Ponderosa
Western US
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Joined: 06/24/2003
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I bought a rental that was owned by Road Bear. It had only 20K miles on it and was one model year old. Looks like new in and out, runs perfectly and is on factory powertrain warranty for several more years. What's not to like?
I have been buying late model rental return cars for the last several too. Never had the slightest problem with any of them. It's how I roll now.
2015 Thor Windsport 32N
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Bordercollie
Garden Grove, CA, USA
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Joined: 03/07/2002
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Our first class C was a used 79 Chevy Delta 23 footer bought in 1990. We bought on impulse, no experience, from a widow lady in our neighborhood for $13K and spent 8K more on it the first year. Needed just about everything, noticed later that it had been a rental. Buying a much newer rental, from a reputable rental company, may be a good idea. I wouldn't want a rig with over 100K miles and I would want to make sure that EVERYTHING worked properly, engine, tranny, cooling system, suspension, dash and roof A/C, all appliances plumbing and house battery, convertor,lights, no roof or other leaks, good awning, etc. If tires are 6 years old they need replacing. For anything that needs fixing or upgrade get independant estimates.
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paullac
Chaska, MN
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Joined: 03/27/2004
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Seems like the typical Cruise America coach for sale is 5 - 6 years old & 100,000 + miles. Why does their website show some coaches for sale that are 2012's with mileage ranging from 30,000 - 40,000? Are these "problem" vehicles?
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
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Roy&Lynne
Pacific Northwest
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Joined: 02/13/2005
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We bought from a young soldier who bought from El Monte and have had no issues at all.
Our Road Less Traveled
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blackfyreterv
Bellingham, WA USA
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Joined: 05/21/2012
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In 2010 I helped a good friend make his first RV Purchase. He's a former Naval Supply officer and had a strict budget and we knew he did not need more than 26' of MH, so he spent a lot of time researching best options for the money he could spend. He wanted it on an E450 Chasis with the V10. He purchased a 2004 Cruise America unit out of Everett, WA.. I've had RV's all of my adult life and grew up with them as a kid so I went with him to do the final check over on the unit and at that location the head mechanic gave him all of the service information including the fact that this particular model had a brand new transmission .. so brand new it would need to be serviced in 500 miles.
That MH went from WA to Texas and back for a big dog show two weeks after purchase and several shorter trips in the NW then a trip out to Colorado and back in 2011 and my friend never had a single problem.
Fast forward to February 2012. My hubby and I had a house fire. House not totally destroyed but bad enough they had to gut it and we have been out of it for almsot 4 ms now. I have 4 horses and 7 large dogs.. NO rental in the world was going to rent month to month to me with that menagerie. We have a 8.5' Fleetwood Camper that I've been using for dog shows but had been discussing a MH for some time.. NOW seemed the perfect time and the insurance company gave us 3 ms living allowance up front to use as a down.
Because my friend had such a great experience with CruiseAmerica and because the layout of their 23A worked well for our needs and still wasn't too big to take into the USFS camps we like to stay in, we did some homework and found a 2006 on an E450 with the V10 we wanted but had to go to Salt Lake to get the unit.
Our experience was NOT as rosey as my friends... The sales person in Salt Lake was not particularly on the up and up and tried to refuse to let us up on a ladder to check the roof... We said we'd no sale the deal and drive back to WA state so he relented.. sure enough the roof DID have issues.. WE called their Corporate office ourselves and did some direct negotiating when the sales person said they would not fix the roof or give us a credit so we were going to walk.. Corporate agreed to fixing the roof completley to the tune of over $5K when we told them we'd shopped with them because they claim in their YouTube Videos that they completely refurbish the units and make them 'almost like new' and this roof was NOT.
Outside of that, this has been a great unit and everything else has functioned . We did get their extended warranty as well as a steeply discounted ($500) awning installed... the entire package cost us $18,000 for a 2006 with 150K.
Do be sure to go over any used unit you buy with a fine tooth comb but especially a rental unit. They will say you can't get service records but if you contact their corporate office you can usualy get CruiseAmerica to cough them up.
Since February I've personally put 1,800 miles on this going to dog shows and bringing it home from UT and it drives as smooth as my full size van, actually better in windy conditions.
OH and this unit came with brand new tires all around. We are adding a back up camera system and did add a TV but otherwise I have no complaints at all.
BlackFyre Farms-Belgian Tervuren,Laekenois & Arabian Horses make me ">
Bellingham, WA USA
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gotsmart
a bit too late though
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Joined: 02/20/2012
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paullac wrote:Seems like the typical Cruise America coach for sale is 5 - 6 years old & 100,000 + miles. Why does their website show some coaches for sale that are 2012's with mileage ranging from 30,000 - 40,000? Are these "problem" vehicles?
When I bought my Class C from Cruise America in Everett, WA I inquired about a unit that was not tagged as a "Hot Deal" on their website. They told me that they list their entire inventory for sale on the website and the units tagged as "Hot Deals" are the ones that are already prepared for sale to the public, and if I wanted to buy one that is still in the rental fleet that I would have to pay the preparation costs (removal of Cruise America graphics, repainting the RV, adding the Majestic graphics).
What I find interesting is that my 2005 28R has holding tanks listed as:
40 gal fresh water
40 gal black
35 gal grey
and the 2006 28A has holding tanks listed as:
32 gal fresh water
24 gal black
20 gal grey
2005 Cruise America 28R (Four Winds 28R) on a 2004 Ford E450 SD 6.8L V10 4R100
2009 smart fortwo Passion with Roadmaster "Falcon 2" towbar & tail light kit - pictures
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IAMICHABOD
Sunny So Cal
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Joined: 12/12/2011
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Hello again, just a little update on my original post. Now that I have had this RV for a while and have made a few trips I have come up with a few things.
