Buying a used Class A motor home with diesel engine

[Tinstafl]

If I was looking at that vintage, I would look at Prevost conversions from Liberty or a Newell or a Foretravel. I have owned three Foretravels and have put on well over 350k mikes on them. My current coach is an 01 with 182k on it. Runs great and you would never know. As to financing a mid 90s is between 30-50k, not much more then a new pickup and less then some.

 

[Steve102C3]

I've owned a gas class A and 2 diesel pushers, each with a 5.9L Cummins.

The last one was 34' long and light in the front, especially when towing, because the frame was stretched behind the rear axle instead of between the axles.

In my experience, her are a few thoughts:

1. Look for one with a side radiator.

2. For a given length RV, be sure to consider the wheelbase when comparing models.

3. Watch for a diesel generator. LP is too hard to find while traveling and you can't carry enough with you.

4. Make sure the diesel generator is in an enclosure. It should be some kind of quiet model.

5. Determine if the chassis is an orphaned make. Think twice about buying if it is no longer supported.

Most everything that is RV related can be replaced or repaired with off the shelf parts.

My current RV is an MCI bus conversion, so I agree with previous poster about an older Prevost conversion, too.

Hope this helps,

Steve

 

[Garycw]

The only trouble with PREVOST is $$&$. Very high expensive units I've seen. The Country Coaches are nice that we looked at too. We've been looking at class a lately to upgrade from a 30' trailer w/ slide. And decided we would use a class C or even s classB more than driving a semi around for our use. Besides all the air pumps , brakes $1000@ tire, miles of wiring, even the lug nuts are torqued to 425lbs. Better have a big 4way, and forget backing up with while towing a car

 

[whizdbiz2]

The reason that motor home builders only warranty their product for 2 years or 24,000 miles is that's about all the longer they can keep what they make together. The drawers start falling out, breaking apart or bottoms start falling out.

Take your living room, bedroom, and dining room furniture and start shaking it up at up to 65 mph and see how long it will last. Same with your water heater, furnace, water pump, sink, toilet, breaker box, and everything else that you have in your house. If you have trouble with your electrical things, is it a 12 volt or 120 volt problem and where should I start looking for it? Is it an invertor or convertor problem? Is it a generator or a shore power problem? Where did they run the wiring, is it in plastic, is it shielded or not?

Did the hot water heater not start because of no electric, or no propane? Same with the refrigerator, is it not working because of not having 12 volt power or is the generator not supplying enough power or did we break a breaker on the shore power.

Since the RV repair shops have a sign above the service desk that says their hourly rate is $100 an hour you want to try to make sure you have bought a RV from a company that knows how to make living quarters with as little to go wrong as possible. That they have used quality materials that are installed by craftsmen who do quality work.

Amen to all that... the in-laws have had a fifth wheel and now a motor home and they had to have both of them in the shop constantly for one thing or another. When in Florida there is a dealer who will come out to the park to work on it, can't imagine what that costs them. Our local dealer's labor rate is $140/hour. I call it their "money pit". MIL said she was spending the wife's (their only child) inheritance, I laughed it off... but she was right. By the time they are too old to travel in it all their money will be gone into a motor home that will be worth next to nothing.