New Holiday Rambler Owner - a couple questions

[GatorJ]

Hey folks! We've just upgraded from a 2003 Fleetwood Southwind on a W22 chassis to a 2008 Endeavor 40SFT with 33k miles on it. The coach is in great condition, but I do have a few questions I'm hoping some of you can weigh in on. Here they go:

1) The tires are original Goodyears (DOT 2007) but have been very well cared for. No cracking, excellent tread depth. Should we consider replacing these now, or can we go another year or two?
2) The generator has 1400 hours. I've seen these 8k diesel Onan's go 5000+ hours, but is there anything we should be looking for now to ensure a long life?
3) This unit has the 3-place jacks. How does this handle uneven sites, and is it a "hearty" as a 4-place leveling system? Will we feel lots of movement when it's really windy? Should we consider changing it to a 4-place?
4) This unit has the 400 ISL. Our friends have a 43' Phaeton with the 360, and it's somewhat of a dog going uphill (I could do better in my Southwind). Will we be able to maintain speed on the hills?
5) Anything else we should really be looking for or keep an eye on? I know about the full-wall seals, and they are ok on this unit.

Looking forward to enjoying our new HR for years to come!


GatorJ - Transplanted Gator in the land of Mizzou
2008 Holiday Rambler 40 SFT

[danes-on-tour]

Hi Gator

Congrats on your new ride, and

Here is what I think (for what it is worth):

1) I think the tires could be getting close to their useful life being as old as they are. Time to keep a close eye out for any defects. You could add a TPMS system to the tires as an "early warning system", but this is obviously not of much use if a tire explodes.

2) I believe that generators are quite solid. Have you any maintenance record for it? I would probably give it a full service, i.e. oil, filters, coolant etc. That is the best you can do.

3) Adding a 4 point jack could land you in trouble. The 3 point system is there to prevent twisting of the chassis (lower the one front jack first before lowering the rear two jack makes it act like a chair with 3 legs - it will never rock). Your one-piece wind shield may pop out if the chassis is twisting (a lot of HR and monaco owners can testify to that).

4) Yes you will (depending on the grade). Not at the same speed as a car, but you will by no means be the slowest vehicle on the hill. All within reason.

5) Lots I am sure, but nothing more than any other quality RV. Come see everyone at the annual Monaco camp in Quartzsite, and you will meet up with around 40-50 RV's very similar to yours. Here you can get answers and advice from a large group of people with "hands-on" experience. Here is a link from the January 2014 meeting.

Maybe we will see you and the road one day?

[GCS]

Hello GatorJ:

We share the same model HR. For my input:

Question 1: If its within your budget, I recommend replacing the tires now. I generally try to replace ours every 5 years, pretty or not. I'd hate to have to get one of those changed while on a road trip;

Question 2: We've had no problem with the generator. I have it serviced annually when we do the rig's oil and filters;

Question 3: The 3-point jacks work well. Now, with that said, you may have to consider just how uneven a site you are setting up on and might need a little extra padding under one or two of them. Overall, they are certainly good enough and I personally wouldn't spend the money to go to the 4-point;

Question 4: On hills, we're fine. Mountains? Different story. We tow a Sahara 2-door. When we get to the mountains we slow down and "enjoy the trip". Sometimes I wish we had 600HP! But, I don't;

Question 5: We are currently having issues with our slide-out gaskets and will be having them replaced in October. Also, the big beautiful full-view windshield? Our's recently popped lose from the gasket along the driver's side requiring roadside assistance to get it back in place. Aparently if the rig has "racked" as in a hard turn over uneven ground in a campground, the seal may be affected, and cause this to happen. Solution for me is to have the windshield removed, gasket checked and replaced if necessary, and having the glass company use a windshield adhesive (which the original factory installed windshied does NOT do!) when they put it back in. Also, had issues with the power seats locking up. Got some great advise here on IRV2, and found, pulled, cleaned and exercised eack of the plugs under the seats (2 on the passenger side and 1 on the drivers side). Other than that, just typical easy fixer's that happen along the way. We've enjoyed our rig and look forward to a few more years with it. Hope you enjoy your's too!

[Gorlininc]

I agree with above.
I'd change the tires. That's just me.
I have good year tires. You either love them or hate them. I personally like my Goodyear tires.

3 system jacks work great. Always the front jack down first. At least one inch. I prefer a couple of inches minimum. This gives room for the motorhome to pivot on the front jack.

