Repairs or maintenance??

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

OK, since we purchased our rig in May 2017.....we had a number of things happen....

1. Sewer line cracked
2. Propane sensor expired
3. Replaced shocks anti-sway trac bar for stability
4. Tires
5 . Two coach and one starting battery
6. Generator switch .. most recently kept turning off....RV shop says it could be lots of things???
7. Discovered refrigerator needs cooling fans...
8. Macerator failure or valve failure won't let us dump tanks......

Clearly, numbers 1, 6, 7, and 8 are repairs.......

It's debatable about 2, 3, 4 and 5....all vehicles have maintenance........


Seems like a lot of stuff in not even a year and a half....but, we did travel 15,000 miles...

Is this normal??? I don't know..it seems a little excessive to me....

Thankfully, the tires, shocks, anti-sway bar , track bar and batteries are not an everyday occurrence......I expect to get plenty of years on these items.....

Although...at least one person told me that the macerator, propane sensor both have "expiration dates" ....in that they need to be replaced every 6 or 7 years.....??

I'm a little concerned about whole thing in general.......who knows what's next??
Glad I don't live in the damn thing....

We're going to dial back the mileage this year......

Should I have just purchased a brand new RV with the extended warranty???
Maybe I made a tremendous mistake not doing that... but, then again I saved on the first few years of deprecation... that's a pretty big deal......

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

OK, since we purchased our rig in May 2017.....we had a number of things happen....

1. Sewer line cracked
2. Propane sensor expired
3. Replaced shocks anti-sway trac bar for stability
4. Tires
5 . Two coach and one starting battery
6. Generator switch .. most recently kept turning off....RV shop says it could be lots of things???
7. Discovered refrigerator needs cooling fans...
8. Macerator failure or valve failure won't let us dump tanks......

Clearly, numbers 1, 6, 7, and 8 are repairs.......

It's debatable about 2, 3, 4 and 5....all vehicles have maintenance........


Seems like a lot of stuff in not even a year and a half....but, we did travel 15,000 miles...

Is this normal??? I don't know..it seems a little excessive to me....

Thankfully, the tires, shocks, anti-sway bar , track bar and batteries are not an everyday occurrence......I expect to get plenty of years on these items.....

Although...at least one person told me that the macerator, propane sensor both have "expiration dates" ....in that they need to be replaced every 6 or 7 years.....??

I'm a little concerned about whole thing in general.......who knows what's next??
Glad I don't live in the damn thing....

We're going to dial back the mileage this year......

Should I have just purchased a brand new RV with the extended warranty???
Maybe I made a tremendous mistake not doing that... but, then again I saved on the first few years of deprecation... that's a pretty big deal......

I do not have the experience of others that will offer better answers than I can. I will say that even with our new purchase I can see where this is much like owning a second home. It doesn't get used as much, or in the same way most of the time and requires fiddling and updating to keep everything going. Combine that with a car and you are only adding to the "chore".

You bought a 5-year old vehicle that was practically "new" in terms of miles and can see where the original purchaser most likely didn't need to do as much and my hunch is it caught up to you. I too will be interested in seeing other replies but I suspect this was all coming up on time to be done anyway. Just you needed to do this all at once as you used your van and the previous owner obviously didn't based on years and mileage to show for it.

[booster]

Honestly, you are starting to sound like you are not cut out to be an RV owner.


Thinks break, things wear out, unexpected bad things happen while you are on the road, so that is just the way it is. If you aren't flexible and resourceful enough to handle that kind of stuff the whole RV experience will be more pain than pleasure. Those of us who do our own work on the van and have the experience and tools probably have big advantage that way, but lots of folks do fine hiring stuff done, also.


A new van every few years may or may not be overall more reliable as the age related stuff goes away, but is replaced by growing pains and break in failures.


