is 100,000 miles too much???

[Frank@theShop]

Originally Posted by AmericanRVadventures

Hey folks, I'm looking at an RV that comes with a CAT C-9, 2006 and a mileage of 100,000. The RV is in great condition but I'm a bit concerned about the high (?) mileage. What do you guys think?

Thanks

While everyone mentions correctly that 100k on most any diesel powerplant is nothing to worry about, what you should be concerned about is 100k on the "HOUSE". Additionally, I will say about the mileage as I have experienced in my almost 15 years in the RV industry - 100k is a lot of mileage in general for an RV of that year, and really any year. Most RVs of that year typically tend to have much less mileage. Yes, they are intended to be driven and one would think it would result in a ton of mileage on the clock. The reality however is that these things seldom get used as intended. Is that a lot of mileage on the engine itself or a commercial diesel rig? No. But an RV is a different animal all together. The chassis I am not concerned about if it has been maintained properly. But for the "HOUSE", that is a lot of going down the road bouncing around. When an RV bounces around a lot, it does what all RVs do - they come apart. If there are lower mileage options, I would go in that direction. If you do go through with it, trim is fairly obvious and easy to check. Look at things that are less easily seen - plumbing and wiring. Bouncing around causes a lot of plumbing to come loose over time and wiring to chafe and short out.

[AmericanRVadventures]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

That reminds me of the claims on TV commercials where an 85 year old man can get life insurance for on $9.95 per month. Anything covering this coach would be very expensive or the coverage would be very limited. I think you just check it out as best you can. If the value is in your favor, jump in it and go. You should be able to buy it for a song and be prepared to leave it on the side of the road if necessary. What model RV is it and how much do they want you to pay for it? That's the key elements not mentioned here. 2006 is pretty old for an RV. Lots of campgrounds do not allow RV's over a certain year model. We're staying 3 nights at a place on Hilton Head Island this month and they are very adamant about 10+ year old motorhomes.

I fell in love with the Damon Tuscany but then I made my mind and said to me... it has to be a side radiator and 1 1/2 bath which brought me to the Fleetwood Revolution, $80 K asking price. Ridiculous rule that one of the not older than 10 years RV policy; we all have seen great looking older RVs.

[AmericanRVadventures]

Originally Posted by Frank@theShop

While everyone mentions correctly that 100k on most any diesel powerplant is nothing to worry about, what you should be concerned about is 100k on the "HOUSE". Additionally, I will say about the mileage as I have experienced in my almost 15 years in the RV industry - 100k is a lot of mileage in general for an RV of that year, and really any year. Most RVs of that year typically tend to have much less mileage. Yes, they are intended to be driven and one would think it would result in a ton of mileage on the clock. The reality however is that these things seldom get used as intended. Is that a lot of mileage on the engine itself or a commercial diesel rig? No. But an RV is a different animal all together. The chassis I am not concerned about if it has been maintained properly. But for the "HOUSE", that is a lot of going down the road bouncing around. When an RV bounces around a lot, it does what all RVs do - they come apart. If there are lower mileage options, I would go in that direction. If you do go through with it, trim is fairly obvious and easy to check. Look at things that are less easily seen - plumbing and wiring. Bouncing around causes a lot of plumbing to come loose over time and wiring to chafe and short out.

Very true Frank; I am taking the wife with me and she is good at getting a good or bad feeling about something so this first visit will be crucial. If we decide to go further, then a NRVIA inspection and a CAT mechanic review will be on the table, otherwise the search will continue.

[Jimbo56]

Heck, check it out as much as possible. If it passes inspection, load ‘er up ! Fire it up! Go have fun and see the North American continent. Will you have issues along the way? Yup. Chalk it up to “Makin Memories”! And yes, I for one would like to read your travel diary.

[EA37TS]

If this is a Fleetwood I know one dealer who quit selling them because they were built worse than Thor and they had no customer support.

[AmericanRVadventures]

Originally Posted by Jimbo56

Heck, check it out as much as possible. If it passes inspection, load ‘er up ! Fire it up! Go have fun and see the North American continent. Will you have issues along the way? Yup. Chalk it up to “Makin Memories”! And yes, I for one would like to read your travel diary.

You bet!! I am preparing my own blog which is missing.... the definitive pictures of what our RV will be!!

