Nervous Starter

[brobanana]

Ive had many different rv's (trailer and motor}-now going full time and looking at a 20 year old DP - 3126 cat'80,000 miles, above average mantained by a trucker - should i be worried

[irishguy]

What are you worried about exactly?

Irishguy

[brobanana]

20 yr old 80'000miles ?

[irishguy]

That diesel engine is barely broke in with 80,000 miles. At twenty years old things start to time out both in chassis and house though.
Hopefully it was well taken care of and received lots of updating.

Did the previous owner have a detailed service record of the chassis components like engine, tranny and generator?

How old are the tires?

Have you had it checked out by diesel shop and rv shop?

[brobanana]

owner has a small filling cabinet of paperwork - early services - extra filter added on the HUEI pump supply line - temp gauges added to bypass idiot lights - 6 2yr old tires -havent had it professionaly checked - selling under $20,000

[brobanana]

all services done at a well known truck shop (bergey's in PA)

[irishguy]

No later service records?

Since you're going to be full timing it would be a good idea to have it checked out to try and avoid any expensive and inconvenient surprises.

Even a well maintained Class A can be expensive to keep everything working and properly maintained through the year.

[winniman]

The price is low enough. Well maintained can mean they did oil changes, or they were big on preventative maintenance. Since buying mine three years ago, I have put about 7k CDN in parts into mine. Lots of it was preventative like the rad, rad hoses, serpentine belt, water pump, tranny lines, alternator, etc etc. Several bigger items were not, like the main fuel pump and the lift pump, as well as an exhaust manifold. Most of what I did except the bigger items were because I was going on a 10k trip. Id rather fix them at home before they cause trouble, instead of on the side of the road thousands of miles from home. If you plan on staying local with it, you are probably ok for a few years like I was. If planning on hitting the road, have a qualified diesel mechanic go over it with a fine tooth comb. Mine only had 30k miles on it.

[irishguy]

Originally Posted by winniman

The price is low enough. Well maintained can mean they did oil changes, or they were big on preventative maintenance. Since buying mine three years ago, I have put about 7k CDN in parts into mine. Lots of it was preventative like the rad, rad hoses, serpentine belt, water pump, tranny lines, alternator, etc etc. Several bigger items were not, like the main fuel pump and the lift pump, as well as an exhaust manifold. Most of what I did except the bigger items were because I was going on a 10k trip. Id rather fix them at home before they cause trouble, instead of on the side of the road thousands of miles from home. If you plan on staying local with it, you are probably ok for a few years like I was. If planning on hitting the road, have a qualified diesel mechanic go over it with a fine tooth comb. Mine only had 30k miles on it.

Winniman, so you had the lift pump, CAPS fuel pump and exhaust manifold pack it in with only $30,000 miles on it?

[winniman]

The engine had a cracked manifold when I bought it. I repaired it right away. About two years later, the lift pump went, and took the vp44 main injection pump with it. The rv had 50,000 kms on it when I bought it. I hadn't heard about the vp44 getting ruined due to the lift pump. If I had, I would have changed the lift pump to the FASS system, which I did. I only learned of the reputation these vp44 pumps had after the fact. Luckily, one my good friends is a 45 year diesel mechanic, so the barter system works good for trading services. I put 10k kms trouble free on an east coast trip last summer. Im glad I shelled out for the maintenance items before I left. The rad looked fine until we pulled it out to clean it. Once that was out, might as well change everything behind it. Age has a lot to do with things like hoses and belts. The rad was dirty, but looked ok until we tried to clean it. DPs thousand dollar you to death, but there is no better way to travel. I had a v10 gas one for five years before this rv. I never put a nickel in it. I put 20kms on it in five years.

[brobanana]

All paperwork is up to present day he had fluids and filters changed every 7000 miles or less and last year he had a new ICM installed

[jacwjames]

It would probably be worth getting fluid analysis on engine/transmission/generator oil and coolant tested for engine/generator. It would cost ~$200 if you were able to pull fluids yourself.

If you are not familiar with DP systems it be worthwhile to have it professionally inspected.

As far as age and miles, the coach still probably has a lot of life left in it. The engine is considered a 1M mile engine, provided it is maintained, but does require some $$ to achieve this.

The age also means that the systems in general will be less complicated and easier to diagnose and repair. There is a chance that some things may be obsolete but there is usually a substitute that can be used.

[NITEHAWK]

Our Foretravel is going on 31 years old, has 84,000 miles on the unit.
Wouldn't be the slightest concerned with making another 3,200 mile round trip to Texas with it.
(I would put new tires on it as the se are going on 7 years old)
Coach is a 1989 and had 64,000 miles on it when we bought it. Bought it about seven years ago and have had to put about $3,000 in it, not counting regular maintenance and tires.

[FormerBoater]

Interesting that folks are weighing in without knowing what chassis and what coach builder and model the OP is considering.


Without this information I cannot fathom giving any advice other than the HEUI pump augmentation is a really smart move and 80K on the clock indicates a barely broken in engine.