My 1st RV Blog!
Posted 11-09-2013 at 08:50 PM by TriMoot
Well, have no idea if anyone will read this, but here goes.
Just bought our 1st Class A motor home; a 1997 Rexhall RexAir in October of 2013 from a fine older gentleman in Coeur d'Alene (CdA), ID.
He was 81 and kept the coach in pretty good shape, but it's not without it's small issues, but so far, so good.
The 1st thing we have to purchase are new tires as the ones that are currently on it are SOOOO dry rotted that it's VERY scary driving it!
Just today I really looked at them and found out they are Michelin's, XPS RIB and wow...there are so many LARGE cracks it's amazing we were even able to get it home! I know I was so nervous about it I bought a year of "Coach-Net" just in case one of the tires blew!
One thing I noticed today was the inside tires look GREAT! No rot! I would guess that's normal as they never are exposed to the sun and the harsh UV light.
So today we put on the RV cover. The 1st time we tired...wow..what a laugh. It was storming and the wind was at least 40 MPH! No kidding! In fact, it was that day that we drove it home from CdA and man oh man I was ALL over the road! The wind was coming from all directions and when semi's or even large trucks would pass me (I was going VERY slow) they would push me right over the line! Now it might be party because of the newness of driving a large Class A (large to me 31') AND there seems to be a little play in the steering wheel, but it certainly was largely due to the wind.
I took this time, a nice fall day, to also crawl underneath with a flashlight and really check things out. For the most part, looks really clean! Didn't see any major issues, like dripping oil or other fluids. I did inspect the steering box and I didn't see any adjustment screws, so that's a bummer. But all the rest of the joints and pieces look good. I had my daughter turn the steering wheel back and forth both with and without the motor running and I don't see any unusual flexing or movements of the steering pieces, so that's good. However, I did noticed when she slowly moved the wheel (and the motor was off) I could see the top portion of the small universal joint that attaches to the steering box move before it moved the bottom half, so perhaps that's where the play is.
You know I hated to put the RV underneath the cover as it was fun taking it out one more time just to fill the gas tank, and I was thinking if we had good tires on it, I wouldn't mind taking it on short trips during the winter as long as the roads are clear. But, it's all covered and I doubt I will go through all the trouble of covering it again just for a short trip. Plus, I don't want to buy tires now and have them sit all winter.
Another issue we noticed after a rain was the front AC unit was leaking water. I was soooo worried, but I 'think' I found out what the issue was. There are three LONG bolts that hold the AC unit tight to the roof and they are accessed through the inside of the motor home. I removed the plastic cover and as I started to remove them to see if I needed to caulk anything, they were as loose as a goose! A light went on in my head and said THAT's the problem! So I went head and took them off and looked at the seal and it all looked good. I think the issue was the bolts were so loose that the water was able to sneak underneath. So I checked the manual and it said 45 lbs of torque and that's what I applied....well, maybe a wee bit more, but to be sure.
So, I feel good about the RV. I know we got a good deal, even if it needs tires. The generator just had $500 of work done on it a day before we bought it and there are only 36K miles, so as long as the AC units work (haven't been able to check them, although I did clean them and other than the 20 to 30 wasp-nest, I think they looked pretty good.
BTW: The AC covers had cracks and even a large hole in one so I repaired them with fiber glass and resin.
Well, there you have it. My 1st RV blog. I have another blog where I used to write all about my triathlons I used to do, and running and biking, but since 2011 my knees have gotten arthritis so I'm not doing too much these days other than biking and swimming.
In case you can't sleep you can visit it at Http://TriMoot.Wordpress.com
Although, there's nothing too exciting there. If you want to read about my qualifying for the Boston Marathon, it's in two parts, so I recommend printing it out and then curling up for a long winters nap!
Part 1: (here)
Part 2:
2010 Portland Marathon Race Report – Part 2 « Trimoot's Weblog
Well, that should do it for my 1st blog!
One more thing...I LOVE this RV site, iRV2.com. What a great place for newbies like me to get help and everyone here has been terrific! Thanks guys for ALL your help! I hope someday to return the favor.
TriMoot.
Just bought our 1st Class A motor home; a 1997 Rexhall RexAir in October of 2013 from a fine older gentleman in Coeur d'Alene (CdA), ID.
The 1st thing we have to purchase are new tires as the ones that are currently on it are SOOOO dry rotted that it's VERY scary driving it!
Just today I really looked at them and found out they are Michelin's, XPS RIB and wow...there are so many LARGE cracks it's amazing we were even able to get it home! I know I was so nervous about it I bought a year of "Coach-Net" just in case one of the tires blew!
One thing I noticed today was the inside tires look GREAT! No rot! I would guess that's normal as they never are exposed to the sun and the harsh UV light.
