Price of a Bluebird

[Larry Dill]

Bill,
As you know I am new to my BB, it is my ownership of the last year and it is up to what I want in a coach, as I have been looking for a BB for a long time... As you know I have been accused of being tent boy and among others... My BB came with a vast supply of parts that the PO had left with the BB that I have been the benefactor of, which I am very grateful for... The PO owner had changed the oil to synthetic and trans oil also... I have been lucky to get a BB in such good shape, as it was "his Baby" The only thing I had to change were the tires and Batts.. other than that I have only done the basic maintenance... The PO also left me with 5 gallons of Delvac 100 Synthetic oil which he was using in the CAT... Also he included about 15 filters for oil and fuel... Which I am grateful
for... Unfortunately, it was due to his death that I acquired this BB... Which I am saddened by, but we have to move on... I am very happy that I have not had to spend alot of money on upgrades, as the PO took care of it it all before I took ownership of it...

Sea Ya
Larry
NYC
84 35FCSB

----- Original Message ----
From: pattypape
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2008
5:01:43 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Price of a Bluebird

Ryan,



I agree somewhat, but you are just getting started.

Once we decided we have a keeper,

In addition to your costs, over about a 4 year period:

we changed out, the frig, tires, batteries, inverter, charger,

radiator rebuild, lots of hoses, fluids, filters, light bulbs,

fixtures, gages, wheel seals, wiring, cables, and a high number of

miscellaneous parts & hardware. There's more: TV, redue all the

maintenance, change some valves, switches, control knobs, tools etc.

That is all I can quickly think of , but there is probably more.

Once you are bonded, Ya want the Ole Bird to be near NEW.



Bill 88 FC Michigan



--- In "WanderlodgeForum%40yahoogroups.com", "Ryan Wright"

wrote:

>

> On 1/23/08, Ryan Wright wrote:

> >

> > I haven't owned my coach a year yet, but I have a comprehensive

> > spreadsheet listing all costs involved. So if anyone wants info,

I can

> > get it, just let me know.

>

> I had enough off-list interest in this that I decided to post some

> statistics here:

>

> I bought my '86 PT-40 in April 2007. Since that time, the coach has

> been driven 3,446 miles and the genset has been run 138 hours.

> Expenses are as follows:

>

> Fuel: $2,800

>

> Preventative maintenance: $375 - This is for oil changes on both the

> 8V92 and Yanmar genset, as well as new filters, including fuel

> filters, all around, and some extra oil & spare filters.

>

> Repairs: $2,850 - About $1,500 was for transmission service and

> another $600 to replace the alternator & belts. Most of the costs on

> those repairs went to labor. The rest of the repairs were all minor

> parts expenditures with no labor costs involved (I fixed it myself

> with the help of the list - thanks guys for giving me free repair

> advice and saving me thousands more on labor!). Note that I bought a

> very clean, well cared for coach, so the "$10,000+ for initial

fixes"

> figure that some have thrown around has not applied to me.

>

> Misc: $6,200 - These are the various odds and ends we bought to

> "stock" the coach. It includes $1,200 in air fair to fly my family

to

> Texas and things like pots & pans, dishes, kitchen supplies, linens

&

> bedding, tools to stock the tool chest, etc. I wanted the coach to

> have it's own set of "everything" , like a second home, so we didn't

> have to waste time "loading up" housing type supplies every time we

> went somewhere. Most of these are frivolous expenses; about $4,000

of

> it is in a computer/entertainm ent system.

>

> I expect to continue spending $2,000 - $5,000 a year on maintenance

> and repairs, plus fuel & licensing costs, figuring most of the labor

> will be my own with only the occasional outsourced job. I am finicky

> about maintenance and will spend top dollar on parts to keep the

coach

> in perfect condition and repair even trivial cosmetic blemishes.

> Someone who is less finicky may be able to get away with spending

> less.

>

> Hope this helps those who were interested in understanding some

first

> year ownership costs. Of course these will be different for every

> person and every coach.

>

> -Ryan

> '86 PT-40 8V92

>

---

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