Average Maintenance Costs

[PNW_Wood]

I'm trying to evaluate my actual cost of ownership. I've figured fuel, camp sites, insurance. I have no idea what general maintenance is going to run me

Assuming somewhere in the 6,000 miles per year range for driving, what are the average per year maintenance costs? ... oil, transmission service, brakes, batteries, tires, etc., etc.

I've not settled on DP VS gasser, so I'm interested in both (please indicate what you have if your sig doesn't)

Thanks

[PNW_Wood]

great info everyone, thanks

[JnJnKatiebug]

I had my last motorhome for 5 years and this is my actual cost of ownership. You can throw out any part that you don't want to count but this is what I believe it cost me. It was a 2003 model that I bought in 2011 I sold it for $20k less than what I gave for it, which I thought was not bad. I did most of the repairs myself. This is the actual cost.

$20k at 5 percent interest = $377 per month
one set tires = $2400 or $40 month
6 batteries = $840 or $14 month
Inside storage = $80 month
Annual oil change & upkeep $1200 or =$100 month
this includes an engine water pump, a fuel pump, shocks, various other PM repairs including water heater failure and fridge repair. Fridge was weak and needed replacement.
Insurance, tags and taxes = $100 month

Total cost of my ownership = $711 a month or $8,532 year or $42,660 for 5 years of ownership.

[cvbdsl]

I guess you can tell from some of the replies that there are two sides to maintenance.

First is the annual cost of normal preventative maintenance (oil changes, lube, filters, radiator flushes, tranny fluid changes, tires - you get the picture). These are usually on a schedule and more or less predictable based on mileage or time, whether you do them or someone else.I usually budget around $1K annually for the above. I have a local shop do these things as I'm not very handy mechanically.

Things that go in the "house" part I can manage as well as the exterior (seals etc).

Second are the unexpected things that may go wrong. This year I've had to replace the lift pump in the spring before my fist trip, the bathroom Fantastic fan had issues, the water pump (on the motor) went in the fall after my last trip and its in the shop now for "self-inflicted" body damage repair. I did have a $5K reserve fund for the unexpected things, though it is pretty well depleted after this year.

I purposely exclude insurance and deprecation from my annual maintenance cost. When I go to sell, what I get will be "found" money as the MH is paid for and is not an investment.

HTH

Chris

[usersmanual]

ncrowley wrote:
I would budget $2000 per year. This includes tire replacement.

2008 ISL cummins 40Ft unit has cost me $1028.00 per year(average) for last five years of general maintenance and repair(includes tires)
and interior repairs such as washing machine pump.
Of the $5140 total $3300.00 of this was for tires and a turbo repair

[ncrowley]

I would budget $2000 per year. This includes tire replacement.

[ArchHoagland]

Works out to about $1,200 a year for tires,brakes,oil,engine repair,etc over the past 80,000 miles and 11 years.

I do my own oil, transmission and filters.

[Lumpty]

Somebody way up asked about unbudgeted repairs. That is in the nominal $1000 a year that I figure is reasonable to carry as a placeholder. Maintenance is a minor cost; I do my own oil changes and fluid swaps. Motorcraft 5w-20 and filters 2x a year from Walmart, plus 3 quarts of Rotella for the generator isn't even $100 a year, leaving $900 of monopoly money for other stuff. This is a newer (2011) Class C, so the E450 part is pretty easy and the house still holding up pretty good. I did have to do a silly repair/replacement this Summer: lost a clearance light lens in a storm, and the vendor had gone out-of-business. The front cap was molded with insets specifically for these lights. Had to go to way too much trouble to find another one to fit, order those and fab up a way to have them look like they were supposed to be there. Total cost of the bits and pieces: $100. The entire Saturday of install time? Priceless. I also installed a new pair of front shocks as I was wondering if the Bilsteins I had on there were getting soft, along with a road force balance of the front tires. The shocks (Monroe RV Magnums) were bought from Advance Auto with a big coupon discount (I want to say $80 total for the pair) and the special balancing was $40. So this year I'm at $320. Next Spring I'll be doing trans and diff fluid; that'll be $200 or so, and I need to replace the existing trailer hitch as this one is a bit suspect. $400 there for that. In 2018 I'll be due for tires at $1,000 +/- for the set, but that big expense has been more than amortized over the years. In 2015, the only repair I can recall was the glass jar on the water filter sheared off at the threads. The fix was from the Home Depot plumbing aisle just installing a piece of braided line with the appropriate connector ends. I think it was $8. Done on the fly as a bit of a quick fix as I found the problem during a quick dewinterization leaving for the Daytona Rolex 24 that afternoon before I hit the road.

Like I said, this unit for a RV was relatively cheap to buy and certainly on the "less expensive" side to own compared to many. It is also huge that one be mechanically inclined and have the ability to work on most chassis and house stuff. That makes the biggest difference in total cost of ownership.

[Tom_Barb]

I think of this issue a bit different than most, This old coach is worth as much to me this year as it was last year. I'm not selling, so why worry about it.

[PNW_Wood]

its ok. I get it. depreciation is a factor to be considered. I guess it would more important to me if I had some fantasy that I'd make some sort of return on investment when I sold. I don't really care that I paid 112,000 today and sell for 100,000 next year. I'm not looking at the vehicle as a source of money on the other side. I had a BMW for two years, but a **** ton into that **** thing, and sold it for several thousand less than what I paid. Yeah, that was total cost of ownership, but I knew going into it I was going to take it in the shorts and I had a lot of fun driving it in that time (a little too much really, which is why I sold it, but I digress)

is that short sighted of me? maybe, I don't know. At this point, I'm really just concerned about what it is going to cost me to keep the unit operational and what it will cost to use it while its operational

I do appreciate everyone sharing their actual costs, it helps me get some perspective on MH ownership

- Brad

[usersmanual]

K Charles wrote:
If all you care about is maintenance, it's the same as your truck if you get a gas MH. Oil, filter and grease, change the trans and rear end fluid. Same as your truck, the brakes and tires cost more but they last longer.
No one Knowles what you are going to brake and that isn't maintenance.

ok that's really "knows" and "break"

[Chowan]

Ivylog wrote:
Here is an extreme answer to you question from a previous post with four pages of answers. Start at the top of page 1.

By paying cash you are not reminded each month how much owning a MH costs, BUT depreciation is a real expense that you pre pay by paying cash and it's been $1000/month for the first 12 years of my almost new DP. The next 10 years will be closer to half that and then it will decrease very slowly in value.

Can you people not read. He has said three times he does not CARE about DEPRECIATION

[_Sea_Of_No_Care]

The answers you are gonna get will vary greatly, based on the type of MH you choose. Buying new or used, Gas verses Diesel, tag or no tag, entry level or mid to upper level, doing it yourself or having someone do the maintenance for you. It's impossible to say. So the info you will get won't really help you much. What I can say is owning an expensive toy will cost you $$. We keep up on the maintenance right to a tee, some I do myself some I have others do. We don't really keep track of costs as we love traveling so whatever the costs are they are worth it to us. We feel we can afford it or we wouldn't be doing it. I think it will end up costing you more than you think it will in the long run, so I would plan for spending more rather than less. Think about that before you buy one. Good luck!!

Dave

[J-Rooster]

Can't put a price on having fun in the RV and I like sleeping in my own bed!

[Mlewin51]

I needed the Allison tranny fluid and filter changed along with brake air dryer replaced. I was quoted $700 as being the cheapest. I did both myself for $250 and took 1 hour for both.