Freightliner Chassis Mtn. Questions

[cashabill]

I'm looking at purchasing my first Diesel Coach. It is a 2005 Tiffin Allegro Bus with a Cummins 400 on a Freightliner Chassis. It has all new Batteries and Tires. What else might have to be cleaned/changed in relation to the Cummins/Allison Trans/drivetrain? I'm looking to have no surprises down the road and around the bend. The coach has mid 40K miles on it now.
Thanks for any info that might be helpfull to me.
Bud

[historyljc]

Do you have the service records on the coach? Suggest you call the Freightliner Service Center in Gaffney, SC., at 800-385-4357 to see what may be due for that age and mileage. Gaffney is where I have been having my annual service done. Congratulations on your "new" Bus.

[Bill Adams]

Don't be confused. You ARE going to have surprised down the road no matter how thorough you are! The Tiffin products are excellent and you will very likely be quite happy, but you are going to have to spend some money on something (God only knows) that you had not considered. Don't let this stop you and don't feel bad that you didn't consider this before purchase. Just do what you can to ensure that you have done the best job you can of ensuring that all the systems that you can test are working as expected. Have a tech. take a look at the engine parameters to ensure that there are no obvious problems with the engine or transmission, make sure that the water heater (electric and propane/diesel), generator, propane or diesel interior heat, etc., etc. all work as expected. Don't forget to use the convection/microwave, the cooktop, the washer/dryer, everything! Fill the holding tanks and check for leaks. Use the dump and check for leaks. Are you getting the theme here? Check everything you can think of and ask more questions. Does the A/C cool the coach (I mention this since mine did not when I "almost" bought a used coach and we lived in FL!). See if they will let you live in it for a day or 2 before you sign on. Again, USE EVERYTHING that you can before you buy and once you are as happy as you can be about a purchase of this size just set aside a little more money to take care of that things you either missed or went bad after you did the best that you could.

[cashabill]

Historyljc and Bill Adams, Thanks for both of your replies. I have been an RV'er since 1984 with many Gas Coaches. This is my first Diesel and I am not sure what will be needed down the road and around the bend. I will most likely call Freightliner people to see what their thinking is "other than spending money needlessly". Brakes, Bearings, engine filters, etc.etc..
I hope you both have a Happy New Year 2010, would you believe it????

Thanks,
Bud

[Gary RVRoamer]

If you go to the Freightliner Custom Chassis web site you can view & download the recommended maintenance schedules for 12, 24 & 36 months. They cover older as well as newer chassis, so some items may not apply to your coach, but its the palce to start. I recommend a trip to the factory service center in Gafney, SC and have them go through the chassis from bumper to bumper. You likely have some air suspension leaks as well as needing service on several longer term items. Check the Allison web site for the recommended maintenance intervals for your Allison 3000MH with Transynd synthetic fluids - it is likely less aggressive than the default schedule from Freightliner, but you are still probably due for a transmission fluid & filter change.

[J Walker]

Check to see if the engine is an ISL and see if it is in the series that were a problem with the wrist pin. This lets a piston come loose and all the obvious problems that causes. Other than that making sure the servicing has been done is very important. In the likely event that service records are not available, and oil analysis can reveal a lot about the engine. A very thorough check of all of the appliances and a test drive is important.

[Getting Old]

I tried to get an appointment at Gaffney but was told none available for quite some time, show up and we will work you in, which they did after just a couple of days. They have a full service campground at no charge and truly know what they are doing unlike my experience with other centers. Spend 10 bucks and join the Freightliner Club to get the 10% discount. Might consider going to an FMCA Rally for the seminars...Don't worry, they all have problems.

Don, WIT 70041

[Triker56]

Why was new tires needed on a 5 year old MH? Did you check the DOT dates?

[dengraham]

Bud,
If you are going to Gaffney, look into Camp Freightliner. It would be perfect for you to learn all about your chassis AND walk out with a disk specific to your motor home.

[JoeT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triker56 Why was new tires needed on a 5 year old MH? Did you check the DOT dates?

Chances are his tires are 6 years old. Motorhome tires over 5 years old, if not replaced, need to be demounted and inspected by a qualified tire professional. Problem is, it's hard to find a 'qualified' person to inspect them. Most tire shops don't have them.

[Triker56]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeT Chances are his tires are 6 years old. Motorhome tires over 5 years old, if not replaced, need to be demounted and inspected by a qualified tire professional. Problem is, it's hard to find a 'qualified' person to inspect them. Most tire shops don't have them.

Thus my question of "What the DOT dates are on the present tires"

Why would someone put brand new $$$$ tires on a MH when they were going to trade it or sell it? As they would never get the full amount back, unless they overprice the MH. And it sells for their price.

Or does a dealer have it and a salesman is saying the tires are LIKE NEW?

[cashabill]

On my current 2004 Allegro Bay 34xb, workhorse chassis, I replaced the front tires at around 44,000 when they were just short of 5 years old, michelin 22.5", because the sidewalls were cracking around the rims, tread was still good, a year later I replaced the 4 rear tires with Toyo's and have been very satisfied with them. You don't want to risk a blowout with all the fibreglass that could be damaged on these coaches.
I saw a 5 year old Country Coach at a park that I was in with 5 year old Toyo's on it and not one sidewall was cracked like the Michelins that I had were.
Bud

[Grant Lasson]

Bud,

I feel like I've gotten a pHD during the last six months on this topic. I had a 6K repair bill for a fan hydraulic pump and the power take off from the transmission. Does the '05 Allegro Bus have hydraulic fans? If so, you're going to want to read http://www.jdrv1.com/sitebuildercont...s/pto-101a.pdf and find out if this applies to your new coach. (I didn't find out until leaving town on my first trip and the PTO and the pumps failed leading to immediate overheating and a one month stay in the shop.)

I verified by calling Freightliner in Gaffney. They have the part models and numbers for each coach.

Although my motor has been fine so far, in retrospect, I wished I had taken it to Cummins to have the data downloaded from the on-board computer. There's a lot of data stored there about past engine performance.

At 4 years old, the transmission fluid is probably due for a change. Not cheap--some quotes came in as high as $600 to change.

I took it in to Freightliner in Tolleson, AZ for a checkup before driving it home. $2k in work required. Unique items include: $500 to take out an animal nest built into the space between the radiator and the charge air cooler and $500 to replace a rear wheel seal.

I also had to replace tires (~$2.5k). I didn't replace with Michelin and I can't really tell any difference in ride quality.

It seems like there have been a million things to buy to get setup. Practically, I'd recommend putting aside another $7-10K as part of the "purchase price" to fund repairs and upgrades. I'm in at least $10K in 6 months and I'm not at the end of what I need/want to do. However, the money flow has become more discretionary.

For what it's worth, I bought an '02 Tiffin Zephyr with 30k miles on it. Despite the setbacks, I'm still pleased with it.

Grant