cancel
Showing results forย 
Search instead forย 
Did you mean:ย 

Constant breakage. Tiring.

Snowman9000
Explorer
Explorer
We are on our fourth RV. Every trip is a handyman's dream. I am handy, but this is just getting old.

We are on a long trip now with our Sunseeker Class C. It's 3 years old now and we are the first owner. So far this trip, just off the top of my head: a leaking water valve on the toilet, a bad gauge on the propane tank (magnet no fixie), piece of ceiling trim strip came loose, vinyl exterior trim insert pulled out of the track on the inside corner of the cabover trim.... And we have 6 weeks to go. Every trip with every RV has been like this.

This must be why Airstream, LazyDaze, etc. owners use the term SOB, Some Other Brand. Ours have all been SOBs.
Currently RV-less but not done yet.
34 REPLIES 34

down_home
Explorer II
Explorer II
One of these days I'm going to run into an RV duct taped all around.
My credit cards hide when we get ready for a trip.
RV Repair Parts stocks goes up when we hit the road.

mr__ed
Explorer
Explorer
tjfogelberg wrote:
Our last RV was a '99 Lazy Daze. We were constantly fixing and replacing things. (It was in excellent shape when we sold it last Fall.) We bought new this final round (Winnebago Minnie Winnie 31D) to try to reduce maintenance in addition to upgrading to a different floorplan and other upgrades like slides etc. So far (4 or 5 short trips) so good...there are a relatively few items that need attention under warranty. I say keep fixing and eventually you should hit a plateau and more enjoyment and less maintenance. S+B has a lot of maintenance too.


I owned a Lazy Daze class C a number of years ago (I forget the model year, but was some time in the 80's). I feel it was the best constructed RV I had ever owned. I fulltimed in it for a number of years and don't recall ever having to repair anything, although I must admit I didn't put a lot of miles on it, either.
Mr. Ed (fulltiming since 1987)
Life is fragile. Handle with prayer.

2007 Hitchhiker II LS Model 29.5 LKTG (sold)
2007 Dodge Ram 3500/6.7 CTD/QC/4X4/SB/SRW/6-speed man/Big Horn edition (sold)

time2roll
Nomad
Nomad
Fix something, fine it needs work.
If the same thing fails repeatedly is what would drive me nuts.

John_Joey
Explorer
Explorer
I think a lot of the responses have to do with the number of miles, and the types of roads the owners drive on.

For me, when we're going cross country things break. The worst was on a real bumpy stretch in LA. The whole dash busted loose from the screws that was holding it on.

Now when all we're doing is sitting in one spot, then thing do go a lot smoother.
Thereโ€™s no fool, like an old fool.

Snowman9000
Explorer
Explorer
Right now we are at 2 days without a lost time incident.
Currently RV-less but not done yet.

DryCreek
Explorer
Explorer
Out of the 10 RV's we've owned over the last 29 years, the only one that didn't need attention was.

__________________________________________________

(none of the above)

B_O__Plenty
Explorer II
Explorer II
I don't mind working on mine. It can get boring staying in the same place for several months over the Winter so I come up with projects. If you can't function as a handy person while owning an RV then maybe a motel or hotel is a better choice.

B.O.
Former Ram/Cummins owner
2015 Silverado 3500 D/A DRW
Yup I'm a fanboy!
2016 Cedar Creek 36CKTS

Ron3rd
Explorer III
Explorer III
Had an Aljo by Skyline for 10 years and a Forest River Rockwood Windjammer for 3 years and have not had much of any problems. SOB I guess.
2016 6.7 CTD 2500 BIG HORN MEGA CAB
2013 Forest River 3001W Windjammer
Equilizer Hitch
Honda EU2000

"I have this plan to live forever; so far my plan is working"

Durb
Explorer
Explorer
I like fussing with the trailer. Other than tires the trailer never sees a repair shop. If something goes south while on a trip it just means I get to head to a town and buy what I need to fix it. In my mind it is a lot more entertaining than watching television.

