keithhelms wrote:
I have an '07 Wildcat 29RLBS that has gotten a lot of use over the years. It has required a fair amount of maintenance over time, but I do spend 60+ nights a year in it.
Problems I've had are:
Upon delivery:
* Dual gas/electric water heater didn't work on electric. Had to get the wiring fixed.
* Insulation blanket under the holding tanks was not aligned properly and there was a visible gap. Repair shop had to drop the blanket and reinstall it.
* Unit came with a cannister attached to the fresh water line that was intended to contain a charcoal filter. I could not get the cannister to unscrew and was afraid I would damage the lines by applying too much force. The first winter, the cannister broke due to water freezing inside it. I took the lines on either side of it and connected them and have gone without a filter ever since.
Over the years:
* Had the oven replaced due to the thermocouple going out and the replacement part containing mercury was no longer available.
* Had the electric element in the dual electric/gas water heater replaced.
* Got a leak fixed around a skylight in the living room slideout.
* Had all the shackles replaced (I learned the hard way to keep a close watch on those after one broke on two separate trips).
* Had the skylight over the shower replaced. That was no fault of the manufacturing - it got hit by a rock.
* Had various plumbing leaks fixed, mostly due to winterizing problems.
* Had the living room slideout adjusted so that the carpet under it didn't get soaked when driving through rain.
* Got the axles aligned because one of the tires had abnormal wear on one side.
* Had the light next to the landing gear button fixed due to a wiring failure.
* Had to get the latch for the front curbside bay replaced after the wind ripped it out.
* Had to get the freshwater inlet replaced when it started making a loud moaning sound when using water.
I don't know if all these issues together would just be considered normal wear and tear. So far (fingers crossed), I've had no problems with the landing gear, the heater, the air conditioner, the refrigerator, the microwave, the converter, the interior lighting, the ceiling fans, or the 120v outlets.
I would personally tend to believe that the problems you described are fairly typical in the RV world. I don't hang out with high-end RV'ers, so I don't know if they would agree with that statement, but for the people I know with RV's, this all sounds very typical.
To put things into perspective, over the course of 5-10 years of home ownership, would you not expect to fix a few plumbing deficiencies, repair a couple of leaks, replace an appliance (or 2), etc.? I think you hit the nail on the head when you said "normal wear and tear."
Overall, from reading numerous posts on this website from RV owners, there seems to a perspective held by many that their specific RV should not experience any problems and if it does, shame on the manufacturer/dealer. Reminder to all, even a brand new house has to have a walk-through inspection with the Contractor and homeowner to address punch-list issues. As a Contractor myself, I can say with certainty that EVERY project has some level of deficiencies, cut corners, or some other simple problem. Everything is still built with human hands, and regardless of how much I tell my employees to put safety and quality first, they're always going to mess up on something.
