Daveinet
il
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Joined: 10/29/2003
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Rick Knee wrote:Don't buy it unless it's a 454 with fuel injection. The carburated ones got terrible mileage. Mine is a 1998 with fuel injection and on a good day with no tow it will get 9.5 mpg on a 1100 mile trip.
Rick TBI from those early years didn't do well and actually did worse than carb in the winter. The only FI that would be better would be MPFI, which is only slightly better. TBI is less efficient than a carb because it does not atomize the gas as well.
Don't so it unless you are capable of doing most repairs yourself. If you are capable, then it can be a good way to go, although you still budget 4-5K in the first 2 years of ownership for repairs. If you pay someone else to do the repairs, triple that number. Mine has run about a grand a year until this year.
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mrad
Zimmerman, MN
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Hey guys, thanks for all the great info and please keep it coming.
I just got a little more info. It is a 1985 Winnebago Chiefton. The air conditioner under the hood has a leak and will not blow cold air out on the driver. The owner said if you can get it filled with freon it will last the summer, but he has not been able to find the leak. My dad told me the owner is meticulous. He told him the only problem he has had (2nd owner) is mice getting in and chewing on wires, which he has always fixed. The refrigerator and stove work. Owner said he would not sell unless everything was in working order. It is a carbureted model with a 4-barrel. He gets the 7mpg towing a 21 foot fiberglass fishing boat. He would use it throughout the summer on fishing trips. My dad told me the interior looked new. I will probably look at it next weekend. We would probably leave this on an RV lot within an hour of home most of the time. It would probably see 3,000-6,000 miles a year, mostly in the summer.
* This post was
edited 05/11/08 09:38pm by mrad *
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lzasitko
Regina, SK Canada
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I would go for it. I have a 1982 Triple E 29' with 454 and 3 speed auto. At some point mine was converted to run on Propane and when I bought it, that was all it had run on in several years. My son and myself did a tune up and tried the gas to see if it did work, carb leaked really bad so we replaced it and now can run on either. I still run it on propane most of the time. I have got as high as 12 mpg (only two tanks) but I have also seen 5 mpg if I have a heavy head wind. Average would be likely 7-9. With something shaped like a box milage varies very little between smaller/lighter vs heavier/longer.
As others have said have it checked out. I have been pretty happy with ours. Like the ne you looked at ours also had a new motor/tranny. Previous owner let a friend borrow it and he ran it out of oil so new motor. This one has a pressure sensor so if oil gets too low it will cut the ignition.
Only issue with our has been old rubber hoses and plastic fittings. As of last summer I have replaced I think all the heater hoses and all the plastic fittings. Other then that the only other issue has been plug wires. 454's run hot and even good wires will only last a few years. I put on decent accel wires and they lasted less than two years. Drivers side bank is the worst. I may try ducting cold air up to the top of the engine and see if that helps any, at worst case it will not hurt to try.
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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MN 1985-Winnebago-Cheifton
NY 1985-WINNEBAGO-Chiefton
KY 1985-WINNEBAGO-Chiefton
If the MH is like any of these and in great shape it seems like the price is right. Best of luck.
* This post was
edited 05/11/08 10:02pm by Gale Hawkins *
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T18skyguy
Eugene, OR
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Joined: 12/13/2004
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Here's a classic Winnebago commercial
to get you in the mood for your new rig.
Retired Anesthetist. Pilot with mechanic/inspection ratings.1996 Jayco C 22 foot with 460/Banks Powerpak/Bilsteins.Wife and daughter. Two cats which control my life. 1975 Ford F-250, 84 Coupe Deville, Thorp T18, tons of tools and tons of junk.
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blucrabbie
Raleigh, NC
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Also, op posted "It has one double bed in back and a bunk above the driver".
this sounds like a class c, not a chiefton???
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bsinmich
Holland, MI
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There were drop down single bunks over the driver's seat in many earlier Class A's. Most had a weight limit that meant children only. I question the stainless steel roof. My vote would be aluminum. Stainless wowuld just be too heavy and expensive for just roof covering. If the tires are more than 7 years old they should be replaced. Brake fluid should be flushed and wheel bearings should be repacked before any trips with your family. You can check tire age by the DOT code on the tires. This is only stamped on one side of the tire and is either 3 or 4 digits. If you have 3 digits they are from the 80s or 90s. Four digits are week & year of mfg. The first 2 are week and the last 2 the year. It sounds like a good deal so enjoy yourself.
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire, Workhorse W22, & 2002 PT Cruiser w/Remco lube pump, Falcon 5250, & US Gear Unified Tow Brake
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mrad
Zimmerman, MN
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bsinmich wrote:There were drop down single bunks over the driver's seat in many earlier Class A's. Most had a weight limit that meant children only. I question the stainless steel roof. My vote would be aluminum. Stainless wowuld just be too heavy and expensive for just roof covering. If the tires are more than 7 years old they should be replaced. Brake fluid should be flushed and wheel bearings should be repacked before any trips with your family. You can check tire age by the DOT code on the tires. This is only stamped on one side of the tire and is either 3 or 4 digits. If you have 3 digits they are from the 80s or 90s. Four digits are week & year of mfg. The first 2 are week and the last 2 the year. It sounds like a good deal so enjoy yourself.
The overhead bunks are drop downs.
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pbe10
Tonawanda, NY
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Joined: 07/22/2003
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Sounds like a good buy.
I bought a 1972 dodge and have several suggestions; carefully check all the appliances by running them for several hours. My seller convinced me the intermittent operation was simply due to not being used for a while. Turned out ALL appliances were broken down and needed repair. Spent hundreds of hours[and $]doing all the "little" repairs. Repainted the entire RV, installed many updated features [LED's] etc. Had to rewire the low voltage system and dashboard.
If you are handy;and want to spend the time go for it but if you will have to hire to have work done, be careful.
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itsalleasy
USA
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Joined: 07/20/2007
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As bsinmich said, I also question the stainless roof, most likely it is aluminum. Look really hard everywhere for leaks. At that age they can be killers because they probably have gone on for awhile and done a fair amount of damage.
10 mpg from a 454 with a carb in a vehicle this size I question. I've had a lot of big block Chevy engines and that would have been dream mileage to get.
I wouldn't even worry about the dash air. Run the generator and use the over head air conditioner. No one will fix it without changing it over to R134, you can sink a pile of cash in it that could be used to run the generator for a whole lot of hours.
Towing capacity is probably about 3-3500 lbs, but check it out, some can be as low as 2000 lbs. Frame extensions were added to the chassis as they came from Chevy. A lot of weight stored way in the back along with overloading from towing can create a handling problem.
Drive it, as much as they will let you. Hills, expressways, twisty roads, definitely on a windy day. These can be a handful in the wind.
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