New to class A diesel pusher....have a few questions

[JCZ]

Going to keep this as brief as possible.....just the facts. Looking at buying our first class A. I will be working for approx. 15 more months and then we'll be going full time.

 

A one owner (they're in their 80s), 2008 Beaver Contessa 40 Pacifica with only 9,500 miles with the 425HP Cat engine. It looks to be excellent inside and out with the exception of the slide topper awnings. (The RV dealership is supposed to take care of the toppers). Please share your experience with an older (eight years) low mileage class A? I know there's pros and cons re a low mileage older RV but don't know what they are exactly and it doesn't show that it's ever been lived in.....not even for a short period of time.

 

What's your experience with Good Sam and Coach Net Service Agreement (aka extended warranty)? Is there any other that we should be looking at?

 

I'm looking at AIS (my current truck insurance), Allstate (my current Harley insurance) and Geico for vehicle insurance. Anything there different from a car or motorcycle that I should be thinking about?

 

Any thing else that I need to think about before we jump in and go off down the road?

 

Thanks in advance for your input.

[wildmandmc]

Older RV's do have Pro's/Con's. Age of Tire's. But with a previous owner of that age. most likely they taken good care of the rv. I have a 2000 itasca

replaced tires an basement ac. One thing to look at is if has slides , how are the seals. How often was it driven. Were they full timers. just parked the unit or ?. Sounds like a good deal depending on what price.

[scouserl41]

Learn about tire codes so you know what age the tires are http://banbrv.blogspot.com/2015/08/tires-what-rotten-trick.html. They are probably the originals and due for replacement unless you are very lucky.

If you are going full time then the insurance needs are different than for occasional trips as you need contents insurance and liability insurance similar to that on your house. As always shop around and tell them you'll be full timing, some companies won't cover full timers. Escapees have an insurance contact that would be a good place to start, Good Sam, FMCA and several other RV related organizations also have insurance links you can compare to.

I'd strongly advise you to get a professional RV inspector to look over the rig before you exchange any money. RV's are very complicated and small items like a fridge not working can be hugely expensive to repair.

2008 isn't very old but low mileage isn't always good, especially for tires which need heat cycling for best longevity.

Hope it works out for you,

BnB

[Kirk W]

I suggest that you take some time to read this article which was published by Escapees Magazine, about extended warranties. Remember that such plans are nothing more than a health insurance plan for your RV and as such only save you money if you should have a major loss. No insurance saves money if you must pay the entire cost of premiums, except for the policy holders who experience losses exceeding the average. If you will always have funds available to replace/repair any needed parts, you probably should not buy one but if the replacement of major items like an engine or transmission would damage your finances, it would be wise to insure for that, just as we buy insurance to replace a home in the event of loss. For a fulltimer the RV is your home and should be insured in the same manner,

 

As you become a fulltimer, it is very important to get insurance from a company that provides fulltime coverage, even though it will cost more to purchase. Remember that for a fulltimer the destruction of the RV means that you are now homeless so be sure that you will have the ability to replace yours in the event of a major loss. I would also recommend that you get at least 3 quotes and then carefully compare the coverage's as well as the prices since cheap insurance is only a good deal if you have no claims.

[Barbaraok]

Diesels like to run. Have all hoses, filters,fluids replaced. New tires. How many hrs on gen you. BTW that coach was mfg by Monaco

[skp51443]

For now you should be fine with an RV insurance policy but once you go full time and no longer have homeowner's insurance you will need to switch to a policy designed for full time RVers that offers coverage for the RV and adds in some of the coverage you previously had from the home owner's insurance policy.

[nana25k]

Have it inspected, including taking it to a diesel facility that is capable of running computer diagnostic. Have all the fluids sent out for analysis. Have them go over the entire chassis, making sure they check all joints. Make sure they check the steering box and all its components. Also have them flash the ECM for any codes.

It will cost upward of $400 but will give you piece of mind. We did this, knowing full well that it was mobey well spent, even if they found an issue which would have caused us not to buy our rig

 

Insurance is to variable to compare to other people. To us the only thibg that counts is service and so we have remained GEICO customers for 30 years. Yes maybe we could get full timers coverage cheaper but we have always been well cared for by GEICO.

[jmarxen]

One thing to consider about insurance is whether you plan to tow your toad (vehicle). If that is the case, you will want to look at insuring both vehicles on the same policy to avoid two deductibles and double points in case you are ever in an accident. We have ours insured through Explorer RV.

 

Jim and Nancy

NewMar Mountain Air

[bruce t]

As pointed out already. Low miles is not always a good sign. 'Lot rot' can be just as destructive as high miles.

I've seen some nice motorhomes parked in RV parks that never move. I wouldn't even consider them.

Also keep in mind that a 2008 model may be almost 10 years old. 2008 would be sold in 2007 and may have even been built in 2006. Just saying!

 

regards

[ncrowley]

I would also recommend having it inspected. Ask for a full set of maintenance records. For example, the oil should be changed once per year, etc. There are a lot of periodic maintenance items that should be done no mater what the miles. I would worry about these types of issues with a coach of that age with as few miles as it has. If the generator has not been exercised, you may have a problem with it. If it has been stored outside all its life, the paint is probably suspect. Be sure the sidewalls do not have the paint checking issue.

[Ray,IN]

We bought our 2000 Winnebago in 2013 from a man who became too ill to use it. He put new tires on it in eary 2008, just before he fell ill. He parked it in his barn, where it sat until 2013. He had it on consignment with Camping World.

When we first looked at it I was wary because it sat for 6 years. We purchased the CW extended service contract for this reason.BTW, CW now only covers a MH to 7 yrs old, so we switched to Good Sam ESC, which covers to 18 yrs old.

If you decide to buy an ESC, be sure to include the gaskets and seals rider; otherwise, if a gasket fails, oil leaks out and engine, diff., or transmission fails, the repairs are NOT covered. It's called consequential damage since the failed gasket was the root cause.

The CW ESC paid for itself in that 3 yr period, and no claims were on the chassis or drivetrain, all were on the coach portion only.

 

For a different perspective, a MH owner on a different website bought a MH with a Cummins ISX engine, 2 months later the engine blew, he didn't have an ESC. The total repair bill was $39,000, of which, Cummins paid $10,000, leaving the owners with an out-of-pocket bill of $29,000.

Some folks advocate self-insuring against MH expenses, but none of them has ever admitted to saving such an amount -after they bought a MH.

[Barbaraok]

No, we never had a $39K bill, but we have had one for over $5K. Could we pay a $39K bill, yes. How often does that happen? VERY, VERY SELDOM. Life is a series of risk-benefit analysis.

[Kirk W]

Could we pay a $39K bill, yes. How often does that happen? VERY, VERY SELDOM. Life is a series of risk-benefit analysis.

Exactly. Which is the very reason for insurance and those who could not afford to pay the highest anticipated bill should buy some kind of coverage. Those with deep enough pockets to cover the anticipated worst case should not.

[Chris-n-Dennis]

Is this the one located outside of Eugene? If so, any agreements, get them in writing. We passed on it only because the salesman kept dodging our requests on tire age (was not at the dealer at the time). Was like he really didn't want to discuss that huge expense up front.