Expectations (long post)

[kevinantholt]

I Agree with Arnold.
MHO is.....
1. You have to like to work on these things. I would even say it helps a lot if you are mechanically inclined or at least willing to learn.

2. There is luck involved when you buy one. I got pretty lucky with mine so far I think. Maybe mine was created on the day shift. Only thing I have wrong at present is rear A/C, but I have an appointment close to home and it's under warranty so just a little time.

3. I'm in awe every time I go out in it. I get to stay in a home that is just as if not more comfortable than my S&B. I have AC, TV, Shade outside, I can cook, grab a cold one and it's Beautiful to look at. Yes it cost as much as my house but I would say I spend less time doing maintenance on it that my Home.
It's also really cool to be able to change the view every time I use it. Plus meet people like you is always fun too.

4. Stay positive, Its only money, you can always sell it and get a boat.

[1doodadd]

Originally Posted by GRedman

I don't see it as being any different than owning any other item that's man made! Tell me one thing you own, that's mechanical, that you are absolutely sure will work the next time you need to use it. Obviously, there's some exceptions, but you get my point.

Biggest thing with an RV is the number of moving parts, literally and figuratively. Do you honestly believe those folks that go for boats over RV's experience years of trouble free operation? Come on now...

Thanks

Gary and Others, Do any of you Fly on any of the Major Airlines, or even a small Cessna. The operating systems in an airplane are Far Superior than the systems in a motorhome, and MUST work the first time before service. Sure the annual done on an airplane is a must but you Surely get my point on this. If you are held to standards, you will follow them to sell product

The problem with an Rv is the operating systems and they are not held to ANY product specifications for reliability, not to mention quality of craftsmanship and the need to turn out product to be sold to the consumer, PROFIT.

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by 1doodadd

Gary and Others, Do any of you Fly on any of the Major Airlines, or even a small Cessna. The operating systems in an airplane are Far Superior than the systems in a motorhome, and MUST work the first time before service. Sure the annual done on an airplane is a must but you Surely get my point on this. If you are held to standards, you will follow them to sell product

The problem with an Rv is the operating systems and they are not held to ANY product specifications for reliability, not to mention quality of craftsmanship and the need to turn out product to be sold to the consumer, PROFIT.

I have owned and operated various airplanes for 50 years. Yes, they are designed and maintained to a much higher standard, but the cost of that extra reliability is enormous. For example, a new airplane starter or alternator costs about five times what a nearly identical item costs for a car. If you had to pay aircraft-type prices for an RV, the cost of owning an RV would be several times what it is now and most people could not afford one. On the bright side, it would go a long way toward solving the campground shortage.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

I have owned and operated various airplanes for 50 years. Yes, they are designed and maintained to a much higher standard, but the cost of that extra reliability is enormous. For example, a new airplane starter or alternator costs about five times what a nearly identical item costs for a car. If you had to pay aircraft-type prices for an RV, the cost of owning an RV would be several times what it is now and most people could not afford one. On the bright side, it would go a long way toward solving the campground shortage.

CampGrounds are way overrated. -

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by kevinantholt

Stay positive, Its only money, you can always sell it and get a boat.

Yes, but be sure when you get a boat to choose one that never needs fixing. Ha!

Oh, and be ready to compute your gas mileage in gallons per mile, not miles per gallon.

[W0GEN]

I consider owning a coach another hobby! I enjoy the tinkering that can be done on this home away from home, and yes it has various maintenance needs.
The reason that I love this coach is that it has combined technologies that you will not find in most other "boxes".
Engine and Transmission on a Truck Chassis
Automotive Electronics (Mobile Eye, GPS, Cameras, Speed Control, Starting, Charging Systems)
Generator
Powered Awnings
Leveling systems (I have two types)
Inverters and Transfer Switches
Batteries
Fresh Water holding and distribution
Sewage Holding and "discharge"
Appliances (Laundry, stove, microwave, fridge, dishwasher)
Cabinets and build in's
HVAC including Roof top heat pumps and aqua hot heating system.
Solar System
Entertainment Electronics (Home theater, Powered Satellite, CATV, Televisions, Integration of these systems)
Powered retractable walls
Security System
Tire Pressure Monitoring
CB Radio
Powered Seats
to name a few!
So will you have mechanical issues of some kind? Hell Yes, there is no home that I know of that has all the above combined into a box that goes down the road! IMO when you look at big picture the price paid may not be that far out of line.

