Another Exciting Episode in Audrey's Great RV Adventure

[Meadbh]

Ah yes. This reminds me why RV-ing is not for me.

[REWahoo]

If you think what Audrey has been telling you is bad, ask her how much a set of new tires for her rig will set her back.

Psst....Audrey, you're doing great, keep it up! Nothing is more discouraging than a crowded RV park.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disappointed How old is your motorhome? How often do you experience such inconveniences? RVing is no longer appealing to me. I hate to be stuck anywhere unplanned. I would be all stressed out dealing with mechanical problems as I and my wife both are clueless when it comes to anything mechanical. Hope it does not happen again. mP

Our motorhome was built in March 2005, which makes it about 4.5 years old. Not that old.

Well, I would say this was the second worst experience. We had a radiator start leaking at 18 months, and were stuck in Albuquerque for 1 month over the Xmas holidays. Fortunately Albuquerque is a lovely city, and Xmas there was no great sacrifice, until, that is the 50 year snow storm decided to arrive!

So - one major one every 2 years on average? But there have been less major issues at least once a year that have caused some travel delays. You have to be aware that you can't expect to maintain a tight travel schedule. There is also quite a bit of annual preventive maintenance that has to be done on these complex monsters.

You hear these stories on most brands of diesel Class A's. Some individual motorhomes have more problems than others, but across manufacturers you hear similar stories.

If you are not that mechanically inclined, you might want to avoid a Class A motorhome as they seem to be the most complex. The more bells and whistles, the more things can go wrong.

But RV trailers are very simple. The worst thing we ever had happen on our Casita was needing to replace some broken cabinet latches! You did have to learn about braking systems and sway bars, etc. - i.e. all about safely towing a trailer.

And class B and class C motorhomes built on standard van/truck chassis are probably much less of an issue as they would be much easier to service the automotive part. If something goes wrong with "the house" you can usually put up with it until seeking repair at a convenient time, and the wider the dealer network, the easier it is to get service. If something goes wrong with the chassis - you usually have to address it immediately.

Audrey

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Psst....Audrey, you're doing great, keep it up! Nothing is more discouraging than a crowded RV park.

We knew it was part of the territory. You have to be willing to take this on if you want to spend a lot of time RVing. And there really is no point in buying an RV unless you plan to spend a lot of time using it!

But it does seem to snowball at times and that can get really discouraging. But then you do get issues resolved, and you are back on the road enjoying all the benefits of this lifestyle.

Audrey

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 We knew it was part of the territory. You have to be willing to take this on if you want to spend a lot of time RVing. And there really is no point in buying an RV unless you plan to spend a lot of time using it! But it does seem to snowball at times and that can get really discouraging. But then you do get issues resolved, and you are back on the road enjoying all the benefits of this lifestyle. Audrey

Uh, Audrey, you're not getting with the program. Keep telling everyone all the horror stories you can dream up so they won't want to buy an RV. No reason to increase competition for the good camping spots....

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Uh, Audrey, you're not getting with the program. Keep telling everyone all the horror stories you can dream up so they won't want to buy an RV. No reason to increase competition for the good camping spots....

I'm convinced! I doubt I will ever even think about getting an RV. So, that's one more camping spot available for you braver-than-I RV folks.

(But then, I have always been such a homebody...)

[Rustward]

And all this excitement started with a sticking brake pedal -- which you said in the other post had happened to other units?

Does the manufacturer post service bulletins noting things (like a sticking brake pedal) that may occur and are likely to cause problems? Seems like they should.

[kowski]

Audrey, we are just part timers, but i thought you might find this link interesting. this full time couple is in kerville right now also. RV-Dreams Journal if you read their past posts they just got over mega brake issues.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustward And all this excitement started with a sticking brake pedal -- which you said in the other post had happened to other units? Does the manufacturer post service bulletins noting things (like a sticking brake pedal) that may occur and are likely to cause problems? Seems like they should.

We owners keep each other informed via a web forum.

Our motorhome manufacturer went out of business 1.5 years ago - which is part of the reason we had so much trouble figuring out our brake part number.

But as most of our motorhome components are made by third parties, we don't sweat being an "orphan" too much.

Audrey

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kowski Audrey, we are just part timers, but i thought you might find this link interesting. this full time couple is in kerville right now also. RV-Dreams Journal if you read their past posts they just got over mega brake issues.

Yep - they're here at the same RV resort! I noticed a rally when we came in yesterday, but didn't know who it was. Buckhorn hosts a lot of rallies in October.

I recognize the inside pictures of "The Barn" from that web-link.

And this is a rally for wannabee fulltimers. Interesting.

How about that!

Audrey

[haha]

I am glad so many seem to enjoy this so much.

I can't think of anything worse that one would be tempted to voluntarily do than to buy and use an RV. Just driving one down the street would give me hives.

