Family Hoping for Advice on this Class B

[watercoursegreen]

Hello,

I am a prospective new buyer looking to get a smaller RV (preferably class B or small C). My living situation will be changing soon, and I'm trying to rush to do as much research into RVs as I can in a short amount of time, but as far as I can tell, the 'season' to buy seems to be July - September and it's already the end of July so I'm feeling rushed.

I found this listing, and was wondering whether anyone could offer some advice? The RV (2000 Coachman Starflyte) looks very nice and well kept in the photos, but my concern is the 150,000 miles - is this simply too many miles? The price is also $20k, but it seems like all Class B's are that expensive here in Alaska.

I would be very appreciative of any assistance that may save me from making a bonehead mistake. Thank you in advance!

Description provided by seller:

Class B Coachman Starflyte (2000) with 150,000 miles.
Seller claims to be the second person to own it since 2007.

Specs: 350 Ford Chassis, 6.8 Liter, Triton V10 gas engine. Regularly maintained with synthetic oil.

Includes: Generator/electric or propane heater, fridge, furnace, new air conditioner, fan, microwave, two sinks, bathroom, indoor and outdoor shower, new tires, awning, new RV cover (still boxed), receiver hitch.

 

[bullfrog !]

A 23 year old manufactured Class C with a limited production motor with a 150,000 miles in my opinion would be a mistake to buy but a lot depends on your needs, plans, resources and abilities. In today’s motorhome market $20,000 in most cases won’t get you much but there are better options than this out there, again just my opinion.

 

[maki2]

If you plan on living inside it for the winter in Alaska that would put you into a horrific living conditions.

 

[VanFan]

I would be very appreciative of any assistance that may save me from making a bonehead mistake. Thank you in advance!

May I recommend a book? (I take that as a "yes". LOL.)

Buying a Used Motorhome
How to get the most for your money and not get burned

I read this at no cost under a "free" trial of Kindle Unlimited (Amazon), and found it helpful in understanding the dance steps. He emphasizes that "condition" trumps age or mileage in many cases.

 

[afblangley]

Limited time + limited budget + limited knowledge = recipe for disaster. Fix at least one of them before buying anything.

 

[LoupGarou]

Welcome to the group.

Living the lifestyle boils down to just one thing and that's having a place to parkup for the night, night after night. It's a bonus if the site is safe, secure, affordable and legal.

 

[Carla618]

A 23 year old manufactured Class C with a limited production motor with a 150,000 miles in my opinion would be a mistake to buy but a lot depends on your needs, plans, resources and abilities. In today’s motorhome market $20,000 in most cases won’t get you much but there are better options than this out there, again just my opinion.

Bob Wells often interviews people who are doing well with rigs that old.... and many paid half that much. On the other hand, I don't know the issues with a "limited production motor".

 

[wayne49]

Ford has a history of designing problem plagued engines. Makes one wonder "What were they thinking (or smoking)?"

Enough issues, recalls, complaints, and they stop manufacturing those engines.

 

[Carla618]

Ford has a history of designing problem plagued engines. Makes one wonder "What were they thinking (or smoking)?"

Enough issues, recalls, complaints, and they stop manufacturing those engines.

Pretty sure it is an excellent engine. I've known of them ever since I bought my Ford truck, because I learned that the Triton V10 was the best (not mine, lol).

If you ask people who’ve owned a vehicle that included the Triton V10, they will likely all tell you the same thing: It’s a workhorse.

Reliable, dependable, capable. Ford’s 6.8-liter Triton V10 was just that. It had to have been for it to last 20 years. It was not free of problems as we have discussed. But, its strengths out-shined its weaknesses.

https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/ford-v10-problems
The issues are well documented and minor. All have fixes. Biggest issue is the poor gas mileage and needing premium gas. 12 MPG.

 

[frodo2222]

Hello,

I am a prospective new buyer looking to get a smaller RV (preferably class B or small C). My living situation will be changing soon, and I'm trying to rush to do as much research into RVs as I can in a short amount of time, but as far as I can tell, the 'season' to buy seems to be July - September and it's already the end of July so I'm feeling rushed.

I found this listing, and was wondering whether anyone could offer some advice? The RV (2000 Coachman Starflyte) looks very nice and well kept in the photos, but my concern is the 150,000 miles - is this simply too many miles? The price is also $20k, but it seems like all Class B's are that expensive here in Alaska.

