ALWAYS something!

Yes, always something....

I attended a wedding in BC over the Labor Day weekend.
Hadn't had the TT out yet this year.

Brought it home, dewinterized, usual stuff. Filled the fresh water tank, ran the pump to fill the HWT and flush the lines.....

The pump runs on and on and wont shut off. It worked enough to do the task at hand, but rather weakly. Hmmmm.

Long story short after investigation, pump is sucking air from the tank side. It still pulls water, but the cold taps sputter and spit, the hot doesnt. I can pull the feed pipe up and down where it goes through the floor into the tank. That shouldn't be happening.

Looks like I have to drop the tank to figure out what came apart...
At least I had full hookups for the 4 nights out, didn't need the tank water.

Sighhhh.... Always something. :R

Racklefratz wrote:

RJL wrote:
EVERY time I've gone out, in this one and the one before something breaks. EVERY time.

Welcome to the sad state of the RV industry today. With RVs, manufacturers have always tried to include as many "features" as they could, just so they could claim the product had that long list of features, for which they could charge more money. But they also use the absolute CHEAPEST parts they could find, and still be able to claim the RV had the "feature".

Result? An RV loaded down with cheap, plastic-fantastic garbage with very poor reliability/durability. We've all experienced it, and it IS frustrating. And the more expensive RVs tend to have slightly better equipment installed, but they still have a higher failure rate than similar ordinary household items.

Your only recourse is to replace what fails, if you want that "feature" at all. Sometimes, it's possible to search and find a better quality replacement that will fit, and might last longer. Your RV's failure rate does seem to be higher than normal, but it's all part of the game. Good luck.

Same reasons why my uncle prefers the older RVs.

Bruce Brown wrote:
If our second MH had been our first one there never would have been another.

I had to chuckle at this. I've always said that if our third child had been our first, she would've been an only child! LOL :)


RJL,

Yes, it does seem to be "ALWAYS something!". Our rig is now going on 18 years old. Unfortunately, we haven't done any travelling since COVID hit. Not due to COVID entirely, but also that our children were/are transitioning from high school to college to "real life" and coordinating schedules was tough. Plus work got crazy with the all of the COVID BS.

Wifey and I have been sleeping in the rig while it's parked on our property, so I know all of the normal "house" systems work, but I'm going to have to give it a good once over on the the chassis and engine mechanicals before we start hitting the road again. I'm sure they'll be a list of things that will need tending before I have any real confidence in it to make a long trip. The first real trip will be to get a Mass State Inspection sticker. LOL

But even from the factory, there were some relatively minor issues that needed tending. When we brought it back to the dealer to be corrected, they had one week to deal with 3 relatively simple issues. They addressed 1 of the 3 issues, and even that wasn't done properly, and we needed the rig for a planned trip, so I picked it up and that was it. From that point on I figured I'd just "do it myself". And so I have (except for the Workhorse chassis recalls). Heck, I do all of those things around the house anyway, so it's just "more of the same". We DID order our motorhome with the "cabinet upgrade" so I have to say, the woodwork in our rig is very good. In fact, better than our house (which isn't really saying much, but it's definitely better than the house). The bathroom and bedroom doors are solid, the cabinets are constructed with real wood, not particle board/etc. (Now, if they had put more than a single screw to hold each drawer slide in place at the back of the cabinet, that would've been nice. But an hour with a power screwdriver resolved that issue.)

I'm hoping to retire next year so hopefully wifey and I will be taking longer trips. The kids will be in the house so they can take care of it while we're on the road and I'll just have the motorhome to keep worry about. Well...the motorhome and wife...there's some maintenance THERE too! LOL

But I wouldn't change it for the world. Truth is, I'm a putterer and "Mr. Fixit" and enjoy repairing things. I view it as a hobby which pays itself off by not requiring to pay others to do things. We both love the RV/Motorhome lifestyle and can't wait until we can get back into it.

~Rick

RJL wrote:
EVERY time I've gone out, in this one and the one before something breaks. EVERY time.

Welcome to the sad state of the RV industry today. With RVs, manufacturers have always tried to include as many "features" as they could, just so they could claim the product had that long list of features, for which they could charge more money. But they also use the absolute CHEAPEST parts they could find, and still be able to claim the RV had the "feature".

Result? An RV loaded down with cheap, plastic-fantastic garbage with very poor reliability/durability. We've all experienced it, and it IS frustrating. And the more expensive RVs tend to have slightly better equipment installed, but they still have a higher failure rate than similar ordinary household items.

Your only recourse is to replace what fails, if you want that "feature" at all. Sometimes, it's possible to search and find a better quality replacement that will fit, and might last longer. Your RV's failure rate does seem to be higher than normal, but it's all part of the game. Good luck.

All of you people with you brand new coaches are not even close to my issues. Our wonderful coach will officially be 50 in a few weeks. As it is a very truly 50yo vehicle it requires all the love and attention that vehicles of that era required to stay reliable. Fortunately, I am very tuned to the regular services she requires and have tooled up and am ready for them. Yes, things do break and/wear out, but that is part of the charm of the old girl. While there is an incredible level of support available for the known needed parts, there are not may technicians that understand these coaches. As I do not mind most of the work, what I really don't mind is that if I do what is required, it will be done right.

Matt

My steps just stopped working when I picked it up from storage. I did the motor 3 1/2 years ago. I just ordered another. I would replace the steps but the new ones are $1200!
I Laos have my shower door that need fixing. The little black clips at the bottom broke and the one panel flops all over, I did the other one a couple years ago.
I have a tick that just developed from the exhaust flange. Not the manifold, but the collector at the catalytic converter. Looks like one of the nuts backed off a bit.
And I’ve got a license plate light out!
Always something!

wa8yxm wrote:
"Outdoor lights pooped the bed. (the decorative type you clip to your awning)"

Trying to figure this one out.

VCR.. My RV came with a Zenith(Made by LG.. LG = Lucky Goldstar.. So far in my life I've had JUST ONE Gold/LG product that has performed as advertised.. That was NOT it). (Panasonic replacement worked fine).

Levels test works right... The first trip never again.

Main TV.... If your rig has a VCR you likely need to upgrade TV.

Hello wa8yxm! Just wondering, did you not replace your 'totaled-out' RV or did you keep it?

I remember in the past that the motor was broken, I know that was a while ago.

Safe travels,
MM.

I think many of us sometimes question the balance of fun vs frustration of rv's. I just put thousands of dollars into suspension, bearings, and slide repairs and it almost broke my spirit. Then we set up for a few wonderful trips with family and friends and I realized yes its been great. You really need to be handy and take the break downs in stride cause they happen more and more with todays "shoddy" units. I bet a lot of folks got into rv's during Covid and are now regretting the payments/storage/maintenance/insurance etc that go into our hobby. Life is short so im glad to put up with the negatives to enjoy the positives.

Daryll

Always something. Just did 9000 miles to Alaska and back, and actually was surprised that we had only minor issues. Roads suck there though. Broke a bilstien shock on the toad!

Thank you all. I've been through this before. In both rigs. This one seems very problematic though. I was/am just ranting. I'll get it fixed, and we'll camp with no problems and I'll be happy. But the next few trips, with absolute certainty there will be more carnage.

Anyway thanks for the words of encouragement.

Bob