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Old 10-21-2012, 09:43 PM   #1
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Gulfstream class A's

We are looking at a 2004 Gulfstream to buy.

This is a class A with very low miles. We really like for floorplan.


Haven't heard much about this mfg in terms of quality and reliability.

Seems they are not near as popular as some of the other brands.



What do you know about these coaches and what is your opinion?


Thanks!
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Old 10-21-2012, 11:30 PM   #2
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I have a 37' Gulfstream Sun Voyager Trio. I am up in Canada . Mine is for sale as well. Waited three years for the brake recall to be done. But that's a Workhorse issue. Wish it had double pane glass. It's cold hearted in the winter and hard to keep cool in the summer. Very thin walls not a lot of insulation. How much do they want for the one looking at?

Quickone
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Old 10-21-2012, 11:54 PM   #3
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Thanks for the response.



Here is the one we are thinking about

Buy Sell Used RVs 2004 GULF STREAM ATRIUM 40 in CARMEL, CA


here are more for sale

RVT.com® | Gulf Stream ATRIUM RVs For Sale | New and Used Travel Trailers, Motorhomes, and Campers



We are planning on using it maybe 10/12 weeks per year in MILD weather, not too
hot or cold. Will have tow car.


What are some of the weak points on the coach? Do you do any of your own work?
I will do most of the smaller repairs, filters, etc.

What do you think? Good type coach for us?



Bukzin




On Sun, Oct 21, 2012 at 10:30 PM, iRV2 Forums <support@irv2.com> wrote:
Dear bukzin,

quickone has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - Gulfstream class A's - in the Class A Motorhome Discussions forum of iRV2 Forums.

This thread is located at:
Gulfstream class A's - iRV2 Forums

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
I have a 37' Gulfstream Sun Voyager Trio. I am up in Canada . Mine is for sale as well. Waited three years for the brake recall to be done. But that's a Workhorse issue. Wish it had double pane glass. It's cold hearted in the winter and hard to keep cool in the summer. Very thin walls not a lot of insulation. How much do they want for the one looking at?

Quickone
***************
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Old 10-22-2012, 09:29 AM   #4
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I have a 2006 Friendship Quatro Atrim model with the ISL. Nice coach, I have not had any major problems. My only issue is now that Gulfstream is not making MH it is hard to get parts for the coach. The engine seems to have more than enough power, very spacious inside, handles well very satisfied. You may want to rethink the idea of diesel because of low usage, can get very expensive for 3 months use per year but that is your call. Maintenance will come around each year no matter how many miles you put on it. You can do some of the work yourself but may wish to deferr some to "others" because of the amount of oil or trans fluid, again still your call. Guess bottom line is I am very pleased with mine but I took a chance buying used just like you are.

Good luck and be safe.
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Old 10-24-2012, 07:52 AM   #5
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Having a Diesel is no problem. The coach is out of all warranty, so you do not have to follow the manufactures maintenance requirements. I follow the Oil analysis reports from my yearly samples I send into a lab (BlackStone is one) as I was taught in the Navy. Most large Truck Fleets also do oil analysis to keep track of their equipment. The fluids do not wear out due to a time element but due to heat as the equipment is used. The new Allison Transsend ATF is good for three hundred thousand miles. There is a retired Allison Lubrication Engineer on the forum who can answer any question you can think of on lubrication. He also has his own Oil Analysis Company that can do your testing for you. I only use my coach for a couple of weeks a year and just put it away for the winter with only 300 miles of use this year. I did change the oil this spring as recommended and I will be sending a new sample in this spring to see the results of this change. I had a lot of wear metals in the old oil sample and was instructed to check my Air Intake System and Air Filter as that was the most likely cause. I did and we will see the results in the spring. My transmission I was told to re-sample in two thousand miles. That will be reached in another 800 miles or so. I am considering on switching to the TranSend when I change the ATF. That will more than likely be the last I will ever have to worry about it again. I will just have to change the Transmission Oil Filters every 75,000 miles and send in a ATF sample in every so often.

If you and your wife like the coach I would buy it. Gulf Stream is still in business making Tow-able units so you can at least talk to some one. Other than the walls they did not make the majority of the coach. They just assembled and installed the equipment on the chassis that Freight Liner or Spartan sent to them. Some of the equipment suppliers are out of business so you have to live with that. The same suppliers that are out of business supplied many of the RV manufacturers so that will be a problem no matter what you buy. So far on my coach I have found the Window Manufacturer, Creation Windows is defunct, the Transfer Switch Manufacturer is gone and just this weekend I was told the Windshield Wiper Arm Manufacturer, Dyna is gone. For each company that has disappeared, some one else makes something that will easily replace the product. So far the only thing I am replacing is the wiper arms. After three years of ownership those are the only companies I have found that are gone. As time goes buy, I expect to find others. I have a bad habit of trying to find out everything I can on my coach and the installed equipment. My coach came with very few manuals, so I have been searching the WEB for any information I can find. Good luck on your choice and have it independently inspected prior to money changing hands. Ed
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Old 10-24-2012, 10:04 PM   #6
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Sundancer, Thanks for the great reply. Just to be clear, your message above
is only addressing the Allison transmission, correct?

