Owning a motor home is not for sissies.

[F4Jock]

Ah yes. Rotator cuff. Mine is finally healing to the point where I can use my left arm with out grimacing. Bought ours two years ago and, between my DIY and a really great mechanic, it is finally restored, updated, modified, fully functional and ready to roll. Of course now it's winter and she's been put up.

We've had her out three times and done a couple of backyard shakedowns in all that time. If I was counting bucks per night it'd be about 3 grand so far. Expensive yes, but so far really fun. Can't wait for next season.

[lesf]

I have a 22 year old RV bought 10years ago used a lot during the year & only major repair was a bearing collapsing in the diff. not long after I bought it rest just minor issues which where easily repaired & it is not a top end RV but they do require a lot of minor repairs which I assume if you cannot do yourself gets expensive.

[rebfed]

I purchased a used 2007 Alegro Open Road almost six years ago, and every time I take it out it has cost me a minimum of $2K...I wanna go back to a travel trailer!

[Dodgemolin]

Two years ago we purchased a 1996 HR Navigator 400. It was maintenance “deferred “ but we knew it. Jacks didn’t work, overheating issues, steering issues, bad generator, bad inverter, one bad tire from road damage, leaky pipe under the sink, numerous electrical issues...and the list goes on and on. All items I could fix myself with time patience and tons of elbow grease. Would I do it again knowing what I know now. Yes yes I would. It’s as good now as It needs to be for its age range. It’s original build quality shines through now. It drives better than either of the other two newer DPs we’ve owned. But in keeping with the original theme of this post I carry a set of tools and tapes wires and hoses that would rival some mobile mechanics trucks. I enjoy tinkering and learning new things from forums and trial and error. If I had to pay someone else to do the work ... I could own a jet for less money ��

[hipkts2010]

We currently have a 2010 Tiffin Allegro Bus 43 QGP that we bought in July of 2018. We are full time since 2003.. Started with a 2003 Holiday Rambler Imperial 40' triple slide. Kept that until 2011 when we got a 2007 40 QSP Allegro Bus. That 2007 had too many issues for me so we traded it for the 2010. It had some issues also but nothing I could not fix. First thing was someone had removed the chassis battery maintainer and so I discovered those were dead and suspect that they had been let to drain down to 6v more than once and so had to replace them after 2 months. Then we had a couple of MCD shades go out and the controller. Thankfully, Tiffin paid for the cap rail repair but not for the DEF sensor which the extended warranty did not pay for either. Again thankfully, we were in Red Bay when the DEF sensor went out. I have learned a lot about the 2010 since purchasing it. Like it was the last year that Tiffin used MCD shades.
Anyway, as for maintenance since we got the coach. Two tires on the tag axle before we left NM to drive it back to SD. Two new chassis batteries. New Amp-L-Start maintainer. Two new MCD motors and new controller. New 39" front TV and replacement surround. Previous owner had replaced original with a nice Yamaha tuner/amp but I could not get it to work. Found a replacement Panasonic surround on Facebook via one of the forums. New coalescing filter. Found a reasonable Aquahot annual service guy down here in South Texas. I was Aquahot certified for a while and guess I still would be but his price was too good to not just let him do it.

[rdvan]

Originally Posted by Fairfieldwiz

We keep our MH in off-site storage when it's not in use. We use it like every 3-4 weeks. Every time I take it out, I need to fix what's broken. Friends say, "well, it's like owning a summer home- needs occasional maintenance." I own and have owned homes. This is nothing like those.

I saw this post on a FB MH site.. guy was asking for some advice about a prospective MH purchase from the other members. His question had to do with money. One of the people who replied said, "Are you really asking for financial advice from someone who purchased a motorhome?"

CLASSIC : "Are ypu really asking for financial advice from someone who bought an RV?" Enough said!!!!!

[Steverino]

Owning a motorhome is indeed not for sissies. You are paying for an education - the trick is to use that education to not make the same mistakes twice. Our first MH - Class C Jayco Designer - was great, if I don't count the cost of my labor. Ended up replacing the TPO roof myself. And all of the baked exterior vinyl graphics. Myself. Both, never again. Bought that lesson and paid for it.

So, when we were looking for a new rig this summer, I was very attentive to roofs and exterior condition (among many other factors). Our Georgetown has a fiberglass roof (thank the good Lord) and partial body paint. But I'm 100% sure she has other lessons in store for me. I already have a to do list that will stretch my time and wallet...

