Effects of high miles on motorhomes

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RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - 77newell - 10-01-2016

Regarding the interior; I have not found any reliable relationship between coach miles and the condition of the interior. You have to look at pictures, talk to the owner and then make a guess as to whether you are willing to risk the cost of a visit. When you have a look-see, only then will you know if it meets what you want.

Regarding generators; you could expect to get 20-30,000 hours before it dies, but it could also toast itself next week with less than a thousand hours. Again, my perspective would be less about the hours and more about the condition based upon a personal inspection and fluids testing. Mind you, this is being said by a guy that bought his current coach sight unseen, no testing, no visit with wife in tow. I knew the previous owner was a good guy and that is all I needed to know.

Grandpa: the questions you are asking are smart perspectives to explore, they could, and I emphasize could, also be an indication of seeking a coach that will never ever bite you unexpectedly in the pocket book. Owning a coach inherently exposes you to the risk that something expensive will break. Increasing your knowledge allows you to reduce that risk but it doesn't eliminate. There is no way to guarantee the future. You use your best judgement, realize bad stuff (think expensive stuff) can still happen and figure out if you can live with that. Hopefully you can, also hopefully the bad stuff never happens.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - Beesme - 10-01-2016

I bought my 86 2 weeks ago with 230k on it . Drove non stop for 2200 miles and she purred .. of course Detroit diesel!!! Not my first Detroit.. now to the house stuff .. everything still works .. I just got done spiffing her up ! New carpets new curtains and blinds and all new fixtures throughout . Plumbing and lighting. She sure looks good . Now new paint .... lol oh I love this coach!!!!

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - Grandpa - 10-01-2016

Thanks for the input. I have owned severall gas MHs so I understand that the unexpected happens. Through the opinions I've received, I believe my choice of diesel engines is going to be between Detroit and Cummins, in that order. I'm hoping that the DPs interior's are built better than the gas MHs are. I've done many repairs on gas MHs.

Not having any experience with diesel generators, I appreciate all information about them. I bought an RV with a 5500 watt Onan gas generator that had 2600 hours that, while it worked, it started smoking right away. Because of that, I want to be fairly sure of the life expectancy before I buy big hours. I know these big diesel generators will be quite expensive to repair.

Thanks to all who have contributed to my continuing research, and to anyone who has an experience willing to share. I prefer to learne from other's fortunes or misfortunes. I know there are plenty misfortunes to go around.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - Fulltiming - 10-02-2016

Other than the low end diesels, I think you will find that the DP's interiors are built better than gas MHs are and the Newell interiors are a major step up from most other Diesel Pushers.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - 77newell - 10-02-2016

I believe that as one marches up the motorhome scale one will find that the chassis become more rigid and thus there is less movement for the interior components to deal with. Combining that with structurally better interior construction and higher end coaches will last much longer than lower end coaches.

Of course, water intrusion can pretty quickly ruin any interior and this is something that we should check for thoroughly before buying. Any time water gets in places where isn't not supposed to be bad things will happen.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - folivier - 10-02-2016

Concerning the interior construction of Newells brings to mind a conversation I had in Idaho with a neighbor who was in a 1 year old Winnebago. He kept bragging how much he liked his and finally got around to mentioning how the bathroom wall moves while driving. But he said it wasn't a problem, he just kicks it back into place each time. Wow! I just told him that he would hurt his foot if he kicked a wall in my Newell. And he paid well over twice for his Winnie than I did for my '98.
Newells interior construction is very solid. There is a reason why they weigh so much more than SOBs. And a 10+ year old Newell is an incredible bargain compared to a much newer SOB.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - kyleb - 10-02-2016

We owned an Airstream trailer before we upgraded to a Newell. Compared to the interior of the Newell, the Airstream looked cheap. Compared to the Airstream, the new American Eagle coach we toured at the RV show looked cheap.
So, the quality of construction by Newell is VERY IMPRESSIVE.

A friend had worked on some Newells & was very impressed with the way they engineered everything. We saw one in person & took a tour on Friday night. The following night, Saturday, my wife found one for sale 1100 miles away. On Sunday, I called & talked to the seller. On Friday, a friend & I flew out to purchase it & drove her home. Only hic-up was the air dryer purge valve self destructed & we drove the last 110 miles using the 110V air compressor.

My costs of ownership of a 29 year old coach with 150k miles -

New purge valve kit off ebay - $20

The house batteries were 6v deep cycle & the chassis batteries were 4Ds - Since I like to use the MERGE feature to connect all the batteries together for charging, I replaced all of them with 8Ds like what was originally installed.
4 ea 8Ds - $800 ( local auto parts store )

Replaced the converter charger with a PowerMax 75 amp multi stage charger.
Charger - $145 ( ebay )

Took it to a very good shop to have it looked over - new upper radiator hoses, oil change, grease, adjust brakes, & rebuild fan hub. $1100

Last trip out, the starter after we got home. At least I was able to get it parked before it totally died.
New starter - $ 250 ( ebay )

I also noticed on the last trip that a random vibration was getting worse - ended up being a bad front wheel bearing that had spun on the spindle.
New steering knuckle - $850 ( from Find it Parts )
New king pin kit - $85 ( ebay )
New bearings - $150 ( ebay )

I do as much as I can, otherwise I use a reputable shop.
I LOVE the freedom the Newell provides. We don't hesitate to make a 1400 mile weekend trip - no reservations needed as we use allowable parking lots for overnighting.

It may not be cheap, but it is most definitely worth it to us.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - HoosierDaddy - 10-02-2016

Here is a pic of one of the walls removed from my Newell. I removed it in order to add a curved edge during the remodel before reinstalling. It is very high quality 3/4" plywood. They fasten the wall and ceiling via an aluminum strip that staples to the edge of the wall and rivets to the ceiling, outside wall and floor.
The second pic shows that wall after installation. You can also see some of the construction techniques Newell uses and that we used in the reconstruction.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - MrE - 10-03-2016

I personally would not worry nearly as much about high mileage as lack of use. I bought my first Newell in the '90s, it was a 1973 DP with reasonably low mileage for it's age, less than 200k on the odometer. I bought it over numerous other DPs that I test drove because it had a more solid ride and had SUBSTANTIALLY less unidentifiable noises in while driving down the road.

While doing some interior work, I found a receipt that was over 10 years old for some engine work that was done when it had over 500k miles. I have no clue what the actual mileage was, but never had any problems caused by excessive mileage.

RE: Effects of high miles on motorhomes - Beesme - 10-15-2016

Mine has. 234k and I've been putting her thru the test . Usually 80 mph . She is strong and around 6 mpg never skipping a beat ! I have a 62 pd4106 with an 8v71 and she has over a million miles and she also runs strong ! I've never been easy on her in last 5 yrs. so I guess age has nothing to do with it if it's maintained and temps watched as well as keeping oil in them! As house stuff goes just like any other home fix it and keep an eye on all things . Jmho