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Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

January 16, 2015, 06:54:38 pm

We've all heard it over and over....buy one that's been well used rather than one that hasn't.  I'm truly curious about the basis for this statement other than the fact that it's been echoed far and wide.  How many people have actually bought a low mileage motorhome  and had it go to pot, attributed to inactivity? 

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #1 – January 16, 2015, 07:25:50 pm

I bought my 1st motorhome, a 1996 Fleetwood Jamboree, after it sat at a dealer lot as a repo.  I had to replace the boards for the refrigerator, hot water heater, A/C thermostat and a lot of other small electrical items due to lack of use (humid South Florida).  The chassis was fine.  The experience actually taught me a lot about the motorhome.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #2 – January 16, 2015, 07:51:21 pm

No, not go to pot, just seems like more maintenance in first year on furnace, refrig, and "stuff", so just don't pay a premium for low mileage

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #3 – January 16, 2015, 08:01:29 pm

Well, I haven't personally had this experience, but can share a story about a close friend.  He bought a brand new 2007 Winnebago Tour DP, and it currently has 7,500 miles on it. Yep, 7,500.  He parks it next to his house in Galveston, where it spent most of its life, with the exception of a few short trips.  Beautiful coach, two opposing full-wall slides, very nice.

Well, he's had to replace brakes, tires, other chassis problems, a sun-dried dash, had roof leaks that damaged interior panels, and other items that should have been detected with regular use.  I hate to think what kind of shape the generator is in, as it probably has less than 50 hrs on it. 

It may advertise like a cream puff, but I'd steer completely clear of it.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #4 – January 16, 2015, 08:06:12 pm

Good question Chuck.

Just wondering what quantifies Low Milage is and what quantifies Goes to Pot. 

Years old / total # of miles + ?

$$$ spent on repair / value of coach?

We purchased our coach that sat for a number of years and have invested a fair chunk of change in repairs/replacements/upgrades.  I do not know how long it was out of use before he got sick.  Near as I can tell based on his posts on this forum and repair bills, it sat for about 5/6 years.  The PO's wife did replace numerous hoses, belts and some other stuff before we purchased based on a PDI.  (That's another story.)

The only repair item that I would attribute to sitting would be the replacement of the Front main seal on the M11.  Everything else I would consider normal replacement/upgrade stuff.  That happens to all of our machines.

I would thank that many of you have replaced faucets, automatic transfer switches, inverter/converters, tires, windshield wipers, TVs, refers, water pumps, various hoses and belts, etc., etc. 

I would guess if we were to identify:  coach build year, total engine hours, total miles driven and the total amount of $$$ spent classified as:  must repair, replacement and upgrades we could produce a histogram that might be interesting and provide some objective evidence that may answer the above question.

We are still glad and consider ourselves fortunate that we found/own this coach and are proudly taking care of her the best we can.

 

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #5 – January 16, 2015, 09:02:30 pm

I believe there's such a thing as "well used"and "Ill used"

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #6 – January 16, 2015, 09:57:41 pm

Well said Richard.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #7 – January 16, 2015, 11:16:04 pm

We purchased  our 2004 in July 2013. It had 34,000 miles. It now has 45,000 miles. Because the coach did not have any maintenance history, we did have all fluids and filters changed and serviced the air dryer, refrigerator, etc.  At the time of purchase new tires and inverter/charger were replaced. About a month later we replaced the chassis batteries.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #8 – January 17, 2015, 08:39:11 am

About 15 months ago we purchased our 97 U320 with 9000 original miles. Inside the coach had not been used, (fridge still had original tape on shelves and tags on furniture). I was concerned about the Aquahot, but a call to Rudy put my mind at ease. This coach had been started and run about every 2 weeks, but only short runs. The coach had not been stored inside, so some issues on the exterior. On the way home from Tennessee, I met with James Stallings at a truck stop East of Dallas. He had done the full body paint 16 years earlier, he was very impressed with the exterior quality.

James will do some clear coat repair along with minor touch up on paint.

We have now driven over 5,000 miles . Of coarse we replaced the original tires and serviced engine before driving 1000 miles home. This has not been a disaster to stay away from, but rather a real find that rarely comes along. It helped a lot that it was exercised, and if it had been stored inside it would have been a real time capsule in almost new condition. All in all, this has been a positive experience.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #9 – January 17, 2015, 08:54:43 am

We purchased our 1989  Foretravel Grand Villa 36' four years ago last August. It had 63,000 miles on it and at one time had sat in storage for almost nine years. We are the fourth owner. First owner in California, second in Tennessee, third in Wyoming, and now us in Wisconsin.
The coach had been completely gone over before we got it, with all kinds of records and receipts  in three ring binders. New custom paint job, generator rebuilt, new refrigerator, new microwave, one new roof AC, engine completely serviced, new Kingdome satellite dish, two new LED TVs, and one radiator rebuild. Probably many other things I don't remember.
We had to replace the block heater circuit breaker ($5.65) and the outlet for it, the end of the block heater cord, two valve stems for the inside duals.
Originally we went looking for a camper and ended up with this Grand Villa for less than $20,000. Not a bad deal!! Been to Southern Texas three times with it and it performed like the quality coach it is.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #10 – January 17, 2015, 09:55:54 am

Okay, folks experiences are more closely in line with my own.  I bought my coach, sixteen years old, with 75K on it.  As others have said, new tires, batteries, and also a control board for the water heater were the only repairs (other than the body damage it had when I got it) necessary.  Now, at 130K, I recently had to replace the turbo due to blade erosion.  After doing it, a diesel mechanic friend looked at the old turbo and said "why did you replace this."  I noticed no difference with the new turbo which is kind of disappointing.

