Need info/suggestions on 2004 Mandalay

[SWarren]

We are looking at a 2004 Mandalay motorhome, and know nothing about Mandela. We are going to drive about 150 miles to look at it. Can anybody tell me anything about these motorhomes and would it be worth driving that far? The pictures of it look great. It’s diesel pusher. Does anybody have any advice, pros and cons?

[marjoa]

Originally Posted by SWarren

We are looking at a 2004 Mandalay motorhome, and know nothing about Mandela. We are going to drive about 150 miles to look at it. Can anybody tell me anything about these motorhomes and would it be worth driving that far? The pictures of it look great. It’s diesel pusher. Does anybody have any advice, pros and cons?

I kept this previous link (below) because this is a text book example of How-To examine and buy a used MH. Yes 150 miles is worth it. Short drive.

As far as you—knowing nothing about Mandela—he was some dude that went to prison and then became President in South Africa. He's dead now.

Good luck my friend.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/i-th...oo-327364.html

[markbo53]

A brand formed under Thor Industries subsidiary Four Winds International, Mandalay Coach motorhomes were first build during the 2003 model year. Diesel powered Class A motorhomes, Mandalay Coach range from 37 to 44.5 feet in length offering a full accompaniment of comfort features for upscale vacationing. The Mandalay Coach brand was discontinued after 2010 following the formation of Thor Motor Coach.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Sorry, don't know anything about that rig.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[A Traveler]

We have a 2006 Mandalay 40E. We love it.

The Mandalay was a "Tier 2" coach in the model line up, one level above the entry level Presidio. It's built on the Freightliner XC-R chassis with Independent Front Suspension. The standard engine was a 350 hp Cat with an exhaust brake. The optional engine was the 400 hp Cummins ISL with a 2-stage Jake brake. This engine is very desirable. The windshield on the '04 model will be 2-piece and the wipers park in the vertical position in the middle. That's about the only difference between the '04 and the later models. Our '06 has a one-piece windshield and the wipers park horizontally at the bottom of the windshield.

They offered several floor plans, and that's really the key to buying any coach. You have got to like the floor plan or nothing else matters.

The original sticker price of a 2004 Mandalay was $330,000 to $385,000 depending on the option list. They are nice coaches!

[SWarren]

Does anyone know why the Mandalay Four Winds Coach was discontinued? Can I still get parts etc for one? Any suggestions on a 2004 Mandalay Four Winds? Thanks

[koda59]

We have a 2008 Mandalay 40G. I have not had any problems finding parts. They are pretty much interchangeable with car parts or big truck parts.
We have the ISL 400!
We have talked with many Mandalay owners and we agree that we are very happy with our coach.
I think Thor did away from calling them Mandalay and built their own brand.

[BobGed]

The following topic may be of interest to you particularly regarding the Halo modification and the existence of a Mandalay Yahoo Group.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/mand...ds-221273.html

[Stump Jumper]

We have owned our Mandalay for almost 3 years and have found it to be a very nice coach. Seems to be well built and has many nice features. Ours is a 350 Cummins. I would agree with others that the most important thing is to make sure that the floor plan is what you want. As far as the Mandalay brand, I think that they offer good value for the money and would not hesitate to buy another one.

[SWarren]

That’s funny!! Thanks for the info

[MCJones]

This is my personal experience owning a Mandalay 07 for 10 months. It was a beautiful looking and running coach - that part we liked. BUT we could't keep it because of the leaks at the slide outs and roof. Chased the leaks for awhile but everytime we had a person/dealer work on it the first thing they would say is "oh yes they are known for that problem." One dealer we spoke to about a trade in on another coach said he hated to take them on trade because he used to sell them and knew they were a problem on leaks. I tell you this honestly to help you in your decision making. I'm aware many people love their Mandalay but we had to let it go and loved everything else about the rig. hope this helps -mark

[SWarren]

I kinda wished I had received this a little earlier. I bought it this weekend. I guess I’ll just have to hope it doesn’t leak. Did anyone say why they leaked?

[Stump Jumper]

Ours has a fiberglass roof. As long as you keep the joints caulked with a self leveling roof sealer you shouldn't have any problems. This is no different than any other coach and it needs to be inspected and checked before each camping season. The only water intrusion that we have ever had was from a slide out and was during a terrible blowing rain storm at the beach. When I did some investigating, I found that the rubber gaskets that seal the slide out on the rain side had not deployed properly when the slide was extended. Now I make sure each time that the slide out is extended and have had no problems since. Again, could have happened to any coach. Preventative maintenance does wonders.

[dskimball1]

We bought our 2004 Mandalay 40D earlier this year. It is certainly a higher end MH as compared to any we have seen.

The previous owner did have a roof leak. It was caused by failure to re-seal two roof seams as another poster has mentioned.

We got a good deal on this coach and all systems are operational.
This coach had only 20k miles when we bought it. This told us that It did a few seasons of “sitting”, (perhaps as a seasonal camp for the previous owner).

We had a front end issue show up after our first trip. It ended up being bad tires (snapped steel belts). Two front steer tires resolved this issue.

Then we had an engine over heat issue going up hills, then cool down as we went down hill.
That issue was resolved after the radiator was removed and steam cleaned.

We just returned from a 950 mile trip. The coach ran great on the road and at the campgrounds we enjoyed.

Hopefully you got a decent $$ deal. I am sure you will enjoy your coach also.

We store our coach ($162/month) at a storage dealer with OVERHEAD ROOF COVERING our MH. Obviously any MH stored outside exposed to sun, rain & snow (New England) will degrade the roof. We decided it was best to keep our MH out of the elements.
We think it is cheap insurance!

We just winterized it (easy by the way) and have put it to bed for winter. One last tip....,there is a Salvage dealer in KY. He has three or four Mandalay’s that you can use for parts. He already helped me !

Happy trails....contact me anytime for more.

Dskimballcomcast@gmail.com