Re: Miles on Diesel engine and running gear
Reply #33 –
I bought my Coach 1989 Grand Villa, 300 HP Cat, with 107200 miles on it, the hours are 2300 on the motor, For a
Diesel, Thats more or less, Just run in, Its nothing, out of the lifetime of the Diesel Motor and Gear Train,
Thats 4400 miles a year, So it hasnt been sitting around for too long, Fingers crossed,
Very low miles in 25 years, Means its been sitting for a long time, Inbuilt deteriation, surface Rust builds up, Start your motor and the rust chews out the seals, Permanent Caravan Park RV's, Dont buy one, It will give you grief,
Truck diesels here get well over a million miles before they are mechanically needing repair,
It is a Truck chassis and motor, Oshkosh came here originally as Garbage compactor Trucks, They Had to be reliable,
I now have 110,000 miles up on it, Very pleased with it all round, Finding spares for it, Hahahahaha, Yeah, Hahahaha
Its nearly all Ford Bits or very close,, You need a Mechanic with a Brain, That bit your holding in your hand from the Grand Villa, 
AHHH, Thats the same bit thats installed in a Volkswagon Kombi van, (Example only) But I think you get the Idea, Some thing else will fit it with the same part Number,
We have Decimal here, The Coach is all Imperial, We used to have Imperial, I grew up with it, Young salespeople
here, Think it is some Weird Yankee thread, Duhhhhhh, I always go for the old Blokes now, They do have some idea on Imperial threads,
When I started looking, 10 MPG on a 12 ton Truck, at 75 MPH, with a 300 HP Diesel Motor pushing it,
Your Dreaming, Hahahaahaha,
Around 4 MPG, you might be some where close, Diesels are noted for their Grunt, Not Economy,
But no, I am getting just over 14 MPG, At 100 KPH, (60 MPH) Thats our Maximum Speed limit for Heavy Trucks and Buses here, Coaches inclusive, Exceed it at your own Risk, Very Harsh Penaltys Apply, Including Seizure of your vehicle, You walk home, If you dont get jailed on the spot, Hoon Laws apply to all Vehicles, 45 Kays over any limit, Your vehicle is on a Tow Truck at your expense, Etc Etc,
But our Gallons are Bigger than yours, Hahahahahahaha, ( I couldnt resist that one,) So I go further, 3.8 litres US against 4.2 litres to a Gallon here, In OZ,
Economy is Excellent, My V8 GTS car only got 17 MPG, So there is no way I would complain about the Coachs Economy,
Change your way of thinking, What actually do you have in a Foretravel, Looking past the Glitz and Shiny Bits,
You have a very Heavy Duty Military Style Truck Chassis, Oshkosh, Virtually Indestructible, With a Solid Power Train to Drive it,
Parts are easy to fix and repair, interchangeable with other trucks, If you know what your looking for,
On top of that you have a Shed, A very Robust Body Shell that was built to last with Solid Timber thruout,
As long as I keep my roof sealed, No water ingress, My Grand Villa will still be cruising down the highways in 50 years time, Safely,
My motor Puffs a bit of white smoke, I think its just the injectors that need a clean, Its not enough for me to worry me,
There aren't many people likely to run up 500,000 Miles in a Foretravel, 50,000 Miles would be the average life time max on most individuals, For a Coach,
My motor came with some very Runny Thick Black Sludge that was at some time back in its dim dark past, Was OIL, I think, Hahahaha
My V8 300 HP CAT Diesel motor doesnt wind over when starting, It just starts instantly when the key is turned, I cant believe it starts like it does, Instantly, Nothing else I own does,
If its belching black smoke, Has Clunks, Bangs, squeelling, (not fan Belts) or other strange noises coming from the motor or gear train,
Walk away fast, Your looking at 20 Grand in repairs, And there are plenty of good Foretravels for sale out there, That dont require Repairs,
From my point of view, a 25 year old Coach needs at least 50,000 miles up on it to ensure all the internals of every thing has a bit of good wear and lubrication, Mechanically,
The Shed itself, well Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And how the PO treated and maintained it, And its obvious when you look at it,
A POS, is still a POS, And you cant hide it in a Foretravel, It stands out, Look at a couple of different ones, You can see the difference,
I drive up my drive a bit over idle, I can accelerate very easily, It will scorch away, My drive is 1 in 3 at the top, The Coach doesnt even know the hill is there, 450 feet of it,
I also heard some horror storys on the 3208 Motor, after getting onto the 3208 engine Forums, and reading extensively, They are exactly that, Horror storys, Nothing more than Storys, A few blew up, But every thing man made will break down eventually, A few down dont make them all faulty, Overall, They have a pretty good record for reliability,
My Two Cents worth, Hahahaha,
Topic: Miles on Diesel engine and running gear