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I enjoy striking an unspoken note (I’m a guitar player too, no pun intended), and a lot of folks commented that they did not know about the maintenance complexities of owning a motor-home. I want to add what ever more pertinent information I can that will help the motor-home gangs to keep em running.
O.K. we have established issues concerning not driving enough miles or not driving it often enough. But what more can we talk about to prevent a five hundred dollar tow bill to an unknown shop in an unknown place that offers a worry-some local warranty?
The first thing that comes to mind is the cooling system or radiator. You are driving a vehicle with the aerodynamics of a flying brick. You also are probably driving a motor-home built on a light duty 1 ton truck chassis. It is more common in the last 4 or 5 years for the M.H. makers to have the light bulb go on in their heads and use a bigger chassis.
Give me a break, you think your motor-home, loaded up with a few months worth of cloths and equipment is not pulling a heavier load than it’s advertised rating of 1 ton or 1.5 tons? Well from the time it was made, the manufacturers knew it would be overloaded, which makes maintenance to all areas critical or important so you don’t have that $500 tow bill emergency.
Other ares that I would concern myself with are:
1. Changing the rear differential oil once a year. It can get condensation built up, but more important is that by sitting around in the same place for months allows the lube to dry out on the portions of the gears not bathing in the oil, thus causing rust. The Point is to move it twenty feet back and forth every month.
3. Brakes and all hydraulic brake parts including rubber and metal brake lines.
4. Steering and front end parts.
5. Universal joints, wheel bearings and drive-shaft bearings.
6. Belts and hoses
7. Add an auxiliary transmission cooler
8. Charging system and batteries
Note: Make a checklist and use it.
Most of this is just common sense maintenance and should be checked regularly. I’m the type of person who would rather spend the time and money now, do all of the above maintenance than face a big tow bill, repair bill and time off from my trip. Motor-homes are expensive like boats. I have my bad habits too, playing the guitar and riding Harley Davidson motorcycles, they are expensive too. H.D. really stands for “Hundred Dollars”!!
Hope this is of help, if you did not read yesterdays GotEngines.com Blog, please do so next. I may have missed something here. If I did let me know. If you have a question I have not covered ask me. Thanks and enjoy.
Don’t forget how important safety is when you are working under your vehicle…
