Community Forums

jeepthrills · 03-03-2013, 09:34 AM

Wife and I are still shopping...we went to the local used RV lot and were seriously on different planets.

She really was liking a 1998 National Tropi-Cal 6350 ( F-53) w 64k. And I admit..the floorplan is nice but....original engine and trans
Honestly this scares me a bit. High mileage gassers dont have great reputations.
Isnt this especially true for the earlier v-10's?

For a few bucks less I was really digging a classic 1994 American Dream with 94k ( Spartan chassis, 8.3L Cummins, Allison 3060). We both like the floor plan but lets face it...the dream needs some updating...Tires are cracked, Counters, Window cornice boxes, exterior needs a little resto on the stripes...What is installed is in good shape...just colors are off.

Seems we both make a good argument for a little work....but I seem to think refurbing the interior of the Dream will be less headache and money ( mainly money) than repowering the anemic V-10 or having to replace the tranny.

Thoughts?

winniman · 03-03-2013, 10:00 AM

De[ends on the prices. My 2000 37g winni has 50 k miles and runs great. Hoping for many more trouble free miles yet. My friend has a 94 dp bounder that he spent almost ten thousand repainting and redecalling. It looks great and he has almost 100k miles on the diesel. Its a toss up between the two. Mine has a slide and his older model doesnt. He can tow far more than me. Mine is only rated for 5000 lbs. Both nice machines priced about the same. He is a diesel mechanic so that helps as far as owning a diesel. The maintainance on a diesel is more expensive than the gasser.

GaryKD · 03-03-2013, 11:17 AM

Hi jeepthrills,
My experience has been the wife wins on the floor plan. Hubby, your only chance is to see if the coach has enough carrying capacity (weight not space) to carry all your stuff AND does it have the capacity (weight) to tow the vehicle you want to tow.

jeepthrills · 03-03-2013, 11:56 AM

Thanks...good advice.

I cant seem to nail down solid pricing on tires....just as an aside and price dropper...the Dream does need tires..2 295/75R22.5's and 4 265/75R22.5's. I seem to find a range of 2500-4500. I was thinking Bridgestone R250's.

Pepper2 · 03-03-2013, 04:24 PM

When the wife is happy, everyone is happy

hamguy · 03-04-2013, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeepthrills

Wife and I are still shopping...we went to the local used RV lot and were seriously on different planets.

She really was liking a 1998 National Tropi-Cal 6350 ( F-53) w 64k. And I admit..the floorplan is nice but....original engine and trans
Honestly this scares me a bit. High mileage gassers dont have great reputations.

Not true of Workhorse chassis.

Isnt this especially true for the earlier v-10's?

For a few bucks less I was really digging a classic 1994 American Dream with 94k ( Spartan chassis, 8.3L Cummins, Allison 3060). We both like the floor plan but lets face it...the dream needs some updating...Tires are cracked, Counters, Window cornice boxes, exterior needs a little resto on the stripes...What is installed is in good shape...just colors are off.

Seems we both make a good argument for a little work....but I seem to think refurbing the interior of the Dream will be less headache and money ( mainly money) than repowering the anemic V-10 or having to replace the tranny.

Thoughts?

In either case, you will have problems eventually.

jeepthrills · 03-05-2013, 06:00 AM

I should have been more specific....high mileage early Ford V-10's and Ford Automatic trannys scare me!

If I could find a workhorse 8.1/Allison in my price range that wasnt total crap...I would be on it. There is one Georgetown 303...but I found the interior build quality a bit spartan and...I dont know...it felt like it was appointed as a rental unit......It felt older inside and simple.

dean0283 · 03-06-2013, 07:20 PM

I had a 1998 Tioga (25 footer) with a Ford V10. Put about 140,000 miles on it and never a major problem. Kept up on regular maintenance and replaced the usual stuff. Pretty good engine and tranny as far as I'm concerned.

Sold it to a friend 3 years ago and they have had no problems.

Dean

TEFFY · 03-18-2013, 05:57 AM

Our Allegro has 68k miles and runs like a top - cummins 6 cyl. Just after we got it, two friends came over and we replaced the roof membrain along with two new AC's and vents. The project this past weekend was to replace the kitchen counter top and faucet - took most of Saturday. A couple of weeks down the line the bathroom counter top and faucet will be done. I like playing with it and getting it fixed. We got a really good deal when we bought it from an individual but we're still ahead of what it's worth and the work is done the way I want it done. Being retired gives me the time (but not money) to do these projects. We're just about through repairing for this year as we are going to try and leave mid May for destinations NORTH.

OswegoLion · 03-19-2013, 05:56 AM

Where do you travel from and where to? It sounds like weather north is still on cold story side.

TEFFY · 03-20-2013, 08:55 AM

OswegoLion, we live in SE Texas close to Beaumont. No one has ever heard of Groves (15,000 pop) so we just say Bmt. We owned a bus company for over 25 years and the wife sent me to Winnipeg, on company tours, 19 of those years. Folkarama is probably the best festival in this hemisphere and we are going in Aug. I have also been to the Boeing (sp?) museum 7 times but always with 38-45 ladies who wanted only to shop. With the spouse, I can spend probably 2 - 3 days there and see everything I want to see. Other then those two places, we're going to dodge the $200 - $300 electric bill and go wherever the wife decides . I'd like to stop by HWH in Iowa and see if they can get the jacks working again. I haven't been able to do anything with them since we bought the MH. We have a Dr's appointment in the middle of May and I hope to be on the road a day or two after that.
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[/B]Have a blessed day