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by AmericanRVadventures

I fell in love with the Damon Tuscany but then I made my mind and said to me... it has to be a side radiator and 1 1/2 bath which brought me to the Fleetwood Revolution, $80 K asking price. Ridiculous rule that one of the not older than 10 years RV policy; we all have seen great looking older RVs.

Most of those rules are based on a physical inspection upon arrival. I generally stay away from places like this but the options on Hilton Head are slim. I'll probably have to tape the tip of my nose in the up position and learn to drink my Budweiser with my pinkie in the air. I'll probably be banned because my T-shirts don't have collars and my lab can't bark in french. Only reason we're going there is to visit a very close friend stating closeby...who doesn't live there either. What's wrong with this picture???

[AmericanRVadventures]

Originally Posted by The Gritz Carlton

That reminds me of the claims on TV commercials where an 85 year old man can get life insurance for on $9.95 per month. Anything covering this coach would be very expensive or the coverage would be very limited. I think you just check it out as best you can. If the value is in your favor, jump in it and go. You should be able to buy it for a song and be prepared to leave it on the side of the road if necessary. What model RV is it and how much do they want you to pay for it? That's the key elements not mentioned here. 2006 is pretty old for an RV. Lots of campgrounds do not allow RV's over a certain year model. We're staying 3 nights at a place on Hilton Head Island this month and they are very adamant about 10+ year old motorhomes.

I think my answer was deleted... I fell in love with the Damon Tuscany at the beginning but then I made my mind and chose a side radiator , 1 1/2 bath RV which brings me to a Fleetwood Revolution... 80K asking price

[BASSMAN]

The Cat engine will go a long time if it was maintained and that usually requires regular oil changes using the oil Cat recommends and filter changes, one thing you can do is buy a new oil filter and then cut open the old one, Cat makes a tool just for doing this and then pull out the filter pleats and inspect them for particles, the pleats of the filter should have no metal or carbon flakes, not uncommon to find flakes of Cat yellow paint, if maintenance was done then the owner should have the paper work to back it up, if no paper work then walk away, typical service on a diesel is usually 4 times or more on a diesel than a gas engine an a lot of people will have the first service done and then get the shock of the bill and fail to continue the service work, I retired as a Cat mechanic and a typical service was done at 250 engine hours but we were in the dirt and extreme conditions, engine usually ran 10 hours a day an some times 6 days a week, you would never put those kind of hours on an RV, oil sampling was always recommended but over the years we found the lab at the Cat dealer fudging on the oil sample reports an they were no longer reliable, the other draw back on the Cat an other Diesel engines is being able to read the engine computers for faults, an clearing codes, I had to carry a lap top with the Cat software to be able to work on them and the system was over $5K an that was over 15 years ago, Cat is always wanting to flash the engine computers to update them to comply with the smog regs and problems

[AmericanRVadventures]

Originally Posted by BASSMAN

The Cat engine will go a long time if it was maintained and that usually requires regular oil changes using the oil Cat recommends and filter changes, one thing you can do is buy a new oil filter and then cut open the old one, Cat makes a tool just for doing this and then pull out the filter pleats and inspect them for particles, the pleats of the filter should have no metal or carbon flakes, not uncommon to find flakes of Cat yellow paint, if maintenance was done then the owner should have the paper work to back it up, if no paper work then walk away, typical service on a diesel is usually 4 times or more on a diesel than a gas engine an a lot of people will have the first service done and then get the shock of the bill and fail to continue the service work, I retired as a Cat mechanic and a typical service was done at 250 engine hours but we were in the dirt and extreme conditions, engine usually ran 10 hours a day an some times 6 days a week, you would never put those kind of hours on an RV, oil sampling was always recommended but over the years we found the lab at the Cat dealer fudging on the oil sample reports an they were no longer reliable, the other draw back on the Cat an other Diesel engines is being able to read the engine computers for faults, an clearing codes, I had to carry a lap top with the Cat software to be able to work on them and the system was over $5K an that was over 15 years ago, Cat is always wanting to flash the engine computers to update them to comply with the smog regs and problems

Great advice, thanks. Back in the field (oil & gas industry) I remember we used to change the oil every 250 hrs on the CATs that came with the Peterbilt trucks.... very similar I suppose....