Time to ask yourself why you want to have a class b, and are you a good fit for it in general, or are there other reasons like the attention you can get, or generate. I would liken that to the same thing you get with folks that have classic hotrods. The ones that truly enjoy driving them, fixing them, even the (to us) boring going to lots of car shows with them, tend to be long term hotrodders. Those that are just looking for adoration and attention about their hotrod quickly tire of the hobby when the adoration drops and the work increases. The same can happen for things like RVs, boats, motorcycles, etc if the fit isn't good.

[<<B-Guy>>]

One of the reasons that I recently decided to buy a brand new "B" for our last RV - in contrast to all previous "used" RV's that we have owned over many years relates somewhat to this subject.

I fully realise that my decision doesn't make a lot of sense financially - especially since we will likely not use the van for more than five years or so, but I found that after many years of constantly having to fiddle with / repair / replace things on our RV trips, I'd like a break from that!

Working as a mech eng., and fairly handy at resolving electrical issues too, I used to sort of enjoy the challenge, but in recent years it has all getting to be a bit much! Probably due to having spent too much time doing it, and also developing a few minor age-related health issues that make it somewhat less enjoyable.

What has compounded the problem for us has been the fact that our previous RV's were all too large to keep at home, so that apart from repairs, a lot of maintenance items - bearing repacks etc - got done by me when we were on the road.

That meant taking a lot of tools along on our trips, taking up time during days when we should be enjoying ourselves to do the work, and feeling guilty about doing some of these chores in RV parks - last major project was to change all four brake assemblies on our Airstream trailer while in a Florida state park. Luckily we had quite a secluded site!

I am not kidding myself that there won't be an initial hiccup of issues with our new PW van (I will be pleasantly surprised if that is not the case!) but at least I will have warranty coverage so it will just be an issue of inconvenience, and after we get by that situation, I am really hoping the next few years of RV'ing will be "relatively" trouble free and I can spend more time hiking, biking, relaxing, enjoying nature - and a few cold ones!

Maybe I'll still need a few minor things to go wrong with the RV so I won't get bored! Only problem with that is that systems are getting so complicated now that I question my ability - and also, probably best not to fool too much with things that are still under warranty!

Brian.

[SteveJ]

Stuff happens, there are lot of systems on a motor home. It's all a (not necessarily happy) part of the adventure.

My last trip involved several visits to shops involving my driveshaft and not insignificant costs. The first visit to replace all u joints, carrier bearing and balance induced a driveline imbalance that I'm still dealing with. After about two thousand miles I had the shaft re-examined and we found that the middle u joint was already shot. Hmmm.

Replaced and things were fine for a while. However, every mountain pass that I climbed made the problem progressively worse. I did make it home. I will be checking things out when it cools off here in October. I'm fixing to leave on a motorcycle camping trip for three weeks next week, barring a hurricane repeat of last year.

Speaking of motorcycles I had to get some warranty work done on the road, another part of "the adventure".

I also had the fresh water pump start to act up. I ordered a new one from Walmart.com and installed it before the old one quit working. I'll go through the old one and determine if it's worth fixing for a spare.

To sum it up, if it has wheels, sooner or later you will have problems.

The cracked sewer pipe does seem kinda weird. I had apparently hit a small critter or something without being aware of it and broke the fresh water screen housing coming out of the tank on another trip. I temporarily repaired it with epoxy and black tape while on the road and effected a more permanent repair when I got home.


Another trip, the gas burner quit working on the fridge and I mostly boondock. I had to improvise and find places where I could plug in. I wound up replacing the 18 year old fridge when I got home. The burner had rotted out and everything was very rusted and the fridge was old so that decision was easy.

Two other long trips the generator failed me along with one more time on a shorter trip. I wound up adding solar and replacing the Onan with a Champion.

So yeah, stuff happens and one has to deal with it. Or not. There is always the motel option but you still have to drive or ride in something with wheels and/or, horrors, fly, to get there. And airplanes have wheels.

