Rank your RV issues
Rank your most encountered RV issues. Ours have been: 1. Water leak on/at roof 2. Slide issues 3. Tire flats 4. Converter failure
Forum Discussion
Wow...Reading some of these responses makes me feel...Really, really lucky, haha.
Sooo, thinking back over the last 23 years of RVing, and the 5 RVs we've owned in that time - one popup, two trailers, and two Motorhomes, here is all I can think of (strictly talking about RV mechanical failures/repairs. I am not including regular maintenance, issues dealing with other campers, getting reservations, or any stuff like that):
1. Power step motor failures - These are the most common occurrence. Failed twice on old Motorhome over course of 9 years and had to be replaced. Has already failed and been replaced on current Motorhome that is just 2 years old. Now, I carry a spare motor for these steps, as these motors fail often.
2. Awnings - Spring assembly broke on manual awning on RV trailer we used to have (Thor Citation), had to be replaced. Motor on power awning on the Georgetown Motorhome failed once and had to be replaced.
3. Hydraulic jacks - Hydraulic jack motor failed on Georgetown RV once and had to be replaced.
4. Water heater solenoid switch failed once on Georgetown Motorhome, had to be replaced.
5. Air conditioner thermostat on Citation trailer had to be replaced. Also, Georgetown motorhome in last year or two we owned it started spewing tiny bits of styrofoam insulation out the vents when Air conditioner was running. More less resolved that one with a bunch of AC ducting tape in several places in the duct work.
6. LP gas/CO detector - Due to it being located in a bad place right outside bathroom door, it went off constantly (false alarms) due to ex-wife's excessive use of hair spray and other aerosol products in the bathroom. Had to be replaced a total of 3 different times because of this (once aerosol gets on sensors, it would go off randomly whenever, and there is/was no way to clean it off or fix this).
7. LP gas tank - Wire going to shutoff switch on LP gas tank was stretched too tight at factory and just barely reached the switch (more shoddy workmanship), one day wire broke as a result, shutting off gas to entire RV (Georgetown Motorhome). Ended up installing new gas line to fix that, removing the shutoff valve completely.
8. Slideouts - power cable glide for slideout on Georgetown would get jammed, had to be manually pulled on while slide was going out to keep it from getting stuck and doing damage. Never resolved that one, just worked around it by manually pulling on cord while slide came out. Had another issue where wood finish pieces around top of slideout buckled a little and started dragging, catching when slideout was brought in and out. Had to take whole trim piece off, re-inforce wood framing behind it to correct that one (shoddy workmanship).
9. Tires - Twice, I had to replace a tire on the Georgetown Motorhome due to damage to the tire. Once, was when it caught a nail too close to the sidewall to patch, other one was self-inflicted stupidity on my part when inner dually tire lost too much air through faulty valve I was using, resulting in it blowing out (no other damage).
10. Roof - Georgetown Motorhome started leaking a little during heavy rains in one corner up front. Fixed that with some caulking up on the roof in that corner. Same thing happened along one edge of the slideout, where during heavy rain and wind, water was getting up under the slideout topper and causing small leak. Caulk fixed that one, too.
11. Hitch receiver issue - On previous Georgetown Motorhome, noticed one day that frame extensions that hitch receiver was attached to was buckling and bending slightly due to poor workmanship at factory when attaching on frame extensions. Had to take it to a welding shop, where they removed the receiver, re-welded on frame extensions making much stronger, and reattached hitch reciever using much more stout hardware.
Thats about all I can think of, remember right now.
Sooo, thinking back over the last 23 years of RVing, and the 5 RVs we've owned in that time - one popup, two trailers, and two Motorhomes, here is all I can think of (strictly talking about RV mechanical failures/repairs. I am not including regular maintenance, issues dealing with other campers, getting reservations, or any stuff like that):
1. Power step motor failures - These are the most common occurrence. Failed twice on old Motorhome over course of 9 years and had to be replaced. Has already failed and been replaced on current Motorhome that is just 2 years old. Now, I carry a spare motor for these steps, as these motors fail often.
2. Awnings - Spring assembly broke on manual awning on RV trailer we used to have (Thor Citation), had to be replaced. Motor on power awning on the Georgetown Motorhome failed once and had to be replaced.
3. Hydraulic jacks - Hydraulic jack motor failed on Georgetown RV once and had to be replaced.
4. Water heater solenoid switch failed once on Georgetown Motorhome, had to be replaced.
5. Air conditioner thermostat on Citation trailer had to be replaced. Also, Georgetown motorhome in last year or two we owned it started spewing tiny bits of styrofoam insulation out the vents when Air conditioner was running. More less resolved that one with a bunch of AC ducting tape in several places in the duct work.
6. LP gas/CO detector - Due to it being located in a bad place right outside bathroom door, it went off constantly (false alarms) due to ex-wife's excessive use of hair spray and other aerosol products in the bathroom. Had to be replaced a total of 3 different times because of this (once aerosol gets on sensors, it would go off randomly whenever, and there is/was no way to clean it off or fix this).
7. LP gas tank - Wire going to shutoff switch on LP gas tank was stretched too tight at factory and just barely reached the switch (more shoddy workmanship), one day wire broke as a result, shutting off gas to entire RV (Georgetown Motorhome). Ended up installing new gas line to fix that, removing the shutoff valve completely.
8. Slideouts - power cable glide for slideout on Georgetown would get jammed, had to be manually pulled on while slide was going out to keep it from getting stuck and doing damage. Never resolved that one, just worked around it by manually pulling on cord while slide came out. Had another issue where wood finish pieces around top of slideout buckled a little and started dragging, catching when slideout was brought in and out. Had to take whole trim piece off, re-inforce wood framing behind it to correct that one (shoddy workmanship).
9. Tires - Twice, I had to replace a tire on the Georgetown Motorhome due to damage to the tire. Once, was when it caught a nail too close to the sidewall to patch, other one was self-inflicted stupidity on my part when inner dually tire lost too much air through faulty valve I was using, resulting in it blowing out (no other damage).
10. Roof - Georgetown Motorhome started leaking a little during heavy rains in one corner up front. Fixed that with some caulking up on the roof in that corner. Same thing happened along one edge of the slideout, where during heavy rain and wind, water was getting up under the slideout topper and causing small leak. Caulk fixed that one, too.
11. Hitch receiver issue - On previous Georgetown Motorhome, noticed one day that frame extensions that hitch receiver was attached to was buckling and bending slightly due to poor workmanship at factory when attaching on frame extensions. Had to take it to a welding shop, where they removed the receiver, re-welded on frame extensions making much stronger, and reattached hitch reciever using much more stout hardware.
Thats about all I can think of, remember right now.
