100,000 + miles

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jbkoonse

jbkoonse

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Sacramento
Will a mass production class A reach 100,000 or 150,000 miles? What kind of obvious problems would one notice with a 100,000+ unit. Seems to me that the engine/chassis would make it, but not so sure about coach itself. Just ponderin'...
 
Before we got the Winnebago, we had a Class C for 14 years and when we sold it, it had over 105,000 miles on it. During the 14 years we had it we replaced an electronic panel in the refrigerator, a panel in the furnace, and some belts in the engine. Also had $400 in generator repairs. It was at the point where it needed new carpet and perhaps seat recovering but mostly it was in good shape. We still see it driving around Cortez occasionally so it's still running.

We expect our Class A to last at least as long with as many miles although after 6 years it already has one chair in need of reupholstering.

Wendy
 
Our 1997 Endeavor (Class A diesel) has 130,000 miles on it and has been used continuously for over 13 years.  It's mechanically in as good condition now as it was when new, and in some areas better.
 
We have put over 103,000 on our 8 year old Travel Supreme diesel pusher. Our carpet is nearing replacement as well as some of the floor tiles, but otherwise, looks almost as good as new, runs better.
 
It's hard to answer your question with any certainty.  The biggest factor in how long the house will last is the kind of usage and care it gets.

If you average 10,000 miles a year it will take 10 years to get 100,000 miles on a rig.  There are lots of RVs around that are that age or older.  But that use could be from someone who lives fulltime or most of the time in the rig and only moves every week or two, averaging 800-900 miles a month.  Or it could be from a family that takes a couple of big vacations and several weekend trips each year.  The house wear will be different for each case.

At first glance, the vacation unit may seem better than a fulltime rig because it's actually been lived in for a much shorter length of time so the house should have much less wear.  But those fulltimers may have lived extremely lightly in the house and since it was their primary residence, taken immaculate care of it - fixing problems while they're small, keeping on top of maintenance, etc.  The vacation rig, while having less total usage, may have had a bunch of kids or adult friends partying, tracking in mud and sand, etc.  And less maintenance because it's only a secondary house and most of the time it's out of sight, out of mind in a storage yard.
 
I would be more concerned about the engine and drive train than the coach.  The cost of repair is so much different.  I would  rather replace a water heater than an engine . . .

I think that histroy would suggest that a diesel engine would last 100,000 with little probelm and that a gas engine, in a motor home, that lasts that long is somewhat unusual.  And when it stops, it is costly.
 
A post-2000 gas motorhome chassis should last 100k miles without much strain. The recent vintage GM and Ford big block gas engines and associated transmissions are designed to go 100k miles without even a spark plug change.
 
Hi,
What Gary Said! These engines are designed for commercial applications and we probably drive them much more gently than someone doing in-town deliveries. I'm at 41K miles on a V10 (2006) and don't expect to remove the dog house before I hit 100K.
Ernie
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
The recent vintage GM and Ford big block gas engines and associated transmissions are designed to go 100k miles without even a spark plug change.
Click to expand...
My bro-in-law would prefer shorter intervals on spark plugs.  When he was replacing mine he found that one was very tight and just about impossible to remove.  He showed me some engine head metal on the threads.    However the final one on the minivan takes at least an hour to disassemble stuff to get to it so he didn't bother with it.
 
Our 1993 Itasca Sunrise (gas Chevy 450) now has 175,000km (108,000 miles). Just this week we had for the first time a real engine repair: new manifold. We have owned the unit since 1998 and never had an engine repair before, so we almost started to take it for granted. It has performed flawlessly in temperatures from 20 below to 100F. It has tackled every road we took it on, no matter how small, winding or steep. It hauled us several times up the Moqui Dugway.

Two years ago our coach repairs started: a door handle broke off ($300), and last year we replaced a number if items: water pump (which was the original), converter panel, toilet. Fridge and water heater are original and works perfectly. Same for the heating system. All the upholstery is in good shape but the captains chair tends to get dirty for being grabbed by people entering. We had to replace the drivers windshield.

I would love to replace the blue carpet with laminate but we are two people with two left hands so no hope of doing that ourselves.

We have been SUPER HAPPY with our 27 ft Sunrise.

Elly
 
Tony_Alberta said:
My bro-in-law would prefer shorter intervals on spark plugs.  When he was replacing mine he found that one was very tight and just about impossible to remove. 
Click to expand...
Two summers ago I had the ceramic core of a spark plug blow out leaving the metal housing in the block. I was surprised that I could get the rest of the plugs out, they were badly corroded, 10 year old, Ford 460 with 70,000 miles. The parts guy said this was not uncommon.
Our Class A should make the 100K mark but the underneath compartments and components will most likely be done by then. It has had one or more trips exposed to the brine they put on the roads, even after thorough washing afterwards the hardware underneath does not stand up to that stuff.
We also reupholstered the sofa and chairs and replaced a few modules in appliances.
Brakes and calipers will also make the 100k mark but will most likely have to changed from rust and lack of use.
 
I had trouble with plugs at 60,000 on a Ford 460. Three broken on removal and one had thds mostly stripped by previous owner. Current 1996 Foretravel has 140,000+ miles and going strong. You need to know that an older unit like ours needs to be taken care of and some things are going to need to be replaced due to age on them. We put in a new cooling unit on fridge, hardwood on floor, got rid of day/night and put in short decorative curtins in front and Levelor up/down celular shades in bedroom. Just put on new tires and batteries. The usual stuff that finally wears out. Saved a bundle on the price of a good coach...enough to pay for all of this. We've had it over 5 years and will keep it another 10 or more.
 
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