How good are the USED Cruise America motorhomes ?

[oletimerRVer]

How good are the USED Cruise America motor homes ?

 

[Isaac-1]

From what I have read on the subject over the last several years, most people seem very happy with them, with the occasional horror story such as having the entire wall separate from the chassis along the passenger side. Personally I suspect a lot has to do with how they were treated when they were rentals, picture someone rolling one onto its side in a ditch, then it being "repaired" and put back into service, then eventually sold off.

The big thing to be aware about these coaches as that they are custom built no frills units, with very basic features, ie no TV, rugged fabric, no mechanical entry step, no awning, basically the less stuff for renters to break the better.

I don't know for sure what Cruise America does with such damaged coaches, I just know they happen as I saw one laying on its side after someone had tried pulling off the shoulder of the highway in Grand Tetons NP when we were there a few years ago.

 

[Skookum]

Mostly you’ll get opinions from people who have never owned one.

They are pretty simple, though. That could be a good thing depending on what you’re looking for. The interiors are very basic and are designed for hard use. The van chassis’ are fleet maintained and…they are regularly driven by first-time RV test pilots.

 

[Contributor]

I don't have any experience with them but I would think that they are well maintained. I figure people renting them having issues while on vacation would make a big deal with the rental company. The maintenance crew probably goes over them after every trip. Mechanical maintenance probably better than a DIY. All the early bugs get worked out. Basic configuration is OK with me, I don't need the bells and whistles when camping.

I considered purchasing one some time ago. I found them to be high mileage, and not inexpensive.

 

[Kirk]

I have a friend who has owned two of them and is very happy with the result. His both came with a 1 year warranty from Cruise America. I know that he did use that warranty on the first one but don't believe that he ever did on the second.

 

[Isaac-1]

One comment on the mileage, these Ford E series chassis and engines these coaches are built on have a design service life of 175,000 miles, meaning that 85+% of these chassis should still be roadworthy at 175,000 with proper care and scheduled maintenance. This is not a warranty, just an engineering design goal. So if you buy a 125,000 mile coach from Cruise America, you can reasonably expect it to last another 50,000 miles. The vast majority of privately owned motorhomes average about 5,000 miles per year of use long term, so if you plan to use it like most people do, and not use it for full time travel, etc. expect about 10 years of service life left in the chassis / engine, which should fit in with the calendar life one finds out of most entry level coaches given their overall build quality before most components age out.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

My guess is they are no worse other perhaps mileage than any other used Rv to purchase, a coin flip either way.

However, when I think of someone buying a used CA class C I think of the times my SIL has rented one to join us on a camping adventure. One time loading about a dozen of us in a 24' C as we bar hopped in Canada. Another time just four of us and but loading our bicycles in to take over to Mackinaw Island, putting the bikes on the bed, the top bunk, and cramming in the aisle way. My SIL hit every pothole and rut in the road, why, because it was a Rental! Her daily driver is a BMW and I'm sure she doesn't drive it like the RA rentals.

 

[ennored]

Subject comes up here often.

 

[jackiemac]

Two of our UK members have (I think it was a Cruise America but definitely an ex rental), but they're not on the forum often. They bought their RV in April 2022 and spent 6 months travelling. Don't think they had any major problems.

@TonyL

Can you recall any issues? Can't remember their forum name

 

[TonyL]

Two of our UK members have (I think it was a Cruise America but definitely an ex rental), but they're not on the forum often. They bought their RV in April 2022 and spent 6 months travelling. Don't think they had any major problems.

@TonyL

Can you recall any issues? Can't remember their forum name

They have problems with the vehicle air conditioning (not the habitation unit) and despite being told any Cruise America branch would help, this has not been the case. Other than that, I am not aware of any other issues. I haven't heard from them lately so I'll message them on Whatsapp.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

That's not surprising their dash air isn't working. I've had to replace two AC compressors in my Ford chassis motorhomes, they're just junk. So this doesn't sound like it would be a CA problem but more likely Ford's which nothing can be done about.

 

[MissD]

They have problems with the vehicle air conditioning (not the habitation unit) and despite being told any Cruise America branch would help, this has not been the case. Other than that, I am not aware of any other issues. I haven't heard from them lately so I'll message them on Whatsapp.

Hi you two ,
As mentioned above, we bought our 28A class C from Cruise America Florida in April 2022. We done five months and nearly 6500 miles in it travelling from Florida up the west coast into Canada, around Nova Scotia to where it is currently in storage in Ontario.
Our only real issue was the cabin A/C that decided to throw a wobble and, as yet, is still unresolved. For us the basic layout, lack of slides etc were really a bonus as in our minds it was just less to go wrong. During our trip I really only carried out preventative maintenance and done a few upgrades and modifications to suit our lifestyle. Dealing with Cruise America was okay on the whole, once you realise they are a huge business and maybe lack a bit of the personal touch? You absolutely have to adopt a proactive mindset to get things done.
For the money we think you get a pretty good deal and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

 

[touchracing]

Last summer I talked to some nice folks waiting for a tow truck. They topped up their gas tank in the rental with potable water.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

WELL,,,,,At least it was POTABLE water..>>>Dan

 

[Kirk]

They topped up their gas tank in the rental with potable water.

You must be the person who says that he saw someone try to siphon gasoline by putting a hose into the black water tank?

 

[jackiemac]

Hi you two ,
As mentioned above, we bought our 28A class C from Cruise America Florida in April 2022. We done five months and nearly 6500 miles in it travelling from Florida up the west coast into Canada, around Nova Scotia to where it is currently in storage in Ontario.
Our only real issue was the cabin A/C that decided to throw a wobble and, as yet, is still unresolved. For us the basic layout, lack of slides etc were really a bonus as in our minds it was just less to go wrong. During our trip I really only carried out preventative maintenance and done a few upgrades and modifications to suit our lifestyle. Dealing with Cruise America was okay on the whole, once you realise they are a huge business and maybe lack a bit of the personal touch? You absolutely have to adopt a proactive mindset to get things done.
For the money we think you get a pretty good deal and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

Thanks for the feedback. Really useful for others. Glad it worked out for you guys

 

[touchracing]

You must be the person who says that he saw someone try to siphon gasoline by putting a hose into the black water tank?

Lol I wish I was making it up. They were in a hurry packing up and the next campground was a dry site. Just one of the things I’ve seen as a camp host.