Last updated on September 22nd, 2023 at 08:27 pm
One of the questions we’re often asked about full-time RVing is what we do when it needs to have maintenance. When your RV is your home, you definitely need to consider what you’ll do when your home is in the shop. Where will you go? How will you pay for it? In this article, we’ll share some ideas of what we, and some of our friends, do when our home requires repairs.
Learn How To Perform Basic Maintenance
The best thing a full-time RVer can do to avoid having to leave their home is learn how to perform some basic maintenance of their own. We learned this the hard way.
We bought a new RV because we figured if we had a warranty, someone else could take care of all the maintenance. We realized that it is a hassle to schedule warranty work at a repair facility because you often have to plan it in advance or wait a long time to get it done. Also, we’ve used a few different ones and never had good customer service.
Watch the video below to hear our thoughts on the new RV warranty.
Use Mobile Repair Technicians
The technique that worked best for us was to use a mobile repair technician. We have been able to find one almost every time we needed work done.
Every mobile repair technician we’ve was able to bill our manufacturer’s or extended warranty directly. We just had to pay a small ($50) fee for them to come out to us. This was well worth the convenience in our minds.
Stay in the Maintenance Bay
Believe it or not, we have spent 2 nights in the maintenance bay of RV Repair Facility. We did not have access to it during the day. However, once the shop closed up for the night, they allowed us to return to our RV (with our dogs) and spend the night there. They provided power and water so it was actually very comfortable and not any less scenic than a Walmart parking lot.
If All Else Fails, Make The Best of It
This year we had to get the deck on our toy hauler replaced. The darn thing weighs far too much for Sean to DIY this job, so we had to schedule it for a visit to the shop. Although they said it would be done in a day, we knew better. It never works out that way–and we were right. It took 6 days!!
Luckily this was something we could plan ahead so we took a trip to Disney World in Orlando. We enjoyed a vacation away from the RV at an awesome resort and didn’t worry about the time away.
If your repair is going to be covered by insurance, most will cover the nights at the hotel. Unfortunately, our damage was not covered, so we had to use our vacation fund. It was still worth it!
Don’t Forget Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance is typically not covered by a warranty, but can help prevent major problems. Sean has spent a lot of time reviewing the owner’s manuals for the different systems on the RV.
He compiled this short manual with plenty of photos on RV Water Systems Preventive Maintenance. Click here to check it out.
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