2007 Independence Conquest 8295

[eddndee]

I love this atrium floor plan, three slides, on 31 footer. I haven’t any experience with GS though. I currently have a Safari Class C which is wonderful but this GS Atrium model is intriguing. Anyone have any experience with GS triple slides and the atrium specifically?

[sd1209]

I owned an Independence 3 slide 30' atrium model, It was a 2006, 8295....Not sure ref the mdl # though...Bought it with 4k miles in 2009.....

Owned it for 5 yrs and about 35k miles.....then bought a new Dutch Star.....

I enjoyed every minute in it....No troubles ref the structure, minor issues but nothing major....Slides slid, V-10 was great, appliances all fine....I felt the quality of workmanship in this entry level model was very good.....I think I just hit a good model year in Gulfstream's production.....Quality suffered as they entered the recession I think......Watch out for leaks around the roof vents, ladder etc......I eternabonded it all after a leak developed around the top of the ladder.....Wife really liked the dinette in the slide (atrium).....

Overall, I would not hesitate to buy a 2007 GS.......

[eddndee]

Thnx SD! Just what wanted to hear. I haven’t any experience with GS but I thought they built a quality MH at one time.
I too like the atrium, almost feels like an apartment. Of course I haven’t seen this coach, it is 5 hours away and I haven’t yet convinced DW we should go look at it. Of course I would have an independent inspection done and then negotiate a price from there.
If we get a new POTUS, road travel might be the only vacations allowed and a bigger coach would be nice.


https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/...228298446.html

[sd1209]

That is the same model we had.....

We bought it because the wife really liked the atrium/dinette.....Enjoyed it the entire time we had it......

By the way, we lived in San Diego at the time....Found one in Salt Lake City....Flew there to buy it and drove it home.....Had a great time ...God luck..Keep us posted......(he is of course high on the price....I think there is quite a cushion there to negotiate......Of course times are different now with supply down/demand high...So it will be interesting to see if there is as much room as I think)....

[mdpuff]

Well we recently sold our 2004 G.S. Atrium S.E. 42 foot diesel pusher after 7 years of ownership. Enjoyed every minute of it. Loved the Atrium, especially the DW. The only down side of that coach was it was a warm weather coach, as long as it wasn't too cold or too hot it was great! It only had single pane windows so it wasn't well insulated. That is one of the reasons we upgraded to get a better insulated coach that is easier to work on as I do all the maintenance on it myself. But unfortunately we have to wait till next spring to try out our new to us coach. Would love to be in Arizona right now as we normally would be. But looks like that's not going to happen.

[eddndee]

I brought the GS Independent home between storms, of course the dealer sent it off the lot filthy dirty. They won’t touch them until you pay for them and then since you have, they do as little as possible.
The tires felt like they needed to be balanced while driving on the freeway and after stopping at a rest stop halfway home, I lost dash lights and turn signals. I think that was due to a sticky ignition switch as they all returned when I got home and restarted it. I also noticed water leaking from somewhere under the water bay when I energized the pump on my trip. I am thinking I had a bad valve line-up.
I now notice the slides and jacks are bit jerky and hesitant. The manual says to check fluid level prior to every trip. Anyone know where the reservoir is located?
We have been cleaning and need to shampoo the upholstery but the DW is liking it. I didn’t realize it came with a Winegard K1000 Traveler with a Wally. I don’t think I see value in a Dish subscription for the number of weekend trips we do now though. I also see I need a dehumidifier. It has been raining hard and windy since we brought her home.
I hope I did the right thing because our previous Safari Class C was such a wonderful Coach. I think I did though.

[eddndee]

Again, my little Safari Coach was so nice. No slides, every thing worked smoothly and dependably but it became too small as my own girth has expanded.
Big storm yesterday evening, rain pouring down, pushing sideways at 50 miles/hr. As DW arrived home, the power went out so yesterday’s leftovers would be served in the motorhome. Hit generator. the furnace and the opposing slides. Wife followed with the salad & dressing. We settled down with dinner while following the storm on the local TV broadcast.
After dinner DW performed her dutiful inspection of the rest of the motorhome and there it was! “The bedroom is flooded” she exclaimed. Water had migrated through the windward side of the bedroom slide and soaked the carpet. She obviously wanted me to do something immediately but I couldn’t stop the rain or do any repairs, so I soaked up what water and placed an electric heater and a fan. Later, I ordered a 1000sq ft /25 pint GE dehumidifier.
Today I made an appointment for an inspection and estimate for having the rubber replaced around the slides....

