Advice on used unit

[Dccamp]

I am currently looking at a 2015 London Aire 4553 with the Cummins 600 ISX. Does anyone know of issues with that year or things I should really look close at or engine problems etc. Thanks for any advice you can give as I will be moving from long time 5th wheel to this.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Best advice I have seen is have it professionally inspected.

 

[Dccamp]

Best advice I have seen is have it professionally inspected.

Scheduling that also.

 

[rjshiflet49]

Here are a few common sense things to check whether buying an RV or a truck that has been used previously:

• Service history. This is probably more important than mileage. Regular oil changes, coolant service, valve adjustments, and documented maintenance are worth a lot. The more maintenance records, the better.
• Cooling system. Check carefully for any signs of coolant loss. On ISX engines, EGR cooler or EGR valve issues aren't uncommon, and unexplained coolant consumption is something to investigate before buying.
• Turbo and emissions system. Make sure there are no active fault codes, no excessive regenerations, and that the turbo builds boost normally. Repairs to the turbo, DPF, SCR, or DEF system can become expensive.
• Engine oil analysis. If possible, spend the money on an oil sample. It's inexpensive insurance and may reveal coolant contamination or excessive wear metals before they become major problems.
• Coolant analysis. A coolant sample is also worthwhile on an engine this expensive.
• Pre-purchase inspection. I'd have a Cummins shop perform an inspection with Cummins INSITE to look for inactive fault codes, engine hours, regen history, and any signs of recurring issues.

I'd also ask:

• Current mileage?
• Engine hours?
• Has the EGR cooler, turbo, injectors, or aftertreatment system ever been replaced?

 

[Roadglide117]

I am currently looking at a 2015 London Aire 4553 with the Cummins 600 ISX. Does anyone know of issues with that year or things I should really look close at or engine problems etc. Thanks for any advice you can give as I will be moving from long time 5th wheel to this.

You didn't say how many miles are on it. I'd ask for maintenance records. I doubt that engine is barely broke in. I'd get professionaly inspected . That DEF system is not digital, you won't have those problems. If you know the electronics inside to test, you might be good to go. GOOD LUCK!!

 

[d23haynes57]

This is a 12 year old coach. Approach it as such. Air bags, belts, hoses, pneumatic parts including brake chambers. Get the readings. Miles, hours, idle hours, fuel consumed, all factors. Low miles may often means long periods of storage, short cycling. Any history of cooling system or fuel system failures? Ever been towed home or to a shop? Why? Plan tires, batteries? Alternator, starter? Front tires Michelin unobtanium 365/70-22.5? All the stuff above is easy. Body and chassis condition utmost importance. Cap. roof, window leaks, any signs of things shifting out of alignment? Have any modifications been done? Electrical? Modifications documented? What is your tolerance for risk and how much can you handle on your own?

 

[Aseras]

So first post, been lurking for a really long time.

So I recently picked up a 2015 London Aire. So here is what I went through.

First none of the usual RV inspectors are going to do anything with the mechanicals, other than test them for extremely basic functionality. If it starts, runs and doesn't have a check engine light, it passes. They will check fluid levels and test them if you want. They don't connect to the engine or anything else. I brought an Insite scanner and a diesel handheld scanner to check stuff myself.

Most dealers are probably going to change the oil, all 12 gallons of it in the ISX 15, so an oil analysis may not be useful. Same with the generator.

I picked a very thorough inspector who did more than the usual, we took 12 hours almost, there at opening and a couple hours after close. Drone 360 video of the roof and under the RV. I also brought a ladder and went up on the roof myself. I personally feel if I'm dropping six figures on an RV, I am not taking no for an answer, I am looking at whatever I feel like if you are selling to me. While he did his thing, I was running an endoscope into all the voids no one checks to look for unseen things. AC ducts, celing and dash, inside the dash and overhead and under the slides and such. People don't go in there or do the maintenance on stuff that's buried and thats where the horrors lurk. This one was as good there as outside except for some yellowjackets in a slide pocket, which were encouraged to leave.

The particular unit I picked up had some work done because thieves broke into the dealer and stole a bunch of cats off the class C's and started trying to cut off the DPF because they were idiots. The dealer/repairman of course cleared all of the engine history. BUT, silverleaf keeps all the faults practically forever. I called silverleaf and they walked me through how to pull all the history going back to the dawn of time and "translated" those to cummins codes. Silverleaf logs everything, so you can find out everything it touches and what has been worked on if they don't clear that history as well. I also checked that all the the repairs were done properly, and nothing was a hack job.

My inspector found a tiny pinhole air leak ( no pressure drop even on a standard CDL air test ) by sound alone and I had all the airlines replaced. They were all starting to show wear, so for the same year coach, expect to be replacing those. This unit was stored indoors it's whole life except when on the road. Air is very important on these, no air pressure and you aren't going anywhere the brakes lockup and you lose airbag and height control. The front tires won't clear so you won't be able to steer either once the airbags dump.

Do not skip a test drive. Make the dealer take it to a parking lot or somewhere safe and drive it around and drive it back or at least some drive time to make sure it is all happy. A lot of things work fine when its sitting on the lot. Get it out, get it moving and go through the paces and make sure there's no bad sounds like a bad rear end or axle or lumpy tires or dash ac not working in real life, whatever. Get on it hard, test the tag dump and engine brakes. None of that stuff gets checked at idle in a dealer parking lot. If the engine is going to do something, its going to be when it is warmed up and you get on it.

After purchase and the ride home of course, I blew a coolant line 3 hours down the road, just as I was making it to family to stay overnight. It was a pinhole leak in the hot water loop going from engine to Oasis. So I spent 2 days with me and a mobile tech hanging upside down replacing all the rubber hoses with hi temp silicone. All of the goodyear rubber was gooey, and you can't see them they are all inside of insulation and under the engine hatch. So expect you'll be needing to do those too at the same age. I also needed to clear out 3 different auto parts stores for the right coolant, or pay a fortune through the weekend truck service places. I also found a broken exhaust bracket doing all this that wouldv'e probably been an issue when it let go, right after the turbo. Threads were overtightened until it was a paperclip of metal holding it and I only noticed as the screw was bending.

So maybe, pop the rear hatch in the bathroom and take a cursory glance around and check the hoses and stuff right there. Also, it is going to be super dirty, so have gloves and paper towels to clean up.

You aren't going to find every problem, but you won't find problems if you don't look. I insisted on a 2 yr exclusionary warranty where everything is covered but the exclusions list. Be warned though that it isn't perfect as if something big goes like the engine they are going to try and weasel out of it. I was ok as I had an entire tub of service records come with my coach showing it was very well taken care of right up until I purchased. All of that and still some problems. Older DP isn't for the uninitiated. Ideally someone else shook it down, fixed all the problems and took all the depreciation. OTOH you could be buying someone else's lemon, hence the inspections.

Make sure there are at least the major service records and look for all the recall labels and do an open recall check. My unit showed 3 open recalls still through newmar, but I had the service records showing they had been done years ago at Napanee and verifed the recalled parts were properly replaced. Newmar sent me all of the parts again for free ( and they had no idea who I was, only some guy with a VIN # interested in buying a used coach ), so now I have a lot of spares.

I personally wanted one of this "vintage" because I hate the LCD digital dash and all the issues they have.

Good luck.