This is for all of the folks out there who purchased a motor home but who do not have the capability to fix, repair, or work on that motor home themselves. I am wondering if that is a large or small percentage of those that buy a motor home? I figure that most people do not know how to do maintenance on their car or truck. As such, would this hold true for owners of motor homes?If you are someone who purchased a motor home and don't have much of a capability to do the maintenance yourself I would like to hear what you have to say. Does your motor home have a factory warranty? How has that worked out for you? How much of an inconvenience is it to take it in to the dealer for work to be done?If not a factory warranty do you have an extended service agreement that you paid for? What does it cover? How has that worked out for you? Are you able to have the work done anywhere while on the road?If no warranty or service agreement, where you have to pay for anything that goes wrong yourself, how has that worked out for you? Where do you take your motor home for maintenance/repair both at home and on the road. Do you ever utilize a mobile repair outfit that comes to your home? How has that worked out for you? Do you have a roadside assistance agreement on your motor home and is that covered by your your factory warranty, extended service agreement, or do you pay for it separately?Awaiting some informative and possibly enlightening answers on a subject that may not have been discussed previously all in one place.

This does not only apply to MHs but to all RVs. Heck it applies to everything in society. RVs are a complicated machine. if a person does not have the ability to do repairs, then they better have enough cash or a big enough credit limit to pay for the repairs. Warranties, whether factory or exptended only go so far. Most have so many limitations that prople are gping to still spend a lot of money on upkeep. It all really boils down to available cash your ready and able to spend on something. Some people work with their hands and may not have as much disposable income. Others make much more money so have more to spend on their toys. Best thing I can suggest is get yourself educated on how stuff work. Learn how to take stuff apart and put it back together. Learn how to troubleshoot stuff. Back when my daughters were getting ready to drive I made them help me with an old VW bug. They learned how to remove, rebuild and replace the motor, change a tire etc. They also had to learn to drive a stick shift. Today their both glad I took the time to teach them the basics. May never need it, but the informatiom is still in their minds and they know when someone is trying to sell them a snow job.

Not only are RV's technical, they are for the most part built terrible. You can get by without having much DIY ability but it's going to cost you to keep a rig up.

Why can't you do the work? If you have a physical ailment, that's one thing but most of the common maintenance items are fairly straight forward. If you have a blown engine, I'm betting most will farm that out but not as much for simple stuff.Yes, it will cost a lot more to farm out simple stuff.Don't count on warranties. Plenty of stories about losing weeks or months as the dealer already has your money so warranty work is low priority. Or they will claim it's not covered...plus eventually the warranty runs out and there is still ongoing maintenance.

Valhalla has a good point. Even for the admittedly mechanically inept, ALOT of maint and repair tasks are quite simple and with the interwebs atyour fingertips, directions or videos are aplenty for nearly everything. If a person spend a little time with a spreadsheet ( if you’re not able to calculate it) it would be obvious how much $ can e saved just doing the simple things like oil changes, winterizing, etc.

I'm one of those who attempts very little in the way of repair of our 2003 30 ft. MH. Asking Google can help with some minor stuff. Having lots of mechanical problems and needing repair and replacement is one of the downsides of RV's, especially older motor homes. The considerable costs needs to be factored in when considering purchase and best not to get one if you feel yearly unpredictable expenses of several hundred to several thousands is too much. If we have 1 long trip with no problems, we celebrate. Yet, have no regrets. We paid $23000 and even with thousands of expense over 4 years, way less than a new one. Not a toy for a poor person.

Little or no mechanical knowledge or capability

donn0128
Explorer II
May 15, 2018
This does not only apply to MHs but to all RVs. Heck it applies to everything in society. RVs are a complicated machine. if a person does not have the ability to do repairs, then they better have enough cash or a big enough credit limit to pay for the repairs. Warranties, whether factory or exptended only go so far. Most have so many limitations that prople are gping to still spend a lot of money on upkeep. It all really boils down to available cash your ready and able to spend on something. Some people work with their hands and may not have as much disposable income. Others make much more money so have more to spend on their toys. Best thing I can suggest is get yourself educated on how stuff work. Learn how to take stuff apart and put it back together. Learn how to troubleshoot stuff. Back when my daughters were getting ready to drive I made them help me with an old VW bug. They learned how to remove, rebuild and replace the motor, change a tire etc. They also had to learn to drive a stick shift. Today their both glad I took the time to teach them the basics. May never need it, but the informatiom is still in their minds and they know when someone is trying to sell them a snow job.
ScottG
Nomad
May 15, 2018
Not only are RV's technical, they are for the most part built terrible.
You can get by without having much DIY ability but it's going to cost you to keep a rig up.
valhalla360
Navigator
May 15, 2018
Why can't you do the work? If you have a physical ailment, that's one thing but most of the common maintenance items are fairly straight forward. If you have a blown engine, I'm betting most will farm that out but not as much for simple stuff.

