((Spoiler alert!)) RV’s tend toward some breakage.  I mean, you’re basically driving around a house that, other than when parked, is in a constant earthquake.  Officially I’m over the 3 year mark of full time traveling, or, 1105 days as of this writing, so I thought it might be interesting to document all the broken things.  My takeaway from the many various incidents is that it’s really helpful to be kinda handy, and YouTube videos exist for practically anything.  Many repairs, from the simple to the relatively difficult can be do-it-yourselfers, and it’s often just easier to fix things yourself than deal with warranty repair at a shop or dealer.  The waiting for appointments, for parts, for work to be finished, the up-sales… it can be frustrating.  The first time we had our rig back to the dealer to fix a few things we noticed in our initial shakedown outing, (before we were full timing) it was (generously) a few months before they had it finished.  Now granted, we weren’t in a hurry, with no trips planned, so I wasn’t calling and bugging them, but come on!  The best part was after they’d had it multiple months for a few easy fixes, they finally called to let us know it was ready, and it was a week or so before I could make arrangements to go pick it up.  Did they call multiple times over that time to give me overly snippy crap for not picking it up sooner?  You bet they did.  Really, unnamed RV dealer, I’m being a little too slow for your liking??

The next time I tried to make an appointment for repair, it was a four week wait.  So I do my own thing when it’s feasible.  And, here they are, not necessarily in order, either chronologically or by how serious… the fix it highlights:

• Ceiling fan

After one of our earlier lengthy trips, we opened the door to find the ceiling fan just hanging down about 3 feet from the ceiling on nothing but the electrical wiring.  The entire fan/housing just shook loose from the ceiling support is was attached to with wood screws.  Screws and nuts/bolts failures are not covered under the extended warranty, (figures) but it this wasn’t too hard to fix.  Filling the holes with some patch and wood glue and using beefier wood screws and we were good to go.

• Six cupboard doors

Two of these six fixes were cupboard doors that literally just fell apart.  The outer trim came apart, either weak or sloppy/missing glue and bad or inadequate staples.  As always, it helps to be handy, and saves time hassles in the shop if you can manage this kind of breakage yourself.  New, better glue and a good clamp and the doors were good as new.  The other four broken doors is on me.  Just sloppy forgetfulness.  When our slider is retracted inside the rig, the pantry doors are behind the slider, and there isn’t a lot of space between the doors and the slider side.   This means that if the doors come open during the “earthquake,” it’s possible for the slider to catch it as it’s being extended and tear the hinges right off the cupboard.  And yes, I’ve done that 4 stupid times.  Fortunately, it’s been the same door, the top one, and the only result has been bent hinges and messed up holes where the hinges used to be screwed into the cupboard.  At this point, I’m very stocked up on hinges, having picked up about 10 sets the last time I had to buy some, and I’m getting good at dealing with the screw holes in the woodwork.  So, even though it’s part of my routine now to check the doors before I extend the slider, I’m fully prepared for a next time.  Many hinges to spare.

• Both overhead decorative mantles (x2)

Each slider has a very nice decorative mantle covering the top part of the slider as it faces into the RV.  Very pretty.  Except the rolling “earthquake” has twice shaken them off the (inadequate) staples that hold them to the slider.  The first time, I took it into the dealer to fix, the second time, I just attached it myself with neutral colored wood screws.   Maybe it’s not as pretty, but they haven’t come off again, and I’ve been on some bumpy as hell, washboard dirt and gravel roads.

• Four under-cabinet LED lights

Many of the cabinets have small but very bright LED lights under them that are very handy.  They run on the 12v battery system so you don’t need to be plugged into power to use them, (in fact, with just a few exceptions, the lights in the whole rig are LED’s) and they use very little power, so they are great for battery life when off grid.  Four of these LED’s have gone out over time, and it’s always the on-off rocker mechanism.  There’s a nut there that works itself loose, so it isn’t too hard to get it back on and tight, then a little drop of Loctite and it’s good to go.   Probably takes five minutes total.

•  The porch light

The outside “porch” light was one of the lights that isn’t an LED, and sure enough, it was burned out within the first year.  I picked up a comparable LED that would fit and now it’s long lasting and just as bright as the old bulb.

•  The “scare” lights

Same with the outside “scare” lights on both sides.  A bit tougher because they are much higher on the side of the rig, so a pretty tall ladder is required, but still… just replacing a bulb with longer lasting LED’s that don’t use a lot less power.

•  Microwave

This was a bit of a surprise.  We didn’t expect the microwave to go out so soon. (year two)  It was outside the dealer warranty and I assumed it wouldn’t be covered under the extended.  Not sure why.  I did find the exact same microwave on sale at Best Buy for only $150 and dropping the old one out and replacing it with the new one was super easy as all the mounting hardware on the wall and under-cabinet were exactly the same.  It wasn’t until afterwards that I saw “microwave” was covered in the fine print of the extended warranty.  Live and learn.  I do always check first now.

•  Screen door handle/latch

The entire handle and latch for the screen door is plastic, so of course that broke over time and use.  I ordered a new one from Amazon and the replacement was mostly easy.

