New to us 2008 Aspect 26A

So at Thanksgiving time we bought ourselves a 2008 Aspect 26A.  It must've been sitting around for yrs as it had only 20,600mi on it.  We picked it up in another state & took the long way home, driving 1200mi.  Along the way we found out the dash A/C didn't work (it was cold outside when we picked it up).  After getting home i had the A/C looked at... only needed freon.  Also had all fluids changed, including differential.  All RV systems work good & engine was strong on the 1200mi ride home.  So just wondering if i should have the engine tuned up or wait & see?  Anyone have other suggestions on what we might want to have looked at?
TIA

Welcome to the forum.
The most important thing to look at in my opinion is the tires. You need to check the manufacturers date on them. If they are 7/8 years old, they should be replaced. You said it was sitting for a long time. Just sitting is worse than moving. Tires wear out from the inside out. Don't go by the condition of the tread. You were probably lucky you didn't have tire issues driving 1200 miles on old tires.
Also check all the belts and hoses.

thanks for your reply
new tires were put on by the dealer!  )
good thinking bout belts/hoses

fraim said:

So at Thanksgiving time we bought ourselves a 2008 Aspect 26A.  It must've been sitting around for yrs as it had only 20,600mi on it.  We picked it up in another state & took the long way home, driving 1200mi.  Along the way we found out the dash A/C didn't work (it was cold outside when we picked it up).  After getting home i had the A/C looked at... only needed freon.  Also had all fluids changed, including differential.  All RV systems work good & engine was strong on the 1200mi ride home.  So just wondering if i should have the engine tuned up or wait & see?  Anyone have other suggestions on what we might want to have looked at?
TIA

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These days, for the last 20+ years, there isn?t anything on an engine to tune other than replace spark plugs.

RVs often are often lightly used, so 1000-2000 thousand miles/year is not unusual at all. Used regularly in summer months, but not driven far.

These days, for the last 20+ years, there isn?t anything on an engine to tune other than replace spark plugs.

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And that would be done a mileage rather than years. I'd  maybe think about it in another 60k-80k miles.

Definitely review the date codes on the tires - it would not be surprising if they are the 2008 originals.  The rubber in a tire is good for maybe 10 years, even with zero mileage, so the they are likely to be past their safe use time.

Thanks all  )

Let me reiterate... the tires are new, old ones having been replaced by the dealer.

The title i received from the dealer shows the unit being purchased in 2011 with +19k miles & was sold to me with 20,600mi.  So, 1,000mi in 8yrs by the previous owner.

I was hoping a "tune up" of some sort would help on mpg which on the ride home averaged 6.5mpg (no tow behind).  But after reading this forum that seem about right.

Thanks!!

My suggestion is if you have not yet done so check the roof, pay particular attention to the sealant around the roof penetrations, if it is cracking it needs to be replaced.

p.s. double check the DOT date codes on those tires, dealers have been known to lie

Welcome to the RV Forum fraim

The best thing I can recommend is spend a few night in the RV while at home to really test things out.

Best I can recommend. Have the gas tank (Inside) inspected with a scope.  If it's a steel tank, it could have rust inside.  Next, drain, or add some gas treatment and burn that gas down to 'E', Gas goes very stale after a few years max, and can start gumming up internals.

SpencerPJ said:

Best I can recommend. Have the gas tank (Inside) inspected with a scope.  If it's a steel tank, it could have rust inside.  Next, drain, or add some gas treatment and burn that gas down to 'E', Gas goes very stale after a few years max, and can start gumming up internals.

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He's already driven it 1200 miles at 6 mpg to get it home.  Pretty sure all the stale gas is already gone, although I'd dump a dose of Seafoam in it before the next trip.

Old_Crow said:

He's already driven it 1200 miles at 6 mpg to get it home.  Pretty sure all the stale gas is already gone, although I'd dump a dose of Seafoam in it before the next trip.

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) )  Maybe change fuel filter if possible.

It probably is due for a fuel filter change, evey 15,000 mi and it may never have been changed. Only tune up for that engine is spark plugs at 100,000 mi.

ok...thanks y'all  )
i've had filters changed but will look at my receipt to see if fuel filter was changed as well.

i'm not sure what "seafoam" is or what it does but i'll look into that too.

fraim said:

..i'm not sure what "seafoam" is or what it does but i'll look into that too.