A saying I heard/read somewhere: It's truly not an adventure unless it sucks at the time.

All in all, I wouldn't trade this style of traveling with all the freedom to do whatever, whenever, for any other. Traveling to a rigid schedule is not for me. Wanderlust and serendipity are two of my favorite words. But yeah, sometimes things come up.

Not wanting to do some or most of the work yourself will result in a larger outflow of cash and depending on the shop, more hassle and inconvenience. Case in point, my new fridge. Upwards of two grand at a shop, less than $900 and an afternoon of my time doing it myself. That savings alone equaled 10-15 tanks of gas.

[MsNomer]

80,000 miles in 3 years on my PM selfbuild. Replaced tires, rear shocks, oil temp sensor. I'd guess only the sensor qualifies as "repair."

Cutting miles to avoid repairs/maintenance seems sooo wrong to me unless you like camping in the driveway. Letting it sit wastes the investment you've already made. Either accept the repair issues with this one, trade it for something else, or sell it and spend the money on something else.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by booster

Honestly, you are starting to sound like you are not out to be an RV owner.

. . .

[booster]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

Cutting miles to avoid repairs/maintenance seems sooo wrong to me unless you like camping in the driveway. Letting it sit wastes the investment you've already made. Either accept the repair issues with this one, trade it for something else, or sell it and spend the money on something else.

Completely agree, and using it less may make for more repairs, not less in some cases, especially with the quality of diesel fuel now and it's short storage life.


Most of us try to find time to use our vans more, with ultimate goal being to wear them out before we wear out!

[BBQ]

.

5 . Two coach and one starting battery

Standard wear-n-tear stuff . . . the batteries are good for 5 yrs.


With some good maintenance practices, they can last longer. Much longer.
But you are buying a used RV, who knows what the previous owner did.
If the RV was sitting in the dealer lot for any extended period of time,
the batteries could have been compromised to begin with.

Life goes on.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by MsNomer

80,000 miles in 3 years on my PM selfbuild. Replaced tires, rear shocks, oil temp sensor. I'd guess only the sensor qualifies as "repair."

Cutting miles to avoid repairs/maintenance seems sooo wrong to me unless you like camping in the driveway. Letting it sit wastes the investment you've already made. Either accept the repair issues with this one, trade it for something else, or sell it and spend the money on something else.

You know ... that's very reasonable advice.....

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by SteveJ

Stuff happens, there are lot of systems on a motor home. It's all a (not necessarily happy) part of the adventure.

My last trip involved several visits to shops involving my driveshaft and not insignificant costs. The first visit to replace all u joints, carrier bearing and balance induced a driveline imbalance that I'm still dealing with. After about two thousand miles I had the shaft re-examined and we found that the middle u joint was already shot. Hmmm.

Replaced and things were fine for a while. However, every mountain pass that I climbed made the problem progressively worse. I did make it home. I will be checking things out when it cools off here in October. I'm fixing to leave on a motorcycle camping trip for three weeks next week, barring a hurricane repeat of last year.

Speaking of motorcycles I had to get some warranty work done on the road, another part of "the adventure".

I also had the fresh water pump start to act up. I ordered a new one from Walmart.com and installed it before the old one quit working. I'll go through the old one and determine if it's worth fixing for a spare.

To sum it up, if it has wheels, sooner or later you will have problems.

The cracked sewer pipe does seem kinda weird. I had apparently hit a small critter or something without being aware of it and broke the fresh water screen housing coming out of the tank on another trip. I temporarily repaired it with epoxy and black tape while on the road and effected a more permanent repair when I got home.


Another trip, the gas burner quit working on the fridge and I mostly boondock. I had to improvise and find places where I could plug in. I wound up replacing the 18 year old fridge when I got home. The burner had rotted out and everything was very rusted and the fridge was old so that decision was easy.

Two other long trips the generator failed me along with one more time on a shorter trip. I wound up adding solar and replacing the Onan with a Champion.