[eddndee]

As this story has grown, I should digress. Since it appeared we weren’t to excited to drive 150 miles just to look at this rig, only to dismiss it in 5 minutes, the dealer suggested he have it driven to us to see it. It was a usual rainy day in the PacNW but as we walked through and around the GS it looked and felt right. The owner had consigned its sell with this dealer and it appeared to be taken care of. We negotiated a fair price on condition of the inspection. We were able to sell our coach that weekend.
I made arrangements with two independents to inspect it, one for the chassis and one for the coach, they both came back with no significant problems. We had them put a maxxair fan in and vent covers. I argued for a roof strip and seal but they said it was recently done. We paid for it and then between winter storms, traveled to pick it up...

[eddndee]

Yesterday, I hooked up the GS to water. I can’t find the cause of the water draining from the side of the motorhome when water is energized. I think I need to explore around the toilet.
The Demand water heater doesn’t work either, no power. Maybe there is a fuse or another switch?
I lay awake at night thinking of the multiple soft spots I feel through-out the flooring and I am pissed about the inspection I paid to have done. It appears as if they just took my money and nothing more. Maybe I need to hire an attorney? I’ll wait for the opinion of our local RV repair expert.
I wonder if I can buy my old motorhome back? Lol

[eddndee]

Ok! I figured out the demand water heater. There was a remote switch that turns on the system. I think I have the water leak isolated to the water fill receptacle. Now, I just need to get my head around these potential soft spots.

[eddndee]

Still figuring it out... sigh. The leaking slide, I believe, is due to poorly maintained slide seals. I will replace them. The front slider that jumps when retracting is due to broken base seal/swipe. It moves around as the slide moves across it. I am still trying to find one online. The manuals that came with the m/h is for a BAL Accuslide but I don’t see any cables on the outside and my slides are hydraulically driven.
It is still raining cats and dogs so I have yet to figured out my plumbing problem nor have I driven it since buying her. I hope the chassis electrical problem was just a fluke.

[eddndee]

Originally Posted by eddndee

Still figuring it out... sigh. The leaking slide, I believe, is due to poorly maintained slide seals. I will replace them. The front slider that jumps when retracting is due to broken base seal/swipe. It moves around as the slide moves across it. I am still trying to find one online. The manuals that came with the m/h is for a BAL Accuslide but I don’t see any cables on the outside and my slides are hydraulically driven.
It is still raining cats and dogs so I have yet to figured out my plumbing problem nor have I driven it since buying her. I hope the chassis electrical problem was just a fluke.

Moving on, it has been continuously raining since I picked up my GS. I haven’t noticed any leaks since my initial one so maybe it was due to the wind blowing side ways or maybe the slide wasn’t complete retracted.
I have my dehumidifier running, it fills it’s tank every other day so I re-configured it to drain to the shower. I I was also able determine my hydraulic slides are Lippert and they had the wear bar I needed to replace the broken one.
Les Schwab checked my tires and said they had already been balanced but a cheap brand. I don’t think they had the ability to balance them tbh. One tire was low on air. The electrical problem has not returned. Monday I will have the plumbing problems looked at and that wear bar replaced. I could do these things myself but... the rain just keeps coming.

[eddndee]

...in conclusion. I think I have bought a very nice motorhome. My initial concerns have been unfounded. The ignition works fine. The soft spots turned out to be not soft spots. The leak was a simple fitting and the wear bar was the most significant problem with a few hours labor. I look forward’s to our first camping trip... suppose to snow tomorrow.

[eddndee]

We spent our first night camping this past weekend. No issues other than operator errors. I did notice I have a steering stabilizing system. Nice!