Some Advice for anyone considering a Travel Supreme MH or just recently purchased one

[Airboss68]

After reading the IRV forums for a bit over a year now I thought I’d provide a bit of additional input or opinion on purchasing a used TS or any used DP based on problems/issues I’ve read about here .
In addition to your research, inspections, reviews of your intended purchase you really need to assess your own economic situation and what size of unexpected expense you can tolerate.
Clearly my prior advice is “don’t be afraid of older high mileage units” and this advice still stands if you are careful and do your research.

I have however noted many posts suggesting potential purchasers are looking at spending the max amount they can afford on the newest, lowest mileage DP they can find.
This came home to bite one of our members in the butt when they spent their nest egg on the biggest, newest, nicest DP they could afford and their engine promptly self destructed. Now they are in a desperate situation and can’t afford the rebuild/replacement, now are stuck with a very expensive boat anchor

Now matter how thorough you are and how well you inspect your unit the unexpected can still happen in a major way. This is also true of new units but they are most likely covered by warranty.

Before you buy make sure you have the financial wherewithal to replace or rebuild an engine, transmission, aqua hot system, etc.

Also as part of your initial research make sure you have an understanding of the cost of annual chassis maintenance, fuel costs, and camping costs.

While these costs vary widely with usage, travel time, stay time, and mileage they are significant.

If you don’t have the financial resources to cover the expected as well as the unexpected you could be headed for disaster.

If disaster does strike don’t jump on the first solution, do some research ie: new engine vs rebuild vs used from a salvage yard.

I wouldn’t let these costs scare you off from a purchase, just be aware of them and be prepared to deal with the as they occur.

[winniman]

Originally Posted by Airboss68

After reading the IRV forums for a bit over a year now I thought I’d provide a bit of additional input or opinion on purchasing a used TS or any used DP based on problems/issues I’ve read about here .
In addition to your research, inspections, reviews of your intended purchase you really need to assess your own economic situation and what size of unexpected expense you can tolerate.
Clearly my prior advice is “don’t be afraid of older high mileage units” and this advice still stands if you are careful and do your research.

I have however noted many posts suggesting potential purchasers are looking at spending the max amount they can afford on the newest, lowest mileage DP they can find.
This came home to bite one of our members in the butt when they spent their nest egg on the biggest, newest, nicest DP they could afford and their engine promptly self destructed. Now they are in a desperate situation and can’t afford the rebuild/replacement, now are stuck with a very expensive boat anchor

Now matter how thorough you are and how well you inspect your unit the unexpected can still happen in a major way. This is also true of new units but they are most likely covered by warranty.

Before you buy make sure you have the financial wherewithal to replace or rebuild an engine, transmission, aqua hot system, etc.

Also as part of your initial research make sure you have an understanding of the cost of annual chassis maintenance, fuel costs, and camping costs.

While these costs vary widely with usage, travel time, stay time, and mileage they are significant.

If you don’t have the financial resources to cover the expected as well as the unexpected you could be headed for disaster.

If disaster does strike don’t jump on the first solution, do some research ie: new engine vs rebuild vs used from a salvage yard.

I wouldn’t let these costs scare you off from a purchase, just be aware of them and be prepared to deal with the as they occur.

I would agree completely. A DP is the last thing you should buy if you are at the very high end of your budget. A gas MH, while maybe not as big as say a 45ft DP, holds fewer large ticket surprises. If I was on a tight budget, the last thing I would buy is a DP. The main differences between a 39 ft DP, and a 39 ft gas mh, are pretty much all when you are driving. If you are on a tight budget, extensive traveling is pretty much out of the question. Spending 150 dollars a day on fuel isn't exactly a tight budget. Having 10k at the ready is pretty much required to own any DP.

[texasrs]

Airboss68:


Excellent response.


I got a decent price on a used (5k miles) '06 TSS. In the first two years, I have purchased (replaced) 8 tires, 8 house batteries, 2 starter batteries, gen water pump, two windshields, 1 water manifold, and had Paul's RV put in X-bracing and w/s hoop.
I believe I am now in good shape to enjoy retirement (in about 8 months) and not have to expend much more $$$. The coach is in excellent shape. Vehicle insurance is a huge expense (coach and toad) as is the extended warranty if I choose to renew. Storage is around $2400 per year.
A new buyer has to recognize these expense items to bring any coach up-to-standard (safety) as well as the ongoing expense related to ownership.