With that said, I am blessed to be mechanically inclined and it would be more difficult but not impossible if I were to rely on others...
My Life Skills include
Iowa licensed master electrician
Certified Generac generator technician
A diesel mechanic in earlier years
Factory trained on truck chassis wiring systems
A chemical feed pump mechanic
Current Ham radio hobby which includes electronics at it's core.
I love high tech, and have most tools that support this! (to my DW's dismay!).
When I travel many of my specialty tools go with me as I take pride in helping others! That is what I enjoy most!

[xtechgeek]

One possible solution to improving the RV quality: YOU! and crowd sourcing!

There have been helpful posts on the improvements we can make to our coaches to common problems on this site. Keep up the good work, encourage Entegra to implement the changes so we can all have better coaches!

Cory

[followingsea]

Originally Posted by MRUSA14

Yes, but be sure when you get a boat to choose one that never needs fixing. Ha!

Oh, and be ready to compute your gas mileage in gallons per mile, not miles per gallon.

Some of us have boats too. I measure my fuel usage in gallons per year. That would be 5 gallons. Boat like mine that are designed for the open ocean are built to be very reliable and sturdy.

My boat is 40 years old and I have owned for 30. No major repairs. I do have some worn out sails.

[followingsea]

Originally Posted by W0GEN

I consider owning a coach another hobby!


My Life Skills include
Iowa licensed master electrician
Certified Generac generator technician

I love high tech, and have most tools that support this! (to my DW's dismay!).
When I travel many of my specialty tools go with me as I take pride in helping others! That is what I enjoy most!

Couple of questions. Are you qualified to operate a nuclear power plant?

Have you heard of the KISS principle?

So no MH are not complicated. They do suffer from 'high' crap that is fragile and obsolete after a few years.

I started out using a slide rule. Bought my first new TT when I was in the navy. It had the same capabilities as today's RVs. The frig, hot water heater, and AC did not use integrated circuit boards for control and worked just fine with out the $1500 in repairs you can expect.

I have a hobby too. When I park the MH in some beautiful spot, I drink a cold beer. Then I decide if I need to level with my manual HWH system. Then I decide if I want to manually put out the awning.

Every time you add a button to activate a control circuit you introduce a number of single failure points. It is statistically more likely to fail. My HWH system has 3 fuses and the one I did not know about when I pushed the button to turn it on and the lights did not come on. Check the fuses. Now the lights flicker. Clean the corrosion on the switch contacts. Only had to do that once after getting the use MH. Very glad it did not have a logic card.

Two reason for things not working on new MH. Buyers demand gimmicks. Buyers do not demand that they be tested and reliable.

[GRedman]

Boo! I flew in the Navy and the mechanics were always working on the aircraft. BTW, crashed once when the boost pump failed.

When you buy a high dollar sports car they tell you you better be ready to do some tinkering.

[tom chelbana]

We have a 18 London Aire on a Spartan chassis K3 605 which would be the same as a Cornerstone. Our rear axle out side drive wheel gaskets started leaking and had gear oil on drive wheels. Twice had road side assistance come out to replace gasket. Both times they started leaking when we returned home. Just the last couple days decided to do it myself and what I found was that Spartan had over filled the rear end gear oil by about 6 quarts. There two plugs on the upper housing one is to fill plug and the other which is larger and about 1 1/2 higher up is to fill and check gear teeth on ring gear. Ours was filled to the top plug which is the 6 extra quarts of oil in housing. I only found this out because I wanted to lower gear oil level so it was running out of axle tubes when working on it. Didn't drain all gear oil but maybe 6 quarts. When getting ready to refill I found that the gear oil was already at the full plus so what I am hoping is that is our problem, to much gear oil. Will have answer when we go out next week to see if we still have gear oil coming out of axle on drive wheels.

Newmar Man

[Lault]

Tom that over fill is a issue and could very well be your issue with leaks.

[Murbella7]

There is one constant with owning an RV, of any age, for any length of time... it going to cost you lots of money, continuously. Even if you never go anywhere and leave it parked in your drive, it will cost you. Along with the joy of travelling the country, seeing new things and meeting great people, there is the frustration, anguish and heartache of things breaking, falling apart, wearing out before their time and so on. It is a condition you either accept and live with or don't and go back to buses, planes and motels.

[New to this]

Where I store my coach, there are 2 Prevosts right by me. One day one of them was coming in and I asked if he had had a good trip. He replied, "no, just the repair shop". I said, I thought those weren't supposed to break......he just laughed. Nuff said....