Looking to buy a used 2019 J40

[rook]

Hey all!
This will be my first used class A, coming from a 34ft TT.

Anyone good things to look out for in this unit? I know the J40 had a short life (< 1 year). Seems like it was renamed/badges.

Thanks for any pointers for a newbie!

[TurnerFam]

not sure what a 'J40' is...maybe a Venetian diesel pusher?

[rook]

Originally Posted by TurnerFam

not sure what a 'J40' is...maybe a Venetian diesel pusher?

My bad, I figured it would be obvious with this being a *Thor* Forum, maybe not...

Yup, Venetian J40. 2019

[The Gritz Carlton]

Used is good by many's standards. My only question would be "why is such a new coach already for sale?". Dig deep!

[rook]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

Used is good by many's standards. My only question would be "why is such a new coach already for sale?". Dig deep!

The story is :

A Raleigh/Durham CEO sold his company for 380 Million, bought the unit from the Camping World (yes I know), took his family on a long vacation, 11,800mile vacation. Once they returned, the put the unit on consignment, with, Camping World (again, many, many people have their opinions on that).

The unit is in damn good shape, Camping World stated they changed the oil/filters/ect. However I asked if they executed the 15000/1year maintenance required from Freightliner. Come to find out, they did not.

The unit has a *fault* in the multiplex, something about the inverter. I have yet to see that fix. Camping World keeps resetting the fault and it comes back.

I am not up to speed on Aqua hot, so I am not sure what to look for there.

Again, the unit looks good, but this is my first Class A, I am not sure what to really look at.

[be happy]

As I moved from a Thor gasser to an other brand diesel, I have learned a few things about diesels. There are a lot more filters on the rig other than oil. You should have one or two air, filters for the compressor, fuel etc. I would have CW change all just as a place to start for you. I went from 9 grease zerts to 29 on my diesel coach make sure they do all the grease necessary. I learn there two different types of grease needed for the normal zerts and then for the air brakes. Check tires for dates if close to 7yr mark talk CW into new tires. I would also have CW provide you with a oil,coolent quality read out. Also get from them a copy of "Carfax" just to make sure all that's said is on the up and up.

[The Gritz Carlton]

It's a 2019 with 11K miles....tires shouldn't be an issue. If the original owner's story trues out, it probably is a great unit with all bugs worked out. For some reason there seems to be a good number of them (2019) available on the internet with very low miles. Perhaps someone here with this model can give some serious insight on it. I read a few posts on here about the basement compartments rotting out due to poor wood construction and inadequate sealing...not sure if that has been resolved.

[rook]

Originally Posted by be happy

As I moved from a Thor gasser to an other brand diesel, I have learned a few things about diesels. There are a lot more filters on the rig other than oil. You should have one or two air, filters for the compressor, fuel etc. I would have CW change all just as a place to start for you. I went from 9 grease zerts to 29 on my diesel coach make sure they do all the grease necessary. I learn there two different types of grease needed for the normal zerts and then for the air brakes. Check tires for dates if close to 7yr mark talk CW into new tires. I would also have CW provide you with a oil,coolent quality read out. Also get from them a copy of "Carfax" just to make sure all that's said is on the up and up.

Similar to my experience going from my 150 to my 250.

I will more than likely pay to have it serviced from a local shop.

They state they cannot get me a Carfax? I guess I could put in the VIN. But would it be the VIN on the engine or on the door seal?

I noticed when I drove it, it had a little whistle. Told them to fix that. Assuming all is well Saturday, I will own this 2019 Venetian. If it goes south, I have been eying a SuperC.

Thanks!

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by rook

Similar to my experience going from my 150 to my 250.



I will more than likely pay to have it serviced from a local shop.



They state they cannot get me a Carfax? I guess I could put in the VIN. But would it be the VIN on the engine or on the door seal?



I noticed when I drove it, it had a little whistle. Told them to fix that. Assuming all is well Saturday, I will own this 2019 Venetian. If it goes south, I have been eying a SuperC.



Thanks!

You can order the car fax yourself on line. It’s like $35.

[rook]

Which VIN do I use??

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by rook

Which VIN do I use??

Use the 18 digit chassis VIN. At least it worked for me on a ford chassis. Maybe it’s different for the really big boys.

[The Gritz Carlton]

The VIN will not change from the stripped chassis to the finished product.

[TurnerFam]

since 'raw' or 'incomplete' CLASS A chassis' are just that, incomplete at the time they leave the Ford or Freightliner factory, on a semi-truck trailer, they don't always have the same following 'VIN' number information found on 'complete' vehicles.

My state's registration, which pulls the info from some system that captures the original VIN information, shows a 2014 Freightliner, though it is not a 'semi-truck', as that name might imply, but a 2014 Thor Palazzo 33.3 diesel pusher motorhome. And, since the chassis is considered a 'commercial' type chassis, it's doubtful any VIN info is available via systems like the ones mentioned.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by rook

Similar to my experience going from my 150 to my 250.

I will more than likely pay to have it serviced from a local shop.

They state they cannot get me a Carfax? I guess I could put in the VIN. But would it be the VIN on the engine or on the door seal?

I noticed when I drove it, it had a little whistle. Told them to fix that. Assuming all is well Saturday, I will own this 2019 Venetian. If it goes south, I have been eying a SuperC.

Thanks!

FWIW, we went from a Class A gasser (Challenger) to a Super C (Entegra Accolade 37TS) and couldn't be happier. We looked at many Class A diesel pushers and test drove a few but there weren't any out there that would float our boat. We looked at the Discovery, the Coachmen Sportcoach, the Aria, the Venitian and a couple others.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by rook

Which VIN do I use??

