Your opinions matter, which one 98' or 01' Endeavor?

[Boomer1]

Another newbie to the site. Wife and I test drove a 1998 Endeavor 34 and a 2001 Endeavor 38. No contract per se, however we did give a deposit for the 98' Endeavor. Now after some research I see that there are potential problems the the "53" blocks on the 5.9 cummins which I believe the 98' has. Our 1st go round in coaches and don't want to start with a problem so let's hear the pro's and con's for both. These coaches are 3 hrs away so to just pop over and check things is not easy. After reading the forum for several weeks I seek and respect your opinions as most everyone out there has more experience than I. There is about $10K between the two coaches so that is a factor as well.

Respectfully

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Boomer1

Another newbie to the site. Wife and I test drove a 1998 Endeavor 34 and a 2001 Endeavor 38. No contract per se, however we did give a deposit for the 98' Endeavor. Now after some research I see that there are potential problems the the "53" blocks on the 5.9 cummins which I believe the 98' has. Our 1st go round in coaches and don't want to start with a problem so let's hear the pro's and con's for both. These coaches are 3 hrs away so to just pop over and check things is not easy. After reading the forum for several weeks I seek and respect your opinions as most everyone out there has more experience than I. There is about $10K between the two coaches so that is a factor as well.

Respectfully

I am always glad to see new folks join. I am sorry I can't help you choose which coach is the better one. I know some of the folks here will respond with useful answers. The only advise I can give is to consider long term usage, unless this is just an experiment to see if you really want to vacation or live full time this way.

Happy trails. Looking forward to your final choice and travel updates.

Rick Y

[Fred Cooper]

These are very different models. The 1998 Endeavor 34 will probably be built on a Freightliner chassis. Freightliner has a help desk that will give you free technical support on the chassis. Their help desk is excellent. The engine block issue is a concern. I think if you do enough research, you will be able to determine how to tell if this engine is from the batch suspected of being bad. The 34 ft length would be another concern to me, but that is personal preference. My 38 ft gets about 2 feet shorter (in my mind) for every week we're on the road. Having more room is nice. Wheelbase to length is one measure of coach stability. The 34 ft may be (heavy emphasis on "may be") less stable on the highway. If possible, drive both on the highway and see what you think. I suspect the "house" portion will be very similar to my 2000 Endeavor WDS, and will be well built.

The 2001 Endeavor 38 will be built on Monaco's 8 airbag chassis, which has an excellent reputation. The current owner of the Holiday Rambler line is reported to be providing good support for the older models. I have no experience with their support. What engine is in the 2001? Is it the 6 speed allison transmission? The 'house" portion of the coach will be well built.

Mechanically, I would have no problem with either of these motorhomes once you determine that the 1998 model does not have the bad engine block issue. I suspect that the 2001 would be an easier drive on the freeway due to the 8 airbags and longer length (assuming that the wheelbase is longer).

One potential minor problem with some of the Endeavor's was the steering gear box. Several owners have had problems with loose play in the steering gear box. The steering box on the Freightliner will be adjustable (which I've done on mine). The steering box on the 2001 may or may not be adjustable depending upon what Monaco used at the time of assembly. The Sheppard boxes have no adjustment, but can be removed and sent off to be "blueprinted" or shimmed for adjustment.

With either coach (if you buy one of them), I highly recommend getting individual wheel weights with the coach fully loaded and adjusting tire pressure's according to tire manufacturer specifications. My coach came from the factory with the left front tire supporting it's absolute max load due to the fact that the coach is much heavier on one side than the other. I now have a larger size tires.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Fred

[Boomer1]

Thank you both for the quick reply. Wife and I were able to test drive both yesterday (Springfield, MO) and both felt very stable on the highway. The 98' was not a snappy off the line as the 01' but once on the highway it ran very well at 65mph. On one longer hill the 98' downshifted once to about 2000 rpm and the 01' downshifted once and back and down again on the same hill. At this point my plan is to go back down pulling my trade and take a look under the 98' to see if I can find the "53" stamp on the 98'. In the longer term of future vacations maybe the longer 01' might be a stronger consideration (other than money of course) . thank again Randy

[slowmachine]

The storage bays on the 2001 (Roadmaster chassis) are much larger.

