Community Forums

GREGORYJ · 02-21-2018, 09:00 PM

I believe Ford solved the spark plug thread problem by 2003 so if looking for Ford, try to look at 2003 and up. The V10 is a good engine, I would pass on the older 460 V8s. Workhorse, with a good engine , the Vortec 8.1 V8 you get a Allison transmission, both are considered generally trouble free and as easy maintaining as any car or truck. I would pass if the RV had the older GM 454 V8.
Look for a RV that had a fiberglass roof. It will never need replacing and is much easier to work on than a rubber roof, that is, removing the old caulking is very easy when new caulking or a new vent or any roof work is required.
These years of RV's will likely have front and rear disc brakes, as easy to service as any car, just bigger and heavier. You would need a multipler bolt remover however to remove the lug nuts (450 lb. torque) and a torque wrench to install them (about $300 for both)
Look very closely for any water stains inside , ceiling, walls,floor, carpet. As mentioned, long time leaks can be a serious problem with rotting or rusting where it can not be seen. Walk away if this is seen.
If looking at a RV, be sure generator starts and runs well, test by turning on AC, see if they work well. Request fridge be turned on well before looking at the RV so you can see it working correctly. Learn ahead of time what wall de-lamination looks like.
This is tied to water leaks that were not seen till too late.
There are lots of good ones out there, I'm sure you can find a good one...

Isaac-1 · 02-22-2018, 12:00 AM

First off if you are looking in this vintage, then look for what was then a high quality coach with a Fiberglass or Aluminum roof. Generally the higher build quality coaches age better than their "entry level" brethren, Fiberglass or Aluminum roofs age better than EPDM rubber, solid wood cabinets age better than particle board, fiberglass shower surrounds don't get brittle like plastic ones do, ....

vettenuts · 02-22-2018, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMR6124

Thanks, I am feeling more confident. Followup question: how many miles is too many? On PPLMOTORHOMES I am considering a 2000 Sunflyer with 70k miles and a 2000 Chieftain with 82k, both with the Triton V10.

As a comparison,my 2003 F-250 Pickup has 183k. I would have no qualms about buying a pickup with under 200k, but have been advised that 100k is end-of-life for a motorhome. Is this a valid statement, or are there lots of F53's still on the road after 100k?

Go to the youtube channel "Motorhome Experiment". Paul and Lorie have a Fleetwood Flair that they bough used two years ago and have been traveling and video blogging ever since. Their Fleetwood has been pretty problem free and the drivetrain has been excellent driving through all kinds of environments and roads. His coach is the F53 and has over 120,000 miles on it. Still running strong. I think the 100K for a motorhome is a myth myself, unless it is not cared for. I think either the Ford or the Workhorse will go to 200K miles easily if properly maintained. Personally, I would look for something with 50K-60K miles. Then you know it has been run to some degree but has plenty of life left in it.

Isaac-1 · 02-22-2018, 08:24 AM

Sorry I missed the question about expected engine life. This depends on the engine in question. For gasoline coaches of this vintage you are likely looking at one of 3 or 4 engines.

With Ford you will be looking at the 6.8 V10 (introduced in about 1999 went mostly unchanged for 4 or 5 years), these are known for blowing spark plugs out of the heads (google it).

On the Workhorse / Chevy platform, the engine will be either the 7.4L Vortec used from 1996-mid 01 the 7.4 was an updated version of the Chevy Big Block 454 first introduced in 1969. It had a designed service life of 150,000 in medium duty commercial truck applications. The 8.1L Vortec replaced the 7.4 in mid 2001, this engine was a major upgrade over the 7.4, with a number of improvements in design, one of its big claims at the time was a 200,000 mile service life. You can see a brief writeup on it here http://www.raylarengineering.com/pdf...april-2013.pdf

I have an 8.1L Vortec in my 2002 Safari Trek, it had 74,000 miles on it when I bought it in 2016, and is currently at about 82,000, other than general maintenance I have had no significant issues (I replaced spark plugs and found some burned spark plug wires, which is common on this engine, so I installed high temperature aftermarket spark plug wires, a simple 30-45 minute job)