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RV Living in the 21st Century
click photos to enlarge -
Heads-up On RV Maintenance
updated 29 November 2003
.
ANNUAL
MAINTENANCE COSTS - summer 2003 
I
receive many questions about our maintenance
costs.
I
relay this so everyone is aware to expect there are good and bad years,
although in the long run everything averages out, most
years will be within reason and quite low, but
expect some to be higher than others.
RVing
good times always outnumber the bad in this lifestyle but not every day is
perfect and some may be a bit costly. This is the reason I strongly urge
every RVer to have a $5000.00 Emergency
Fund so
you do not have to use your travel funds for emergencies – ours is a
zero balance credit card that we can deal with when we return home in the
summer. Consider setting up a Contingency
Fund
while you are at it.
I
have recently ‘spoke’ to many RVers by email about maintenance costs
of RVing. Some years, like this one for us, can be exceptionally costly,
BUT most are not. When we drove gas motorhomes we budgeted $3500.00 (Cdn
$) per year for both vehicles and frequently came in well under that. Last
year our diesel maintenance was $3000.00 Cdn$ ($174.00 for the car) – no
one thing in particular stood out. Most of the past four years have been
similar amounts. (PS we did spend $4200.00 on our renovations in 2002 -
see details on The Space of a Slide from the Inside)
Well nothing in life stays the same – prices (Cdn$) listed below are
after taxes. This spring we updated our tow car- the new baseplate and
lighting cost us $1300.00, the furnace quit on our 95 Luxor, as
well as a check valve on the water pump and other miscellaneous
things at additional cost of $1100.00. One week later the check valve
on our water heater quit ($100.00 more) and then the ballast on two 18"
‘thin-lites’ stopped functioning at an approximate replacement
cost of $70-$80.00 each. Routine Class B maintenance (oil and filter
change, fuel filter change, lubrication and visual check etc) and
regular tune-up on our generator added another $1300.00. The hourly
rate of the service centre we used was definitely on the low side of
things and not much was wrong or had to be changed but the service
contributes to this years maintenance costs.
Prices may be slightly lower in the USA but available (pension)
income may also differ,
Our
windshield cracked in April with a deductible of $300.00. This
meant we needed new website lettering that spans both windshields
(plus an Invisible Bra on the tow car) at another $250.
While at Buffalo dry camping at the FMCA convention, our 4-year-old
batteries no longer would hold a charge, so four new golf cart
batteries added another $580.00 when converted to Cdn. (I was shocked when
the techs told us that most batteries can only expect a lifespan of 4
years).
However we are not done yet this summer. While the coach was coming to life from under a cloud of oxidization due to comprehensive detailing last weekend (approximately $550.00 for service and miracle products) – see photos about our shimmering Kastle, John cleaned the wheel wells and the tires. He discovered the cracks on the sidewalls of our four-year old front tires were becoming deeper and he no longer felt safe driving our motorhome. (RV Tires too have a life between 4-5 years). So last Wednesday he ordered two front tires at a cost of $409.00 each plus tax. Another $1000.00 goes towards maintenance for 2003 (other four are slated for next year.) From the middle of April to the first of August our maintenance for both vehicles is at approximately $6550.00. Guess this will be a costly year.
More as of November 2003
On our route south this fall our furnace stopped blowing hot air - the motor was replaced last spring so we know that was not the problem. At the same time the fan and A/C controls were operating in reverse as well. So the tech determined that our 8-year old thermostat needed replacing - cost $299.00 US ($388.00Cdn) plus 1/2 hour labour and in-park service call of $25.00. However this didn't solve the furnace problem, It will be looked at next week. The culprit may be a $15.00 part or a $110.00 part plus labour of $45.00 per hour - time will tell.
Before we left Canada we were hit with a power surge when a transformer blew; it damaged our expensive 50 amp Power Line Monitor. Finding the replacement part ($56.00) was a challenge but that repair too will be completed next week. Total bill for repairs will be approximately $700.-$1000. more. (If we had replaced the PLM it would have been an additional $400. US plus labour).
We are aware that many RVers do not have this accessory on their unit but with the damage our PLM received, for certain we would have lost many appliances due to that surge. Our PLM also stops us from operating in brown-out conditions as well.
On
the good side of things all these items will be considered new and
problem-free for
another 8 years. From this point forward we expect to enjoy 3-4 years of
minimal maintenance. The good days definitely out number the bad in this
lifestyle and a
streak of costly repairs happens only periodically. Make it a point
to ride the wave.
Remember; look at the big picture to understand your overall cost of
RVing. On the days when things look a little black don’t forget there
really is no journey as joyful as seeing North America in an RV. What
better way to explore this great continent? Happy Travels P&J