mr61impala
Versailles Ky USA
Senior Member
Joined: 01/21/2007
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Offline
|
How accommodating were they in your inspection process? Did they allow you to take it off property for inspection? Did they put it on a lift so you could inspect underneath? Did they provide a ladder so you could inspect the roof?
Thanks for all of your details, the concept seems very intriguing to me.
Shopping for Travel Trailer
|
w3ozwizard
Lacey, Washington
Full Member
Joined: 03/17/2015
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
mr61impala The guys at Cruise America could not have been more accommodating. First day the manger Jack assigned a helper Chris to tag along with my wife and I. I politely told him I would do the initial inspection on my own as I was suspicious he may lead me away from trouble areas. I actually had 15 computer generated pages of things I wanted to check. My wife took all interior areas like checking condition of cabinets, drawers, cushions, chairs, the bed, the floor and counter tops among many other things.
I went under the frame, looking at all the major mechanical devices for obvious clues of trouble. The underside of the engine looked clean with nothing appearing bad, but without actually running anything yet. I then went around the body looking for dents, scratches and anything missing or not functioning. I checked all the lights for function. I then started up the generator, and main engine. Ran it for a time and listened and looked for problems. I checked the voltage coming out of the generator and it was with in specification. I put my engine analyzer in line and found no reported problems with the system. We found just 2 small trim problems which they scheduled to fix. That was about it for the first day.
The second day which was today I took a ladder with me, the helper guy carried it for me and I went on top and took a look. Everything looked great. No cracks or blemishes. With the help of the on site specialist, we went over every function that was supposed to work, like the furnace, hot water, the toilet and seals, the air conditioner, fresh water system, checked all the appliances. I found two sinks that leaked and they were fixed. I was not happy with the condition of the couch battery so they put in a brand new one for me. I then took it on the road. Went up hills, down hills, went on the freeway at speed, and took fast corners. I jammed the breaks on to check for sway and fade. All was well. When I got back to the lot, I did a digital laser thermometer check on the calipers to see if one or more of the breaks was hotter then the other to see if they were adjusted correctly. They were all within 10 degrees Fahrenheit and the tires ran cool.
I was satisfied and gave the manager the money and signed the contract after going over the warranty and what my responsibilities were and what was covered and for how long. I then drove it home and it ran smooth and strong for the 100 miles I drove.
The only question I know have is that there was a small puddle of water under the front of the engine. I think it was the condensation for the air conditioning as it did not smell like anti-freeze, but I don't know where the bleeder pipe is on this engine so I will take the bottom shroud off soon to check it out.
To say I am satisfied on how I was treated, would be an understatement, they never hesitated to fix or replace anything I found. I hope this answers your question.
2009 Four Winds Majestic 28A
|
path1
Varies with weather
Senior Member
Joined: 04/19/2012
View Profile
|
Quote:The only question I know have is that there was a small puddle of water under the front of the engine. I think it was the condensation for the air conditioning as it did not smell like anti-freeze, but I don't know where the bleeder pipe is on this engine so I will take the bottom shroud off soon to check it out.
Water that A/C makes IMO at least it was on my 5.4
Did you pull out drawers to see what shape drawer guides were in? 2 of mine were broke. Not a big deal at (I think) $6.00 for 2 of them. But a pain to put in.
I found a surprise in mine. It was taped to behind the wall in the closet. Turns out to be some type of tracking device. I suppose so CA can track down their stolen stuff.
If yours don't have a locking gas cap and you get one. Don't throw your old cap away. I went thru 2 locking gas caps that would set off the "check engine light" after we'd get a freeze and then thaw out. The replacement locking gas cap would lose its seal and set off check engine light. No big deal but did have to put old cap back on in last smog test. Don't know what your area does but where I'm at, the smog folks put some type of sniffer to gas cap area.
CA mailed extra set of keys to us. But if you have any trouble getting a spare set of keys to house door, (because most lock smiths don't carry those blanks) let me know and I'll tell you where we got ours in Fife. Yes, the oil weight printed in the oil fill place is right.
Glad your happy. If you need anything PM.
|
mr61impala
Versailles Ky USA
Senior Member
Joined: 01/21/2007
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Thanks for the detailed analysis, I am even more intrigued.
There are 2 CA that would be of interest to us, one is in VA which is several hours from our home in KY and one is in FL which is about 3 hours from our winter place.
Any good words or bad about either of these facilities?
|
jetmechtm
Lithonia, GA.
New Member
Joined: 08/29/2012
View Profile
Offline
|
I bought a 2007 Jamboree 24D from El Monte in Feb. I have been going somewhere every other weekend since including a 9 day trip to Ohio. I am well pleased with my purchase and the only problems I have had were from operator error. (Move the OFF switch to the ON position type stuff) El Monte has been a class act and I would recommend them in a heartbeat. I was looking for a Chevy chassis and 2 coach batteries, Cruise America had neither. I will be adding a backup camera since I travel with only my dog a lot. I put in an XM radio and CB for traffic. Happy to be retired and RVing.
|
|
|
Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
Senior Member
Joined: 02/23/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
mr61impala wrote:Thanks for the detailed analysis, I am even more intrigued.
There are 2 CA that would be of interest to us, one is in VA which is several hours from our home in KY and one is in FL which is about 3 hours from our winter place.
Any good words or bad about either of these facilities?
The specific facility probably does not make much difference. Retired Cruise units go to either Orlando or Phoenix for refurbishment. From there, they are sold through the network of sales centers throughout the US. Just because the unit is at a certain sales center is not indicative of it ever having been operated/rented out of that location.
|
w3ozwizard
Lacey, Washington
Full Member
Joined: 03/17/2015
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Mocoondo that is true that they go to the refurbishing center(s). I only know of the one in Mesa Arizona which is mammoth. And you can't tell by the license plate, They license them wherever is cheapest at the time.
|
Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
Senior Member
Joined: 02/23/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
w3ozwizard wrote:Mocoondo that is true that they go to the refurbishing center(s). I only know of the one in Mesa Arizona which is mammoth. And you can't tell by the license plate, They license them wherever is cheapest at the time.
A similar refurbishment center is also located in Kissimmee, FL.
The units are licensed in either FL or CA. The license plate has no significance as to where the vehicle is based, where it has been or where it is going.
|
paullac
Chaska, MN
Senior Member
Joined: 03/27/2004
View Profile
|
I keep getting updates to this thread so I must have posted to it somewhere along the way. Still going strong. Amazing.
Sad / interesting story about rental class C's. The wife and I were driving through our town 2 weekends ago. We saw a Cruise America class C lined up to go into the self serve spray off car wash. We couldn't get there in time. He drove in (slowly) and we heard the crunch / pop as the AC shroud took a hit on the roof of the car wash bay. I've since wondered a few times what the damage ($$$) on that was and did the renter have to cover it or somebody's insurance. Was it just the shroud (probably not), some AC parts too (probably), maybe the adjacent roof area too (hopefully not). In any event, to people considering buying a rental class C, my recommendation would be to check the roof closely around the AC (the highest point) and the front of the cabover as I'm sure we didn't see the first time that ever happened.
All previous rigs below are sold - waiting until the kids graduate to the buy the next one!
'13 Forest River Sunseeker 3100 Class C
'04 Fleetwood Sedona Pop Up / Reese Mini 350 / Prodigy / BAL
'94 Coleman Cedar Pop Up
|
donrebyct
Little Rk
Full Member
Joined: 05/20/2013
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
w3ozwizard, could you post your 15 page check list? It might be worthwhile for those of us thinking about buying an ex rental, or even from a private owner.
|
|
|
