Love Hate relationship

As said; same as my house and my wife.

J-Rooster wrote:
Yea I feel for you! We just had to spend $2,500.00 to get squirrels out of our attic on our stick built house! They were storing cones and other food, pooping and urinating up there built tunnels thru all the insulation etc. We had everything sucked out including them then had it sanitized and new insulation blown back in! Then you get to the RV and have problems sometimes it can get overwhelming to say the least.

I do too!!! Just replaced the original 1970s fiberglass "stone panels" on the front on my stick house - looked like fiberglass and very yucky. Now I have real stone all the way across the front of the house to the garage, from the ground all the way to the bottom of the windows. Also put Deck Over on the back porch, along with new railings all the way around. You can imagine what all that cost. And then there was the 200 mile furniture trip to Ikea that the wife just had to make. Gotta keep peace in the family.

I really don't see how they could legitimately charge that much labor to replace a starter. Fairly easy system to trouble shoot

Yea I feel for you! We just had to spend $2,500.00 to get squirrels out of our attic on our stick built house! They were storing cones and other food, pooping and urinating up there built tunnels thru all the insulation etc. We had everything sucked out including them then had it sanitized and new insulation blown back in! Then you get to the RV and have problems sometimes it can get overwhelming to say the least.

eabc5454 wrote:

In Virginia, we pay property taxes every year on a MH. :E

In CA, our annual DMV registrations could be considered a property tax because the license \registration was based on the value of the vehicle at the time of purchase. The license \registration amount does decrease on an annual basis, but not by any significant amount. :R

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Owning a motorhome is like owning a second home and large second car/truck combined, without the yard maintenance and property taxes.

In Virginia, we pay property taxes every year on a MH. :E

Roadglider09 wrote:
We moved from our Monaco DP to a Ford gasser, and that was a HUGE factor in our decision. To get the DP serviced - oil, all the filters, water separators, grease, etc - I couldn't get out of the repair shop for less than $800. We just had our Ford sericed yesterday and it came to a grand total of $71.

As far as repair shops go, I know it goes against the grain of alot of members here, but I always take my stuff back to the people who built it. I may pay a tiny bit more by always bringing my F53 gasser back to Ford, but I will never have to hear "We don't know whats wrong". It's their product, they have the factory and Ford Corporation behind them. I had to go this route years ago with a Ford dealer.

And just who did you take the Monaco DP to??? A Monaco dealer or a diesel shop. You could have gone to Speedco Truck Lube & Tires and got the very same service for $239.00

WadenCeeJay wrote:
Those stealerships really see people coming. I guess they have to take advantage of who they can, when they can. Changing a starter on a motorhome is an hour task for a shadetree mechanic. There really isn't much easier to do short of an oil change. Very sad there are still places like this out there.

There is some truth to what you say. However, "It won't Start! I don't know what's wrong. Please come tow it away and fix it for me".Will always result in a large bill! The scenario was not as simple as my starter is broke swap it out.

As long as the OP is unfamiliar and unable to diagnose issues and problems with their RV. There will be large bills.
The OP should possibly seek out a mobile RV mechanic that can provide better rates than a full service dealership.

In the end I imagine the OP does not fully understand the type of machine they have and what it cost to maintain it if they are unable to do things themselves.
As mentioned earlier I think we all have a love hate relationship with our past time. Hopefully the good days are more plentiful than the costly bad days.

Speaking of which, just two days ago I had our DP serviced at a Cummins Coach Care facility. At 62,000 miles, it was time for a 'big' service.

-Engine oil and oil filter change (8.9 liter engine)
-Fuel filter change (2)
-Complete Onan generator service (488 hrs.)
-Front wheel bearings packed (every 30K)
-Repair on 1 yr. old coolant box (needed epoxy on two top fittings to keep from leaking)
-Chassis lubed
-Purchased two new fuel filters to keep on hand

Total bill including tax $1,100. I found that to be reasonable as I can go at least 10,000 miles between oil changes. Chassis is lubed every 5,000 miles ($150 or so).

MM.

When I came close to the hate part with the first of 3 (so far) coaches, I traded because I saw nothing but trouble ahead. 2nd coach, workhorse chassis gave us 110000 miles over 8 years with normal maintenance 4 times a year and occasional minor glitches. We traded because I wanted a DP and the interior was getting shabby. So far diesel maintenance is no more than the gasser, just 3 fewer stops for oil change etc a year. So the cost at 4x as much as my gasser is the same and the inconvenience of being to service is 1/4 as much.

I too have been ripped off on occasion, but stuff happens and I move on.