Bogeygolfer friends Winnebago is an exception with one big issue being stored outside in Galveston.  I think the climate where the coach is stored, if outside, is a strong consideration.  Those caliper slides won't take too many years of beach life.  The exposed relays and isolator will take a hit, and the hundreds of electrical connections under coach as well.  I do agree that well run and maintained coaches will probably hold fewer surprises for buyers, particularly if the previous owner followed the usual upgrade paths for installed equipment.  Scott makes a good point on this.  I do not subscribe to  the "don't start it unless you're going drive it enough to get it up to temp" school.  If this was true the diesel dually pickup I use as a daily driver in Port Aransas would not still be going strong at 200K miles.  More often than not, it is operated throughout the day and never hits operating temp.  The point of this is, I wonder if the rear main seal replacement that Scott had to do could have been avoided with a regular cranking regime.  That would keep the seal bathed in oil.

Great responses everyone, possibly a later model coach in my future and will be keeping an eye peeled for a luscious hangar queen. This is also a question that comes up regularly, so keep em coming, to benefit other prospective buyers.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #11 – January 17, 2015, 10:20:21 am

When I purchased my '02 in '13 it had 38000 miles on the odometer. At the time I did worry abourt it's apparant lack of use and how that would affect our planned future usage. I worried because I have always heard that it was best to run diesels and not let them sit.
After I added the VMSpc system I found out it had 128,000 actual miles. No mention of the mileage descrepancy from MOT at the time.

Just shows you never can tell what you are getting until you actually get it and personally check it out.

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #12 – January 17, 2015, 10:29:45 am

Bought our 2000 U295 C350 in Aug 2009 with 60k on it and since then the only item that was changed were 2 front tires as one had a chunk missing from edge. The coach batteries I changed when planning/doing the solar set up but old ones (gel) still good. Othet than a couple of very small items and complete oil change to Amsoil I have only had valves set. Lucky me!
The improvements have all been for our good and I have done them all myself-tiling floor, cabinet conversion/res fridge, LED lights inside  (exterior all done by PO)Resonator, charging system, solar panels etc etc.
So I guess this coach has not cost me anything and continues to run great. I realize I am lucky and now we have around 95k on it as we only go away in winter really.
I do know I will have to change rear Duals soon but they are in perfect condition but aged out at 9 yrs.
JohnH

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Re: Coach that sat vs coach that was driven like a rented mule?

Reply #13 – January 18, 2015, 12:23:56 am

Well I can give you the experience of buying one that sat.  1999 we bought it 1 year ago with only 41,000 miles.  Has like 56,000 miles now (we've been busy!).  Had 3(!) owners before us.  I've been told that this was a Foretravel show coach but I'm skeptical of that.  The most recent guy before me bought it, drove it across the country to Foretravel and spent a whooooole lot of money to have it renovated and painted.  Broke down a few times for various electrical problems, had window seal creep fixed, had aquahot fixed, and a bunch of other little things.  After that he only put a couple thousand miles on it and it sat for 3 years.  During that 3 years it had no oil or filter changes, maintenance was neglected.  He was a reactive guy who wasn't afraid to spend money but he didn't know what to spend the money on or when.  Cummins helped him out. 

When I got it we did all filter/fluid changes.  Engine coolant, transmission, fuel, oil, hydraulic, and same with the generator.  That was a $4K or so bill just for materials.  We put new tires on it, the old ones were aged out but the tire shop said they had many years of life left. 

Coach has been good.  We had a ruptured hydraulic hose in Iowa.  Both water pumps started leaking and we caught them and replaced them thanks to my daily leak inspections.  Several lock actuators have failed but I have 8 of them on the way so I'll have some spares.  Front water pump relay went, easy fix.  Aquahot fuel pump went, that was easy but expensive ($350).  The one freshwater tank leaks if you fill it too full so I never do.  Engine wise all is well, when we bought it wear levels of aluminum were too high due to all the cold starts but now everything is excellent.  I think any of the issues we've had anyone else could have as well.  The chassis a/c compressor was replaced before we bought it by the most hillbilly looking guy I have ever met.  And it has worked perfectly all year long so I can only assume he knew precisely what he was doing.

But I do feel like with how little miles we have we are avoiding other issues people are definitely having.  We haven't lost a fan motor yet, nor steering box.  We have not had to replace the fuel lines yet.  No heater hose leaks.  The coach is also very quiet and very fuel efficient since the suspension, engine, etc are not worn out and are just now broken in. 

Our toad was also a 2005 that we bought with 27,000 miles only 2 years ago.  That too has been a good experience.  Only problems it has had are again aged out tires and needed a driveshaft which is common on them.  I do think buying something that sat is a wise investment with the knowledge that things that age .. age.  Whether they are used or not.  A 50K coach  may break in certain ways like a 120K coach would.  More importantly many things will probably break immediately.  Beat it up while it's on the dealer lot

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