92 Fleetwood Bounder Motor replacement. :is it worth it??

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T

Tgyrl

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Bought RV for $15K 4 months ago. Drove it from TX where I bought it to VA. (1400 miles) since in VA. Got tune up, then while driving it to get it check out for my move to GA. It locked up. Now mechanic says $8,800 for motor replacement.  I plan on living in it FT and taking monthly trips.
Should Invest the 9K (they are checking brakes and everything else today to make sure nothing else is wrong) or shld I cut my losses. It?s also got $5K solar panel syst installed.  Don?t think anyone would buy it since needs new motor.

Thoughts. Help...don?t want to spend more than or just as much as I paid for it if it leads to more problems.

Do rebuilt motors typically last. (Will have 3 yr 100k mike warranty on motor if I replace.
 
Find a different mechanic. 454 long blocks can be bought for less than$2000. It shouldn't cost $6800 to install.
 
New engine is 5K + 4K labor
Rear axel is leaking and damaged rear brakes which is another $1300.  Total 11K.  :'(

Only other mechanic is at camping world and they don?t do good work and are even more expensive.

I am supposed to be moving to GA in 30 days to my new base.  I have to go to training Friday for 2 weeks. I have gotten rid of all my furniture and everything. Now I have to find a place to live. Soooo heart broken right now.

Do you think I could sell it for parts and the solar set up?  :-\

I live inSpringfield, VA area. DC Metro. Anyone know a shop.
 
My experience from the car world is that it makes a TOTAL difference on what sort of place you ask to do the work.

Someone who does that routinely and who has access to all sorts of replacement configurations (engine alone, engine with transaxle and suspension, front-end clip) will quote a price that is waaaaaaay lower than someone who rarely attempts the procedure.

It may still not be worth it, as others have pointed out, but I would root around and find a company that does this sort of thing on a daily basis.
 
Changing a motor, whether block only or a crate engine, is a bigger chore in a motorhome than in any car or  truck, simply due to inaccessibility.

That said, you can probably find a shop that would do it for less, though maybe not with the same professional skills. It's still gonna be pricey, though, and you will never recover the money spent except by keeping the RV and using it yourself. So, your choice is to abandon the original $15k and get a fresh start using the $11k that would have gone for repairs.  Frankly, that seems the safest route, since it appears the old Bounder is in poor shape mechanically.  What about the rest? How confident are you that there are no more disasters waiting to spring loose on you?
 
I hate to say it, but I'd salvage the solar setup and whatever else may have some value and look for another setup.  You have a 26 year old house and drivetrain that can't be separated from each other.

That's one big advantage of a truck and trailer.  If the truck develops a major problem you have the option to park the trailer and find another truck instead of sinking money into fixing the old one.  Your house investment stays intact either way.  With a motorhome you're stuck either spending what it takes to fix it or writing the whole thing off.

And pickup trucks are usually cheaper to fix than a motorhome.  Not just the major items, but smaller routine repairs too. Part of this is familiarity, most shops work on them all day long and so they know what to expect.  Motorhomes have the mechanical parts buried deep in the bowels of the beast, which increases the labor costs as the mechanic has to dig deeper, spending more time to get to the problem.  And while he's working, the motorhome is taking up as much space in the shop as 2-3 cars, cutting into the shop's productivity.

How does the transmission look?  That's another big ticket item if it fails.  Has the shop determined why the engine locked up?
 
It seems a few people are ignoring the detail that this is a Class A chassis, it is not a simple matter of removing the hood of a truck, unbolting the engine and lifting it out. (Yea, there is a bit more to it than that, but at least it comes out the top.)  The engine may have to come out the bottom, or at least the front cap of the MH has to come off.  Coming out the bottom probably means removing the front suspension.
 
AStravelers said:
It seems a few people are ignoring the detail that this is a Class A chassis, it is not a simple matter of removing the hood of a truck, unbolting the engine and lifting it out. (Yea, there is a bit more to it than that, but at least it comes out the top.)  The engine may have to come out the bottom, or at least the front cap of the MH has to come off.  Coming out the bottom probably means removing the front suspension.
Click to expand...
No we are not ignoring the Class "A" aspect  A long block from Rock auto for a motor home is +- $2500.00 not the $5000.00 she was quoted
And @ $100.00 an hour that is 40 hours labor to install the engine.
Ido realize the dealer must mark up the motor and the usual practice is to add in the core charge which is about $900.00 to the price of the engine and NOT Rebate it to the customer as the dealer markup.
So that makes the engine worth about $3400 retail to the customer. A dealer should be buying the engine for less than retail thereby increasing dealer profit on the engine.
 
Too bad you didn't have it inspected by a competent shop before handing over the cash. You will never recover the cost of repairs and being almost thirty years old other problems are bound to crop up. Get what you can for salvage and chalk the balance up to what I call education tax.
 
Thank you all for your help and advice. Definitely hard lesson. I bought from a person whose whole reputation was on maintaining that RV with tons of DIYs on maintenance and all. I literally have to go to training tomorrow and gone for three weeks and have to move to new duty location 2 weeks after. I found a goodwill who is willing to take it as is. At least I?ll be able to get a tax write off for donating it. HUGE EDUCATION TAX indeed. They shld be able to pick up and tow today from repair shop. I did post on Craigslist, but no bites. If I had more time, I may have tried to salvage some things, just got no time.

Will regroup at next duty station move forward. For now will have to find a sticks/bricks spot to make sure I have a stable place to stay as I prepare to arrive at my next assignment.

NEVER again will I ever buy without inspecting. Which I tried to do, but it fell thru the day arrived to pick up, and trusted their word, base on their history of maintaining RV.

It?s been a lot, my chest is tight, stomach nauseous, head hurting. But this too shall pass.

Thank you all again for your time, thoughts, and advice. It is much appreciated.
T
 
Just to make you feel a little bit better, the best inspector in the world can't always detect an internal engine problem 1400 miles before it happens.  It might have been just fine when you bought it.
 
I can feel your pain. There are never guarantees especially when purchasing an older motorhome. Not sure of the mileage but that thing had to be in immaculate condition to be sold for $15K. I would not replace the engine as the coach is really not worth more than $10K and there will no doubt be additional costs.

FYI...I bought a '93 34J Bounder in August of 2014 for $15,000 from original owner who never used it. 3400 miles in perfect condition. Ran great, looked awesome but ultimately sold it for $10K with 11,000 miles. Only thing wrong was the generator failed.


Good luck and really inspect any new purchase. But engine failures are not really predictable.
 
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