All the postings to the thread have been spot on. Myself, I very satisfied with my coach. I enjoy both the time on the road and the weekends not camping that I spend either making it better or ensuring the overall reliability of the systems. I actually look forward to winters since I usually have some grand plan to add or improve something to the coach. Gives me something to do rather than just planning the upcoming camping season adventures. I always try and soften my responses when I do reply to pre-ownership questions but potential owners need to know what owning a rig is going to require of them and if neglected will result in what could have been someone's pride and joy that is now destine to the RV grave yard.
A coach of any type or age must have regular care and feeding. Ownership is going to be a pocket drain. No way around it but if an owner stays on top of preventative maintenance then the cost of corrective might not be the expenses that never gets paid. An owner can mitigate the cost thru education, research and thinking outside the box. But if an they are fully dependant on the local RV service center the drain can be dramatic.
I've had plenty of minor problems that I feel are just part of the ownership experience. Flat tires, bad solenoids, engine problems, toilet flush valve breaking (multiple times), roof leaks (several), door step gear box failure, generator starter failure and so on. But I'm very fortunate in that I don't fear tearing into something to figure out what the problem is then finding a solution. Having the physical mobility to crawl under the coach or go up on the roof helps. There resources are out there but knowing where to look or even what to enter for as a search parameters on a forum can be a bit overwhelming to the experienced owner but the novice shape tree RV owner is going to need help even if they are a space shuttle mechanic.
We all have read the laundry list of problems new owners have posted along with the long delays waiting on repairs. An owner really needs to have some basic skills or they will forever be at the mercy of the service center. Running a bead of sealant doesn't take much expertise but we all know how fast a water leak will destroy even a rock star coach. Then there are the postings concerning fairly new rigs that end up in offsite outdoor storage for months, never touched or checked, that now has extensive water damage due to one small roof leak and owners asking what went wrong. Tires failing after a few seasons but the last person to check the air pressure was back at the factory. 10 year old low mileage rigs for sale in what appears to be excellent condition but the generator has 10 hours on, original engine oil since the mileage never got high to warrant a change and tires the chassis builder installed. Then the postings by a potential owner with a $10K budget (and nothing more), never camped a day in their life but wants to take the family on a coast to coast adventure in a month that is looking for a rig. I'm sure it can be done but the risks are pretty high and there are some very empty parts of this country where a break down won't make life enjoyable.
