about to buy an '89 u280..

Topic: about to buy an '89 u280.. (Read 1810 times) previous topic - next topic

about to buy an '89 u280..

March 19, 2013, 12:49:43 am

I went up today and looked this rig over and have a few questions for the collective. I did some searches and came up emptyhanded. First off, I am simply amazed at the number of bells and whistles that *still work* after all these years and 160k miles, things that would have no chance at all of going 5 years on some other brand. Things like the power adjustable heated mirrors, the trash compactor, the 6way adjustable front seats, etc etc etc.... all I could find that wasn't working properly was the unplugged insta-hot and some interior lights. After dealing with a P30 chassis RV I just can't tell you how astonishing that is... It's been upgraded in places as well. 200 watts of solarpanels, awnings on all windows and they look brand new, the main awning is a pushbutton affair, and there seems to be some manner of possible satellite TV. I didn't verify operation on it though, not enough time. Battery bank is 3 very nice new 8D's. Is one of these an engine battery and the rest house batteries, or is there an engine battery elsewhere that I didn't find?
It drove well, a little harsher than expected but the previous owner is a truck driver and this rig has Goodyear semitruck tires. This doesn't bother me. I prefer stronger sidewalls over a cushier ride. The trans (original allsion 4speed I'm certain)seemed ham-fisted though. Any time I lifted off the throtte, it felt like it wanted to downshift. I think all I was feeling was the tq converter unlocking. Trans fluid looked and smelled perfectly normal though. Is a small amount of lurch, and perhaps a slow feeling up or downshift normal?
There is a tiny amount of bulkhead Rolok issue. Half a day with some new hardware and a wirebrush and some POR 15 will take care of it. The 2 things that bother me are the small leaks in the very back upper corners in the bedroom. They look like they haven't been leaking for very long, and I couldn't help but notice a lens missing from one of the 4 marker lamps above the backup camera. I suspect a new lens, remove and re-silicone those 4 lamps and reinstall will solve that issue, but is there anywhere else I should suspect?
The headliner in the salon has sort of come adrift and is sagging down an inch or two. Since there is a center cap strip, I assume all I need to do is remove that, get new adhesive (open to suggestions) and start from the walls to the center and reinstall the cap strip. What I want to know is, is this all there should be to that job or is there a hidden gremlin I don't know about, and is this not all that uncommon, or is it indicative of some major hidden roof leak? Everything certainly felt as solid as everywhere else when I pushed up on the ceiling, everywhere I could.
There is a 1' by maybe 2' area of outer panel on the driver side about at the halfway point that has come a bit loose from the substrate. You can only see it by sighting down the side. I couldn't find any evidence of leaks above or below that area. After 20+ years I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, but want to hear if any delam at all means water got in and I should run away. Otherwise, the sides and caps are straight as an arrow. Heck the outside decals don't show any damage except on the nose.
I told the seller I'd let him know tomorrow evening. Any and all help much appreciated. -- Jay

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #1 – March 19, 2013, 01:15:25 am

Quote from: twobus – March 19, 2013, 12:49:43 am

The headliner in the salon has sort of come adrift and is sagging down an inch or two. Since there is a center cap strip, I assume all I need to do is remove that, get new adhesive (open to suggestions) and start from the walls to the center and reinstall the cap strip. What I want to know is, is this all there should be to that job or is there a hidden gremlin I don't know about, and is this not all that uncommon, or is it indicative of some major hidden roof leak? Everything certainly felt as solid as everywhere else when I pushed up on the ceiling, everywhere I could.
There is a 1' by maybe 2' area of outer panel on the driver side about at the halfway point that has come a bit loose from the substrate. You can only see it by sighting down the side. I couldn't find any evidence of leaks above or below that area. After 20+ years I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, but want to hear if any delam at all means water got in and I should run away. Otherwise, the sides and caps are straight as an arrow. Heck the outside decals don't show any damage except on the nose.
I told the seller I'd let him know tomorrow evening. Any and all help much appreciated. -- Jay

You can start here.
RV Ceiling Repair

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #2 – March 19, 2013, 01:44:14 am

I've been living full time in a 89 U300 for about a year and a half. I wouldn't trade it for a 10 year newer model of any other make. Great coaches! Simple as that.. Along as you understand the bulkhead issue I would almost guarantee you won't be sorry. I know it's sounds like a cliche but it's true that they really don't make them like this any more.

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #3 – March 19, 2013, 01:57:44 am

Jay,

I can answer some of your questions: Regarding the batteries: If they were in a fiberglass compartment on the driver's side, they are probably arranged similar to what I have in my '92 U-280. The left battery (not connected in parallel with another) would be the chassis (engine starting) battery. The middle and right battery should be wired in parallel, i.e., negative of each connected together and positives together; then, negative of one and positive of other battery will have large cables exiting the compartment to supply the 12V needs (lights, fans, furnace blowers, etc.) of the coach.

