Repairs - what do full-timers do?
We are not full-timers, but I like to dream about the possibilities of long-term rv'ing once retirement comes around (it's still 20+ years out - but it's never too early to dream!). This morning's dr...
Forum Discussion
First, if you're handy or the least bit interested in educating your self, most stuff can be fixed on your own. You'd be surprised how easy it is to troubleshoot some symptoms and fix things yourself. Most of the stuff that goes out is individual components from third party manufacturers. In many cases, it is about as complicated as changing out the television.
Second, what you buy matters. Class A can have more issues with the drive train and engine combined into one unit. Leaving you living on the Cummings lot for a week while they troubleshoot. We had to do that twice and found repair shops tended to not care so long as we were out in the morning and back before they closed. Not ideal, but cheaper than a hotel. They had power hookups for us and you could tell they wanted to get us out regardless of our place in line.
Fifth wheels are a bit easier to deal with. If the truck goes down, you can get a loaner car from the dealer while in service or a rental car. The RV itself can still be lived in, you extend your stay and get your vehicle back and continue on your way. Fifth wheels can have issues just like any other RV, they just tend to be easier to fix. You can swap a slide motor or a converter on either just fine but if the Class A is over heating or leaking oil or whatever well your fifth wheel won't have that problem. Not to say fifth wheels can't have issues, they do, just by default though they tend to be easier to deal with if the drive train is separate on many occasions.
In our experience, most of the major issues that stop you in your tracks and need fixing NOW are engine and drive train type issues. You can manually push in a slide or swap out a water heater or fix a leak yourself. That stuff is trivial or you can go without for a week or use the CG showers etc. Transmission starts slipping? Exhaust brake not working? Those are a bit harder for Joe Anyone to fix.
Thus separating out the drive train from the RV can make things a bit easier.
Third, we never had an issue in our Class A or our Fifth wheel finding a place that would let us camp on their lot for repairs. These people deal with Rv folk all the time. So long as you aren't a douche bag and make it clear you'll work with them on their time schedule, people will generally help you out.
Fourth, I say this a lot and it should be told to every single person that buys an RV. If you are the type that is allergic to picking up a screw driver, then you should be prepared to deal with long waits at the dealer and have a lot of patience. Most stuff that goes wrong is incredibly simple to fix. Youtube, screw driver, tape and a wrench can fix most of the stuff that goes wrong on a RV.
Sure, sometimes stuff goes real bad. You might end up with a bent axle or a slide pulled. This stuff is pretty rare and yeah, trip to the dealer/repair shop and maybe the factory is in order.
Most of the time though, problems come from leaks on seals, a faulty component like a motor or a converter, leaky fitting etc. This stuff is trivial to change. If you can do little things yourself you will likely find you almost never need to visit the dealer or have the mobile guy come out.
Second, what you buy matters. Class A can have more issues with the drive train and engine combined into one unit. Leaving you living on the Cummings lot for a week while they troubleshoot. We had to do that twice and found repair shops tended to not care so long as we were out in the morning and back before they closed. Not ideal, but cheaper than a hotel. They had power hookups for us and you could tell they wanted to get us out regardless of our place in line.
Fifth wheels are a bit easier to deal with. If the truck goes down, you can get a loaner car from the dealer while in service or a rental car. The RV itself can still be lived in, you extend your stay and get your vehicle back and continue on your way. Fifth wheels can have issues just like any other RV, they just tend to be easier to fix. You can swap a slide motor or a converter on either just fine but if the Class A is over heating or leaking oil or whatever well your fifth wheel won't have that problem. Not to say fifth wheels can't have issues, they do, just by default though they tend to be easier to deal with if the drive train is separate on many occasions.
In our experience, most of the major issues that stop you in your tracks and need fixing NOW are engine and drive train type issues. You can manually push in a slide or swap out a water heater or fix a leak yourself. That stuff is trivial or you can go without for a week or use the CG showers etc. Transmission starts slipping? Exhaust brake not working? Those are a bit harder for Joe Anyone to fix.
Thus separating out the drive train from the RV can make things a bit easier.
Third, we never had an issue in our Class A or our Fifth wheel finding a place that would let us camp on their lot for repairs. These people deal with Rv folk all the time. So long as you aren't a douche bag and make it clear you'll work with them on their time schedule, people will generally help you out.
Fourth, I say this a lot and it should be told to every single person that buys an RV. If you are the type that is allergic to picking up a screw driver, then you should be prepared to deal with long waits at the dealer and have a lot of patience. Most stuff that goes wrong is incredibly simple to fix. Youtube, screw driver, tape and a wrench can fix most of the stuff that goes wrong on a RV.
Sure, sometimes stuff goes real bad. You might end up with a bent axle or a slide pulled. This stuff is pretty rare and yeah, trip to the dealer/repair shop and maybe the factory is in order.
Most of the time though, problems come from leaks on seals, a faulty component like a motor or a converter, leaky fitting etc. This stuff is trivial to change. If you can do little things yourself you will likely find you almost never need to visit the dealer or have the mobile guy come out.
