2011 Coach that sat since 2014

April 22, 2021, 08:53:53 pm

Everyone knows you should expect some problems if a coach has been sitting a while. We bought a 2011 42ft Nimbus last November that had been sitting since 2014. We've owned it 5 months & put about 2000 miles on it. Everyone's situation is different but I thought I would share this particular data point in case someone else is thinking about buying a coach thats been sitting.

If has Silverleaf & the trip log has some good info. It was used 2-3000 miles / year from 2011 to 2014. From 2014 to current, it wasn't driven more than 50 miles/yr until it was driven to MOT for sale in 2020. The last documented service on the engine (Cummins) was in 2014. The coach had a little more than 9000 miles on it when we bought it.

It was stored in an "environmentally controlled facility". The paint on it looks brand new & especially the roof - its obvious it was stored inside.

Before we bought it:

Water pump had to be replaced - housing busted (must have seen some freezing in its environmentally controlled facility).
Residential fridge water housing cracked - same
Fuel gauge had to be replaced - wasn't reading correctly.
Adjust all the blinds - battery must have run down because the motorized shades had "forgotten" their settings.
Replaced all tires - although they looked good, they were 10 yrs old and had been sitting for 7 years.

After we bought it:

Two air bags needed to be replaced.
Engine & gen service at Cummins - no issues
Seal around engine oil dip stick needs a new gasket.
Diesel tank has algae ... Cummins advised that I should treat with biocide additives for some time. This is to be expected for a coach that sat idle a long time.
Transmission - serviced - no issues
Hydraulic leak on one slide, minor fix/adjustment
Black water electric valve had to be replaced - stuck (this is a combined grey/black tank, so really only one valve).
Water fill valve had to be replaced - solenoid failed.
Random low oil pressure codes on engine. Pull over, shut down ... seems to reset. Happened once in heavy rain and twice in good weather. Cummins troubleshot it ... replaced the pressure sensor and cleaned the pressure relief valve.
Replaced cooling fan in the electric bay - bearings were about to go out.
Wipers had intermittent problems. Hi/Lo wouldn't work. Intermittent wipers sometimes wouldn't turn on or shut off. Turned out to be a loose connection in the steering column.

Ongoing issues:

Rear/Side cameras - occasionally gets "stuck" on right or left side & won't revert to rear view. Have to shut engine down to get it to reset. Likely a Silverleaf problem but MOT couldn't fix it. My wife no longer gets video to her monitor. This is probably a loose connection but I haven't found it yet.

The light controls & water pump controls on the inside don't always work the way they should. Intermittent issues - we've had lights that wouldn't turn off and a water pump that wouldn't turn on. I need to pull the control panel covers and clean contacts.

One time cooling fluid leak. Was running engine preheat with Oasis & noticed some red coolant under the radiator during a trip back to MOT. Happened one time & although I was seriously worried, MOT and Cummins couldn't get it to repeat.

So far ... I'm pretty happy with it. The wife is overjoyed. Our previous coach wasn't that old - a 2009, but it was well used with about 90,000 miles when we bought it. It required normal maintenance - something is always happening - but no big issues. The only reason we changed was for more space. We're about to leave on a 5-6000 mile trip through the Rockies this summer. It should provide a really good shakedown.

Re: 2011 Coach that sat since 2014

Reply #1 – April 22, 2021, 10:32:12 pm

Dave,

Thanks for the detailed write-up. It is informative and may help other new owners or prospective buyers.

Richard

Re: 2011 Coach that sat since 2014

Reply #2 – April 22, 2021, 11:15:42 pm

What a beautiful coach. I am willing to bet most of the intermittent problems will correct themselves.

I remember my dad when I was a teenager and had various car problems. He was in the car repair business and always said "it just needs driven."

Re: 2011 Coach that sat since 2014

Reply #3 – April 23, 2021, 09:03:29 am

A friend of mine that had traded in his lightly used (3,000 or less), garage kept, coach for a new one at FOT. David (now MOT) had told me that they had to rent the coach for a year before they could sell it. Everyone that looked at it said something must have been wrong with it to have so few miles on it and buyers were looking for coaches with more miles on it then that one.

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