The transmission is probably an MT 643 or MT 647, depending on the engine size. Downshifting from 4th to 3rd shouldn't be drastic, but 3rd to 2nd is more noticeable. Both are pretty much bullet proof. My 280 has the 647.

My coach had a couple areas of delamination at 11 years of age. FT injected fresh adhesive and compressed the outer skin with 2X4's for 2-3 days. That was 10 years ago and side walls are still fine. There was no noticeable roof leaks. Sometimes it's just an insufficient amount of glue used during manufacture; sometimes delamination occurs adjacent to the washer/drier pipe that passes along the inside of a wall before it vents out.

Our compactor and U-Line icemaker still work fine after 21 years, as do the electric seats, heated mirrors, and the Sharp microwave. It's a Foretravel; that's why 15-20 year old coaches are still in demand.

How old are the tires? If not more than 5-6 years, they may still have some service in them, though they should be examined carefully for sidewall checking..

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #4 – March 19, 2013, 02:09:15 am

Thanks for the info. Trying to get an idea of how old the tires are but they look fine, good tread and no sidewall checks. Trans is 643 according to the spec page, and yes the batteries were uinder a vented glass tray. Very nice. Engine is a cat 3208T, looking into adding an intercooler. It may have a small air-to-water setup but if so there is room for improvement and I'm all for lowering intake and thus exhaust temps. Continuing the study! Off to that roof repair link...

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #5 – March 19, 2013, 05:09:49 am

Jay,

I had an 89, Oshkosh rear engine 460 Ford gasser, 36 foot. Not enough power for the weight, blew up the engine trying to go 70 - 75 on the freeway (for long periods) in a coach was underpowered.

Had the Allison, but can't comment, don't recall it that well. Others on the forum ma chime in, or search on the forum using the cool search funtion. THere may be another dedicated forum for Allison elsewhere as well.

My headliner was vinyl, joined in the middle with a joiner strip down the middle. Came to the coach one day, and the entire headliner had sagged down (except the bedroom) the length of the coach. Again, search the forum for old posts off the yahoo board before we were foreforum, but this is a pretty common occurrence that usually will not include anything more than failure of the adhesive holding the foam to the ceiling. As I recall, the headliner is glued to foam, which is in turn glued to the ceiling. Either the foam disintegrates over time, or the adhesive fails between the foam and the ceiling, or both. Probably (and I say probably, so check it out careful) not a leak or delamination, since this condition was common to many of these coaches.

The prior posts have a lot of info on how to fix. Probably costly if you pay to have it done, a big messy job, but not out of the realm of possible if you are handy and have a helper.

What engine is in the coach? As nice as these are, not much of a market for them, so I suspect the price will be very right, especially with the headliner issue.

Good luck!

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #6 – March 19, 2013, 05:11:50 am

Barry, you are amazing.....

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #7 – March 19, 2013, 09:27:54 am

Our '89 has the vinyl ceiling also. It was hanging down. I removed the center strip, removed all the staples down the center, pulled the vinyl from each side toward the center, restapled down the center (keep the staples close to center or they will show after you replace the center strip) and bought a bunch of the snap-on buttons from FOT to match the existing ones. I put one row down each side of the center strip, halfway to the cabinets. I then took the center strip apart, scrapped off the sticky, tacky old foam and glue, reglued 1/2" thick foam--1" wider than the luan board, and then restapled the vinyl. Make doubly darn sure you line the holes in the vinyl with the holes in the luan. It is a lot easier to replace the center strip if holes are in line. The vinyl ceiling mat'l has remained tight now for three years.
Apparently the mat'l has finished stretching after all these years.

The old foam/glue is quite sticky and likes to get on everything so put a floor covering down.

One other thing I did was run a new rear camera wire down the center that is now hidden by the center strip. A lot easier than trying to fish it thru the old route.

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #8 – March 19, 2013, 10:58:19 am

Jay,
It sounds like everyone addressed all the issues you brought up except for the water leak(s) in the bedroom. On my '91 I had a leak appear inside the driver side rear cabinet(right in very corner of coach). I suspected the trim pieces for the rear cap. I removed, cleaned and reinstalled them and noticed some screws had some rust on them. This fixed the leak and I suspect it was actually the screws that created the leak path since the cap was still holding a good bond the roof and sidewalls. If you do buy this coach and make this repair, make sure the screws are well bedded with silicone. Other possibilities are the screws for the roof rack or radio antenna (if it has one in the bedroom). If you haven't already, take a look at the roof. I've had to do several repairs where cracks have appeared in the gelcoat - not a big deal if water hasn't penetrated through to the the layer of plywood underneath and delaminated the fiberglass. I doubt that is the cause of the bedroom leaks.
The factory battery set up on my coach was 3 8D's in a fiberglass enclosure with the right one being the chassis battery. This is in the compartment in front of rear wheels, driverside. I've since removed the enclosure and put in 3 AGMs for the house and made a rack behind the rearwheels on the passengers side for two smaller batteries for the chassis that have more CCA that the original 8D.
Good luck and hope it works out for you.

