Complete newbie seeking advice

[Ryan Wright]

Kerry,

Thank you for your advice. It's wonderful to hear from an ex Travco
owner. Right now I'm in the position of either doing significant
restoration to my Travco or buying something newer. As you can see I'm
leaning heavily toward buying newer.

> I can answer part of your question. I went from a 71 Travco 220 to an
> 82 Bluebird FC this year. The Bird definitely has a more comfortable
> ride than the Travco, but it's not like driving a car. 8hrs on the
> road in the Bird is comparable to 12 hrs on the road in a car. (or
> something like that).

Ah, yes. I didn't figure it would drive like a car - and, really,
would you even want it to? I wouldn't.

How does driving the Bird compare to driving the Travco in terms of
general driver fatigue?

> 'Diesels last forever' is a myth. The fact that they last longer than
> gas engines means there is more of a possibility that problems that
> might not become fatal, have opportunity to do so. The 3208's in the
> early 80's models are pretty robust but are relatively small engines
> for the load they are carrying. Perhaps it would be good to start a
> database here on the number of miles people have gotten from their
> 3208's before rebuild. I'd be surprised if the average was near 200k
> but I might be wrong. But I think even with this qualifier, you'd be
> much better off with a 3208 than a 318, 413 or 440.
>
> More systems, more maintenance.

Thanks Kerry.

-Ryan