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Seafoam is a fuel additive.

I would expect a rig like that to get 8 to maybe 10 mpg, but you have to baby the accelerator to achieve it.  High speed and aggressive acceleration are the #1 & #2 reasons for the poor mpg in a motorhome. If you drive it like your car, you will always be getting the worst mpg it is capable of.

well in our defense,  it was our very 1st time driving an RV and this rig has lots of power, so.....prob treated it like a car.

can someome provide some insight on how best to use the gas pedal?  keep it under 60mph or lower?  65?  we generally weren't
stomping on the pedal at the christmas tree but i was having the speedometer at 70mph & once in a while <- 75mph.  when the speed limit is 75 it's hard to do 60

The trade off between speed, traffic flow, and how long it takes to get places is a somewhat personal one, though in general expect your fuel economy to drop quickly as speed increases over 60 mph.  Beyond that ease up on the accelerator when going up hills and try to keep the transmission from downshifting a long hill climbs.

Our usual cruising speed is 65 mph which is about 1800 rpm on the Cummins ISL - it's our best trade-off for speed and fuel economy. When we're in heavy or city traffic we always run about 5 mph under traffic so they pass us - it's much safer and way less stress than trying to behave like a car.  (Lessons learned after 117,000 miles in the coach.)

Our gross combined weight with trailer and rock crawler Jeep in tow is right about 40,000 pounds and we'll average 7.2 to 7.3 mpg - not much worse than a large gasser.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

I would expect a rig like that to get 8 to maybe 10 mpg, but you have to baby the accelerator to achieve it.  High speed and aggressive acceleration are the #1 & #2 reasons for the poor mpg in a motorhome. If you drive it like your car, you will always be getting the worst mpg it is capable of.

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For fuel mileage on my 2017 / 30J

I get 7 MPG ish towing a CX-5

9 MPG ish empty

I think engine in my 30J- 2017 is 305 HP, 6.8L, SEFI V10 Triton.

Seems crazy but to me it seems to be better killing the Cruise Control and just feather the pedal on the climb up the mountain. Also reduces that CLATTER that beast is making on her way up that hill.

Hi fraim,
Good to see another Aspect 26A owner.  Ours is a 2007, purchased about 10yrs ago.  I was led to believe (by the salesman) that we should average 10mpg.  I have seen others who claim they do.  I must be doing something wrong because we get between 7.5 to 8.5 mpg not towing (once I got 9mpg down hill with a tail wind).  Now I see people with class A units who say they get that much.  We cruise at about 60 mph.  I use cruise on flat lands and use a gentle throttle going up hills.  It is what it is.  Our unit is very comfortable to drive and it loves to cruise at 70 to 75 mph, but the mpg drops down closer to 6.5 to 7 mpg at those speeds. 

I like that we can take it nearly anywhere because it is only 10ft 5in high and 7ft 11in wide.  We do check clearances for tunnels on the back roads. 

Maintenance: We lube the front end every 20K miles.  Working from memory...think there are 6 grease fittings.  We also have the front bearings serviced every 20K miles. We use high quality synthetic engine oil and change it every 5K miles or once a year which ever comes first.  Haven't reach the tune-up mileage yet.  Coolent flush will be our next service. I had brake lines flushed, and front calipers serviced.  If it sits too long and you make a panic stop the caliper can lockup.  Just enough that the steering pulls to one side.  You know there is a problem when you see smoke.  That was about a $500 mistake.  Make sure our air cleaner is clean and have the fuel filter replaced on schedule. We always try to make sure we have at least 1/3 tank of gas.  Gas cools the fuel pump. 

Good strong engine.  We have traveled Coast to Coast, from Mexican boarder to Alaska, visited a lot of the Canadian Provence's  Good rig, well built...no worries traveling in it.  Oh, and it has a hard roof, not fabric.  No leaks (just check seams once a year).

Only complaint:  It rides rough: 26ft motorhome on E450 chassis.  We checked the weight and adjusted tire pressure lower, but is still a rough rider. 

This is probably going to be our last motor home.  Good size, easy to use, looks good, likes to cover ground.  Expect it to last many more years.

Happy trails