It just shows how different people are.

ha

[Westernskies]

Great post Audrey, especially for us RV wannabees. Tough break on the brakes. Glad to hear you got your broken brakes back to braking and were finally able to break out of there and get home. Did the KW facilty identify what caused the brakes to break?? Let's hope you catch a break on those brakes breaking in the future, it might break the bank if you have to deal with broken brakes again.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westernskies Great post Audrey, especially for us RV wannabees. Tough break on the brakes. Glad to hear you got your broken brakes back to braking and were finally able to break out of there and get home. Did the KW facilty identify what caused the brakes to break?? Let's hope you catch a break on those brakes breaking in the future, it might break the bank if you have to deal with broken brakes again.

OMG! You're breaking me!!!!

Audrey

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disappointed RVing is no longer appealing to me. I hate to be stuck anywhere unplanned. I would be all stressed out dealing with mechanical problems as I and my wife both are clueless when it comes to anything mechanical.

Yeah, I'd much rather be doing yardwork, painting the house, and paying property taxes...

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I am glad so many seem to enjoy this so much. I can't think of anything worse that one would be tempted to voluntarily do than to buy and use an RV. Just driving one down the street would give me hives. It just shows how different people are. ha

Indeed. But I think I would rather livein my 16X7 trailer than inhabit another apartment. Different strokes...

[REWahoo]

I just had a conversation with my neighbor that made me think of this thread.

We're parked in a campground in South Central Arkansas. A couple of hours ago a tire repair truck pulled up to the motor home next to us. As the tire guy was replacing one of the rear tires I went over and struck up a conversation with the owner. Seems he's having his own "great" RV adventure.

A full-timer, he told me they left Branson, MO yesterday morning in the rain and fog, heading for Hot Springs, AR on Highway 7 - a twisting, snake-like two lane road apparently designed by drunken hillbillies in the late 1800s. After being on the road seven hours and covering less than 200 miles they experienced a blowout on the sidewall of an inner rear tire* as they were turning into the RV park. To add insult to injury, as he was maneuvering into his parking spot he backed into a 20' lamp post, severing his rear bumper, tearing a three foot gash in his rear end cap, knocking out his left tail lights - and downing the pole.

The crowning blow evidently came after they finally got parked and his wife discovered the tree cover prevented their auto-seeking satellite dish getting a signal.

He does NOT appear to be a happy camper...



* The date of manufacture on the tire showed it to be 6 1/2 years old - many in the RV world say 5-6 years is the age limit and this incident reinforced my belief in the wisdom of this time limit.

[RonBoyd]

[QUOTE=REWahoo;869376He does NOT appear to be a happy camper...[/QUOTE]

Aaah. Nothing that a heeping helping of Tequila (and a fat wallet) won't cure. Tell him its alright if "happy hour" comes early on some days.

Yeah, the tire thing is important... and not just for RVers- those people driving 80 MPH on the highway should take notice also.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 OMG! You're breaking me!!!! Audrey

I hope you got a break on those brakes. Some of those repair facilities are known to break the bank when it comes to brakes. Are your sure your brakes won't break? I am concerned that when it comes to brakes, they are likely to break, and break at the worst time for brakes to break.

Now, I will give you a break!!

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo I just had a conversation with my neighbor that made me think of this thread. We're parked in a campground in South Central Arkansas. A couple of hours ago a tire repair truck pulled up to the motor home next to us. As the tire guy was replacing one of the rear tires I went over and struck up a conversation with the owner. Seems he's having his own "great" RV adventure. A full-timer, he told me they left Branson, MO yesterday morning in the rain and fog, heading for Hot Springs, AR on Highway 7 - a twisting, snake-like two lane road apparently designed by drunken hillbillies in the late 1800s. After being on the road seven hours and covering less than 200 miles they experienced a blowout on the sidewall of an inner rear tire* as they were turning into the RV park. To add insult to injury, as he was maneuvering into his parking spot he backed into a 20' lamp post, severing his rear bumper, tearing a three foot gash in his rear end cap, knocking out his left tail lights - and downing the pole. The crowning blow evidently came after they finally got parked and his wife discovered the tree cover prevented their auto-seeking satellite dish getting a signal. He does NOT appear to be a happy camper...

How miserable! The more I hear about RV "adventures", the more I realize that RV life is not for ME - - though it may be a dream come true to some others. I am enjoying my cable TV and my high speed cable internet, while watching the rain from inside my cozy home and doing laundry. All this with the comforts of indoor plumbing. And when I checked my bank account, it had the same balance as it did yesterday. What more would one ever want? (happy sigh) Life is good.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Want2retire How miserable! The more I hear about RV "adventures", the more I realize that RV life is not for ME - - though it may be a dream come true to some others. I am enjoying my cabel TV and my high speed cable internet, while watching the rain from inside my cozy home and doing laundry. All this with the comforts of indoor plumbing. What more would one ever want? (happy sigh) Life is good.

Sounds good to me. I could live in an RV, but DW would have no part of it.......