Wennebago Adventurer 35C used

[GJax]

I am looking at a used 2000 Winnebago Adventurer 35c motorhome. 65k miles, Ford 6.8l V10 275hp. Price is good, and the vehicle is in good to very good appearance shape. This is my 1st venture into a Class C. Looking to take 3-4 day 300 -500 miles, extended weekend trips in the Texas Hill Country and a 7 day 1200 to 1500 mile 7 day trips occasionally. I'm having a compression test done to see how the engine is. All the other mechanical items work good, slide, generator, fridge, oven, nothing beyond normal wear and tear. I'm looking for any comments good or bad about this unit. I appreciate this forum as you guys have brought me over to the V-10's as I was skeptical prior. Thanks for any input.

[GJax]

Well I got my oil sample analysis back. Not sure if I should be too concerned. Here are the results. 3 item of possible concern, everything else is normal readings. If anyone has any comments please respond.

1999 6.8l V-10 67500 miles
Iron 40ppm
Chromium 3ppm **just above normal, indicates possible piston ring wear
Nickel 1ppm
Aluminum 9ppm
Copper 3ppm
Lead 0ppm
Tin 0ppm
Cadmium 0ppm
Silver 0ppm
Vanadium 0ppm
Silicon 34ppm ** indicates dirt, silica sand (understandable in south Texas) ingestion of dirt possible air filter debris.
Sodium 355ppm ** indicates possible oil defoaming agent, also dirt ingestion
Potassium 9ppm
Titanium 0ppm
Molybdenum 20ppm
Antimony 0ppm
Manganese 0ppm
Lithium 0ppm
No water present
Soot <.1
All other items are normal. What I understand if there is piston wear or valve wear other metals, such as iron and nickel would be present or above normal. Ring wear could be from the dirt ingestion, thus the elevated silicon and sodium levels.
The analysis indicates that flagged data ** does not indicate an immediate need for maintenance action. Abrasives (silicon/dirt) are at moderate level sodium is at moderate level, source oil additives or supplement, chromium is at moderate level possible source piston ring plating.
If anyone has input, it would be greatly appreciated. I trust your wealth in knowledge and experience.

[GJax]

Hikerdogs - you're correct, according to the vehicle tag, it was manufactured 1-99.

John&Joey - I checked the cabinets and underside pretty good since I'm in South Texas. A lot of motorhomes went through the flood last year from Hurricane Harvey in Houston so I'm leary of that. But no swelling anywhereaor signs of high water. The last 5 years it lived just south of San Antonio according to where the previous owners lived.

Mike Brez - I went all around the roof this weekend and it's sealed to the sidewall rather well. So no Eternabond tape yet. LOL

I had a Certified RV inspector do a thorough check on it this weekend, I spent most of Saturday going over it with him. He was pretty impressed that everything worked well beyond his expectations for the year of the MH and price I got. Tires are 3-1/2 years old, so that's good to know. Lube analysis will give me some indication if there's any excessive wear going on internally in the engine and tranny.

Thanks all, for the tips and comments

[tropical36]

turbojimmy wrote:

tropical36 wrote:
They don't unless you're running them without oil...lol
Seriously, anything can happen to any of them, but there's a zillion of them out there, being run into the ground and refusing to quit.
As for what you're looking at, $15K should buy a really nice one, that's ready to go, so do your judging from that. How long has it been sleeping, without any exercise and what exactly is meant, by ....tires are good....? Besides their looks, you'll be wanting a date code of around 3 - 4yrs old or less and especially if sitting uncovered and with not knowing their history.

Pretty much the same as my current rig - a piston came apart in the 454. They're a solid engine but anything can happen. It sat for a long time before I scooped it up. I replaced the engine - and tires - and it's been fine for 5 seasons now. I'm just thinking about getting a rig that was manufactured in this millenium.

The rig in question does not appear to have been sitting for very long. The ad says "newer" tires, but newer than 2001 could be anything. I can't get the guy to reply back to me anyway so I'll probably just forget about it. I don't hate my Allegro - just thought a fairly inexpensive upgrade would be cool.

Sounds like this guy is a real salesman, eh?....lol
I think one of the best older gassers around, was our previous 98 National Tropical, with the 7.4 Vortec engine and one slide that fit flush with the sides. Sold it in fall 16, for $12500.

Had the best of most things, like a lot of the higher end DP's have, but you had to really like mirrors, of which our present coach is mostly without. Would have rather had an Onan genset over the Generac and the Autopark, you had to understand and be able to do some maintenance and small repairs now and then. You would have had to go to a 2001 for getting it in a Ford with a decent V10, as the first ones were underpowered and never did like the previous 460V8. The Dolphin LX was nearly the same and these were real dinosaurs, with having a tag axle on a gas puller. I think the P32 IFS chassis a pretty good one, once you replaced the front springs with aftermarket coils.

[turbojimmy]

tropical36 wrote:
They don't unless you're running them without oil...lol
Seriously, anything can happen to any of them, but there's a zillion of them out there, being run into the ground and refusing to quit.
As for what you're looking at, $15K should buy a really nice one, that's ready to go, so do your judging from that. How long has it been sleeping, without any exercise and what exactly is meant, by ....tires are good....? Besides their looks, you'll be wanting a date code of around 3 - 4yrs old or less and especially if sitting uncovered and with not knowing their history.