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #9 – March 19, 2013, 11:37:43 am

Jay, If the price is right go for it. I had an 85 ORED with the 3208T and I loved it. Almost bullet proof. Previous owner had a leak at the fuel injection pump but other then that no problems. One aggravation was a rear radiator and nine belts, one of which was prone to squealing, but you can get used to anything. Good luck.
Gary B

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #10 – March 19, 2013, 12:44:55 pm

yeah, loved my 89 OREG, hated it was a 460 ford, and rear radiator...would have kept it and converted it to a powerstroke diesel or another diesel if I was more mechanically inclined. Classy coach

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #11 – March 19, 2013, 09:14:46 pm

If you do buy this coach and have trouble with squealing belts send me a pm and I will give you some information on tightening the belts. I made a special tool as I have changed many sets of belts on 3208 engines on foretravel coaches. My phone is 813-215-3463

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #12 – March 20, 2013, 12:26:12 am

Many thanks. This forum is part of the equation for deciding to pull the trigger on this deal. i don't know yet what I'll be able to do to add to the knowledge base but I'll give it me best shot...

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #13 – March 20, 2013, 12:33:02 am

I missed it if it was noted, do check the date of the tires. I am pretty much of the opinion if they are older than 6 years old, even if no cracking and good tread thickness....time for new tires. The rubber just doesn't last and is not safe. Sounds like a pretty good one to me.

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #14 – March 20, 2013, 08:01:32 am

Quote from: red tractor – March 19, 2013, 09:14:46 pm

If you do buy this coach and have trouble with squealing belts send me a pm and I will give you some information on tightening the belts. I made a special tool as I have changed many sets of belts on 3208 engines on foretravel coaches. My phone is 813-215-3463

I would appreciate you putting it up on here, Then we can all gain some knowledge, As I have a squealing belt, and a 3208 engine,

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #15 – March 20, 2013, 12:22:59 pm

To determine tire age you should read the date code on the sidewall. Here is a site that explains it in detail.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

Keith

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #16 – March 20, 2013, 09:59:51 pm

Usually the offending belts are the pair that go from the crankshaft over an idler pully to the waterpump. this set of belts then are driving the waterpump, the altenator, and the air compressor. I made a tool from a 1/2 inch bolt and nut then by puttong a 3/4 inch socket on the head of the bolt and placing the nut on the bolt and running it down the threads of the bolt, then slipping a 1/2 inch socket over the bolt with the open , or end that would go over a nut away from the nut. Place the assembly between the crank pulley and the idler pulley loosen the adjustment bolts and then turn the nut on the bolt to make the socket push the two pulleys apart and then tighten the adjuster bolts. This pair of belts must be very tight to keep from squealing when the altenator and air compressor are both working hard. I hope that you can make sense of my directions, but it worked very well for me. I got it down to less than 2 hours to change all belts on the 3208 in the foretravels

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #17 – March 22, 2013, 09:42:24 am

Thanks for that, because it looks like I'll be needing to use those directions. There is a bit of belt squeal for the first few minutes when it's cold. I must be crazy. There's this huge bus in my driveway...

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #18 – March 22, 2013, 11:21:21 am

Quote from: twobus – March 22, 2013, 09:42:24 am

There's this huge bus in my driveway...

Yeah...Ain't it great?

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #19 – March 22, 2013, 02:06:22 pm

That is a great problem to have.

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #20 – March 22, 2013, 03:53:35 pm

I assume that that bus in your drive way is an 89 U280, If so congrats, welcome to the forum.

Gary B

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #21 – March 22, 2013, 07:50:06 pm

Why yes it is! I'll be calling the factory and joining the club and all, and maybe put some photos up in a newbieowner thread.

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #22 – April 01, 2013, 01:43:24 am

I have this huge Bus in my front yard, 89 Grand Villa, Its been there a week or so,

There is a few things not working, lights mainly, The transformer I had installed in the USA for 240 volts has cooked itself,

But for a 25 year old Bus, This thing is unbloodybelievable, excuse the French, Actually its an Aussie word, Very common here,

Congrats on your purchase,

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #23 – April 01, 2013, 05:21:11 pm

Having a huge bus in your driveway is the BEST kind of crazy!!!

Re: about to buy an '89 u280..

Reply #24 – April 01, 2013, 07:14:01 pm

Brian, Why 240 Volts ? Is that standard down under ? If you need 240 would it not be better to have the generator modified instead of using a transformer? I don't know that much about AC current but I will bet that it can be done. Good luck.
Gary B

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