1998, just like my 2000 Endeavor



2001

[DegoRed]

My preference would be to go with the 01, just for the fact that its newer. There are a bunch of stuff on these rigs that breaks due to age, so newer would be my preference. Also a few years newer probably has a more modern interior and electronic components, etc. When it comes time to sell the newer model will fair a little better on the resale than the older.

Good luck!

[deandec]

3 years newer, proprietary chassis, 4' longer would be worth $10k in my opinion, if all else is equal.

[Fred Cooper]

Regarding "On one longer hill the 98' downshifted once to about 2000 rpm and the 01' downshifted once and back and down again on the same hill". This is normal for the allison 6 speed. It will downshift, detect rpms too high, then upshift, then repeat the process on small rolling hills. Placing the tranny into economy mode will stop this problem.

I agree with the other posters, all things equal you would be better off with the 01 model.

Fred

[Lued]

I would go with 2001 8.3 motor , you hook a car on and you need all the power and torque you can afford. http://media.rvusa.com/library/Holid...01endeavor.pdf Welcome To IRV2

[kiethco]

I have a 1998 Endeavor 34' wds. The 5.9 is a great motor paired with the Allison tranny. When you're buying a coach this old you're really buying the maintenance records of the previous owner. I bought mine private party from the original owner. He had a folio with a separate folder for each component and service of each.
He also had a log book showing each tank of gas, what time he filled up and when he returned home. A fun factor 2 original brochures were included.
I paid 35k for the coach1 year ago with 58k miles on it. It had new michelin tires and 6 volt batts and 2 12 volt.
I have the Freightliner chassis and not the 53 in the block number. I have 4 air bags and I couldn't go back to a gasser if I wanted to, my wife loves the smooth ride and quiet interior too much, this is our 4th coach.
We debated the 38-40 foot jump but liked keeping our 34'Pace Arrow next to the house and more access on the So Cal coastal campgrounds.
The 2001 is a lot newer as far as RV's go but I couldn't justify the 15k jump in cash after I found one in such good shape. I'm sure the 8 bag rides better but I wouldn't know and am very happy with the 4 bagger chassis, it fits the overall coach. One thing that influenced my decision to go with the HR Endeavor is the amount of amenities and value with the coach.

[Boomer1]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. VERY helpful to hear your experiences. Called the dealer this morning and pulled the trigger on the 2001 Endeavor 38. Wife beat me up pretty good about the space and storage it had. Of course she had to point out the power difference between the two as well. I hope to see you all in the RVing future. It will be easy to find me, I'll be the one with the BIG SMILE on my face.

Thanks again everyone.

Randy

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by kiethco

I have a 1998 Endeavor 34' wds. The 5.9 is a great motor paired with the Allison tranny. When you're buying a coach this old you're really buying the maintenance records of the previous owner. I bought mine private party from the original owner. He had a folio with a separate folder for each component and service of each.

And even that won't truly protect you from a catastrophic engine failure but it does give a measure of security to know the maintenance was done. Our Magna was owned by a man that also owned a trucking company and had no maintenance records other then the Cummins warranty ones. I had to assume that the regular maintenance was done is his shop and he didn't record it OR the dealer had stripped the records out before we got it.

We also found that the Magna has about 30% less storage space than the 40' Dutch Star even though the Magna is 5' longer. Going to take a lot of sorting down to fit! And, yes, I'm getting beat up by the DW over it too!

[SpursMVP]

Welcome aboard!! We also own the HR Endeavor 38 WDS and love it. We've had some minor repairs needed in the past 6 years of ownership, but she has treated us very well.

You will notice that there are quite a few Endeavors on the highway still so that speaks volumes to the reliability of the power units and chassis. Now go camping!!!