Purchasing 2004 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 8378

[thall6225]

My wife and I are currently researching in hopes of purchasing a 2004 Sun Voyager 8378 workhorse chassis 8.1 V-8 engine. We would welcome any suggestions opinions or past experiences that anyone has regarding this Gulfstream model.

Thanks
Tim and Flor.

[Flipman]

That should be a nice coach for you...most people like the 8.1/Allison tranny better than the 6.8 Ford setup, and the chassis is more stable and drivable on the GM setup. You won't win any races going up hills with a gas engine in a big coach(36' 8") compared to a diesel pusher, especially if you are towing a car, but it will get you where you want to go in style! I had a Tiffin gasser with the 7.4 GM engine, and it pulled great, just got bad gas mileage(6). I have a dp now, and love it!

Good luck on your motorhome shopping!

[thall6225]

Thank you for your reply, we do really love the floor plan, during our research this coach was the first one that caught our eye. This particular vehicle has 20,00 miles one owner, so I think we will be doing ok, we have been pre-approved for purchase and pending the walk through inspection, we could be very well on way to owning this coach.

[RayChez1]

Congratulations on the purchase of a motor home. I am not sure which model you bought, but I have seen some of those Sun Voyagers that are really nice floor plans. As far as to the brand Gulf Stream, we love ours which we bought brand new in 2003.
It was the top of the line at the time, it is a Scenic Cruiser diesel pusher with a Caterpillar engine. For us it has been the perfect coach. The problems have been minimal. It seems like when it was brand new is when some of the problems come up which was good because it was still covered under warranty. But in the last ten years I have only had one problem and that was a leaky exhaust manifold gasket which I got fixed right away.

You probably know that Gulf Stream got out of the mechanized division when the recession hit and a lot of motor home companies went belly up. Well, Gulf Stream survived the recession with their trailer line selling fifth wheel trailers and travel trailers, but they closed the mechanized line. I notice that they have reopened a line for the class B mechanized motor home. So maybe later on if the economy continues to improve they will start building big coaches again.

As far as getting service for your coach which you are about to purchase, it should be no problem. I believe it has the big Chevy engine. I know that we have not had any problems servicing our Cat engine at a Freight liner shop.

Good luck!
RayChez

[thall6225]

Thank you for your reply, we are looking to purchase a 2004 Sun Voyager 8378 model, it has the workhorse chassis, 8.1 Vortec engine and 5 speed Allison transmission, should be a solid vehicle, we will know for sure after we have completed the inspection before signing the final papers. Appreciate the info you provided.

[RayChez1]

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[Okimar]

I'm new in this forum, but am about 1-2 weeks away from buying a 2004 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 8368 with the 8.1L / 5-speed Allison / W22 (?) Workhorse chassis / QuietPac 65G generator.

How are you liking your Gulf Stream now that you've had it for a good while?