Who's keeping an older MH on the road??

Just posting, we still have our old 1992 Eagle, almost bought a newer one but didn't happen
for several reasons. 

Will see how long this one keeps going I guess.

Man, this thread makes me really happy... when I started my MH search a couple years ago I joined another forum (that will remain nameless) asking for advice, and the sentiment was "Don't bother with anything older than 10 years." Well, I wasn't interested in spending thirty or forty grand on a toy, but it did make me feel poorly about what result my money was actually going to get.

I ended up with a '93 Southwind 30E, probably identical to the OP's, and I love it. Then I found you guys, and I love you too! The only issues the Southwind has suffered have been totally minor, not even worth worrying about. All the big stuff - the electrical system, plumbing, drivetrain, has been flawless and a pleasure to operate. The '90s were a good time for GM mechanicals and it shows even in a motorhome - a strong engine and a perfectly behaved transmission. I also like the narrower footprint of the older models, and since I'm more interested in just a travelling bathroom than an actual travelling house I appreciate the simplicity of no slides and such. The Southwind is a mobile bed & bath for us, not so much a mobile home.

I do foresee a time in the future when the electrical system is going to give unexpected problems - I am *shocked* at what a poor job Fleetwood did - unprotected terminals and non-weather-proof connectors everywhere. I've done a bunch of upgrades on the electrical system, and each time I do something I end up spending an extra hour or two cutting back corroded wires or terminals or connectors and replacing them with proper, automotive-grade parts. I've spend a relative fortune on marine-grade heat shrink, Permaseal hardware, and Weatherpack terminals, but hopefully the long-term result is worth it. On the upside, I'm keeping a great old rig running great and satiating my OCD at the same time. I just redid the battery cables, and even walking by the front of the thing makes me feel good.

http://www.sacsaabs.org/sacsaabs.org/misc/southwind_batterycables.jpg

Still got more work to do up there, but the foundation is solid.

the sentiment was "Don't bother with anything older than 10 years."

Click to expand...

That's garbage!  Many of us are driving older motorhomes.  This summer we passed 102,000 miles on our current one.  What's most important is not its age but its maintenance.  If the owner doesn't take care of it, then of course it will have issues.  Some problems are inevitable but continuous maintenance prevents many of those problems.  We're both "easy" drivers too which means we use the throttle and the brakes judiciously.  We had our brake linings checked during one of our maintenance stops this summer and they're "like new" because we save hard braking for when it's really needed.  That's just one example.

ArdraF

Anyone who has seen Ardra's coach will know it's immaculate inside and out. Ardra's hubby Jerry is fanatical about maintenance, and they're both fanatical about appearance.

Just a little OCD!  :  But we're really lucky to have a garage which is much nicer than keeping it outside.

ArdraF

What year is yours?

I got my carpet cleaned today, wanted them to do the ceiling but the guy said his insurance
won't let him.  I bet it could have been cleaned nicely. I'm having my 2 kitchen chairs recovered.
Wondering if one of the hand steamers would clean the ceiling, I think its oxite or something like carpet, he was afraid of loosening the glue.

Drove it home the other day from the diesel shop, it has a bit more pep in the lower mile
per hour range.  But as hubby said its not going to have much more with only a 4 speed tranny, sounded really smooth.  hope the old girl has a lot more trips left in her.  I do like driving it but slides would be nice, sigh.  I need to open the engine cover and see what the new canister and filter deal looks like.

Carolyn, it's a 2004.  As to your ceiling, yes it probably is ozite which used to be very popular for use in RV ceilings.  You might Google ozite cleaning and see what you can find.  But first search here on the RV Forum.  Just use the word ozite and you'll find some discussions because others have also wanted to clean their ozite ceilings in the past.

ArdraF

1992 bounder 34j. Ford. 57,000 mi. Owned 20 yrs. know every bolt, nut, and screw. Love it! Looks good, drives good, and lives good. Pulls 1992 geo tracker toad.

Ok I thought you have a newer one.

I washed it today and I'm going to work on waxing tomorrow.  I cleaned 3 of the chrome wheels with the Mequier chrome cleaner, came out nice.

I will look up the ozite stuff, it wasn't to bad but I spot cleaned some of it and also where the AC's were replaced it could look better. 

I want it cleaner looking, thinking of replacing the front curtains too, might even replace some of the blinds, everything in it is 1992 of course.

Just bought a '97 Discovery DP.........I hope it lives another two years , because if it does we will both have seen
a lot of America............" Buy an RV, and see the U.S.A."

John and Jennifer
Crossing our fingers

95 Winnebago Brave 27'

That is a good looking rig.

I bought one of those Little Green Machines today with the heated water.  I'm going to try it, hope it works.

Very nice thread. Cuts across many issues concerning the maintenance and useful life of a motorhome.

1989 South Wind 30' with 22,000 Miles on a new GM crate motor, 56,000 total. I went through every system myself. replaced
dump slide gate valves,  repaired a drain leak under the tub, fridge replaced with residential compact, added a inverter
and rear battery for running the fridge without shore power or Genny nor running, replaced the disk brake pads and master
cylinder, replaced the shocks And steering stabalizer, sway bar bushings, fan motors and thermostats in both roof ac
units, drier replaced on the dash ac unit and new r-12.

New in-tank fuel electric pump and engine mounted fuel pump, new
house water pump, new thermostatic fan clutch, 2 new smog pumps, replaced water heater thermostat, gas heater ckt board,
replaced plugs and plug wires, installed air diverter on right side of engine. replaced header gaskets, reinforced the
hitch add on section for towing a trailer, added trailer brakes controller, 6 new tires, 2 new wheels, new hour meter for
the generator, new front air bags. 

This year the wife and I have been to North Carolina, Silverton, Co., Memphis Ak. and many times towing a race car to the
drag races. no problems. With this cheaper fuel, I've found it runs better on premium fuel. We run between 55 and 70 with
no problem, just returned from 10,500' in Colorado back to Texas where we are based.

Hey Patriotic
Where will you look for new front curtains? We took ours out from out 2000 bounder and washed them. They did not come out clean. We will try again. If we can't clean them up, my better half wants to replace them.

If I weren't being lazy I would make some, well actually I'm just very busy doing other things and I might make some.

I think I saw some nice ones on the Camping World site, but look around the net and you can
find some.

Just bought a 37' '97 Discovery DP 93,000 miles. Drove it from Cocoa Beach to Atlanta ( home )  and was surprised at the amount of sway I encountered. In traffic it seemed to need steering correction every time a vehicle passed. Some of the vehicles weren't that big. Is this normal? I am new at  this ...first time owner.

Freightliner chassis, air ride suspension.

John D 28

Although it depends on what the "sway" actually is like, one of the first things I'd do is get it weighed then check the tire manufacturer's inflation table to see that the tires are properly inflated. Over inflation can make steering twitchy and add bounce to the ride. Under inflation can sometimes be a "squashy" ride and is dangerous, as the tires will degrade quickly. There's a bit more explanation under Maintenance Items in the Library (menu button above).

All that being said, a certain amount of reaction to other vehicles is normal, especially if there's a crosswind, but the amount varies. The Bounder I used to have did that a lot, while my current Beaver only does it a very little, except with strong crosswinds, then it's more noticeable. Your Discovery shouldn't react strongly if the suspension and tire pressures are OK, but I'd think there's be some.

Of course I'm assuming that you're primarily talking about reaction to vehicles in an immediately adjacent lane, not across several lanes.