One thing I have to tell anyone that is buying or thinking of buying a rental is to make sure that you get a complete service record,as I got with this one. It is invaluable. Anytime you have a question about anything you can look it up.
I finally had time to sit down and read the whole thing (28 pages) and made notes of all oil changes, services on generator, brakes, lube, and replacement parts and a host of other things. That way I knew when it was done and I had it in a much smaller package, listed with date and mileage.
Case in point, on one trip I heard a brake squeal, when I arrived at my campsite I looked in my service record and found that the brakes had been replaced less than 2,000 miles ago. I still crawled under and looked at them and they were fine.
But it was nice to know when far from home.
I also found something interesting while turning on the propane tank. Written on the tank, I guess with a Sharpie was a date and what looked like someone’s initials. I went to my service record and looked for that date and found that on that date it had been checked for leaks and filled with propane just before I bought it.
All the systems and appliances have worked well and I have no complaints. I am satisfied with my purchase. I have made some mods though. All with the help of a good friend, that did most of the work.
I added a Fantastic Fan in the bedroom. With a remote.
I also put a Vortex Fan in the bathroom. Much quieter and moves more air.
I put Maxx Air vent covers over all 4 vent openings. Now I can leave the vents open even in the rain.
I replaced the old thermostat with a digital one to run the A/C and heat. It is more modern and accurate.
I replaced all the incandescent lights with LEDs and also put some inside and outside near the step .Brighter, safer and more efficient.
The best I saved till last, I replaced the old window in the door with a new one called an EDWIN. It looks like the other windows in the RV with a metal frame and it opens. So now I can see out and get ventilation too. I posted about it, with pictures in the DIY forum. On edit see it HERE page 4
Now it is more up to date and way more efficient. I am ready for more camping.
If you have any questions just ask. Or anything to add, please do.
* This post was
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2006 TIOGA 26Q CHEVY 6.0 WORKHORSE VORTEC
Former El Monte RV Rental
Retired Teamster Local 692
Buying A Rental Class C
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Wrong Lane
Kelowna
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Joined: 09/17/2008
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I was really suprised by a Cruise America rental recently.
I was on I90 in New York, West of Albany, in a car. We had a radar detector and traffic was light so the cruise was set at 90 MPH. At that speed one really wants to be aware of your surroundings which includes frequent looks in the rear-views.
I see about a mile back a Class C out in the left lane. I am thinking to myself, "I don't remember passing that motorhome".
My next check of the rear-view puts the motorhome much closer and I then know that he is in the left lane travlelling faster than me. I pointed the vehicle out to my co-pilot.
We maintained our 90 MPH and sure enough I was overtaken by the rig. No idea how fast it was going but it soon pulled away out of sight. The trip for me ended in Seattle WA. I was ribbed for the entire drive by the co-pilot (my son) about driving like an old man and letting motorhomes pass his sportscar.
Anyhow, when buying a rental you always run the risk that someone has been driving the living******out of it. My biggest fear is that renters don't own , have no investment other than a damage deposit and some just don't care how they treat objects. Just like private sales and any other dealer - buyer beware.
2006 Damon Challenger 348F Ford V10
2013 Ford Taurus SEL AWD
Blue Ox Aventa & Brake Buddy
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Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
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Joined: 02/23/2010
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Wrong Lane wrote:I was really suprised by a Cruise America rental recently.
I was on I90 in New York, West of Albany, in a car. We had a radar detector and traffic was light so the cruise was set at 90 MPH. At that speed one really wants to be aware of your surroundings which includes frequent looks in the rear-views.
I see about a mile back a Class C out in the left lane. I am thinking to myself, "I don't remember passing that motorhome".
My next check of the rear-view puts the motorhome much closer and I then know that he is in the left lane travlelling faster than me. I pointed the vehicle out to my co-pilot.
We maintained our 90 MPH and sure enough I was overtaken by the rig. No idea how fast it was going but it soon pulled away out of sight. The trip for me ended in Seattle WA. I was ribbed for the entire drive by the co-pilot (my son) about driving like an old man and letting motorhomes pass his sportscar.
Anyhow, when buying a rental you always run the risk that someone has been driving the living******out of it. My biggest fear is that renters don't own , have no investment other than a damage deposit and some just don't care how they treat objects. Just like private sales and any other dealer - buyer beware.
I would opine that if YOU were driving through New York at 90MPH, then you too were "driving the living **** out of it". I sure hope you disclose that level of abuse when you try to sell your automobile. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
All Cruise America motorhomes have a six digit number on the front and rear of the unit. Next time you see one driving recklessly or at a high rate of speed, write down that number and call the telephone number emblazoned on the side of the motorhome. Cruise America takes those types of calls very seriously and will contact the renter on his cell phone right then and there. The renter in question will be sanctioned as a result of his actions, up to and including forfeiture of use.
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blackfyreterv
Bellingham, WA USA
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Joined: 05/21/2012
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After a few months we've actually decided to go with a size upgrade to the 28A from the 24A. Cruise America has been great to work with and when we had a few issues with the first purchase stood behind it on warranty work etc.
We are going to install a backup camera asap since I often use this on my own to go to dog shows with so no 'guide' to stand back there and help you back up with out running things down.
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