propane fired as it would be a lot more reliable. We added an unvented propane heater just to make sure in case of any failures to our OEM heaters.

Propane is not nearly as efficient BTU wise but at $1.20/gallon (our association) vs around $4.00/gallon, propane wins big time for cost.

Toyo make a great direct vent diesel heater that we use at home. Check the OM-22 as a possible heater for your coach. Will probably add it to ours next year if budget allows. Small footprint, no flue, no clearance problems, no fumes and Toyota/Honda reliability. Exhaust goes out the same small tube the burner air comes in. Heats our whole house with 0.07 gallons/hour on low, 0.12 gallons on medium and 0.17 on high. Not cheap at about $1000 but has had zero problems in over ten years we have owned it. About the same noise level on high but very quiet on low setting. Uses 46 watts after start up. Toyotomi U.S.A. - Direct Vent Oil Heating System - OM-22 Oil Miser  This is the only direct vent diesel heater sold in the U.S.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #59 –
Regular maintenance for an A-H is only $25 for filter and nozzle.  You do need to run it once a month let the generator or incur increases maintenance costs.  If you winterize correctly, internal(expensive) leaks are very rare.  If you try to get by by just blowing out the water system, the results are catastrophic.
Regards,
Brett

'99 42' Foretravel Xtreme
'14 Brown Motorsports Stacker
'05 Chevy SSR
'02 BMW R1150R

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #60 –
Hi Rory,

You don't mention your budget or intended use (at least in this post)  weekend trips?  full time?  see the country? .  Could have impact on advice here.

I have an 89 U280 with Cat 3208 Allison 4 spd. 40' & propane 6.3 kw generator-all the undesirables ;)  Do most of the basic maintaince myself (with help from here) and haven't found the rear radiator to be an issue-but have noticed the tight fit adding coolant that was previously mentioned.  Have not had any issues with motor or drive train in the 7000 miles I've put on it in 15 months.  Purrs like a kitten (no pun intended).  Have been around the 3208 in agriculture applications and it was a good engine.  3rd owner. Spent about $6000 so far on repairs/upgrades like power converter, coach batteries, tires, bulkhead repair, curtains.  Need to do upholstry, TV's, maybe Refrig, one air on the weak side....next year or two.

You mention you're looking at 40' because of the kids.  I have 4 kids (one Wife)  and the extra 4' doesn't help much as it's extra closet and storage cabinet in mine, 36' would definite fit a lot more places.  Mid entry definitely a plus with the kids.  102" width would be more of a plus for the family in my opinion than the extra 4'.

Always would be nice to have 150hp more, 6 spd, retarder/or jake but not deal breakers.  Had a slide on previous 5th wheel and while the space was nice, there was more upkeep, leaks, etc. so we specifically looked for the non slide GV. 

Good luck and keep us posted!
Dan 1989 U280 40'

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #61 –
Dan,

  Initially, I started out looking at FT priced around 60-70K.  As I stated before, I wasn't crazy about the GV body style, so I didn't pay much attention to them.  After being on this forum and doing a lot of research and seeing the GVs on different posts they kind of grew on me. Specifically, the 1988 GV that Rob had for sale on this forum.  He sold it for 15K.  I began to think that I would probably be better off getting something cheaper as this would be our first MH.  Then, we could see how much we will use it what we use it for, what we like and don't like and then eventually if we wanted, we could upgrade to a newer, more expensive coach.  We are in our mid 40s so we are still working.  We will use it mostly for weekend camping trips in and around Texas.  We live in Austin.  However, I am from Louisiana and Mississippi and Renee is from Wisconsin, so probably at least one trip to each location per year.  Then, we will probably take at least a week long trip somewhere during the summers.  Having said all of that, I would like to spend less than 30K if possible.  I may spend more if I find the perfect FT.  I will tow a 2012 Jeep Wrangler that probably weighs @4500lbs.  I will also occasionally tow our boat 19' Champion Fish & Ski.  I do plan on purchasing (eventually) a stacker trailer so I can tow both at the same time.  I know that will put me at @10,000lbs total.  I know the GV are not rated to tow that.  I think that the majority of the time though, would just be the Jeep in  tow. 
There are 3 FT that I have found that I think are all good coaches.  I will list them and you can all feel free to give me your input on them.  The first is a 95 U295 listed here in the classifieds by Kerry.  The second is a 93 GV U280 SE listed here by John.  And the third is a 94 GV U300 on RVT.  The first two have the 8.3 300hp cummins and the latter has the dda silver 6v92ta ddec 350hp.  They all seem to be very well maintained and I have received great feedback on all of them.  The good news is they are all in Texas.  The bad news is, I'm in Afghanistan.  I will not be home until the 3rd week of November, so the only thing that I have to go by is pictures and input from everyone here on the forum.  It is quite possible that all 3 of these could be sold before I get home.  Oh, BTW, these are all 40' coaches.  Sorry about writing a book, but you did ask. ;D
Rory
Looking
USMC Retired
Austin, TX
 

Re: To Grand Villa or not to Grand Villa

Reply #62 –
Hi Rory,

Im in Australia and I bought my 36 foot 89 ORED Grand Villa from Texas USA, Sight Unseen, Bought on Google,

I was not dissapointed with it, It needed air bags and Shockers, and a couple of Uni's and a new right hand windscreen,
Not bad for 108,000 miles, and 24 years old,  $15,000-00 I paid for the Coach,

Most are highly maintained, So your expenses would be Minimal, $10,000-00 At most, to have the palace restored inside,
Cheers,
Brian,

Toys, 1989 Grand Villa, 36 foot, ORED with 300 Hp Cat. 2002 Gemini 34 foot Sailing Catamaran, 2006 Honda Super Blackbird 1100XX, 2002 ZR7 750 Kawasaki,
25 HP Chinese tractor and Backhoe,