Pretty much the same as my current rig - a piston came apart in the 454. They're a solid engine but anything can happen. It sat for a long time before I scooped it up. I replaced the engine - and tires - and it's been fine for 5 seasons now. I'm just thinking about getting a rig that was manufactured in this millenium.

The rig in question does not appear to have been sitting for very long. The ad says "newer" tires, but newer than 2001 could be anything. I can't get the guy to reply back to me anyway so I'll probably just forget about it. I don't hate my Allegro - just thought a fairly inexpensive upgrade would be cool.

[John_Joey]

Sounds like a winner, but I would do two more things after checking the roof.

• Pull out a lower drawer and check the back joints. If they are swollen or look nasty then that rig could have been in the Houston flood.
• Look at the frame for excessive rust. That will tell you it spent most of it's life on the Gulf.

[tropical36]

turbojimmy wrote:
There's an '01 Adventurer 35u for sale by me for $5,000. 2 slides, looks to be in good shape. Tires are good. The V10 threw a rod at 57k miles. I can do the work myself so it's very tempting. But makes me wonder how often V10s throw connecting rods through the block.

They don't unless you're running them without oil...lol
Seriously, anything can happen to any of them, but there's a zillion of them out there, being run into the ground and refusing to quit.
As for what you're looking at, $15K should buy a really nice one, that's ready to go, so do your judging from that. How long has it been sleeping, without any exercise and what exactly is meant, by ....tires are good....? Besides their looks, you'll be wanting a date code of around 3 - 4yrs old or less and especially if sitting uncovered and with not knowing their history.

[Hikerdogs]

GJax wrote:
I am looking at a used 2000 Winnebago Adventurer 35c motorhome. 65k miles, Ford 6.8l V10 275hp. Price is good, and the vehicle is in good to very good appearance shape. This is my 1st venture into a Class C. Looking to take 3-4 day 300 -500 miles, extended weekend trips in the Texas Hill Country and a 7 day 1200 to 1500 mile 7 day trips occasionally. I'm having a compression test done to see how the engine is. All the other mechanical items work good, slide, generator, fridge, oven, nothing beyond normal wear and tear. I'm looking for any comments good or bad about this unit. I appreciate this forum as you guys have brought me over to the V-10's as I was skeptical prior. Thanks for any input.

If the engine specifications are correct this motorhome is built on a 1999 chassis. 1999 is the only year F53 chassis that had the 275 hp engine. Those built from 2000 through early 2005 were the 310 hp version of this engine.

[mike_brez]

John Wayne wrote:
I don't have a Winnebago but have a friend who does. what we have done is use Eternabond tape. We run 4 inch over the joint where the caps meet the roof and 2 inch all down the side where the roof meets the side wall. And never have to worry about calk for years to come.

I don't know but I think two inches of tape running the length of my sidewall would look like poop.

[GJax]

Thanks Mile High, good video, looks like that could be a good long weekend project. But definitely worth the time.
John Wayne - The tape would seem easier and definitely not as messy as the caulk/adhesive would be.

Well depending on my independent inspection, lubricant analysis and scope, If all comes out to my satisfaction, I'll be the owner of this vehicle next week.

[John_Wayne]

I don't have a Winnebago but have a friend who does. what we have done is use Eternabond tape. We run 4 inch over the joint where the caps meet the roof and 2 inch all down the side where the roof meets the side wall. And never have to worry about calk for years to come.

[Mile_High]

GJax wrote:

mike brez - it did have a leak at the bath skylight, but has been repaired and re-caulked.

What Mike said has nothing to do with leaks - the edge caulking is an element of the roof assembly that holds it down on the edges. Chances are very good it needs to be redone and if it gets missed it can ruin your day for about $10K in a crosswind.

Winnebago has used the the same design for over 50 years, so it will be the same as in this video. Winnebago Roof Cove Maintenance. Given the year, as suggested by others, it may be easier to just clean the cove and awning rail and run enterbond tape down the length and call it a day. The main objective is to not let that roof flap come loose from the awning rail. Here is a diagram:

[GJax]

Again thanks for the comments, I do appreciate them.
John Wayne, you are correct, it is a class A, I had previously looked at a Class C, I mis-typed. I did read about the plug issue, that's what originally had me not liking the V10, but after further research, I found many more positive than negative. I agree about the old hose clamps, never liked the spring type. I'll check the air filter snorkel and look for the P1 stamp.
mike brez - it did have a leak at the bath skylight, but has been repaired and re-caulked.
Since I am somewhat of a DIY'er, and still fairly young (in my mind), I'd do most of the maintenance. Always have and I've had 3 trucks go well over 300k miles in my time. Tires are 3 years old, and have good tread on them. Was going to have it diagnostic scoped to check compression and see if any other issues are present prior to making a final deal.

[mike_brez]

Make sure the roof to wall caulk has been looked after

[turbojimmy]

There's an '01 Adventurer 35u for sale by me for $5,000. 2 slides, looks to be in good shape. Tires are good. The V10 threw a rod at 57k miles. I can do the work myself so it's very tempting. But makes me wonder how often V10s throw connecting rods through the block.