So yeah, stuff happens and one has to deal with it. Or not. There is always the motel option but you still have to drive or ride in something with wheels and/or, horrors, fly, to get there. And airplanes have wheels.

A saying I heard/read somewhere: It's truly not an adventure unless it sucks at the time.

All in all, I wouldn't trade this style of traveling with all the freedom to do whatever, whenever, for any other. Traveling to a rigid schedule is not for me. Wanderlust and serendipity are two of my favorite words. But yeah, sometimes things come up.

Not wanting to do some or most of the work yourself will result in a larger outflow of cash and depending on the shop, more hassle and inconvenience. Case in point, my new fridge. Upwards of two grand at a shop, less than $900 and an afternoon of my time doing it myself. That savings alone equaled 10-15 tanks of gas.

Everything is hanging together like monkeys in a tree....if you disturb one the others will act up... maintenance and clearance on these Canadian conversion units are challenging....

I'd rather have it done professionally to make sure I don't screw it up.

[SteveJ]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Everything is hanging together like monkeys in a tree....if you disturb one the others will act up... maintenance and clearance on these Canadian conversion units are challenging....

I'd rather have it done professionally to make sure I don't screw it up.

One of the very few times my van has been in a shop was recently in Hugo, MN to install new u joints. I left that shop 600 bucks poorer and with an apparently ruined driveshaft. This at a shop that's been in business for over 50 years with good reviews on line. These pros also did not replace the valve stems when I had new tires installed. Two of them subsequently leaked. Yeah, the pros really do good work. I was a car mechanic in my younger days so I do have a frame of reference.

Utube videos, a repair manual, and this forum really help me to understand what's involved in effecting repairs and maintenance.

Good luck

[jaak1993]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

OK, since we purchased our rig in May 2017.....we had a number of things happen....

1. Sewer line cracked
2. Propane sensor expired
3. Replaced shocks anti-sway trac bar for stability
4. Tires
5 . Two coach and one starting battery
6. Generator switch .. most recently kept turning off....RV shop says it could be lots of things???
7. Discovered refrigerator needs cooling fans...
8. Macerator failure or valve failure won't let us dump tanks......

Clearly, numbers 1, 6, 7, and 8 are repairs.......

It's debatable about 2, 3, 4 and 5....all vehicles have maintenance........


Seems like a lot of stuff in not even a year and a half....but, we did travel 15,000 miles...

Is this normal??? I don't know..it seems a little excessive to me....

Thankfully, the tires, shocks, anti-sway bar , track bar and batteries are not an everyday occurrence......I expect to get plenty of years on these items.....

Although...at least one person told me that the macerator, propane sensor both have "expiration dates" ....in that they need to be replaced every 6 or 7 years.....??

I'm a little concerned about whole thing in general.......who knows what's next??
Glad I don't live in the damn thing....

We're going to dial back the mileage this year......

Should I have just purchased a brand new RV with the extended warranty???
Maybe I made a tremendous mistake not doing that... but, then again I saved on the first few years of deprecation... that's a pretty big deal......

I've noticed that every time I buy a new-to-me coach is that during the first couple years I have to fix (repair or maintain?) lots of stuff. Once I get through with that then future years are pretty consistent with lower costs and fewer surprises. Any situation in which a previous owner has tried to "save money" is usually one that costs me to put it right.

[Monica998]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

OK, since we purchased our rig in May 2017.....we had a number of things happen....

1. Sewer line cracked
2. Propane sensor expired
3. Replaced shocks anti-sway trac bar for stability
4. Tires
5 . Two coach and one starting battery
6. Generator switch .. most recently kept turning off....RV shop says it could be lots of things???
7. Discovered refrigerator needs cooling fans...
8. Macerator failure or valve failure won't let us dump tanks......

Clearly, numbers 1, 6, 7, and 8 are repairs.......