Regarding the 'new Allison Transsend ATF', is this now a standard factory
fluid that dealers keep in stock?

The 'Air Intake System and Air Filter'; these are engine components on the Cummings correct?
Or did you mean on the Allison?

The coach I found (2006 Monaco Diplomat, 400HP Cummings with Allison) goes
is the shop in a few days before I wire the dealer/seller my money.

Anything else I might want to consider doing before I drive it from Florida
to California?


Here it is...

Used Monaco Diplomat for sale in Ft. Myers FL | 2006 Monaco Diplomat 40PAQ Class A For Sale from Palm RV & Marine in Ft. Myers Florida

Thanks again
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Old 10-25-2012, 06:49 PM   #7
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No, some of it applies to the engine also. The Air intake system consists of the air filter and the piping to the turbo and after the turbo it consists of additional piping, the charge air cooler (CAC) and the engine intake manifold. The system after the Turbo is under pressure and before the turbo and after the air filter it will be under vacuum under certain conditions.
The Transsend was factory from Allison during that period. If Gulf Stream followed through with it and the previous owner did not change it for something cheaper you will not have to change it.
Here is a link to the Allison Engineers QA session on this web site.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f125/form...eer-89293.html

Change the Fan Belts. When I picked up my coach I did not do this and it cost me a bundle for the tow and labor to replace it. Plus it cost me two days on my return trip. Good luck and enjoy the trip.
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Old 10-25-2012, 07:39 PM   #8
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Sundancer268, I have a 1994 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser with the 5.9 Cummins 230 hp with all the manuals. I can probably scan what you need and email it to you if that would help.

Mike
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Old 10-26-2012, 04:50 AM   #9
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Thank you, I could use anything on the Air Suspension, Cruise Control, Automatic Transfer Switch and the Gulf Stream side of the wiring. Spartan has been great on their half of the electrical system.

Which model GS do you have? I have the 8344WFD with the white interior, which we love and blue chairs & lite blue Carpet which we removed. The only problem I have with it is trying to come up with a plan to replace the front over head TV with something modern. So far I am leaning on total replacement of the front overhead cabinet with a maple cabinet and redoing the instrument panel in maple also. This would match the maple Allure Flooring we replaced the blue carpet with. The only blue carpet left is on the step cover only because I can not figure out what to do with it. The boss said she likes the carpet under foot while driving so I have not pushed my brain on this issue to much.

I am also trying to figure out how to add extra batteries as two 6 volt are not enough. I have a couple of more years to get it figured out.

I hope you enjoy your unit as much as we love ours. Thanks, Ed
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Old 10-26-2012, 01:35 PM   #10
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Ours is the 8340 wide body model, I forget the exact model number; it also has the white interior with the blue chairs and couch that faces forward. The previous owner had the carpet replaced recently with a blue berber carpet that matches the color of the barrel chairs and couch. I just put it in storage and the manuals are inside, I will get them out although looking through them there was almost no information on the coach specifics from Gulf Stream, just a generic owners manual for all models. All the appliances have their own manuals and I have all of them if you need any help there.

The chassis I have is a Spartan EC2000 which has air over hydraulic brakes and leaf springs instead of air suspension. The only Spartan chassis that year that had air suspension as far as I know was the Mountain Master chassis used on larger motor homes. The Spartan owners manual I have lists all the chassis configurations for '94 but not much in specific information either. It's not that big and would be easy to scan and email.

Mine has the EcoCruise cruise control which is a switch and push button mounted next to the Air Brake switch. That company is now out of business and another company, CruiseKing, will replace it using the existing wiring I believe; luckily mine still works. I did test drive another '94 Scenic Cruiser in Ohio that had the cruise control integrated into the turn signal lever but I'm not sure what the actual brand was.

Mike
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Old 10-26-2012, 07:05 PM   #11
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Do not make a special trip to get the manuals.

I have the Spartan EC2242 Chassis with the Granning Air Suspension and the Air over hydraulic brakes. I have not been able to find out if Spartan or Gulf Stream installed the Air Bags I also have the EcoCruise and fortunately it also is still working. On ours the couch sits along the wall behind the drivers seat. Dinette after the couch. The Barrel chairs are opposite the couch and kitchen after them, Bathroom on the drivers side. We like the layout and now that the stove is changed, the wife is happy in her kitchen.

