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Old 01-19-2020, 11:19 AM   #1
ChuckF
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Default 2008 Tourmaster T40C problems

Good morning all! I am new to this fourm and posting questions so please bear with me. I am considering in purchasing a 2008 Tourmaster. The coach appears to be in excellent condition and the price is right. In my search of used diesel pushers at several dealerships, I have had 2 salesman and 1 mechanic tell me not to purchase a gulf stream. They would not be specific on why just to never buy one. What I found interesting is that both dealerships had Gulf Stream tour masters for sale on their lots. I searched through the internet and saw the usual displeased owners but nothing specific other than some were having issues with the slide (plastic guide breakage, safety switches). I know, nothing is going to be problem free but are those of you that have the Tourmasters having a lot of problems with poor quality construction and constant breakdowns? Are the slides problems that bad??
Thank you in advance.
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Old 01-19-2020, 12:17 PM   #2
Chuck v
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The Tour Master T40C is typical quality for the price point and has many features that make it desirable for live-aboard use as was the case for my coach. No RV is issue free as you noted, and slides are a big part of this for any manufacture's models. Please note that the big diesel coaches are no longer made by Gulfstream so that is likely a part of what you are hearing from the dealers regarding recommendations.


If you are considering buying this coach from a dealer, be sure to get details on how they warranty it. Regular maintenance items that should be current are the tires of course (check for the DOT date codes on all tires...the tread condition is not the primary indicator of remaining life) and never run tires older than 7 years. There are three banks of batteries in my coach -- a pair of main engine diesel start batteries, a pair of house batteries, and a set of 4 golf cart batteries up under the windshield that run the inverter and start the diesel generator. Plan on replacing all of them (or make it part of the sales deal if at a dealer...) so you can be sure of the maintenance schedule going forward.


I did have the main slide guide plate replaced and the seals renewed when I bought this coach used. I have never had any issues with the switches or the hydraulic slide mechanism.


There were two engines offered in the 2007 T40C and mine has the Mercedes 330 HP which was more than adequate for my needs. The other engine is the 400 HP Cummins which I am sure is also a good choice but a bit less miserly in fuel.


What I like about this model/floorplan coach is the very large shower, 23 cu ft residential refrigerator, stacked washer and separate dryer, and plenty of storage. I upgraded all the electronics in my coach to full HD TVs and Blu-ray disc players -- don't know if the 2008 model already made those changes.


Chuck
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Old 01-19-2020, 02:16 PM   #3
ChuckF
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Chuck v,
Thank you so much for the information, you brought up some good things I did not think of. . The one I am considering is through a broker. so it will be treated more like a private party purchase. I will have to look into what the service will be , if any required, on the full side slide. I was able to test drive the coach it was very impressed. I am also contemplating a full inspection prior to the purchase. I also have quote, although a bit pricey, on obtaining a warranty with Good Sams.
Thank you again for the quick reply and information.
Chuck
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Old 01-19-2020, 05:50 PM   #4
Chuck v
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Chuck,


A full inspection is highly recommended. Remember that a motorized RV has all the maintenance needs of a home plus all the maintenance needs of an over the road vehicle COMBINED. One thing to be sure you do is look for any water damage. The roof of the coach needs to be inspected and all calking renewed every few years, particularly if the coach is not garaged or stored under cover. Roof maintenance is much cheaper than any water damage repair...


Good luck with your shopping, and post back here when you make a decision. This forum is a good place to get specific Tour Master questions answered, and be sure to look through the archives on what other owners have done to improve their coaches.


Chuck
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Old 01-26-2020, 10:14 AM   #5
Kate P
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Default Love our Tourmaster

We bought our first coach, a new 2009 Tourmaster T 40 F and here we are in 2020 still in the same coach. Yes, there are always problems with RVs - The industry is not known for good quality control. But, even when I look at newer, pricier coaches I still prefer our Tourmaster. If I was buying a used model I would definitely check out RV trader and other sources to see what would be a reasonable market price. You can also do a NADA price value. We have also updated to flat screen tvs, new tile because I hated the factory tile, satellite tv, agm batteries, a pure sine inverter, and we replace the tires every five years. Overall, we love our Tourmaster!! Good luck on yourpuchase.
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Old 01-26-2020, 07:00 PM   #6
riverofcode
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We have a 2008 T40c that we picked up from small dealer in SC. I had wished I had looked over it a bit closer. As Chuck said all of them have their issues and GulfStream is not making class A's anymore. I have replaced all 8 batteries, 4 6v, 2 chassis group 31 and 2 house batteries. I happened to have 4 house batteries due to the dealer hi-jinks and the 6v set so I built a rack and put the extra 2 house batteries in the bay so I now have 4 house ones. Dealer split the cost with us for 6 new tires when we bought it since they were out of date.

I have recently replace 2 of the 3 heat pumps after they failed on 2 different trips. There were some maintenance items that should have been done before I brought it home that I got to do in my driveway. (front brakes replacement due to leaking inside wheel bearing seal) I have found nothing exceptionally bad when compared to my previous 31' F-53 chassis RV that I bought new.