Should be the Freightliner chassis vin which should start with 4U

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by TurnerFam

since 'raw' or 'incomplete' CLASS A chassis' are just that, incomplete at the time they leave the Ford or Freightliner factory, on a semi-truck trailer, they don't always have the same following 'VIN' number information found on 'complete' vehicles.

My state's registration, which pulls the info from some system that captures the original VIN information, shows a 2014 Freightliner, though it is not a 'semi-truck', as that name might imply, but a 2014 Thor Palazzo 33.3 diesel pusher motorhome. And, since the chassis is considered a 'commercial' type chassis, it's doubtful any VIN info is available via systems like the ones mentioned.

Not sure what all you're saying here but your chassis is not a "semi-truck" chassis. It's a "stripped chassis/incomplete vehicle" when it leaves the factory with a factory issued VIN. That number stays with whatever it is, becomes and dies at...the VIN never changes. The description is changed from "incomplete vehicle" to "motorhome".

[aglass611]

Well, I bought a new 2017 A40 which is a slightly different layout and have put 32K miles on it to date. So I guess I have enough experience with the company and the model to opine.
The pleasure of driving a DP goes without saying. And we found the length at 40 feet to be perfect; big enough to feel spacious but not too long to maneuver in just about any situation. The Cummins engine and Freightliner chassis are first-rate. Since many of the coach components are sourced by the manufacturers from the same suppliers, I found that the repair records of a/c units, water heaters, step motors, etc, are going to be the same regardless of who builds the coach. The real difference comes into play in the factory where the essence of quality control comes into play. We had problems with the interior wood framing falling off, slides scraping cabinets, loose brackets and the overall construction by the factory. Using staple guns and glue in the build may be cheaper and faster than using wood screws, and getting the unit built as fast as possible can sacrifice attention to detail. Spending a few hundred thousand dollars will get you a better MH but don't assume that there will not be problems that will need to be worked out. Thor Customer Service was usually great to work with, but we had our MH in the shop for about half of the time in the first two years. Going into year three, we seem to have everything worked out and feel that buying a new MH is similar to the experience of buying a new car in the 1970's. But warranty work on a MH can be weeks if not months to repair. Strongly recommend Thor but get a DP with a couple years on it.

[rook]

Hey all! So, we fired down!

Camping World agreed to fix some of the items, the others I will have to take to service to have warranty work done (still under factory warranty for another 3 months).

The GM of Camping World avoided us like the plague. When my wife requested for him to greet us, it became obvious he didn't want this deal to go through. However, the consignee was ready to be done (it sat on the lot for > 60 days).

Other than the GM being a turd, the deal went through smoothly. The techs at Camping World Garner were great, very friendly and helpful. However, now that I have had it a couple of days, it is obvious attention to detail has been missed -- not their fault, they have to turn and burn through these units.

The paint needs some TLC, I plan to give the unit a proper detail (there goes my day!).

We are taking it out on a little family vacation this weekend! Very excited about 2020!

[rook]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

FWIW, we went from a Class A gasser (Challenger) to a Super C (Entegra Accolade 37TS) and couldn't be happier. We looked at many Class A diesel pushers and test drove a few but there weren't any out there that would float our boat. We looked at the Discovery, the Coachmen Sportcoach, the Aria, the Venitian and a couple others.

I was considering the Entegra 37TS, I did like the 37TS! When I was considering it against the 3901 Aria, I would of chosen the 37TS. I liked the additional ingress/egress with the truck doors, normal truck drive (would take less getting used to), massive bunk for my boys. Where it fell short was the kitchen, additional 1/2 bath... Of course we had to pay a little more for these features.

The 37TS I had OTD 185K, the Venetian J40 OTD 202... The cost difference for the features was worth it to us.

When I was looking at the 37TS I did read through all your posts, you did a great job documenting things so thank you!

[rook]

Originally Posted by aglass611

Well, I bought a new 2017 A40 which is a slightly different layout and have put 32K miles on it to date. So I guess I have enough experience with the company and the model to opine.
The pleasure of driving a DP goes without saying. And we found the length at 40 feet to be perfect; big enough to feel spacious but not too long to maneuver in just about any situation. The Cummins engine and Freightliner chassis are first-rate. Since many of the coach components are sourced by the manufacturers from the same suppliers, I found that the repair records of a/c units, water heaters, step motors, etc, are going to be the same regardless of who builds the coach. The real difference comes into play in the factory where the essence of quality control comes into play. We had problems with the interior wood framing falling off, slides scraping cabinets, loose brackets and the overall construction by the factory. Using staple guns and glue in the build may be cheaper and faster than using wood screws, and getting the unit built as fast as possible can sacrifice attention to detail. Spending a few hundred thousand dollars will get you a better MH but don't assume that there will not be problems that will need to be worked out. Thor Customer Service was usually great to work with, but we had our MH in the shop for about half of the time in the first two years. Going into year three, we seem to have everything worked out and feel that buying a new MH is similar to the experience of buying a new car in the 1970's. But warranty work on a MH can be weeks if not months to repair. Strongly recommend Thor but get a DP with a couple years on it.

+1 to this. Thor's customer support has been great thus far. I called an spoke with one of their representatives yesterday to discuss transfer of ownership to me.

Agree about getting a unit with a bit more age. I have all the service records for the J40, I have a couple more months on the factory warranty to flush out anything else.

The original owner put a good amount of miles on the unit, and found quite a bit from the factory wrong with it (he put on close to 12k miles - family 3 month vacation).