I just installed an new Maytag Stove/Oven in place of the cook top the wife hated. I have all of the Dometic Reefer Manuals, Had to as it would not work on Gas. Replaced the Circuit Board with a Dinosaur Bord and this year I had to replace the thermocouple. We fried the original 1000 Watt Heart Interface Inverter and replaced it with a Magnum 2000 Watt unit. With that install I added the Automatic Generator Start system. This summer we replaced the Bathroom Vent-line roof vent with a Max-Air Vent and Cover and added the Maxx-Air vent cover to the Fantastic Fan in the Kitchen area. The Rear A/C quit the last trip of the season. I am hoping it is just the fan start/run capacitor. I will check it out in the spring. I am also looking at replacing the engine vibration damper this spring. I have lost two serpentine belts since I bought the coach. The previous owner had replaced the alternator so the original factory fan belt will not fit. I hope to correct that this spring also. Ed
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Old 10-28-2012, 12:54 PM   #12
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Hi bukzin,
I have been looking in the same feature and price range as you so I have been following your shopping adventures across the Internet and the country with fascination. Great stuff.

Perhaps you could summarize what you learned, what worked for you, why you decided on the Monaco, and why you didn't decide on some of the others. I would find it helpful, and perhaps others would as well.

M.
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Old 10-28-2012, 02:35 PM   #13
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Lets see...

seems a number of folks said that Gulfstream is no longer making class A units
so parts and service may be a problem in the future

we wanted lots of natural light (large windows)
(the vast majority of coaches do not) so looked at a few styles/brands

we ended up buying a Monaco Diplomat 2006 Atrium model (I think several mfg's
use the Atruim name, not sure)
went with Monaco mostly because of the 8 air bag chassis and lots of
service and parts available.

The Gulfstream was cheaper but I think the Monaco may be a better value,
we will see.

By the way, we found it online in Florida and had a friend go look and take video
with his iphone. Have not seen it in person.
Put a $1,000 deposit on it and arranged to have the coach taken to both
a Cummins and Allison (two shops) to have it evaluated. Also all new belts, filters
and fluids.

Next stop for it will be for 6 new tires. (which ones? leaning toward mid-priced because
they will 'age-out' )

Oh, also sending the engine and trans fluids
to a lab to explore internal condition of each.

After we pick it up its off to Lazy Daze 'drivers training' one day class near Tampa.
Then drive home to California.

Next I'll upgrade much of the electronics, larger TV's, cell and WiFi amps and antennas.
Maybe a security system that can email me too.


What have you learned in your search so far?
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Old 10-30-2012, 08:12 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sundancer268 View Post
Do not make a special trip to get the manuals.

I have the Spartan EC2242 Chassis with the Granning Air Suspension and the Air over hydraulic brakes. I have not been able to find out if Spartan or Gulf Stream installed the Air Bags I also have the EcoCruise and fortunately it also is still working. On ours the couch sits along the wall behind the drivers seat. Dinette after the couch. The Barrel chairs are opposite the couch and kitchen after them, Bathroom on the drivers side. We like the layout and now that the stove is changed, the wife is happy in her kitchen.

I just installed an new Maytag Stove/Oven in place of the cook top the wife hated. I have all of the Dometic Reefer Manuals, Had to as it would not work on Gas. Replaced the Circuit Board with a Dinosaur Bord and this year I had to replace the thermocouple. We fried the original 1000 Watt Heart Interface Inverter and replaced it with a Magnum 2000 Watt unit. With that install I added the Automatic Generator Start system. This summer we replaced the Bathroom Vent-line roof vent with a Max-Air Vent and Cover and added the Maxx-Air vent cover to the Fantastic Fan in the Kitchen area. The Rear A/C quit the last trip of the season. I am hoping it is just the fan start/run capacitor. I will check it out in the spring. I am also looking at replacing the engine vibration damper this spring. I have lost two serpentine belts since I bought the coach. The previous owner had replaced the alternator so the original factory fan belt will not fit. I hope to correct that this spring also. Ed
Ed,

I was in the area of my storage unit and retrieved the manuals. Mine is a GulfStream model 8340 WFB on a Spartan EC2242 chassis as well but mine has the leaf springs instead of air springs. The Spartan manual I have does not list the air springs as an option on the EC models for 1994 but maybe it was added in 1995. The GulfStream owners manual is mostly generic but I do have a spec sheet with standard and optional features for the Scenic Cruiser if that would help. I also have the owners manual for the Generac NP66G generator if you have that model.

Mine still has the Heart Interface 1000 inverter that has the transfer switch and 3 stage battery charger built in. My house batteries are 5 years old and need replaced; they won't hold a charge very long at all with the coach switch turned on. We've had shore power available the two times we've used it so far.

Let me know if you want me to send you copies of any of these manuals.

Mike
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