Repairs and Maintence

WILDEBILL308 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

WILDEBILL308 wrote:
s, upgrade the refrigerator to residential,
Bill

What one wants, another person doesn't. If I was looking, that statement would kill the deal for me.
but I think folks are confusing "upgrades" with maintenance.
bumpy

I am not confusing anything. Bumpy is the one who wants to spend his money for common maintence and repair items not be happy the previous owner did them.
Thee OP was talking about 20+ year old RV's But Bumpy would be more likely to buy the one with nothing working so he can spend his money. Bumpy,Please add your RV to your signature so we can see what you are using/driving.
Bill

Logic and common sense are obviously traits that you lack. I have no desire to list the various RVs I have had over the years but if you are really interested you can do a search and find out.
bumpy

jplante4 wrote:
When I look over a unit for sale on a pre-buy, I'm looking at the maintenance records for regular service. Oil, filters, chassis service, genny service. etc. There's a whole list of stuff that should be done every year, twice a year, every 24,000 miles etc. If the receipts for these are in a 3-ring binder in chronological order, I know that the current owner understands the meaning of preventative maintenance.

There's an entire generation out there that has not even lifted the hood of their car. PM means taking it to the dealer when the check engine light comes on. You can't treat a motor home or camping trailer that way.

It sounds to me like you're interested not only in preventative maintenance, but also very careful bookkeeping. The latter may be good evidence of the former, but in itself it doesn't have any bearing on how well maintained the RV is.

I'm afraid I don't keep receipts from Walmart for the oil and filters I buy just to prove to the next owner (whenever there will be one, which I don't expect for some time) that I did indeed change the oil as specified by the manufacturer.

A repair is when you fix the broken item

A replacement is when you buy another one, broke or working it's a replacement

An upgrade is when you replace the item with a new one having more features and hopefully better quality

If you replace with a cheaper simpler item, it may be new, but it's a replacement down grade

Just my opinion, your definitions might be different

old guy wrote:
I am debating whether to buy a MH or just build a house in the yuma or phoenix area. don't know which would be less a problem

If you are not going to move it, then you are better off with a house. An RV loses value every year. A home will do much better.

As far as cost, we have been surprised how much it costs us to maintain our older diesel pusher. It is not a problem coach - it is just older and needs repairs and updates. We are engineers and have looked at the costs very carefully and we have decided that the costs were well worth it for us. We love traveling in it and we have had wonderful adventures. You need to make sure you have the finances to maintain it.

When purchasing, I would rather buy one that shows a bunch of maintenance records. It means the person kept up with scheduled maintenance and updated it over the years. These are things I do not have to do when I purchase it.

When I look over a unit for sale on a pre-buy, I'm looking at the maintenance records for regular service. Oil, filters, chassis service, genny service. etc. There's a whole list of stuff that should be done every year, twice a year, every 24,000 miles etc. If the receipts for these are in a 3-ring binder in chronological order, I know that the current owner understands the meaning of preventative maintenance.

There's an entire generation out there that has not even lifted the hood of their car. PM means taking it to the dealer when the check engine light comes on. You can't treat a motor home or camping trailer that way.

WILDEBILL308 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:

WILDEBILL308 wrote:
s, upgrade the refrigerator to residential,
Bill

What one wants, another person doesn't. If I was looking, that statement would kill the deal for me.
but I think folks are confusing "upgrades" with maintenance.
bumpy

I am not confusing anything. Bumpy is the one who wants to spend his money for common maintence and repair items not be happy the previous owner did them.
Thee OP was talking about 20+ year old RV's But Bumpy would be more likely to buy the one with nothing working so he can spend his money. Bumpy,Please add your RV to your signature so we can see what you are using/driving.
Bill

I believe Bumpy's comment was just in regards to seeing a residential fridge considered an upgrade. For some of us, a residential fridge is not a positive change.

We prefer to have an RV fridge.

Again, it's that subjective part to "maintenance and repair" - what one person sees as a fix, another does not.

Tom/Barb wrote:

toedtoes wrote:


But that was my point above - one person's idea of a repair is another's idea of an upgrade (or downdgrade for a potential buyer). So how much is spent and done on maintenance and repair will vary between owners.

lots of times the repair is not possible with out replacing the unit with a more modern one.

to me that's a repair

True. But is it an upgrade if my dinette is damaged and I change it to a couch? Or is that just a repair?

Is turning the shower into cupboards because it leaked and got dry rot a repair? Or something else?

So many ways to look at things.

Bumpyroad wrote:

WILDEBILL308 wrote:
s, upgrade the refrigerator to residential,
Bill

What one wants, another person doesn't. If I was looking, that statement would kill the deal for me.
but I think folks are confusing "upgrades" with maintenance.
bumpy

I am not confusing anything. Bumpy is the one who wants to spend his money for common maintence and repair items not be happy the previous owner did them.
Thee OP was talking about 20+ year old RV's But Bumpy would be more likely to buy the one with nothing working so he can spend his money. Bumpy,Please add your RV to your signature so we can see what you are using/driving.
Bill

toedtoes wrote:


But that was my point above - one person's idea of a repair is another's idea of an upgrade (or downdgrade for a potential buyer). So how much is spent and done on maintenance and repair will vary between owners.

lots of times the repair is not possible with out replacing the unit with a more modern one.

to me that's a repair

Bumpyroad wrote:

WILDEBILL308 wrote:
s, upgrade the refrigerator to residential,
Bill

What one wants, another person doesn't. If I was looking, that statement would kill the deal for me.
but I think folks are confusing "upgrades" with maintenance.
bumpy

I agree with the first part.

But that was my point above - one person's idea of a repair is another's idea of an upgrade (or downdgrade for a potential buyer). So how much is spent and done on maintenance and repair will vary between owners.