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Old 03-08-2012, 08:59 AM   #1
rostevens1
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Default 2003 Gulfstream Friendship 8408

OK first off I'm new to rv's Ive never owned one of any kind before, my wife and i are close to retirement and would like to have one. we have been looking now for about 9 months and we came across this 2003 friendship 8408, it looks very nice is well keep, has all the records since it was new. It is 40ft has 52k miles and Cat 330 engine/allison 6speed trans. the owner is asking $60k.

Having said all of that I need everyone to advise me on this motor home that can give me knowledgeable information on this coach please. If you know on any problems that this model has had, or some where i can go to check on the quality/reliability of this model please let me know. We will for the most part be driving in the eastern part of the US but we could and might take a trip out west, would we have any problems in climbing in the mountains in this unit?

I really don't know what to say here, I just would appreciate all the information you can give me , good, bad , or ugly about this motor home. Like most of us I just cant afford to put this kind of money in a motor home to find out i bought a lemon.
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Old 03-15-2012, 04:50 PM   #2
RayChez1
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Default Re: 2003 Gulfstream Friendship 8408

The Friendship coach was one of the better coaches put out by Gulf Stream. In 2003 I believe the Friendship was rated the number two coach from the top. The Scenic Cruiser was the flag ship in that year. The engine is a very good engine and with care should last you for half million miles before it needs an overhaul. I have the Cat 330 hp called the 3126-E which is what you have and I tow a Honda Pilot exl which weighs 4200 lbs, and I don't have any problems pulling it. The transmission should be the 3000 Allison which is a very good transmission. Have seen many of them coaches in our travels and very few complaints. But I will say that you can get a bad coach with any brand. Check the tires to see if they are not over five years. Tires on coaches are usually only good for five years before they start to get side wall cracks. Take it for a test drive and see how it feels. Check for water leaks or water stains on the walls. You don't want any water leaks.

Good luck,
Ray
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Old 04-03-2012, 04:53 PM   #3
03heritagerider
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Default Re: 2003 Gulfstream Friendship 8408

rostevens1

First, welcome to the forum. You will receive some of the best and most accurate info here. I've learned a lot from the folks here.

I have the exact same coach/same year. We love it and have owned it since new. Now we have more than 50,000 miles with few issues.

As Ray said, there are no guarantees on which coach is going to be the exception.

Here are the things with which I've had issues:
Paint - Read my post regarding same. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3213
Alarm bell: When climbing a steep grade, I will often get a "low water" alarm. This happens in my driveway and I suspect it's the steep tilt of the driveway. As soon as I level off, it stops.
I also, on occasion, on a very long steep uphill grade, get an overheat alarm. The temp gauge climbs and when it hits the red the alarm sounds and the check engine light comes on. Once you crest the hill, the temp gauge drops almost immediately and the alarms stop.

We've discussed this also on this forum and most suspect it is similar to the low water alarm. The thinking is, that if it were really hot enough to sound the alarm, there is no way it would cool down within 10 seconds and stop the alarms. They suspect it is some kind of problem with a sensor at a steep tilt.

No one seems to have an answer to this.

We've been out west several times (California-the Dakotas-Wyoming/Yellowstone-Oregon). Each time we're pulling a 24 foot cargo trailer carrying two motorcycles and a car.

We love the coach. Just check carefully and take a very long test drive. Find some hills if possible and see what it does. Watch the gauges.

Good luck.
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