It's debatable about 2, 3, 4 and 5....all vehicles have maintenance........


Seems like a lot of stuff in not even a year and a half....but, we did travel 15,000 miles...

Is this normal??? I don't know..it seems a little excessive to me....

Thankfully, the tires, shocks, anti-sway bar , track bar and batteries are not an everyday occurrence......I expect to get plenty of years on these items.....

Although...at least one person told me that the macerator, propane sensor both have "expiration dates" ....in that they need to be replaced every 6 or 7 years.....??

I'm a little concerned about whole thing in general.......who knows what's next??
Glad I don't live in the damn thing....

We're going to dial back the mileage this year......

Should I have just purchased a brand new RV with the extended warranty???
Maybe I made a tremendous mistake not doing that... but, then again I saved on the first few years of deprecation... that's a pretty big deal......

Firstly, you should know which RV company you have purchased and found out the Guarantee Card to judge whether it has expired or not. Secondly, if not, try to contact with the customer service for a judgement about the impairment. Thirdly, try to assess the maintenance fees and make a decision whether to repair or buy a new one.

[mikeehlert]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

OK, since we purchased our rig in May 2017.....we had a number of things happen....



1. Sewer line cracked

2. Propane sensor expired

3. Replaced shocks anti-sway trac bar for stability

4. Tires

5 . Two coach and one starting battery

6. Generator switch .. most recently kept turning off....RV shop says it could be lots of things???

7. Discovered refrigerator needs cooling fans...

8. Macerator failure or valve failure won't let us dump tanks......



Clearly, numbers 1, 6, 7, and 8 are repairs.......



It's debatable about 2, 3, 4 and 5....all vehicles have maintenance........





Seems like a lot of stuff in not even a year and a half....but, we did travel 15,000 miles...



Is this normal??? I don't know..it seems a little excessive to me....



Thankfully, the tires, shocks, anti-sway bar , track bar and batteries are not an everyday occurrence......I expect to get plenty of years on these items.....



Although...at least one person told me that the macerator, propane sensor both have "expiration dates" ....in that they need to be replaced every 6 or 7 years.....??



I'm a little concerned about whole thing in general.......who knows what's next??

Glad I don't live in the damn thing....



We're going to dial back the mileage this year......



Should I have just purchased a brand new RV with the extended warranty???

Maybe I made a tremendous mistake not doing that... but, then again I saved on the first few years of deprecation... that's a pretty big deal......

IDK about your brands dealers but the WGO warranty service on my Paseo was terrible. Extended warranty? Never again, the independents are much better.

[BBQ]

.

Caught this in another forum

2014 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 4 cyl 144" wheelbase

[Bud]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

Caught this in another forum

Hopefully, the Cause will be addressed.

Bud

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Bud

Hopefully, the Cause will be addressed.

Bud

There was a problem in that era with a poorly-designed DPF bracket. It sometimes cracks and then breaks, which loosens the DPF, causing it to flex and eventually fail.

Some people think the brackets should be replaced as PM. (They apparently have been redesigned). I have been inspecting mine regularly. No sign of cracks in my MY2014.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Bud

Hopefully, the Cause will be addressed.

Bud

There was a problem in that era with a poorly-designed DPF bracket (excessively sharp bends). It sometimes cracks and then breaks, which loosens the DPF, causing it to flex and eventually fail.

Some people think the brackets should be replaced as PM. (They apparently have been redesigned). I have been inspecting mine regularly. No sign of cracks in my MY2014.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

Caught this in another forum

2014 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 4 cyl 144" wheelbase

I wonder how many miles this person has on the 2014..?

Another person I'm in contact with has 80,000 miles on his 2013....

I have 43,000 miles on my 2012....

Could be a symptom of miles or age...or just a bad batch??

Finally, I wonder what the incidence of this happening on the Four or SIX cylinder engines?
There's probably statistics on this somewhere? I'll Google it and do a search....