Ray

[Bodean56]

Originally Posted by Airboss68

Just an update and additional suggestion or 2.

Passed 1 year of ownership and 7,500 miles and 4 months on the road.

Had no significant mechanical issues and no show stoppers that stranded us.

Biggest issue was a jack failed and caused the dreaded windshield cracks.
While the jack failure precipitated the crack it was mainly caused by having the wrong size windshield.


Had intermittent gauge problems that were due to a bad ground. This was fixed by adding a new ground wire to the gauge common ground.

And that's the extent of the problems on a 15 year old DP.



As far as suggestions go. Every few months get out your box of system, appliance and rig manuals and re read them as well as peruse the forums again.

It is amazing what new things you can learn because you didn't know enough to learn them the 1st time around.

Don't let age. mileage, or internet posts about windshields deter you from Purchasing an old TS that you like and appears to be in reasonable shape after a thorough looking over.

“Had intermittent gauge problems that were due to a bad ground. This was fixed by adding a new ground wire to the gauge common ground”

Was curious about your intermittent gauge issue and where/how you fixed/replaced it? I too am having an issue where one of my air gauges suddenly alarms and drop to zero and recently my fuel gauge is doing the same thing.

[Airboss68]

Was curious about your intermittent gauge issue and where/how you fixed/replaced it? I too am having an issue where one of my air gauges suddenly alarms and drop to zero and recently my fuel gauge is doing the same thing.
__________________
Jeff & Sandy - 2004 Travel Supreme 38DS04

My gauge problems always occurred while driving and after hitting significant bumps. Resolved when hitting another bump.

Clearly a loose connection and based on others problems probably a loose ground.

Pull your panel (5 or 6 screws) and lean it back towards you so you can see the backside of the gauges. You will see a daisy chain wiring harness jumping from gauge to gauge. Make sure they are all plugged in tight.

Remove one and determine which one is ground I think it was a greenish blue in my rig. expose that wire between 2 gauges and splice in another wire.

Connect the other end of the new wire to any solid ground nearby.

This fixed my problem. I am not certain if it was a loose ground as opposed to a loose plug that got fixed when I pressed on all the plugs.

Hope this helps.

[rag_ftw]

Originally Posted by Airboss68

My gauge problems always occurred while driving and after hitting significant bumps. Resolved when hitting another bump.

Clearly a loose connection and based on others problems probably a loose ground.

Pull your panel (5 or 6 screws) and lean it back towards you so you can see the backside of the gauges. You will see a daisy chain wiring harness jumping from gauge to gauge. Make sure they are all plugged in tight.

Remove one and determine which one is ground I think it was a greenish blue in my rig. expose that wire between 2 gauges and splice in another wire.

Connect the other end of the new wire to any solid ground nearby.

This fixed my problem. I am not certain if it was a loose ground as opposed to a loose plug that got fixed when I pressed on all the plugs.

Hope this helps.

DITTO!

[GORD CURRIE]

Originally Posted by Airboss68
My gauge problems always occurred while driving and after hitting significant bumps. Resolved when hitting another bump.

Writen by GORD CURRIE,
I had the same problem on my 2005 Travel Supreme Select 45D S04 summer 2019 and it was the Air pot low air sending unit. IT had rust from the Tanks not being Drained often enough and replaced the low AIR Pressure sending AIR-POT. There are two of them one for each AIR system located at the Air Block Manifold mounted on front of the Bulkhead on Drivers side access though Generator Slide-out doorway on front of the Motor Home.