So today we put on the RV cover. The 1st time we tired...wow..what a laugh. It was storming and the wind was at least 40 MPH! No kidding! In fact, it was that day that we drove it home from CdA and man oh man I was ALL over the road! The wind was coming from all directions and when semi's or even large trucks would pass me (I was going VERY slow) they would push me right over the line! Now it might be party because of the newness of driving a large Class A (large to me 31') AND there seems to be a little play in the steering wheel, but it certainly was largely due to the wind.
I took this time, a nice fall day, to also crawl underneath with a flashlight and really check things out. For the most part, looks really clean! Didn't see any major issues, like dripping oil or other fluids. I did inspect the steering box and I didn't see any adjustment screws, so that's a bummer. But all the rest of the joints and pieces look good. I had my daughter turn the steering wheel back and forth both with and without the motor running and I don't see any unusual flexing or movements of the steering pieces, so that's good. However, I did noticed when she slowly moved the wheel (and the motor was off) I could see the top portion of the small universal joint that attaches to the steering box move before it moved the bottom half, so perhaps that's where the play is.
You know I hated to put the RV underneath the cover as it was fun taking it out one more time just to fill the gas tank, and I was thinking if we had good tires on it, I wouldn't mind taking it on short trips during the winter as long as the roads are clear. But, it's all covered and I doubt I will go through all the trouble of covering it again just for a short trip. Plus, I don't want to buy tires now and have them sit all winter.
Another issue we noticed after a rain was the front AC unit was leaking water. I was soooo worried, but I 'think' I found out what the issue was. There are three LONG bolts that hold the AC unit tight to the roof and they are accessed through the inside of the motor home. I removed the plastic cover and as I started to remove them to see if I needed to caulk anything, they were as loose as a goose! A light went on in my head and said THAT's the problem! So I went head and took them off and looked at the seal and it all looked good. I think the issue was the bolts were so loose that the water was able to sneak underneath. So I checked the manual and it said 45 lbs of torque and that's what I applied....well, maybe a wee bit more, but to be sure.
So, I feel good about the RV. I know we got a good deal, even if it needs tires. The generator just had $500 of work done on it a day before we bought it and there are only 36K miles, so as long as the AC units work (haven't been able to check them, although I did clean them and other than the 20 to 30 wasp-nest, I think they looked pretty good.
BTW: The AC covers had cracks and even a large hole in one so I repaired them with fiber glass and resin.
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It was easy and quick, and actually looks pretty good as I was able to one of them from the inside and then put some RTV on the outside just to be doubly sure it doesn't leak. Now the one with the hole I put two layers on. The inside had mat fiber glass and the outside I used mesh. After it cured I took a sander to it and it's as smooth as a baby's butt!Well, there you have it. My 1st RV blog. I have another blog where I used to write all about my triathlons I used to do, and running and biking, but since 2011 my knees have gotten arthritis so I'm not doing too much these days other than biking and swimming.
In case you can't sleep you can visit it at Http://TriMoot.Wordpress.com
Although, there's nothing too exciting there. If you want to read about my qualifying for the Boston Marathon, it's in two parts, so I recommend printing it out and then curling up for a long winters nap!
Part 1: (here)
Part 2:
2010 Portland Marathon Race Report – Part 2 « Trimoot's Weblog
Well, that should do it for my 1st blog!
One more thing...I LOVE this RV site, iRV2.com. What a great place for newbies like me to get help and everyone here has been terrific! Thanks guys for ALL your help! I hope someday to return the favor.
TriMoot.
Total Comments 3
Comments
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Hello I know that you posted this a long time ago but I wanted you to know that I enjoyed reading it. We just purchased a 2000 Rexhall Rexair but it does not have a Owners manual and we have so many questions. Do you know of any good sites that would be helpful? Thank you for any help that you can give us.Posted 12-22-2014 at 06:15 AM by AUtahLady 
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WOW! I didn't see this post until today! (4/15/2015). Wow, so excited someone actually read it!
Well, AUtahLady, I mostly use this IRV2 forum, all the help here is great. I think you can get manuals tho, somewhere???
sorry, not much help.
Thanks again for stopping by and reading and perhaps I'll post another 'interesting' adventure..HA!
TriPosted 04-15-2015 at 04:43 PM by TriMoot
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Nice post review of your RV. Enjoyed the read and looks like you gave it much more of a going over than many would have. Some good calls found and fixed. waiting on the TIRES is a good idea and good you had a helper. We have one daughter and she is now 47 with 8-grandchildren. I told her she would get some paybacks for the hard times she gave me and now she has 8-trouble makers showing her what problems truly are lol. Now you need another BLOG of your first RV road trip. Thanks for sharing and it is a good read.
Posted 11-05-2019 at 01:53 PM by van-gogh
