New here & source for motor parts
I'm new here as of today. I have acquired a 1997 Four Winds Infinity Motor home. I need to move it to my home so I can work on it. My problem is that the fuel pump is in terrible shape & the wiring on...
Forum Discussion
Welcome to the joys of an older RV.
As others have mentioned, the first thing is to determine the "chassis" of the RV. The chassis is the motor vehicle portion of the RV. Chassis parts are usually very common auto parts available at most auto parts stores or online retailers.
One important fact is to make sure you know the actual year of the chassis as RV manufactures "RV" years may be a year or two past the chassis manufacture's year. It normally isn't that big deal unless (like mine) you're straddling a chassis change where the year (and month) is important as parts changed. Also if there are component differences (there were two transmission designs in my year each with slightly different parts) you need to know which you have in order to get the right parts.
As for the "coach" portion of the RV, many of the major components are standard RV parts used across many manufactures or more universal that swapping isn't that big a deal. So a A/C may be the same used across dozens of RV makes and models from that period and not specific to yours alone.
Many older RV owners do like using RockAuto simply because it allows you to focus on the parts category as well as see multiple options from cheap knock-offs to OEM parts. I avoid retailers on Ebay simply due to the abundance of counterfeit parts found repackaged into OEM boxes and sold as discounted genuine OEM parts.
I also use a national retailer (Advance, Auto-Zone, NAPA, O'Reilly) as you can take the part into the store and have them match it up if there's a question as to if you are ordering the right part. I find they usually have many parts in stock or at least a day away in a warehouse. Of course, unlike RockAuto, your selection may be down to OEM, a couple brand names, or their own branded part. However, being able to have a hands on selection option sometimes saves the day.
So, enjoy your mature RV.
As others have mentioned, the first thing is to determine the "chassis" of the RV. The chassis is the motor vehicle portion of the RV. Chassis parts are usually very common auto parts available at most auto parts stores or online retailers.
One important fact is to make sure you know the actual year of the chassis as RV manufactures "RV" years may be a year or two past the chassis manufacture's year. It normally isn't that big deal unless (like mine) you're straddling a chassis change where the year (and month) is important as parts changed. Also if there are component differences (there were two transmission designs in my year each with slightly different parts) you need to know which you have in order to get the right parts.
As for the "coach" portion of the RV, many of the major components are standard RV parts used across many manufactures or more universal that swapping isn't that big a deal. So a A/C may be the same used across dozens of RV makes and models from that period and not specific to yours alone.
Many older RV owners do like using RockAuto simply because it allows you to focus on the parts category as well as see multiple options from cheap knock-offs to OEM parts. I avoid retailers on Ebay simply due to the abundance of counterfeit parts found repackaged into OEM boxes and sold as discounted genuine OEM parts.
I also use a national retailer (Advance, Auto-Zone, NAPA, O'Reilly) as you can take the part into the store and have them match it up if there's a question as to if you are ordering the right part. I find they usually have many parts in stock or at least a day away in a warehouse. Of course, unlike RockAuto, your selection may be down to OEM, a couple brand names, or their own branded part. However, being able to have a hands on selection option sometimes saves the day.
So, enjoy your mature RV.
