1998 American Tradition

[dbwardell]

I took my son to look at that 1998 American Tradition again, as he is more thorough in his analysis and he found a couple of things that I had missed. The joint between the raised rail chassis and the upper part of the coach has a piece of trim that is bulged out on the passenger side and is about 1/2" away from the side of the coach at the worst part of the trim piece. Underneath this piece of trim you can see rust when you open the bay doors. This area is about 3' long. The rest of the trim piece has sufficient caulking to prevent water from entering. The drivers side is OK. What would be the procedure to fix an area like this?

Also, he found that the step cover does not go out, but is cocked and jams when activated. How tough a fix would that be. It appears to be air driven, so there is the possibility that a line is plugged or in-op on one side, as it comes out about 1" and jams. There is also the possibility that the whole thing is no good.

I have not made an offer on this coach yet and can walk away, but am still interested as it is mostly a sound coach and priced right.
Thanks for your help.
Dave

[FormerBoater]

Step well cover is not a biggie. There is a calibration screw behind the toggle switch panel which allows you to slow the speed of the step down. Usually they jam after one of the guide posts breaks due to the cover traveling at Mach 1. I have the same situation on our Eagle, just have not gotten around to fixing it yet (step cover is easy to remove, replace the guide post and then re-calibrate the speed).

The bulging and rust is another matter. I am having a hard time visualizing where the problem is i.e. on the top of the cargo bay or at the bottom . I know that some owners of late 90's American Coaches had rust issues beneath the cargo doors due to improper sealing of the bottom of the coach. This type of issue can be seen underneath the cargo doors.

Mine are totally sealed and therefore I do not have the problem.

My 98 has always been a southern coach and has lived in coastal Florida since I purchased it. Your expectation should be no rust on the Spartan Chassis IMHO.

Hope that helps.

Dave
1998 American Eagle 40EVS

[dbwardell]

Thanks for the help. The rust is above the cargo doors and beneath the trim that covers the joint between the raised rail chassis and the box. The trim is bulging above the 2 full pass thru doors. I see rust just above the cargo bays with them open. The bulging area is about 5 feet in length. I am concerned that there is rust underneath the trim and would be a major fix.
Dave

[FormerBoater]

Sounds like there is some water intrusion where there should be none.

I am assuming that the Tradition is on a Spartan Mountain Master Chassis as is my Eagle and I can tell you that there is nothing but a solid roof above my pass thru compartments.

I think you can find other American Coach MH's from the late 90's that do not exhibit any rust.

And remember. "corrosion never sleeps" .

Dave

[dbwardell]

That solid roof above the pass thru compartments is apparently where the rust is. I believe it's between the joint connecting the chassis to the rest of the coach but the dealer is going to look at it for me. May not be an issue, but you and I both think that it is. Their fix, screwing it back into the coach, doesn't sound like much of a fix to me. You are right, there are a lot more AC's out there that look as good or better.
Thanks for you input.
Dave

[Cat320]

AC makes fine rigs. When we were looking for a MH, we ruled out coaches that old. As noted earlier, there are many newer models without "issues."

[dbwardell]

You guys are SOOOO RIGHT! We have ruled out that coach and are on a search again. There were just too may issues to make it worthwhile, even tho the price was definitely right. That trim piece has rot underneath it. I could see the screws from the bottom side and they are all rusted out. The other issues I could fix, but not rot and delam. It looks like it is just starting to delam in that area.
I really appreciate all of the comments and advice from this site.
We have looked at a 2000 AC Dream with 40K miles and 89K asking, with 2 slides. Also looked at a Monaco Knight 38' with quad slides for the same price. It's a 2005 unit. Just says a lot about the quality of the AC units, doesn't it. My lovely wife likes the Knight better because of the dark woodwork and the desk area in the bedroom.
What is a guy to do????
I just told her that the 'fit and finish' of the Dream is so much better. 2 slides vs 4 is her thing. Maybe she's right but I still love the American Coach units.
Thanks again for all of your help.
Dave

[dbwardell]

Well, you people really convinced us that we needed to look further. We found a 2000 Dream with 40K miles and in perfect condition. It, of course, was twice what we wanted to spend, but we did it anyway. These coaches are really beautiful and put together the way they should be. We want to thank everyone that gave us advice on this major acquisition for a couple of retired people that really know little about diesels. This is a major step for us from a 2005 gas Hurricane starter unit. We are grateful for all of your input and that is what pushed us to this decision. The more I read about this coach, the happier I am that we made this decision.
Thanks again and we hope to see you on the road.
Dave and Ronnie
2000 American Dream

[FormerBoater]

Congratulations on your 2000 Dream purchase.

The Dreams and Eagles of those years have a certain look that is hard to get away from, at least that was the case for us.

You will find that American Coach and Spartan will treat you like you just bought a brand new coach if you need any assistance.

I hope your ownership experience is like ours.

Dave
1998 American Eagle 40EVS

[dbwardell]

I totally understand what you are saying. This coach just seemed to be calling us. I am very glad to hear that American Coach and Spartan are that way as they build a class A product. Very few, and mostly minor, things that needed to be fixed before we take possession. The main thing is the controller for the front slide. They had to hand crank it in and it didn't go in all of the way. I am figuring that we will go through Decatur on our summer trip and have them make sure it was repaired correctly. More for the peace of mind as this dealer is pretty good and I have confidence in them.
Dave & Ronnie
2000 American Dream

[dbwardell]

I have had a small problem starting this unit. It seems the 12V cutoff switch at the door didn't turn on, even tho the light came on. I didn't hear any beeps, as the dealer suggested that I should. I cycled all of the cutoff switches and it then had power to start. Is that something that is an occasional problem or does anyone think that the relay may be malfunctioning? I believe the salesman had a similar problem when he was going to move the coach before we bought it. At that time he thought the chassis batteries were dead and they brought a charger to boost them. However, he was able to start it and said the main shutoff sw in the back was off.
Who knows??
Dave & Ronnie
2000 American Dream

[FormerBoater]

The momentary switches at the door actuate the relays that actually make the 12 volt circuit connections on your Dream.

Could be a bad relay.

My process has always been to turn the main disconnect on in the engine compartment, then the 12 volt momentary switches by the door, check the panel above the dinette to make sure that the batteries are all good to go(and connected), then start your main engine.

If the panel indicates that your batteries are low, check electrolyte levels, add distilled water if required, then start your generator using the AUX Battery switch to the left of the steering wheel.

Let the Onan charge the batteries for a few hours, then see if she will fire up normally.

Also make sure the starting batteries are at least 950 CC Amps. This is what the Cummins needs.

Keep us posted.

Dave
1998 American Eagle 40EVS

[dbwardell]

Thanks for the info. I believe you are right on track with the relay. I will have that looked at and go from there. The last time I had this problem the back shut off (by the engine) was off. Go figure. I guess I need to check all of these items prior to getting ready to depart.
Thanks again
Dave & Ronnie
2000 American Dream

[FormerBoater]

I would not worry too much about the momentary 12 volt switches and relays. I always hit the switches twice turning on or off and then check the panel to make sure the connections to the chassis and house batteries are either on or off.

Saw your post about how the Dream handles rolling down the road. The independent front suspension on the Spartan Mountain Master chassis makes driving a pleasure.

Have fun!

Dave
1998 American Eagle 40EVS
Cummins C8.3 325 HP
Allison 3060 Six Speed Transmission