More than 100K miles on your rig?

So we're upgrading from a pop up tent trailer to a Class C. The big question were grappling with right now is mileage. El Monte RV has some nice looking former rental units for sale but all within our price range have over 100,000 miles on them.

So my question to y'all is if anyone has rigs with over 100 or 150 K miles, how has the engine and drivetrain held up?

Thanks in advance for your input

Oh yeah, gas not diesel.

What is your price range?  Plenty of rigs out there with less than 50K miles.

In any vehicle,if its been maintained, 100k is not a big deal. Rental vehicles on the other hand are hard to determine how they have been treated.

Personally I would not buy a use rental unit. To many miles driven by people who don't know and don't care. There are way to many great used units out there with low milage and have been taken care of.
Bill

It all depends on the secret price/budget. It might be a screaming deal, somehow I doubt it. Is there a chassis/driveline warranty? Engine, transmission and suspension have likely been abused. They've made movies about it.

Bill

On the other hand, El Monte and Cruise America do regular chassis maintenance that private owners may or may not do. The visible condition of the rig should tell you about other use factors.

A late model gas engine is fine at 100k miles and even a hard-working big block V8 is probably good for 150-200k. Transmissions are a bit harder to guess, since they are susceptible to overheating and it is hard to tell if that has happened once the fluid is changed. Still, I would think the risk is low if it appears to shift ok in a test drive. You could always take it to a transmission shop for a check up before you buy.

My biggest concern at that mileage in an RV would be the drive shaft universal joints and things like the alternator, water pump, and a/c compressor. They all get a lot of wear and tear in normal use and each one can be a $300-$600 repair if done in a shop (much less if you can DIY). Make sure you keep some cash in reserve for repairs.

I've worked in the vehicle rental industry for almost 20 years.  If what "customers" do to our cars is any indication what they do to a rental RV, run like hell and don't look back....unless....you can do your own wrenching (in which case you probably wouldn't be asking for advice here) and you get a screaming .....and I mean SCREAMING deal on it. ....as in almost free.

Yes, we have a maintenance schedule that gets adhered to....usually.  Say a unit due for a PM checks in, but customer is 4 hours late returning (common), they broke something on the unit (common) and the next customer has been waiting for an hour and is whining, crying, and screaming bloody murder (common).  Doing the PM would take 30-45 minutes.....but said waiting "customer" is berating the agent up one side and down the other, calling them every name in the book, and dropping the F bomb every other word (because that has become acceptable today), so the agent lets the unit go out without the PM to get said terrorist....errr....I mean customer out the door and out of their hair (very common).  Said terrorist knocks out another 4000 miles on the unit before they check in (late, of course) rinse, repeat.  I have seen units go well beyond when they were scheduled for maintenance literally hundreds of times over the years.

Dirty little secret in the rental industry....when a vehicle leaves someone stranded, half the time we secretly think it's hilarious. 

At any rate, the used RV market is huge, and there are a lot of well maintained low mileage privately owned units.  Don't buy a hunk of crap because you're trying to save a buck.

I don't know what the used rental units are going for but I bet it can be matched in a used private sale. I would have a tech that I trusted look over ANY unit before buying.
Bill

From what I'm seeing on rvt.com, rvtrader.com and craigslist in Colorado the prices for used rentals are hard to beat. Sort of an apples/oranges coparo though because of the differential in mileage. I was shocked with NADA results though. For instance one unit, and 06 Tioga 31W, Chevy, with 101K miles rental dealer asking $25.9 and NADA says $33-40K. Nada only shows a 5% price hit on the mileage. I compared 2 other units  as well with similar results. Frankly, I have to wonder if the NADA guide is a bit skewed or something.

As to repairs to engine accessories, drivetrain etc, I'm capable of dealing with those on my own.

Basically trying to get a feel for the longevity of late model engines.

If you bought it new, did the maintenance and took care of it, and drove the snot out of it to the tune of 100K miles in 7 years, I wouldn't hesitate to own it.  With proper maintenance, the drivetrains can go well beyond 100K.  But put the word "rental" in the sentence, and all bets are off.

Disregard NADA....pay attention to condition and maintenance records.  Once an RV gets a few years on it, condition and care are everything. 

There's a chasm of difference between a well cared for privately owned unit and a turned back rental. 

700Driver said:

From what I'm seeing on rvt.com, rvtrader.com and craigslist in Colorado the prices for used rentals are hard to beat. Sort of an apples/oranges coparo though because of the differential in mileage. I was shocked with NADA results though. For instance one unit, and 06 Tioga 31W, Chevy, with 101K miles rental dealer asking $25.9 and NADA says $33-40K. Nada only shows a 5% price hit on the mileage. I compared 2 other units  as well with similar results. Frankly, I have to wonder if the NADA guide is a bit skewed or something.

As to repairs to engine accessories, drivetrain etc, I'm capable of dealing with those on my own.

Basically trying to get a feel for the longevity of late model engines.

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I think the Ford V10 will last a long time. I have on the Ford forums heard of them going over 300,000 in dump trucks and tow trucks. I do recommend using a proper weight full synthetic oil. The over head cams do not have bearings when they wear you have to change the head. The Chevrolet should go over 200,000+ with proper maint.
If you buy any coach the best practise would be to do a complete maint schedule That way you know the basics have been done.
Bill