Help...Us buy our first motoerhome......

[Pete Masterson]

Interesting....

The general suggestion, particularly on an older coach, is to hold back about $10K to cover "contingencies."

The 5K per year is a fair guess for regular maintenance -- less if you can do it yourself -- more if you are incapable of lifting a wrench at all.

I think there's a certain randomness to the problems....

1. In 3 years, I had zero, nada, zip maintenance issues with the Microphor toilet. This air-driven toilet was pressurized by a Microphor-brand (12 vdc) pancake compressor in the basement.

2. The gas/electric "camper" style refrigerators often get complaints. My coach had a full-size home-style 22 cu ft Amana side by side. Rapid weather changes related to moving from place to place caused some internal temperature problems -- but a refrigerator thermometer helped -- I'd just have to adjust the settings if it started to get too warm or too cold. This ran off inverters unless there was shore power or the generator was on. The "nice to do someday" list was to get a newer, much more efficient refrigerator, as this one was a bit of a power hog and would run the batteries down fairly quickly when off the grid. (My coach was "all electric" (no gas on board) -- that had plusses and minuses.)

3. Water leaks. I _thought_ I had a rain water leak, but I eventually traced it to the center AC drain line. The line was blocked somewhere, and the condensation would dump into the cabinets over the galley. I could avoid the problem by just running the front and/or rear ACs instead. After 3 years, I eventually had a rain leak by the Fantastic Fan vent. Cleaned the old caulk (multiple layers, a real mess) and re-sealed. No more leak. Surprised, considering the messy job of previous caulkers, that it didn't leak sooner.

4. Never had any plumbing leaks.

5. Had some issues with the latching mechanism in the front door. Required stripping it down, cleaning, adjusting, and replacing a spring that broke. Had to re-install the safety stop after opening the door during a 70 mph gust in the tail end of hurricane Ike. (Stripped out a couple of screws in the safety stop -- installed a metal plate to give them better strength.)

I did have expenses due to getting a new radiator core (about $4K with labor and some other work), and a stress-fracture to the left front shock mount. Came to about $1500 with a new shock ($700 -- the old one was bent by the failure) and the necessary welding.

Drive axle brake linings had to be renewed -- about $600 -- including new drive axle shocks. (Fortunately, they were not the expensive ones used up front.)

New muffler, with labor about $1300. In hindsight, I might have done this differently, but there would have been very little cost savings.

Pete Masterson

(former) '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42

El Sobrante CA

"aeonix1@mac.com"

On Jan 18, 2010, at 3:26 PM, brad barton wrote:

Mark,
Again, just a non-mechanic civilian, but from memory, I'll tell you what my most repetitive problems were.
#1 Microphor air toilet. If it wasn't one of the air or water valves, it was the pump. If it wasn't the pump, it was the breaker. By far, the toilet gave me more trouble than any other single part.
Potential fix is replacing the 12v pump w/ 120v compressor that runs on inverter or installing asimpler camping toilet IF it was on topof the holding tank.
#2Refrigerator. Worked fine the first few months, thenit quit working while in motion.Refrigerant showed no leaks, power was okay, circuit board okay, doors were okay, venting okay (after several attempts at all areas to diagnose and fix). We completely removed and re-sealed the existing cooling unit and it still didn't work when in motion. Temecula Valley RV installed a new cooling unit for the new owners.
#3 On my Newell, we had water leaks around the window, windshield (new)and skylights. Eventually sealed both automotive skylights with silicon, disabling them and had the factory reseal the windows. Still not water tight but better when sold.
#4 Plumbing leaks (both coaches). In my book, plumbing and water leaks must be dealt with as a near-emergency because they can blow your electricity disabling the entire coach or cause rotting and rust that is undetectable until much damage has been done. Inspecting for water leaks or evidence of water leaks from the roof-joints to the basement floor is very important. One electrical problem caused by water leaks can lead to many more.
One fix is never to winterize your coach, just pay to keep it plugged in or running diesel or gas heat in the winter. There is no way to be absolutely sure that your coach water pipes havebeen winterized unless you run antifreeze through them.
#5 Entry door. Weight, alignment, gunk in the locking mechanism, weather-stripping and sun/heat exposure can cause leaks and warping.

I have no ideahow much a normal maintenance should run. If you're at peace and happy with the coach regardless of your repairs, then it's not too much. If it's making you unhappy, it's too much. Coaches are supposed to make us happy.

This forum is a good place to learn how to avoid problems or work around them.
Best of luck,
Brad

"bbartonwx@hotmail.com"

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To:"WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com"
From:"summitwolf@comcast.net"
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:36:46 -0700
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Help...Us buy our first motoerhome......

BB you wrote,

No coach, new, used, metal or plastic will be a snap to own
> and run. You have to be prepared financially and emotionally
> for wear, tear, breakage, replacement parts and plenty of
> maintenance. One other thing that's real important is..no
> leaks. No air leaks at the door, no water leaks anywhere,
> roof, windows, tanks or valves. They have a way of causing
> more damage to more things than you can imagine. If it leaks,
> and they won't guarantee the fix, keep looking. Best of luck.

Just curious what you think you think it’s reasonable to need to spend on maintainance.

What problems seem to happen the most?

My wife and I will soon retire and are considering an older DP to fulltime in. I don’t mind and am very capable of

Working on a coach. Stuff that is expensive though might be a problem.

Mark

Northglenn,Co.

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