•  Closet door latch

The closet doors had little snap gizmos that kept them closed when moving, and those stopped working almost right away.  A bit of research and I found a small flip lock thing that I could mount low on one of the doors that would hold both doors closed in a more efficient way that wasn’t dependent on snaps or straps.

• Clothes hanger bar
  

The closet clothes hanger bar fell off several times – full of clothes – and had to be rehung and the supports strengthened and secured.  Twice.  Eventually I had to add two new supports, hung from the ceiling, before it’s sturdy enough for a decent amount of clothes.

•  Fender skirt

A tire blowout tore off the large plastic fender skirt on the passenger side.  I was able to retrieve it and it was intact, with just a few of the screw holes torn up.  Enough were still good that I was able to remount it and that hung in for quite a while, but sure enough, a second blowout tore it up completely.  I picked up a new one from the dealer and the install was easy.  I’m sure another catastrophic blowout will not be nice to it, but in the meantime it’s looking good.

•  Fireplace and fireplace lights (multiple times)
  

There’s a nice little electric heater/fireplace in the living space, with a pretty little mock firewood and dancing flames show.  The bulbs that light up the display keep coming loose from the vibration, so I’ve pulled the fireplace out three or four times to screw them in again.  (I’m hesitant to use Loctite in case the bulbs burn out or break and I’m not able to get them out.)  The vibration also broke loose two rivets on the right side of the fireplace so that side was kinda falling out of the casing.  I had to pull that apart and put in some beefy sheet metal screws that I’m hoping will hold it long term.

• Water heater

I had to call in a pro on this one.  The water heater just stopped working… no hot water from either propane or electric.  I watched a dozen YouTube video’s and read as many forum posts about water heater issues and couldn’t get a handle on it, which resulted in a not insignificant number of cold showers taken while I attempted to figure it out.  (very thankful for the warm weather when this happened)   A mobile RV tech had it diagnosed and repaired in under an hour.  Temperature sensor.  Next time I’ll know what to look for and how to test for it.  I was able to check a number of the possible things it could have been, but couldn’t get at that one with the info I had at the time.

• Main living room slider

Now this was a problem.  Pulling up to a new spot and when it’s time to extend the slider, there’s just a grinding/clicking sound and the slider isn’t moving.  Thankfully it happened with the slider retracted.  A stuck slider when extended is a whole different beast of a problem.  Obviously this was going to be a little outside my capabilities. It took a few months to work out the timing, but I was able to get it into a service center where they diagnosed the problem, (bad gearbox) and had me out the same day.  Then they ordered the part necessary, got approval from my extended warranty company and when the part was in, I came back for a repair day.  Overall, it was about a two week process with a shop that could fit me in for those two appointments without a long wait.  That is not always easy, especially in big population centers.

• Floor heater vents (x3)

Apparently, the floor vents for the furnace are not meant to have a chair leg sit on or roll over them.  Who knew?  I eventually replaced all three for very bent or broken slats in the vents.

• Roof vent hatch

Before I was very tuned into keeping an eye out for low overhead situations I tussled with an overhanging tree that was spreading out over the driveway exit of a parking lot I was turning around in.  The roof vent hatch paid the ultimate sacrifice, and thankfully there wasn’t additional damage.   It was just the hatch cover, and you can pick up replacement hatch covers as long as you’re careful to get one for exactly the same type of hatch.  The repair, done by my very cooperative daughter, took maybe 15 minutes tops.  The fun part was that, of course, it was raining when this happened, and an amazingly timely bathroom stop keyed us into the missing hatch.  I put an umbrella up through the hatch, pulled it down tight to the roof and then tied it down inside… and that damn thing held until we got to our next stop and could fix the hatch.  Still hard for me to believe.

• Valve release handle for the rear grey tank

Another blowout pulled the valve release handle and rod for the kitchen area grey tank completely off.  I ordered a replacement handle and rod from Amazon, but installation required cutting a little “hatch” into the protective under-covering beneath the RV.  A liberal application of Gorilla Tape and the “hatch” is up and still sealed.  Holy crap, that Gorilla Tape holds up.

• Right front jack-stand

This is my ongoing issue.  The right front jack does not fully extend.  It’s only an issue when I’m in a spot that is uneven and much higher in the back end.  Normally I’d be able to raise the front enough to get to level, but that front right jack is not cooperating.  It’s going to necessitate the same strategy I used for the main slider, but the timing just hasn’t been there yet.

• Other various and assorted bumps and bruises

A small dent in the far rear, lower port side siding.  Caused by a short wrestling match with a small light pole at a very tight spot at a park in Beaumont.

Another small dent in the far rear, lower starboard side siding.  An unknown cause on this one.  I have no idea when or where this happened.  I just noticed it there one day.

A small tear/scratch in the outer roofing material (not through the rubber underneath) and an extended “pinch” in the rain gutter nearby.  Most likely caused by a brief encounter with a tree branch.  Patched with Eternabond tape.

Too many various bits of loose or fallen off trim, moldings, decorative edging, drawer guides, pantry shelves, window casement latches and knobs to mention.  I’ve read that the crews who paint the Golden Gate Bridge start at one end, and by the time they get to the other end, it’s time to start right back at the first end again.  RV maintenance and living feels a little bit like that.  There’s always a little something needing done.