2006 Tradewinds 40D Purchase

[Punks385RLS]

I'm currently looking at purchasing a 2006 National RV Tradewinds 40D with the 400 Cummins. This will be my first Class A motorhome. I currently have a 38' fifth wheel. The coach is very clean and only has 7,200 miles on it. Are there any particular problem areas I need to be aware of on this coach? I know National went out of business a couple of years back but I'm not overly concerned about parts since lots items are not specific to National RV. Any feedback anyone can provide on this coach would be greatly appreciated

Paul

[Dmreese1]

Hi Paul,

I bought a 39.6 Tropical last year with 6K on it. It's been a great coach.

Issues we found were more related to the coach being reposessed and sitting in storage. This is bad for any coach. Here are some of the issues we dealt with the first year or so:

1.) Bad wheel seals on all four axels, this was from the long storage issues. As soon as we started touse the coach within 300 miles the seals all were leaking gear oil onto the brakes.

2.) Stiff leveling jacks, jacks were slow to return to the up position. Greasing the jack fittings and using them corrected the issue. Just had to becarefull to ensure they were up all the way before heading out.

3.) Tank sensor issues (common) until we got a number of trips under our belt. Black tank sensors are alsways an issue but you know that from your 5th wheel.

4.) Slide adjustments were needed, the lower outer dust seals were bad from the slide draging, so we had to have the slides setup properly and the seals replaced. ($400)

5.) Water in the on board generator computer connectors. Most likely from condensation, but the pins in the main computer to the Onan genset rotted out and we had to have the computer replaced ($2500).

6.) Battery replacements for the coach batteries ($500) normal after sitting.

7.) Inverter charge issues, traced to a bad main 300Amp fuse in the inverter cabinet. This is a $35 ceramic type fuse that must have been cracked, when the charge amps were high, the fuse would connect/disconnect causing a surge on the charge from zero to 80 Amps cycling every minute or so. Fuse rplacement fixed the issue.

8.) Plastic roof vents were like powder, not a big deal and easily replaced.

Hope this helps.

Duane

[tom77hmstd]

We have the same coach bought in 2010 problems have been normal stuff,tire rivering goodyears of coarse. Main problem was basement air not good enough to cool whole coach in our climate[south fl.] I installed a 15000btu roof air to fix it.Batteries are still original in house just replaced chassis batts.All in all I think this thing is a great coach as you will have problems with any whole house you drive down the road.

[bldr11]

I have a 2006 Tradewinds 40F and love it. Have put over 10,000 miles on it in a year, no problems. As far as the comment on the basement air, Make sure when plugged into 50 Amp service that you have the switch in the electric cord compartment swithced to the 50 amp position or your ac will only run on one compressor. We have been in the Florida Keys for the past month, temps outside in the mid 80's, no problem keeping the inside at 70. Just have to keep the filter changed on a regular basis. We love the coach

[tom77hmstd]

Believe me I beat the basement air to death before I installed top unit. I put 16000 miles on this one in 13 months. I dropped the ac unit out checked both compressers replaced the blower motor and cleaned evaperator.What helped most was to keep a new inside filter in it. The dark drown outside just soaks up the heat down here in the summer.
Went to Maine in the spring and did not even turn the top air on.
As you say here now ac is good went to south bay this weekend and used only the basement unit.

[Punks385RLS]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Dmreese1 - what year is your Tropical? This unit does have the optional factory installed 15,000 btu auxiliary roof air unit as well as the basement air unit so I should be good to go for cooling capacity. I will be purchasing an extended warranty/service contract for this coach.

[tom77hmstd]

Watch the conditions of your ext. warrenty.I bought one very expensive one and ran the milage out in 6 months as it was only good for 5000 miles. I did not see the milage thing only the 5 years.Buyer beware.

[Dmreese1]

Punks385RLS,

My Tropical is a 2005.

Dmreese1

[Punks385RLS]

Thanks again everyone! I bit the bullet and made the purchase! I'm now the proud owner of a 2006 Tradewinds 40D. I've researched the National coaches a lot prior to this purchase and they seem to be dependable well built RVs with a loyal following. I was a bit leery of purchasing a coach from a manufacturer who was out of business but my dealer was great ensuring me he'd stand behind my purchase and also ensuring that most of the parts on this coach are available or serviceable.

The coach is one owner from California with only 7,200 miles. It was inspected and serviced by our local Freightliner dealer and came back with flying colors. I'll take delivery next week once it goes through our Colorado required emissions testing.

The warranty I purchased is through Easy Care is 4 years/48,000 miles and is their Total Care package providing coverage for all items except for normal wear and tear stuff (brake pads, tires, etc.). The deductible is $500 and hopefully I'll never have to use it but it's nice to know I'm covered.

I was kind of sad trading in my 2010 Open Range fifth wheel since I had lots of good memories of all the fantastic trips I took with that trailer but I'm looking forward to being a motor coach owner and new adventures! See you on the road!

[tom77hmstd]

Looks great you will love it.Other than normal stuff that comes with houses on wheels the National coaches are built good as any.IMHO.

[Dmreese1]

Nice looking rig!

My Tropical has roof A/C units no basement A/C.

Merry Christmas

Duane

[Frantz]

We LOVE our 2008 National RV Pacifica 40D. Only issues have been minor which we could take care of and a couple of Freightliner recall things. Floor plan is great!
Hope you love yours also. Wish you many happy miles.