[gcsprayjr]

Try owing an RV and a high performance boat...

[clev]

I’ve been RV’ing for 50 years and been on a lot of forums. One thing that I have found consistently, is that most know nothing, or are too lazy, or undisciplined to take care of an RV. My BIL is an example, but I won’t go into that. And then after a few years of abuse and neglect, they trade in for a new one or sell to an unsuspecting buyer, and do it all over. I, personally, would never buy a 10 year old anything. Hydraulics, brakes, bearings, electrical,.....; the list of negligence is endless. I might consider a 1 or 2 year old RV, but nothing older.

[Steve 716]

It isn't just the parts. It's also the tools and inventory. I am driving a 2016 Entegra Anthem and I have 201 items on my repaired/upgraded list. One of the things I did soon after after buying my coach was to download service manuals for everything I have on my coach. The next thing was to read them and take notes. Entegra included a nice collection of information with my coach and that has helped, as has their service group but there is no substitute for thorough documentation. Much of what I have learned to do on my coach has come from web searches. There is a bunch of good information just a few keystrokes away.

[bmilam]

Originally Posted by clev

I’ve been RV’ing for 50 years and been on a lot of forums. One thing that I have found consistently, is that most know nothing, or are too lazy, or undisciplined to take care of an RV. My BIL is an example, but I won’t go into that. And then after a few years of abuse and neglect, they trade in for a new one or sell to an unsuspecting buyer, and do it all over. I, personally, would never buy a 10 year old anything. Hydraulics, brakes, bearings, electrical,.....; the list of negligence is endless. I might consider a 1 or 2 year old RV, but nothing older.

Everyone on this forum must read what clev has stated. He is spot on on what involves owning an RV. Having product knowledge and being able to do some basic troubleshooting can save you tons of headache and downtime. It's not for the lazy or procrastinating crowd. Be prepared to bend,push, pull, crawl and even cuss. If you're not able to do that, then stay in a hotel. Let's not forget the depreciation and RV has. It's work but it can be enjoyable if done correctly.

[garywilson]

I learned from my parents. They had three different trailers, then switched to a MH for the easier ride. After three motorhomes, he called it quits (he was around 87 at the time).
I spent a little time helping him with maintenance, but it still spent some shop time for things we couldn't do.
I have my trailer. We keep a tablet to write down the things to repair/replace before the next trip. Most of what I've do to it was optional, such as converting to auto-adjusting brakes after they wore a little.
The only significant thing that has happened is I wore out the shackles and bolts (they had plastic inserts for bushings, one broke off when heading home). Replaced with new that have brass bushings and grease certs, new equalizer for shock absorption, self-adjusting brakes, and new tires.
Six years with it and about to buy my third set of tires, a couple of batteries once in a while.
It's the little things... that p___ you off.

[RM Art]

Originally Posted by clev

I’ve been RV’ing for 50 years and been on a lot of forums. One thing that I have found consistently, is that most know nothing, or are too lazy, or undisciplined to take care of an RV. My BIL is an example, but I won’t go into that. And then after a few years of abuse and neglect, they trade in for a new one or sell to an unsuspecting buyer, and do it all over. I, personally, would never buy a 10 year old anything. Hydraulics, brakes, bearings, electrical,.....; the list of negligence is endless. I might consider a 1 or 2 year old RV, but nothing older.

clev, with due respect... please understand:

Not everyone has ready capital to purchase outright or possibly no desire do carry loan enough for funds to own a 1 to 2 year old RV.

Yet... many still want to envoy RVing. As well they can and they should be able to do, by purchasing a lesser cost older rig.

[Wwdnet]

If we had known then what we know now...

Our 23-year-old Daybreak looked good, but underneath that pretty face was a never-ending list of repairs. We put it in a local shop for some fixes and ended up with more problems than we originally had. A roof repair netted us some delam that never existed, along with water heater, generator, Kwikee steps, and other issues due to the shop jerry-rigging instead of fixing. The shop has virtually no business and is pretty much shut down - gee, I wonder why? Slowly but surely we're fixing it all and most of the fixes based on help we got from this forum. As first time RVers, it's been quite a ride but someday it will be semi-done. For now it keeps DH occupied albeit broke! We're committed to following through on this project and may actually be able to go camping in the spring🤔