I would be very appreciative of any assistance that may save me from making a bonehead mistake. Thank you in advance!

Description provided by seller:

Class B Coachman Starflyte (2000) with 150,000 miles.
Seller claims to be the second person to own it since 2007.

Specs: 350 Ford Chassis, 6.8 Liter, Triton V10 gas engine. Regularly maintained with synthetic oil.

Includes: Generator/electric or propane heater, fridge, furnace, new air conditioner, fan, microwave, two sinks, bathroom, indoor and outdoor shower, new tires, awning, new RV cover (still boxed), receiver hitch.

Having lived in AK EVERYTHING IS WAY MORE and also limited..You would be much better off looking in the lower 48 finding what you want for 1/4 of the price or less and flying down to get it...I've owned 2 class C's and while they are all in 1 units the mileage will kill you...under 8 MPG and some never over 7...If you know how to tow get a nice diesel pickup for 5-15 grand and either a camper on top or a trailer/fifth wheel...I get 17 MPG towing my 22 foot fifth wheel with my 93 Dodge diesel..also the season to sell is in Summer the season to BUY is in dead of winter yucky weather drives prices down..put a add in facebook and craigslist..Looking to buy XYZ If you are thinking about about getting rid of your (fill in description of what you want) call me have cash in hand!

 

[Gr8ful]

Frodo2222, I had a '93 Cummins in a 1 ton Dodge wrapper, last month they made the 12 valve. I also had a '95 4x4 1 ton that got 24 mpg around town. Pulled & towed well over 24,000# from Dayton & still beat 20 mpg but it had 353 gears but did great with the OD off.
IMHO the motorhome is way overpriced considering they're made for 2 weeks of use per
year & not that well built.

 

[frodo2222]

Frodo2222, I had a '93 Cummins in a 1 ton Dodge wrapper, last month they made the 12 valve. I also had a '95 4x4 1 ton that got 24 mpg around town. Pulled & towed well over 24,000# from Dayton & still beat 20 mpg but it had 353 gears but did great with the OD off.
IMHO the motorhome is way overpriced considering they're made for 2 weeks of use per
year & not that well built.

agreed..currently in my truck and little trailer ..although the days of 22-24 MPG are long gone for mine after turning up fuel, new fuel pin etc etc..but now it can go up the mountains towing at 55-60 no problem it also has the 3.54 gears but 5 speed getrag

 

[bullfrog !]

Class A,B and C (self propelled RVs) are best for those that travel constantly in my opinion. Motor vehicles just seem to do better when driven regularly. A truck and trailer or truck camper work best for those that only move once or twice a month or less in my experience with self built cargo trailers and box trucks being the exceptions. There are always exceptions! Lol!!! Just my opinion!

 

[Gr8ful]

You can double the HP & Torque on a 12 valve 5.9 Cummins just by a day spent tuning but better get the tranny beefed up before hand. After hauling all the equip from Dayton I didn't see a reason to change anything. Diesel magazine ran the article on doubling the power.

 

[frodo2222]

You can double the HP & Torque on a 12 valve 5.9 Cummins just by a day spent tuning but better get the tranny beefed up before hand. After hauling all the equip from Dayton I didn't see a reason to change anything. Diesel magazine ran the article on doubling the power.

I never dynoed it so not sure where I am at but when I bought it for $1000 it had 270 thou miles, now it has 366000 mostly pulling my 2 fifth wheels one is pretty light at 6k the other is 13.5k been to Mexico multiple times, to Oregon a well and currently at Moab travelling..I am religious about maintenance and change everything usually sooner then required the tranny 5 speed has been fine but then I do not try and be a sports car, although I remember when I just had the IP redone, it didn't pull very hard at all...called Eric and told him..he said move the throttle linkage to the inside hole. I did and tried again on a single country road..went over 90 B4 I pulled the plug in about 10 seconds..never want to do that fast again..I did redo the front end shortly after that! lol One time while towing from OR to AZ I blew the alternator due to my own stupidity on the wiring of new battery lines..drove it 700 miles without a alternator no issues the best trucks ever!

 

[Carla618]

IMHO the motorhome is way overpriced considering they're made for 2 weeks of use per
year & not that well built.

I agree. A quick search shows that there are many available for much less and with 100K fewer miles in many cases.