Older diesel class c

[gingerK]

Hello gals!

While I adore my pop up truck camper, I've been drawn to looking at smaller class c's for a while now. Yesterday I found one on Craigslist that's right here in my own town, an older Coachmen Catalina 22'. I even drove around town til I found where it was. The outside looks very clean but he didn't include any inside pics. I priced it out on NADA and asking price is a little higher than what NADA says it's worth. BUT....it's a Chevy diesel. I know diddly squat about diesels. Does that make it worth more? The seller says it has 158K miles and I know diesels are good for many more but would that be considered "high miles" for a diesel? If I do look at it, what should I ask? I know how to check out the camper portion but not the engine/drivetrain stuff. I was thinking of asking my mechanic who works on my cars if he would be willing to look it over for me as the place he works used to work on motorhomes. Being that it's a diesel, do you think it would be able to pull my steel horse trailer? Thanks, ladies for your input.

[bluepinecones]

Sorry I cannot offer any help on the diesel part but I can tell you I like my small class C.
Good luck.

[Bethers]

You need the specs to know what it can pull. Then you need to know the weight etc of your horse trailer.

And any mechanic should be able to check out the engine, etc. I never take my RV to an rv place for engine service. Mine is a Ford and I let Ford service it. So I would definitely have your friend check it out and get his opinion.

Good luck.

[Redetotry]

I think a lot depends on the age. If it is over 10 years I would think you would need two opinions, one from the mechanic and another from an RV repair place that can check things like the AC/ furnace water heater, water pump, holding tanks, electric system etc.

[Acadianmom]

I haven't had a diesel motorhome but we have had a few Ford diesel trucks for the farm. You always hear that diesel engines are good for many more miles than gas but we haven't found that to be true for us. We used them to pull horse and cattle trailers. They are more expensive to maintain than gas. I can just show up at the Ford dealer for an oil change in my Ford Van or Class B+ Motorhome to get them serviced and they will do it while I wait. We would have to make an appointment for the diesel trucks and wait at least a week and have to leave them. Diesel mechanics are in high demand around here because of the oil industry. I never paid attention to see if they charged more for the labor but the bill was higher for the diesels.

I think like the others have said you need someone to check the RV systems and a mechanic to check the engine. And not just the engine. Also the front end and brakes. You want to be sure that their are no water leaks in the roof.

Martha

[snowball]

I have a diesel pickup...tow a 5th wheel...from my understanding those miles are baby miles not even broke in yet!!!
but like they all have said have it checked over well...I would think with someone that knows diesel..
good luck and don't just assume that it can tow the horse trailer check as Beth said the spec. and would it have a horse in it?
include the weight of the animal if it does
sheila

[gingerK]

Thanks ladies, I'm concerned about the additional costs of maintaining a diesel engine. My son worked for a diesel truck repair company for many years and my current mechanic used to work on rvs (he may still do so, I haven't asked him yet). So as far as making sure it's mechanically sound I think I'm ok. Something about this one is making me pause before I go any farther, probably my gut instinct talking. I may just pass on this one and wait for something else to appear.

[MandysMom]

One thing that I hear of people doing when looking into getting a used diesel and they sometimes track their own vehicle this way is there is a company you can send a oil sample from the engine to the company for analysis which can tell you a lot about the engine. They test everything for acidity to how much microscopic metal from wear is in it. You can ask over at irv2 and someone there will know the company. I will look and report if I find it. My diesel is a Mercedes so I can't speak to that engine but I love my diesel and it's way quieter than an America diesel and no black fumes.
Velda

[MandysMom]

Ok here is one place I saw discussion and they cover the domestic diesels.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/63-gm- ... lease.html

[MelissaD]

For what it's worth, here's my opinion.

Pre EPA diesels are in demand. A 10 year old diesel may fit in that category (Pre EGR/recirc and DEF systems). About 2003 they started to play with the diesels and some manufactures got on the band wagon sooner than others. I would figure 300,000 miles off a pickup truck engine. The body normally rots out before the engine dies. I'd talk to your mechanic and have him look it over. Oil changes cost more since you have about 4x the oil in a diesel engine but you can get longer oil change intervals. (My pickup holds 4 gallons and my semi holds 11 gallons.) Oil samples are GREAT. Lets you know exactly what's going on in that engine. You have blood tests, the engine has oil tests. Have not heard anything bad about the Chevy diesel on the boards but talk to your mechanic. I don't use dealers. I have a diesel mechanic that specializes in pickup diesels and I use him to maintain my pickup. I can call and schedule an oil change and wait on it or I normally drop it the night before and pick it up when I get off work the next day. Sometimes he'll find something else like a bad seal, since mine is a 2004 and have to hold it an extra day. Last time I had to replace the transmission cooler lines.

On the plus side diesel are great for towing trailers, get better mileage, go longer between oil changes 5,000 plus miles. New engines, the computer tells you when to change the oil. (40-50,000 miles on my semi, based on oil sample results). I change my pickup every 5,000 miles just to be on the safe side but many people go closer to 7,000 miles. Point is, people buy diesels because they have a need, not because it's cheaper. Right tool for the right job.

According to http://www.equispirit.com/info/articles ... tterms.htm

Tongue Weight - The amount of the trailer's weight that presses down on the trailer hitch (tag-along) or the rear axle (gooseneck). Too much tongue weight can cause suspension/drive train damage, and can press the vehicle down in back causing the front wheels to lift to the point where traction, steering response, and braking are severely decreased. Too little tongue weight can actually lift the rear of the vehicle, reducing rear-wheel traction and causing instability which may result in tail-wagging or jackknifing. On trailers over 2000 lbs. tongue weight should be 10-17% of trailer weight. For gooseneck trailers, tongue weight should be 25% of trailer weight.

So you need to find out the tow rating of the RV but I suspect it's only rated for 5,000#. You also need to weight the RV and find out how much trailer tongue it can handle. A 5,000# trailer will need about 750# tongue weight. Don't know how big your horse trailer is but I looked at a couple of 1 and 2 horse trailers and it might work.

Good luck and if you need me to look at some numbers I can.