Community Forums

fishnfool66 · 12-11-2012, 02:28 AM

Hey everyone!
i just won a 2004 Holiday Rambler Scepter 40DST in an auction. im going to fly there and pick it up on Friday. it is in Georgetown Tx. 1400 miles away. i am planning on getting the oil and transmission fluid changed and was thinking about the fuel/water seperator and air filter. is this overkill? is there anything else i should be worried about. i will check the tires out also.

Davdeb1 · 12-11-2012, 04:38 AM

Find a RV service area. Near the unit. Take it in and have them do a complete maintenance on it. Also tell them what you are doing, and have them check what is necessary. It's not overkill, it's just good sense.

Plane nutty · 12-11-2012, 05:12 AM

Fishinfool I think you're on the right path. I'd do what is necessary to get it home. I took mine to speedco on the way home had filters and oil changed then when I got home had everything else gone through. I had 04 tires when I bought it and drive 250 miles home on them. I should've changed them before I left because they needed it. By the time I got home tread was missing. I'm lucky I didn't have a blow out causing fiberglass, plumbing, electrical and human damage. I replaced tires the next week. Good luck with the scepter.

Fred Cooper · 12-11-2012, 08:12 PM

In addition to the tips above, I think I'd pop off the front center hubcaps and check the lube level in the front wheel bearings before driving 1400 miles (assuming wet lube bearings of course). Good luck with your new motorhome. You'll love the adventure.
Fred

ahicks · 12-12-2012, 09:14 AM

First, congrats on the purchase! I know how excited/nervous I'd be about now, imagine you are too?

Second, you sound like you have your hat on straight. Knowing you're going to end up doing it to get caught up on the maintenance anyway, if I had it in the shop for the work you're already talking about, I'd go ahead with the fuel filters, and at least have the air filter looked at?

If you're going to be driving into cold weather, you'll want to assure yourself it's been winterized? I think I'd want to know if the furnace was working as well. The best cab heaters aren't going to work well when it drops into the 20's and 30's. You'll want that furnace (or something!) to help out.

Best of luck! -Al

SarahW · 12-13-2012, 02:39 PM

I'm a little late to the party, but maybe you should contact a roadside assistance company (Coach-Net, Allstate Roadhelp, Good Sam, etc.) and see if you can get coverage set up. Typically the first year is only $80 or so and if you ran into difficulty and needed a tow you will be happy you spent that money. Good luck and have fun.

Gocoffeer · 12-13-2012, 02:45 PM

Fish: It is totally exciting to be making the home bound drive adventure with the new purchase. I did the same with my 1996 Bounder earlier this year. I had a minor tool kit with me and a list of all the CampingWorld locations in my route. I did the Used RV Checklist on site and made sure all lights were working. I filled the water tank and made sure the hot water heater was running. I fired up the generator and kicked on as many accessories as possible. I cut off the engine and pulled the air cleaner (A ton can be told about a vehicle by oil smells and air cleaner). I had brought 4 cans of SEAFOAM gas treatment. I took a little local ride to get focused on any sounds that might catch my ear and right after that I was off for home. I did not need any services in route but did 100% fluid changes upon arrival in my driveway. One more thing that was important to me...tire pressure. I checked all tire pressure before leaving the first gas station.
The wife and I stayed at a Walmart parking lot on the way home....we had a cleaning party that evening... the frig chilled and we bought some minor drinks and eats...tested the stove....flushed and sanitized the poopie tank at the first Flying Js in route plus topped off the propane tank. All was good and I had a list of preliminary items to fix. I have been hammering at that list and still getting all my items to my liking.

HTFireMedic · 12-13-2012, 03:28 PM

AAA roadside is Mac daddy. RV Plus gives 100 miles towing no charge. I have used it once with a Class C and it paid for itself. No hassle, short wait(90 minutes)
I has both AAA and GS.

conmoto · 12-13-2012, 07:42 PM

Check the windshield wipers and blades. I speak from a bad experience bringing ours home. The Monaco blades can be a bit hard to locate and if they go bad in a storm.........bad news!

Murf2u · 12-14-2012, 03:07 PM

Batteries!!!

Get them load-tested before you go anywhere.

Even if you're not planning on boon-docking in it on the way home, weak batteries can be really tough on an alternator. If they're in tough shape, 28 hours of driving time means 28 hours of overcharging!

On a rig like that, a new set of batteries would hardly put a dent in the bill to replace the alternator.

Congrats and enjoy the drive in your new rig!

YC1 · 12-14-2012, 07:56 PM

Run the generator and see if the microwave lights up. The generator is a great backup to the engine alternator if it gives up the ghost. The generator can give you heat with an electric heater even if you can't figure out how to fire off the propane heaters If you have never owned a beast like this there is huge learning curve. My manual is 240 pages for example. Fuel filters would be on my must list or at least have them onboard.

Oh, and as a requirement for all the great free advice you must post pictures immediately. You are going to love it.