The truck is in as good of shape as I can get it. Tow vehicle failures aren't good however in 38 years of RV camping I've never had my truck fail to get me home.

ericsmith32
Explorer
Explorer
Wait it isn't normal?? Can't recall if I fix something every trip but don't even think about it anymore. One of the last trips was the thermocouple on the frig got wet. I try to stay in the frame of mind it's a rolling house on terrible roads.. my regular house would fall apart in less than a mile in the same conditions! I understand why some isn't RVers... have to be able to do some things yourself or it would just be too stressful.
2005 Jayco Escapade 28ZSLP (3500 Chevy chassis)

derh20
Explorer
Explorer
After I bought a new 29' Monaco Montclaire, it spent more time in the shop than we ever spent using it. And that is just the couch. we now have about 30K miles on it. Now for the chassis. We had to have the engine pulled because we were using too much oil. There was a technical service bulletin out on this, so we had to go through a series of "oil consumption" test. This meant we had to stop at a ford dealer every 3K miles to have the oil level checked and documented. That did not seem to be too difficult other than only a Ford Truck dealer would touch it-that made it a *****. Finally finished that and new valve guides were installed.. THEN, the transmission blew. Two major issues while on the road--no fun. I know I was a chevy guy for a reason. Yes, I know some C's are on a GM chassis.

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
troubledwaters wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
You all must be very rough on those RV's. The only fixes I've had to do on mine were mostly self-inflicted boo-boos! A "very" few minor touch-ups, like putting some kind of lubricant on the toilet slide because it keeps sticking. Other than that, my on-road-traveling repairs experiences are absolutely nill. I once had a leak at the black tank flusher though, where the hose attaches to the side of the trailer. I put a new one on once home. Does that count?
I thought it was like last week you said you had to replace a malfunctioning water pump in yours? I could be mistaken.


Yes, I did... after 3 years of malfunction (it still worked, it just didn't know when to quit working. by the way, that "intermittent" sporadic momentary spirt hasn't happened since I switched out the pump). I suppose that counts too.

OK, let me think about this on my current camper: I've replaced all 4 tires when one was wearing uneven, the water pump, and had a leak under the shower pan (fixed under warranty when new). I replaced the black tank flusher hook up, and the scare light bulb on the (driver side) which kept blowing. But it's now holding, so probably was just a rash of inferior bulbs. We did replace the air conditioner from a 13,500 to a 15,000, but that was by "choice" not a mechanical failure. We replaced the original television, and the original television is now in our bedroom in the house hanging on the wall. We wanted a television in the camper that was internet ready. (here again, a choice, not because of mechanical failure). And believe it or not, we're still sleeping on the original factory installed mattress. Actually, it's a good mattress. We did swap out furniture for a real 3 seater recliner sofa (by choice again, not because the original furniture was defective). But here again, no repairs when on the road. Any changes, modification, or minor fixes were all done at home. I've done several small modifications for comfort, like putting wall plugs over the existing plugs that now have built in USB ports, but they just plugged into the existing outlet. I also opened the cubby hole beside the bed to open all the blocked off space under the front cap wall closet. I rebuilt that space to make a cubby hole our cat can sleep in. He absolutely love that cubby hole now and he's right there beside my head in the cubby. (much more comfortable than him trying to sleep ON my head!) I built a simple doggie ramp so our dachshund can get up on our bed and sleep with us (and my grand kids love running up and down it too). I've added coffee cup hooks and towel bars. So, in the end, I've done a lot of work on the camper, but very, very few actual break-downs or repairs because of shoddy manufacturer construction. (sorry for the long paragraph, ... hard to read it formatted this way... I know!)

Captain_Happy
Explorer
Explorer
That's why I bought a Winnebago Motor Home. In the 4 years that I've owned it I've changed the oil & filter and tightened a few screws. OH, and I battery. And I full-time in this think.

Snowman9000
Explorer
Explorer
tragusa3 wrote:
I do usually have something to do for the trailer, however, nothing has stopped our enjoyment of a trip and nothing has cost me more than my time and a few dollars.

Not only do I advise you be a handy man, but you must have a mindset that working on the RV is part of the hobby. I mostly enjoy fiddling with it.

I do see people often that don't know what they're getting into.


I enjoy fixing things, and the rv is no exception. But in the middle of a trip it is not so enjoyable. Especially when there is another problem every few days.
Currently RV-less but not done yet.