Go For It! Repair or Replace it Yourself..You Can Do It

[Beentherefixedt]

Consider this post a "Call to Arms" so to speak to encourage anyone to undertake their own RV repairs, modifications and maintenance. I read so many posts here asking if this or that can be taken on by the owner. In most cases it can be with no problem.

Of course I realize that due to age or physical limitations some may not be able to do this. But it doesnt hurt to educate yourself as much as possible to avoid being taken advantage of by RV dealers and repair facilities.

Anyone can do just about anything to their own RV.

There are two electrical systems 12 volt DC and 120 Volt AC.

There is a propane system for the stove, Furnace and the water heater (most units)

Then there is the plumbing system with Two systems interior to that, the onboard system using the water pump and fresh water tank and the outside supply.

These systems are very basic in most cases and familiar to many of us from our houses. Those that may be unfamiliar are still not complicated and can be mastered with reading the manual and doing some minimal online research.

In my case I have done the following on my 34 foot Gulfstream trailer.

Installed all new flooring incl. "floating type" in the bathroom and entry.

Replaced Kitchen sink with larger better (standard household models) SST double sink and faucet

Tore out my bathroom vanity, sink etc and replaced with a new one, Tiled the backsplash and counter and new medicine cabinet/mirror.

Re-wired my pigtail, getting rid of those horrible plastic twist nuts and terminated each wire with ring lugs (marine type with heat shrink), installed a distribution box and power dist. strip.

Replaced the old corroded inline 50 amp fuse in the pigtail with a marine grade 50 amp fuse and water resistant box.

Cut my Power cord off (I had the type that had to be pushed in and out) Added a marine grade Marinco receptacle mounted in a weather proof box wired to a dist. box in my bathroom and installed a new plug on the end of my cord...freeing my cord and making hookup much easier, surer and safer.

Repaired and adjusted my main living area slide

Tore out the living area dinette and sofa, moved some interior storage areas, created a table and chair dining table area and added to recliners essentially reversing the floorplan of the original.

Put down all new commercial grade carpeting in my main slide and living area.

Removed and recovered all of the window surrounds in the main living area.

Replaced both 12 v and 120AC light fixtures in the main living area.

Tore out the upper bunk of my small slide area and added matching cabinets I bought from Home Depot above the lower bunk.

Insulated the complete underside of the trailer as well as all outside storage areas with Owens Corning Pink Foamular insulation covered over with White Plastic version of that commonly used under most RV's.

Removed my Furnace cleaned and re mounted it properly. (It was not installed correctly at the factory so that much of the air didnt make it into the duct system.)

And the biggest job of all...I found some old rot in the floor of my small slide (I bought this trailer used) It was all dry rot. I replaced the slide floor and fit in new framing where necessary. This entailed removing the outside skin and replacing removing the old floor and replacing.

Now none of these were done in a garage and only the slide repair was done at my house. All else has been done on the road.

So you too can do this stuff. HOnestly...give it a try

[Harvey51]

As a science teacher for many years, I always taught the practical use of a multimeter and familiarization with electricity. The meaning of “volt”and “ampere” was critical. Knowing that a volt is energy per charge makes for understanding that only a tiny current is needed to measure the voltage so the meter on an appropriate voltage range can be simply connected to across a battery or load to measure the voltage. Measuring current of course requires that the thing to be measured must flow through the current meter so the circuit must be disconnected to insert the meter so the current flows through it. Usually someone in the class connected a meter set to current As if it was set on voltage, burning out the current range of the meter. This made for an excellent lesson. The current meter allows all available current to flow in order to measure it. It must be connected into a circuit with a current limiting load and please start with the meter on a high current range to safely get a reading that can be used to set a more accurate current range. I believe everyone should be familiar with electricity to this extent before graduating from high school but it doesn’t always happen. If you have this skill, pass it on to your children and anyone you know with a multimeter.

I am grateful to my father and mechanic friends who took the time to teach me how to do oil changes, brake pads, etc. Things that need to be done multiple times are most worthwhile to learn. Girls often miss out on these practical skills and end up worrying and fearing taking a problem to a garage because they have no idea what needs to be done and it’s reasonable cost.

A senior lady visiting last night was telling me how she looked after her car battery, problematic due to too many starts for very short trips. It was a Dodge Journey with battery hidden behind the wheel well. She knew exactly what to do and said her now deceased husband had got her to help when he worked on the car with the excuse that she had small hands, making easy work of reaching into tight places.

[GHop]

I agree with you, If I have the tools, space and time I will tackle it. I know for myself, If I pay for a job, I expect the repairs to be better than what I could have done. Most times when it comes to electronics, the tech will just change out a board and charge. But yes, I will give it a try before calling someone out.

[Veebyes]

The basement of my house is a virtual hardware store with everything divided up into various departments. Electrical, plumbing, car stuff, bike stuff, marine, paint etc. The only department that does not exist is the RV section.

The RV carries all of its own stuff all of the time, more or less sorted out like the house basement. No good having what is needed to fix something when it is hundreds of miles away.

[OkieGene]

Enjoyable thread. But can we quit the bickering? Thanks

[D_E_Bishop]

jkwilson wrote:
I own a boat, three vehicles, my 5th wheel, two tractors, a Bobcat, three trailers, two lawn mowers, a tiller, two generators, two water pumps plus a house, pool and farmland. Bad enough to keep all this stuff working, but it would be a killer if I had to pay somebody to do my repairs.

