Repairs on the Road
10-22-2015
Author: Blog Editor in JeepandRV
When you full time in your RV while working full time, repairs become a challenge as to date nothing has decided to break when we were ready for it. Our RV had carried us over 40,000 miles since we began our adventure last year. We chose an older unit when purchasing for several reasons. One was the crazy amount of depreciation that RV's suffer, two was the fact that we were looking to simplify our budget which meant keeping the payments low, and three I have a lot of faith in my husband's ability to handle house repairs. The only time I question our choice is when something breaks which lately seems to be every two weeks when we move. Some of the repairs are just general wear and tear that we were expecting but some have been much more serious.
When we were leaving Montana in May to head to Alaska Jim did is standard walk around and noticed a strange warp in the front passenger tire. We looked at the tire and after some discussion decided to gamble on the fact that Class A diesel pusher sized tires are very hardy. We were right, that tire took us up to, around, and back from Alaska but when we got to Edmonton, AB we figured to use the favorable exchange rate to replace both front tires. The tires were only two and a half years old so a frustrating cost that was not budgeted. When they removed the front tire they discovered that our ball joints were worn out and that is what had caused the tire to warp. They couldn't get the parts for several weeks so they gave us the part number and we started the search to find a shop on our route that could get us in and make the repairs. From Alaska our next job was in Midway, UT and then Moab. The best choice we found was for six weeks down the road in Washington State. It required us to shorten one of our jobs by two days so the shop could get us in and make the repairs. Now back when we had a sticks and bricks we would just drive down to our favorite mechanic and he would squeeze us in, so this was a new way of doing things but in the scheme of things I wouldn't trade it for the world- but then it is poor Jim who gets stuck fixing everything so easy for me to say!
Since we have to make a stop we have been compiling a laundry list of chassis items that we would love fixed. Then we will have to look at the budget and decide which we do this time and what can be put off. We discussed during today’s all day drive if we should consider trading old "Betsy" in for a newer model but we can't get past the fact that we would have to increase our payment by about $1000 dollars. Twelve thousand dollars a year will make a lot of repairs on old "Betsy" and so for now we'll just be keeping duct tape on hand for those emergency repairs.
When we were leaving Montana in May to head to Alaska Jim did is standard walk around and noticed a strange warp in the front passenger tire. We looked at the tire and after some discussion decided to gamble on the fact that Class A diesel pusher sized tires are very hardy. We were right, that tire took us up to, around, and back from Alaska but when we got to Edmonton, AB we figured to use the favorable exchange rate to replace both front tires. The tires were only two and a half years old so a frustrating cost that was not budgeted. When they removed the front tire they discovered that our ball joints were worn out and that is what had caused the tire to warp. They couldn't get the parts for several weeks so they gave us the part number and we started the search to find a shop on our route that could get us in and make the repairs. From Alaska our next job was in Midway, UT and then Moab. The best choice we found was for six weeks down the road in Washington State. It required us to shorten one of our jobs by two days so the shop could get us in and make the repairs. Now back when we had a sticks and bricks we would just drive down to our favorite mechanic and he would squeeze us in, so this was a new way of doing things but in the scheme of things I wouldn't trade it for the world- but then it is poor Jim who gets stuck fixing everything so easy for me to say!
Since we have to make a stop we have been compiling a laundry list of chassis items that we would love fixed. Then we will have to look at the budget and decide which we do this time and what can be put off. We discussed during today’s all day drive if we should consider trading old "Betsy" in for a newer model but we can't get past the fact that we would have to increase our payment by about $1000 dollars. Twelve thousand dollars a year will make a lot of repairs on old "Betsy" and so for now we'll just be keeping duct tape on hand for those emergency repairs.
Comment
businessJuly 8, 2016 | 01:07 AM
Hello WanderLuster, Currently our dream RV is the Entegra Anthem for several reasons. They are using many of the same components that were used on the Travel Supremes, they have a great floor plan that we like, they are very solidly built, and they have the Cummings/Allison combo we like.
businessJuly 8, 2016 | 01:05 AM
Hi sbeireis, I work for Southeast Publications so the work is anywhere that there is a campground. We like to focus on areas that have activities we enjoy such as jeeping or mountain biking.
sbeireisJuly 5, 2016 | 09:54 PM
Would you mind sharing where you find your new jobs as you travel? Thanks
WanderLusterNovember 2, 2015 | 01:38 PM
What is your dream RV when you do finally decide to turn in "Betsy"?
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