me2 wrote:
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People need to realize something - RVs are not built for full time living. They are built for weekend use. Most everything used in an RV is light duty - taps, sinks, fridges, water heaters, tires, wheels, springs, brakes - the list goes on and on. Would you put any of these components in your house ? Nope. They why would you expect them to last when used full timing ?
Tow vehicles have gotten much better over the years. You can now get diesel pickup trucks with 450HP and over 1000 ftlbs of torque. But as great as they are, they are very expensive, they wear out extremely fast and they cost a fortune to fix. ....
As far as the interior part of the RV, plan to replace every component with a residential equivalent. Chairs, couch, mattresses, taps, shower head, water heater, fridge, cook top, etc. Isn't that like rebuilding the RV ? Why yes it is. In fact, you might want to consider buying a used RV and doing a reno on it.
Another issue with common RVs is the exterior fading. The decals put on RVs stay nice for a maximum of 5 years in the sun. And the fiberglass exterior fades quickly too. The solution to this is to paint the exterior of the RV.
As far as the trailer suspension goes, go look at the brakes and suspension that are under a high end horse or cattle trailer. It will probably be a heavy duty torsion axle with disk brakes. With heavy duty hubs. Made to be pulled across the country and back while hauling heavy loads. If you want piece of mind, replace your trailer suspension with similar equipment.
Tow vehicles are another conundrum. If you are pulling a smaller trailer, like 10K or less, a diesel truck still works. Just be prepared that nobody wants to buy it once it is out of warranty. And they depreciate very quickly.
Once you get above 15K you really need to consider using an HDT. A good used HDT will set you back $40K, which is half of the price of a new pickup. You'll probably need to do some work on it and it won't be trouble free going forward. But the issues will be small and affordable and you won't be looking to trade it off in 5 years. Or 10. In fact, it is highly unlikely you'll ever wear it out.
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I would disagree with almost everything you wrote.
First there are a lot of cheaply made RVs. Apparently those are the ones you decided to buy. I did my homework and bought an RV that was well made. It is now approaching 20 years with several years of full time use and lots of part time use. I did have to replace the RV water pump and the sensor for the HW heater. Other repairs have been minor. I also replaced the dinette table leg but that was due to an upgrade not a failure. I also replaced the foam in the dinette cushion where my butt sat for thousands of hours in the evenings.
The exterior of the RV looks like new including all of the decals. I switched to ZEP finish about 5 years ago and now have almost no exterior maintenance.
I bought extended warranties for my pickup trucks. That pretty much guarantees that I will feel foolish for spending the money due to the lack of needed repairs. Not only have repairs been minimal over the years but the resale value is outstanding. After 80K miles and 8 years of use, my Ram was hit and totalled by a distracted driver. The insurance company gave me $35K and I had paid a bit less than $50K. Considering the use and years, $15K depreciation was minimal. There is a high demand for used pickups by contractors and construction companies. Extended cabs are in high demand because they can be used to carry work crews to the job site.
It seems you are buying the wrong RVs and the wrong trucks and/or abusing them.