Worst of all is when you hire somebody to fix something you don't want to tackle and they screw it up or can't fix it and you end up having to fix it yourself AND pay to have it fixed.

Oh you poor bugger.

[free_radical]

toedtoes wrote:
If you're going to use a shop to fix things, you should pick them on capability rather than free coupons. If a dealer is offering free oil changes for every new sale, then it's pretty obvious they are using a cheap hire to do those changes - that's a sign of warning that the service may be less than satisfactory.

Aint that the truth,
a friend had an oil change done at the dealer and young dum kid forgot to put that rubber O ring back in or tighten the filter and all oil ended on the road and botom of his van..

Had to get a lawyer to force the dealer to put in new motor..

[Jackfate]

jkwilson wrote:
I own a boat, three vehicles, my 5th wheel, two tractors, a Bobcat, three trailers, two lawn mowers, a tiller, two generators, two water pumps plus a house, pool and farmland. Bad enough to keep all this stuff working, but it would be a killer if I had to pay somebody to do my repairs.

Worst of all is when you hire somebody to fix something you don't want to tackle and they screw it up or can't fix it and you end up having to fix it yourself AND pay to have it fixed.

Amen to that! I couldn’t afford the stuff I got if I had to pay someone to repair it. Even warranty work gets messed up by the “professionals “ . Not to mention the hassle it is to take it somewhere & return to pick it up . There’s a definite satisfaction to be able to troubleshoot your way out of a situation .

[Beentherefixedt]

toedtoes wrote:
The problem is that you are basing your point on YOUR OWN perception that it is not difficult and that anyone can do it.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am sorry but I don't think the problem is my perception, with respect, I think it is that you are not reading what I write. Below are from my posts here in this thread:

"Of course I realize that due to age or physical limitations some may not be able to do this. But it doesnt hurt to educate yourself as much as possible to avoid being taken advantage of by RV dealers and repair facilities."

"I am certainly not pushing anyone to do something they don't want to do."

"Barring those with serious physical or mental challenges really anyone can if they so choose ..."

I disagree that my view is based on my "Perception" it is in fact based on my experience as a Military Training Instructor in the USAF teaching people from all walks of life and abilities to do unusual and previously unknown skills.

It is also based on my 2 years in the Peace Corps teaching those in another culture and language to do technical skills completely foreign to them.

It is based on my more than 30 years as a business owner and manager of large organizations designing training programs for all sorts of tasks and skills that most people can self-teach and succeed at many many skills.

Toedtoes wrote:

"Or the person is in a fix and needs the repair asap and doesn't have time to "go to youtube and learn".

It takes me about 10 seconds to bring up a subject on You tube on my phone. Most of the DIY videos are less than 15 minutes. It would take you longer than that to get the RV Service Dept on the line and get an appointment for a month from now. In addition if you had a good book on RV or Boat repair It would be there in front of you.

In the end what I am suggesting is that most anyone can be encouraged to set aside their doubts and misgivings and empower themselves to tackle repair and maintenance tasks on their RV's that will pay them back in great feelings of accomplishment, increased knowledge and the satisfaction of saving money.

Hope your Thanksgiving is a safe and tasty one...

[toedtoes]

If you're going to use a shop to fix things, you should pick them on capability rather than free coupons. If a dealer is offering free oil changes for every new sale, then it's pretty obvious they are using a cheap hire to do those changes - that's a sign of warning that the service may be less than satisfactory.

[Lynnmor]

T18skyguy wrote:

I can afford to have someone else do the work, but I just don't trust them. If I do it, then I know it's done right. I bought a new pickup and it came with 2 free oil changes. Didn't even want that.

I got 2 free oil changes with a new pickup as well. The first time in my long life that I had anyone else change oil in anything. They put more than 2 quarts of the wrong oil in so I didn't go back for the second "free" oil change. I honestly don't know how others get thru life depending on idiots.

[TwoManyToyz]

Worst of all is when you hire somebody to fix something you don't want to tackle and they screw it up or can't fix it and you end up having to fix it yourself AND pay to have it fixed.

Exactly.. Especially something like a hitch or wheel bearings, something that could really make for a bad day if it failed due to someones incompetence.

Kevin

[Veebyes]

I am a compulsive salvage guy. If there is any life in it I will salvage the parts.

Had a Dometic fridge go bad on me. Tubes leaked the yellow stuff all over. Not worth repairing so ordered a new one. Sitting in a CG for 5 days waiting for the new one to arrive & before the mobile tech came for the old one I took the mother board & anything else small, electronic & looking expensive out of the old one. Good insurance. The new one has outlasted the old trouble free. Must have disappointed the tech if he went into my old one looking for parts.

[T18skyguy]

Range Maggot Bob wrote:
I carry most of all the basic tools needed to do most repairs. No, I do not enjoy doing it myself. If I could afford it, I would not do one single repair myself. I would pay somebody to do it and be perfectly happy, as long as I didn't have to wait for it.

I can afford to have someone else do the work, but I just don't trust them. If I do it, then I know it's done right. I bought a new pickup and it came with 2 free oil changes. Didn't even want that. Told them no. There are times when you have no choice; like when a circuit board on our home furnace went out. I couldn't source it, called in a guy, and $500 later he brought over a little circuit board for it. My wife said it's the first time in 30 years she's ever seen me not fix something.

[toedtoes]

campigloo wrote:
Toadtoes it’s not you. I know from personal experience that tape measures are chronic liars.

Thank you! I'm glad to know they don't just lie to me. They will tell me 5 times that THIS is the measurement and when I cut it it's too long or too short every time.