Yes, it will cost a lot more to farm out simple stuff.

Don't count on warranties. Plenty of stories about losing weeks or months as the dealer already has your money so warranty work is low priority. Or they will claim it's not covered...plus eventually the warranty runs out and there is still ongoing maintenance.
Grit_dog
Navigator
May 15, 2018
Valhalla has a good point. Even for the admittedly mechanically inept, ALOT of maint and repair tasks are quite simple and with the interwebs atyour fingertips, directions or videos are aplenty for nearly everything.
If a person spend a little time with a spreadsheet ( if you’re not able to calculate it) it would be obvious how much $ can e saved just doing the simple things like oil changes, winterizing, etc.
Jayco-noslide
Explorer
May 15, 2018
I'm one of those who attempts very little in the way of repair of our 2003 30 ft. MH. Asking Google can help with some minor stuff. Having lots of mechanical problems and needing repair and replacement is one of the downsides of RV's, especially older motor homes. The considerable costs needs to be factored in when considering purchase and best not to get one if you feel yearly unpredictable expenses of several hundred to several thousands is too much. If we have 1 long trip with no problems, we celebrate. Yet, have no regrets. We paid $23000 and even with thousands of expense over 4 years, way less than a new one. Not a toy for a poor person.
midnightsadie
Explorer II
May 15, 2018
most say they can,t, THEY just don,t want to. so for those we have mobil techs ,there faster, better, smarter, and cheaper,and can do warrenty work.. ,best of all they come to you, no waiting two months on a one hour repair.from a dealer.
rr2254545
Explorer
May 15, 2018
Since I have no skills- buying new with a factory warranty was imperative for me in addition I purchased a 6 year extended warranty (MH and engine)
Currently Winnebago has a 3 year factory warranty on their diesel motor homes
and
"Freightliner Custom Chassis offers the assurance of the industry’s most comprehensive warranty coverage: a transferable, three-year, 50,000-mile limited warranty with towing and roadside assistance—and no deductible whatsoever."
Chassis is the engine and drive train
kerrlakeRoo
Explorer
May 15, 2018
Do you have someone else do everything for you at home? This isnt really that different. Each person has their own skill/appitude level and then determines what they are willing to do themselves.
My first suggestion for you though would be to attend an Escapees club "Boot Camp" program. Much of it is based on needs for full timing, but it also covers the basics on maintenance. Some time getting comfortable with what you will be dealing with, may make it easier.
www.escapees.com
Floridastorm
Explorer
May 15, 2018
valhalla360 wrote:
Why can't you do the work? If you have a physical ailment, that's one thing but most of the common maintenance items are fairly straight forward. If you have a blown engine, I'm betting most will farm that out but not as much for simple stuff.

Yes, it will cost a lot more to farm out simple stuff.

Don't count on warranties. Plenty of stories about losing weeks or months as the dealer already has your money so warranty work is low priority. Or they will claim it's not covered...plus eventually the warranty runs out and there is still ongoing maintenance.

What do you consider common maintenance items? Also, if one is not familiar with repair/maintenance could I not do more harm than good including possibly dangerous work? I'm 78 years old and doubt that I could start learning a maintenance trade at my age. Also, at 78 even in good shape, these old bones don't respond very well to what is required for various maintenance tasks.
Floridastorm
Explorer
May 15, 2018
kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Do you have someone else do everything for you at home? This isnt really that different. Each person has their own skill/appitude level and then determines what they are willing to do themselves.
My first suggestion for you though would be to attend an Escapees club "Boot Camp" program. Much of it is based on needs for full timing, but it also covers the basics on maintenance. Some time getting comfortable with what you will be dealing with, may make it easier.
www.escapees.com

No, I do not do my own maintenance in my home. Thus the reason that I asked info from people who also could not do their own maintenance. It is not only that I cannot do this repair/maintenance on a motor home. I have no desire to do so. The Boot Camp program would be very good just to learn what to expect on the road with a motor home. However, I would still not attempt any maintenance, outside of very simple stuff that anyone could do.