For the FT's....what do you do when you have to service your RV?

[Excursion 33]

The RV service business is extremely slow so what do you do? Would you have to stay in a local hotel for a couple of weeks or whatever timeframe it takes? How do you then get around....cabs? What about your dogs or cats?

Just something I thought of and was wondering what you do.....

Thanks

[rollingslow]

If you go to the rite place you can stay in your MH when they are not working on it ours was in shop 8 days in florida stayed in it everynite just roled us out of the bay at end of day

[tkcas01]

Originally Posted by rollingslow

If you go to the rite place you can stay in your MH when they are not working on it ours was in shop 8 days in florida stayed in it everynite just roled us out of the bay at end of day

Ditto. Just spent a week plugged in at a shop in Livermore, CA. We just made ourselves scarce during the day and stayed in the rig at night. In 10 years of fulltiming, only a couple of nights have been spent in a hotel during service, and mainly just for convenience. We could have stayed with the rig if we needed to.

Most shops will work fulltimers into their work schedule, realizing that it will be lost business if they don't. For example, the place in Livermore had no shortage of rigs sitting around to work on, but they made sure to get us out by the end of the week. Though at their facility a week, I think they spent about 8 hours of actual labor on our work. The rest of the time they were out working on other things.

[Sky_Boss]

So far we have been pretty fortunate that we only need to find something to do for the day time hours when the coach is being worked on and at night have had our coach. Many service facilities will have at least 30 amp service so you will need to consider where and when you can get water and dump your waste tanks if need be.

Be ready for some very early morning times to vacate the coach. I can tell you that at the Newmar factory it is about 6:30 that they are at the door and at the Spartan factory 7:00. Other places will provide you a time to be ready.

[Air Baron]

It all depends on what you need done, where you are in the US and when you need service...the worst time is during the spring/fall migrations. We pulled into the Camping World in St. Augustine in late March and were told there was a 4 week waiting list to get in the shop. In 3 years full timing, we have had a couple of pleasant experiences... both of which were planned regular maintenance. The worst was being out of the coach for a week, living in a motel and ending up tossing out most of our refrigerated/frozen food. That was at a Cummins CoachNet factory distributor...who ended up socking it to us with a $4,000 bill on an estimate of $1,100 and one night. If the motorhome is disabled to diagnose and fix the problem, they are not going to rent a heavy duty tow truck and push you outside at the end of every day and push you back inside every morning...while waiting for parts that they should have in stock, but of course do not. They will not let you sleep inside the shop and certainly do not have full hookups inside. It is really bothersome to have all your worldly belongings and valuables sitting inside a truck shop...with total strangers working on the engine thru the bedroom hatch...when you are not there. Thankfully we don't do the pet thing, so motels were not a problem. If you don't have a toad...you will need to rent a car. Sorry to confirm your concerns, but I'm no Pollyanna.

[Excursion 33]

Interesting replies. Keep em coming....

[twogypsies]

In 16 years of full-timing we never had to stay off-site of the maintenance facility. We always told them we were full-timers and this was our home. Never a problem with extended stays in a hotel.

First, make an appointment. Don't just pop in. We came in the day before and they came for the motorhome early morning. If they needed another day, we would return late afternoon or when they advised - usually calling them during the afternoon to find out the progress. Then they pulled the motorhome to a spot for us to spend the night - usually with electric. Quite often there were others there doing the same thing.

In the morning we would have ready a cooler with drinks and snacks, our laptop and any important papers and any money laying around.

We'd go shopping, siteseeing in the area, to a movie, to a nice park (pack a blanket or small portable chairs) where we'd read, take a nap and have lunch or we'd have a leisurely lunch at a restaurant. With dogs, you might want to check out a local hike.

Never a cab. I assume you'll be taking a towed vehicle with you.

It's very doable.

[traveler of california]

The other responders have nailed it. In addition we try to use mobile guys whenever possible as they come to you - really convenient.

[Route 66]

I went to Cummins for engine/generator service, Spartan for chassis service and Newmar for everything else.

Always stayed in the coach at night.

All have at least elec. hookups.

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by traveler of california

The other responders have nailed it. In addition we try to use mobile guys whenever possible as they come to you - really convenient.

What kinds of services do these mobile guys perform? Regular maintenance on the engine (oil, filters, etc.), lube jobs, etc.?

[CampDaven]

Oil and lube and gennie services?
Speedco!
Cummins and chassis:$239
Gennie: $53.
There is an app

[Barbaraok]

Since we have had some experience with this, I wrote a page for our blog on How To Survive Repairs that you might find interesting.

If at all possible stay with your rig. The people sitting in the waiting room get more attention because they are visible.

Barb

[traveler of california]

In addition to regular service (oil change, lube, filters, etc.) there are mobile techs that will fix about anything in your rig. When you use this service, there is no waiting room, just enjoy your rig.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Barbaraok

Since we have had some experience with this, I wrote a page for our blog on How To Survive Repairs that you might find interesting.

If at all possible stay with your rig. The people sitting in the waiting room get more attention because they are visible.

Barb

Good post Barb! Everything is right on.