the bear II wrote:
Yep that's the RV owning experience...many years of no repairs...then a year of repairs...followed by a couple of years of no repairs....then a year of repairs...repeat, repeat, repeat...
All of this is far outweighed by the enjoyment of being out in the wild with mother nature.
Yep,
Pretty much what I was going to say. Owning and operating one of these rolling Kleenex boxes is in reality, NO PICNIC. Sometimes they bite you and sometimes they just lay down and take whatever you throw at them. I've been my own mechanic for all my life and, this coach we have now, an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT, has taxed me almost to my wits end, more than a few times.
In the time we've owned this coach, about 4 years and 22,000 miles, the DW and I have figured we've saved somewhere in the neighborhood of around, $10,000 so far, in LABOR alone. Parts are parts. They're going to be replaced, no matter who does it. But, I will have to say, I'm approaching the days where I will not be able to turn into a PRETZLE and twist my body into the shape needed to get into certain positions, to do a repair/maintenance/alteration, to save a few bucks on labor if I paid someone.
So, some of those things you listed are givens, they're in need of replacing on a semi-periodic basis anyway. A few others you listed, are not normally in the annual, semi-annual or, even every 5 year thing. Our dash radio is still kicking. The chassis batteries were replaced 6 months prior to our taking possession of it. The House batteries have since been replaced with 6V units from Costco.
So, my comments to you, just kind-a take it as it comes. It'll go for a while with no costs and you'll enjoy it. Have fun.
Scott
How much did you spend on it in the previous five years? $3000 to replace two $700 AC/Heat pumps???? I'm at 11 years too and spent very little last year other than $300 on my NoCool 1200. Six tires ($2800) the year before and I change my own oil. Granted there have been some times when having someone else lift something would be cheaper than the chiropractor's bill.
