One of the things to do when we are not traveling around is to catch up on and perform various maintenance tasks. Most of these involve trying to keep the motorhome looking as nice as possible, but there are other jobs that are performed so that various component’s run and work to the best of their ability.
I should explain something here.
Any RV, ( coach, class A,B, or C, fifth wheel, pull-along, or anything) is not designed, or built, for full-time living. There are better built units and there are cheaper ones also. This is no different than any type of purchase that one makes on any level.
Here choices such as, cost/affordability, and use, play important parts in our collective decision’s when it comes time to purchase anything.
Back to my statement that none of these units are designed for full-time living.
They are designed for occasional use. When the engineer-type folks get together with the design and marketing people, they realize that 99% of their target buyers want something that they will use a few times over the course of a year, (long weekends, vacations, etc.) and design it so.
They would be fools not to.
Having said that, there are still differences in the ways (and costs) that companies approach their products, and it would be best to acknowledge their differences and inherent values contained within.
A better built unit (costs more) will, if all things are equal, usually make a better choice for stretching that design envelope when it comes to living in it full time.
Yugo vs. BMW
For the most part, it is far easier to run that Yugo into the ground before the BMW.
But what about the middle ground?
What if I can afford the Chevy or Ford, not the BMW? Something a bit more middle-of-the-road as it were.
No worries, that may work fine too. You will probably just have to watch and maintain a few more aspects of them, remembering that it is not designed for what you are doing.
That’s where I come in with my trusty tools and basic automotive knowledge and “handyman wanna-be” skills!
Over the past fifty years or so, I’ve done most of the maintenance work on my vehicles myself. Brakes, oil changes, tune-ups, exhaust systems, alternator replacement, and a host of other minor repairs have all fallen within my capabilities.
That’s a good thing because now, living in my car so to speak, means that I can monitor any issues with that basic knowledge that I’ve acquired over the years.
But…… I do not perform all of those tasks anymore. Working on one of these big diesel engines, or the air brake system, requires a skill level that I do not possess. Luckily for us, both here in Texas and back in Sussex County, there are two Truck Centers that are very reliable and who work nicely with the motorcoach community.
That leaves me with trying to keep the other aspects of wear and tear under control. I just started looking around (and finding) the beginnings of rust underneath. Luckily for us, this coach has never seen a New Jersey winter complete with salted roads but that does not mean that our everyday driving in the rain does not eventually take its toll.
It does.
But armed with a wire wheel on my cordless drill and some good metal primer followed by some nice Rust-oleum type paint, I can keep up with this kind of stuff and treat it before it becomes an issue. Keep in mind that the chassis of this baby is built by Freightliner expressly for this type of use. Thankfully, this is the one area of build and design, that does not fall into the occasional use category. The chassis and its components are the exact same ones that they use when making any of their trucks. The Cummins diesel motor, coupled with the six-speed Allison transmission, are the same ones that are used commercially in a myriad of trucks and construction equipment.
Phewf!
So, with these aspects of the motorhome, I just need to make sure that the regular maintenance is performed. In this respect of the design envelope, we see a case where we will never exceed the use capabilities of the components because the components are the exact same ones used really full-time in the trucking industry.
We live in this thing full-time; we do not drive it full time 😊
I leave the oil changes up to the Truck Centers for a few reasons. One is that it needs to be changed only every 20, 000 miles. This interval is because the motor is not being used to haul dirt and rocks (which it can and does in a dump truck) and the oil pan holds 18 quarts of the good stuff, a nice reservoir as it were. I also like having someone with tons more knowledge than me poke around under there and look for anything that may be amiss and need some attention. I usually have a question or two for them to check. It’s well worth the added cost to have them scrutinize down below twice a year for our peace of mind.
An oil change, or wet service as it’s called, complete with chassis lube and filters runs about $500.00. I’ve reconciled that number with my brain already, so I’m used to it by now.
However, I do perform the oil change on the diesel generator. This is extremely simple and takes about 15 minutes, start to finish, and does not necessarily coincide with our every 20,000-mile engine spruce-up. With the amount of boondocking (Walmart parking lots, etc.) that we do, the generator gets used quite a bit. Hence the more frequent oil changes, about every 150 run-time hours or so.
I’ve also done a few construction projects. One was done for the aforementioned not-deigned-for-full-timers, and the other to help keep the inside of the motor home cleaner.
I built a set of steps that go over the ones that automatically extend when the door is opened. The steps are retractable and so they have hinges and levers that work nicely, but not full time! So, you can see by the accompanying photo that the new overlay used for when we are at home base, helps immensely.
The other addition is our deck. This not only gives us a nice spot for a few chairs, but it also allows us a place to kick some dirt, leaves, and what-have-you, off of our shoes before we enter the motorhome. It has helped with this dilemma nicely as we do not possess a “mud room” on board!
One of the other things that we do around here are “Special Projects.” Danny and Kaitie are really good to us, and we don’t pay rent so we try and help out around here and construct additions that we think may be helpful or just nice to have.
The latest is the Goat Mansion that Paula and I constructed for Chones (chowe-neez) and Abigail, complete with ramps and stairs for them to climb up to the roof. The part that they like best is that they each have their own bedroom because Chones used to kick Abigail out of their old, shared bedroom and this did not sit well with Abigail, especially since goats hate to get wet and she would have to stand outside in the rain. ☹
The current project involves getting water over to the corral permanently and installing a floodlight that will light up the corral, goat area, and the work area just outside the corral. A ditch was dug from the ‘She Shed’ where the utilities are and water and electric lines were run over to the fence corner where everything will be situated.
I need to stop now as it is getting light outside and I can hear some projects calling my name!