[PegandBob]

Hi everyone. I'm here in Pa. and it is sleeting and snowing and raining... YUK ! But my problem is, I am not able to keep the furnace running long enough to heat the coach. I have been running the fireplace, as it is the only thing I seem to be able to keep running. My coach was at 30 * when I entered it today, planned to spend the weekend, but have returned home, since after 6 hours of freezing in there, I gave up. I was showing a fault on the panel beside the driver seat, I messed with that till I was able to clear the fault and the furnace came on. about 2 hours later, I the temps rose to a whopping 44*. I set the thermostat 2 degrees higher and it went off. I checked breakers, everything looked fine. What is it with this MH? Seems everything we do, is a No Go….. no luck at all... can anyone explain TS MH to us as in MHing for dummies?? Thank you in advance for ANY help at all...…. Peg and Bob

[Airboss68]

Welcome to the forum and TS ownership.

What year and model TS do you have and, if you know it, what is the model number for your hydro/aqua hot.

There is a panel in the basement near your aquahot with some lights on it what is the status on that panel.

With that info someone here will be able to help.

Also are you trying to run heat pumps and furnace?

Is your diesel tank over 1/4 full.

[Airboss68]

You might also want to look at the following videos::::::

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...hot+rv+heaters

Followed by some light reading here:::::::::::::

https://www.google.com/search?q=aqua...com&gws_rd=ssl

[Airboss68]

Originally Posted by GORD CURRIE

Originally Posted by Airboss68
My gauge problems always occurred while driving and after hitting significant bumps. Resolved when hitting another bump.

Writen by GORD CURRIE,
I had the same problem on my 2005 Travel Supreme Select 45D S04 summer 2019 and it was the Air pot low air sending unit. IT had rust from the Tanks not being Drained often enough and replaced the low AIR Pressure sending AIR-POT. There are two of them one for each AIR system located at the Air Block Manifold mounted on front of the Bulkhead on Drivers side access though Generator Slide-out doorway on front of the Motor Home.

Gord,

Was your problem just the air gauges or were other gauges involved?

[GORD CURRIE]

THE gage was correct the sending unit was malfunctioning, their was no actual air loss. TRAVE SUPREME built their COACH BODY ON A SPARTAN UNDERCARRIAGE.
Also the 2004, 2005 Spartan Manufactured COMPLETE frame, power, transmission, differential, Steering suspension along with AIR BRAKE System had a USA recall in 2013.
The recall was for faulty Air system to do with Gauge sending units [DUAL AIR SYSTEM FRONT & REAR SEPERATE] causing Maxi Brake to Apply due to system thinking sudden air loss when in fact there was no air loss.
I bought my MH summer 2018 from POULSBO RV Everett, WA, and I asked them about recalls since I already had read about it and they told me they were not aware of any outstanding recalls.
Since I am Canadian and was importing the Motor Home to BC. Canada the Canadian Government required a Certification from Spartan that my M.H. MET Canadian standards. I phoned Spartan and they took my serial number and TOLD ME my M.H. had not been up dated for the recall. Spartan arranged for First Truck in Abbotsford, BC Canada to repair the recall at Spartans expense. Than SPARTAN ISSUED A CERTIFICATE that my M.H. met Canadian standards allowing me to be able to import and register my new to me 2005 Travel Supreme Select 45Dso4 500 HP Cummins.

[PegandBob]

Our TS is a 2005 Select. I have found where the furnace is actually through the Aqua Hot. So do I need to have the diesel and electric buttons in the bathroom cupboard where the controls are, both turned on? I apologize for such dumb questions, but we are first timers, and this is all new to us. Thank you in advance for any help. I don't have more info on it, as it is at a campsite and I am at my house, staying warm, but worried about the heat in the MH... I know there is over half tank of diesel, and I think he said the aqua hot is 450.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by PegandBob

Our TS is a 2005 Select. I have found where the furnace is actually through the Aqua Hot. So do I need to have the diesel and electric buttons in the bathroom cupboard where the controls are, both turned on? I apologize for such dumb questions, but we are first timers, and this is all new to us. Thank you in advance for any help. I don't have more info on it, as it is at a campsite and I am at my house, staying warm, but worried about the heat in the MH...

Peg and Bob,
Electric on means just that - diesel on means diesel on - both on means both are on. Either one is fine as is operating with both.

Cooler times. Electric does fine - usually we use both for showers turning the diesel off when done.

Hope this Helps,