Enjoy your new rig.
Safe travels
Rick

[bdpreece]

Have an 08 also. Goodyear front tires started cupping at about 20k, rotated them to the back and will replace all next year with something other than Goodyear. Service the generator as directed and it will outlast the coach. Love my 400ISL it takes me over the hills usually at no less than 40-45 towing a 2014 Ford Explorer. 3 jack system works fine. Follow manufactures directions when parking, slides out, dump air, jacks down.When leaving, jacks up, Air up, slides in.

[fastcat]

I sometimes dump most of the air to get the rig close to the ground. If you can leave quite a bit of air in the bags and still get low enough the coach will move around less than if the bags are empty. At least that's how it works on my 07 Endeavor.

[DieselTech39]

Glad you're aboard. Congrats on the new to you rig. Pictures when you get time. Enjoy your adventures and be safe.

[Norm Mac]

1) Tires: It is time to start planning replacement. Our MH is 2007, we replaced the fronts last year and will replace the rears this year. 30,000 miles on them, they look and perform fine, but time is running out.

2) Genny Service: If you don't have service records (we didn't). You'll want to work your way through ALL the regular maintenance schedule to create a new baseline timetable to work from. We did all the standard maintenance during the 1st year of ownership and now set our service schedule from there.

3) 3 Jacks: We're fine with 3 jacks, system seems to work very well. We use the auto level most of the time and it performs just fine.

4) Uphill speed: We only have the ISC 330 and have had no trouble traveling up the hills. We keep it in cruise control and it seems to hold the speed better than I can with my foot.

5) Anything else: Consider joining the Holiday Rambler Club. Chapter 419 has an event each May created exclusively for Holiday Rambler Diesel Pushers. The event is several days of in-depth info about all of your coach and chassis systems and an opportunity to mingle with 200 other owners with coaches just like yours.

[GatorJ]

Great feedback and info everyone! We're excited to pick up our new coach this weekend and shake it down Saturday night and on the 8 hour drive home.


GatorJ - Transplanted Gator in the land of Mizzou
2008 Holiday Rambler 40 SFT

[fastcat]

Take a look at the thread about dead headlights. Easy fix once you know where to look but it left us "in the dark" for almost 3 hours and didn't find the problem for 3 days after that.

[WheelingIt]

Pretty much agree with the others. At that age I'd personally replace the tires regardless of looks. Definitely service the generator. Lastly the 3-point leveling system works well and shouldn't be changed. As Henrick pointed out a 4-point system is more likely to twist the frame and cause the front window to pop out. We've leveled in some fairly uneven spots with our 3-point system with the aid of leveling blocks under the wheels and jacks.

We have an '08 HR Endeavor 40PDQ

[ZOOKER]

Sure sounds like a nice upgrade. all i can respond on is the tires..i think now? i don't think you would like a blowout or the risk of an unforeseen accident. it's your coach and you will need to determine what to do. just my thoughts. safe travels.

[BVThunder]

Our '07 Endeavor is system and mechanically the same as yours except it is a PDQ. You do have the "updated" emission system. We purchased ours "used" with 2300 miles on it in August 2007.

Our unit has the Michelin tires. Last winter we contacted Michelin regarding aging out the tires. They had a yearly inspection protocol after 7 years that if followed and passed would allow you to extend for an additional 5 years. Maybe Goodyear may have a similar protocol.

1400 hours on the Onan generator is nothing if it was taken care of. Sounds like maybe your unit was either extensively used of boondocking, NASCAR races or some serious tailgating. As others have said, get is serviced.

The 3 point jack system works most of the time. Once in a while it just totally goes nuts. Learn how level it on manual.

All DPs are dogs on the big hills. I hate I70 east and west of the Continental Divide west of Denver. Just before the tunnel we are about 35 mph.

The slide seals suck. Spend some time and analyze how they work or don't work. Many HR owners have had theirs retrofitted. I did my own.

I would find a good diesel mechanic and have everything brought up to spec on maintenance. We are lucky to have an independent heavy diesel mechanic who knows RVs and spent the time to look up the maintenance schedule and follows it.

[SSRice]

Congrats! You'll love the HR more than the southwind.
For sure have a mechanic service the engine, trans and generator just for your own peace of mind and security.
The tires are ready, might seem pricey but well worth the investment.

Ps..not all DP's are dogs on hills.