In a nut shell... be prepared to do some work regardless of who built it.
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Old 09-23-2020, 09:51 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck v View Post
Chuck,


A full inspection is highly recommended. Remember that a motorized RV has all the maintenance needs of a home plus all the maintenance needs of an over the road vehicle COMBINED. One thing to be sure you do is look for any water damage. The roof of the coach needs to be inspected and all calking renewed every few years, particularly if the coach is not garaged or stored under cover. Roof maintenance is much cheaper than any water damage repair...


Good luck with your shopping, and post back here when you make a decision. This forum is a good place to get specific Tour Master questions answered, and be sure to look through the archives on what other owners have done to improve their coaches.


Chuck
Hi Chuck,

Hey, how did you lubricate your slides in your Tour Master? The main slide, the electric bed slide and the passenger side closet slide? At a glance, it looks like the only slide that would benefit from slide lube is the bed slide.

For the closet slide, it's tough to send out and the cables seems to be in good shape. Had one replaced in Aug and had to tighten it up after the fact. The extension difficulty predated that replacement.

For the main slide, to get it back in, I have touch it in, leave it for a few minutes, and then extend it out and then pull it in. I think it gets stuck across the top so think I have to "break the seal," etc.

Thanks Chuck.

Phil
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Old 09-23-2020, 11:48 AM   #8
Chuck v
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Phil,


I never lubricated any of the slides, but did note that the vanity slide in my T40C had issues on the lower rollers and the fabric covering on the underside of the slide itself. I had steel skid plates put on that the three rollers ran against and that solved all the issues. Here are some 'before' pictures...


Chuck
Attached Images
File Type: jpg front roller - fabric torn and worn.jpg (213.5 KB, 6 views)
File Type: jpg middle roller - no wear or tear.jpg (215.3 KB, 5 views)
File Type: jpg rear roller-fabric torn and worn.jpg (259.9 KB, 6 views)
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Old 09-23-2020, 11:55 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck v View Post
Phil,


I never lubricated any of the slides, but did note that the vanity slide in my T40C had issues on the lower rollers and the fabric covering on the underside of the slide itself. I had steel skid plates put on that the three rollers ran against and that solved all the issues. Here are some 'before' pictures...


Chuck
Yep, I have it although the wear isn't as bad. Do you have any after pics? How thick were the plates? I was wondering if I need to glue on some nylon runners.

Did you ever have any "sticking" issues with the main slide?

Thanks a lot for the quick reply? We're getting a ton of mileage on our T40A since we went full time in January. We accidentally started a large volunteer organization going around the country renovating state parks. We call it A Year to Volunteer and are loving it! The coach makes a great home on wheels!
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Old 09-23-2020, 12:24 PM   #10
Chuck v
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Phil,


Sorry I don't have any 'after' pictures and have since sold the coach. As to the main slide and any sticking, the large slide does have a bit of a struggle initially when it retracts as the floor cams up over the UHMW plate on the lip of the opening, but after that it ran fairly smoothly. I always made this retraction with the shore power connected (or the engine idling...) as running the hydraulics on just the house batteries seemed a bit marginal.


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Old 09-23-2020, 07:37 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck v View Post
Phil,


Sorry I don't have any 'after' pictures and have since sold the coach. As to the main slide and any sticking, the large slide does have a bit of a struggle initially when it retracts as the floor cams up over the UHMW plate on the lip of the opening, but after that it ran fairly smoothly. I always made this retraction with the shore power connected (or the engine idling...) as running the hydraulics on just the house batteries seemed a bit marginal.


Chuck
Yep, the same. Meanwhile, after I posted this, my B/R slide went out. It would only move an inch or two. It was binding somewhere. Tore it apart and manually pushed out the slide. Noticed that one of the rollers wasn't even making contact with the bottom of the slide and then that the pinion coming off of the motor had a retaining pin that had backed out 1/2" preventing it from rotating cleanly. Fixed after 4hrs and plenty of yoga poses to get to it. Had to remove just about everything. haha
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Old 09-25-2020, 10:38 AM   #12
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I did the same thing for all 3 of my rollers that Chuck did to his slide rollers. I used, as I recall, either 14 or 16 gauge stainless steel sheet that I had the steel place cut for me. It tucks up thru the seal all the way back to the interior trim and screwed with stainless self drilling screws then some tape to protect the rubber from the edges cutting it. Be aware that there are some places there trim has a different profile from what the center is vs the edges and the steel had to be either shorter a bit or the corner clipped. Just checked the email to the steel place and mine were cut at 8" x 22 3/8" but I had to trim one or two of them with a angle grinder when I hit the blocks I didn't see. See attached.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg slide_runner1.jpg (118.5 KB, 10 views)
File Type: jpg slide_runner2.jpg (119.8 KB, 10 views)
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Old 12-12-2020, 01:25 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by riverofcode View Post
I did the same thing for all 3 of my rollers that Chuck did to his slide rollers. I used, as I recall, either 14 or 16 gauge stainless steel sheet that I had the steel place cut for me. It tucks up thru the seal all the way back to the interior trim and screwed with stainless self drilling screws then some tape to protect the rubber from the edges cutting it. Be aware that there are some places there trim has a different profile from what the center is vs the edges and the steel had to be either shorter a bit or the corner clipped. Just checked the email to the steel place and mine were cut at 8" x 22 3/8" but I had to trim one or two of them with a angle grinder when I hit the blocks I didn't see. See attached.
Scott, these photos are great! Thanks for posting!
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