Fing, nice to hear from you. Yeah, SoCal water sucks. Glad Alabama is working for you. The warranty stuff is a scam.

While there I had them change the oil and filter on the engine and the generator. OK, $429 out the door. They also said they'd lube the Zerk fittings on the front end (12 of them according to the owner's manual). Got home yesterday from their shop and looked underneath. No way that they lubed those Zerk fittings. And they came well recommended. It does look like clean oil and new filters on the engine and generator.

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Hugh, will you be having a talk with the service manager tomorrow?

You bet, and they came well recommended. Its not the $0.25 of grease, the RV is high enough I can do it in five minutes with my pneumatic grease gun without jacking it up. But they charged me for a lube and oil changes and filters on the engine and generator. I can see where lots of RV owner's get short changed and their service life of their RV going to crap because of this kind of stuff. I'd have done the oil and lube myself if it weren't for the A/C warranty work that i thought I would get. Could have done the A/C work and oil and lube for less than $100 but I doubt that I would have found the missing "O"ring on my own.

The longer I am around this RV business, the more I do myself.

Six weeks later I finally got the new access door. It looks like it will fit the opening. I'm going RVing in the AM to Carpenteria State Beach, so I'm not taking out the old one tonight. I'll deal with it when I get home on Sunday and see if it actually fits. I also have to get it painted. Turns out my painter is a High School friend of Joe Bob.

It came with a thumb lock and a keyed lock but no keys. I tried my old key and it fit. Turns out Coachmen has ONE key for the under carriage access panels. WTF? looking at the key there is no code. While I mostly store firewood, cheap lights, etc. I have a few semi-valuable things stored underneath as well, like tools and a battery jump starter/air compressor unit that is worth around $100. I may, or may not change out the locks, they aren't very secure anyway. But I was surprised.

40 years ago I worked at a Motorcycle shop that sold BMW bikes, I remember that they had one round insert key that fit all Bimmer bikes.

What came of your conversation with the shop re: the lack of service performed?

They claimed that they had one of their car guys do the work and he didn't know about zerk fittings on RVs. They offered to have me come in an have them grease the 12 fittings. I ended up doing it myself.

Hugh, you coming up for the avocado festival?
If you have time for lunch on Friday let me know and I can make the short drive down to carp. I'll buy.

Thats how you make sure that its done correctly. Just brought home a 28" RV myself recently and doing all the work here at home...

Taking the six month old and 2-1/2 year old grandsons to Carpenteria State Beach this coming weekend. I was concerned about them crawling around the RV and falling into the stairwell, so I did this. $40 for the wood and stain and soft bumpers on the edge.

Stuffing a few blankets/comforters into the space didn't sit well with me with a 6 month old crawling around. He could fall into the space, so I eliminated the possibility. Yeah, we'll watch him like a hawk, but schit happens.


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I also get about 6 sq. ft. of additional floor space for when we RV with our 8 friends, enough space for an extra camping chair when it rains and we eat dinner inside.

I can't think of 8 friends I would want to camp with. We usually go with 1 or 2 other couples, and have plenty of room in our 30' camper with the front kitchen/dinette, and mid couch.

Nice plan for the small one, they can find new ways to get hurt. 20 years ago, my 2 year old daughter tripped on a root, and hit her head on the extended camper step. We spent the next 4 hours in the ER getting her stitched up, before we could finish setting up the camper.

My friends bring their own trailer/RV. I wouldn't want that many people in my RV overnight.

Gas about 8 mpg

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Amen. My brother and I bought a old toterhome for hauling us and our racing gear to the track in semi comfort. We are learning lots about RV systems as we go.

Youtube has some really good content. We were able to fix our RV fridge.



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Our local dealer told us to try tipping the unit upside down LOL.

Just rented it to Noah930 for the next five days at a very favorable rate to him. First time that I've done this, and not going to rent it out to any yahoo, He's driven them before. He provided me with a full value declaration from his insurance company. Spent about an hour with him going over the specifics of the rig.

Good luck. It's coming back with spilled beer stains everywhere and I'm sure Kai will spread some Nutella in some hard to find places! :D

He has little kids, we had a talk about sandwiches, and other food waste, and such NOT being left in crevices.

Noah 930 rented it for six days, gave him an excellent price he returned it undamaged and clean as a whistle. Told him he's welcome to use it anytime. I gave it to him with a 1/2 tank of gas and said, return it with a 1/2 tank. He filled it. A true gentleman.

Nice floor solution! I'd have put a rubber walkaway child leash on the little tyke.

i saw a sprinter van.

it was jacked up high. 4x4..i swear it looked like it had a solid front axle. it was a giant class C conversion. dually rear end. the motor was silently rattling away as it burned diesel. the driver laughed at my gaping mouth as he drove past me. it was the best RV i ever saw in my life. and i've seen a earthroamer on that exact stretch of hwy 1

There are a lot of sprinter based coaches Vash.
And even more based on US built chassis.
The thing I'm hearing from sprinter owners is the lack of service centers and high cost of parts and repairs, can make using them a challenge. Also the cost difference is significant, especially for used models. More than enough to off set the mpg difference.

There are some range of choices in off-road 4x4 rigs to be considered.

Cheers Richard

Sold it for a little more than I owed on it. I'm happy, expect the new factory ordered Winnebago in a few weeks. Retired now and ready to do a lot more RVing. I wanted a new one with more options and amenities. Like a larger refrigerator and a washer/dryer option.

Woo hoo! Just in time for Coachella!

Are you still dragging the Camry behind it?

Not dragging anything behind, when we drove across the country we did Uber/Lyft/Enterprise/Taxi, found it WAY cheaper and easier.

What did you get?

Funny, when I asked if I could rent your RV you said no f'ing way :D

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Stock image, I don't get it for a few weeks. 2019 Winnebago Adventurer 33C

I looked it up: Very nice!

Can I rent it:cool:

Hope to see you park on the farm again when you come East, my friend.

One of my friends owns an Allstate insurance agency. He is doing well, is youngish and unattached, and decided to take two years to travel to national parks and ski areas. He just took delivery of a 4 x 4 Sprinter, which he is converting into a custom go-anywhere vehicle. He does amazing work, so I'm interested to see what he does to it. He plans to run his insurance business from there.

Nice seeing that you are planning to do some more RV traveling in your retirement Hugh.

Is this new rig a larger version of your earlier one, front engine?

I like the entry door location. Is that a big slide aft of the door?

Looking forward to pic of yours when you get it.

Cheers Richard

High does consistently display some of the best judgment on this board.

Gas front engine, the diesel pushers are about $100K more,

34' the old one was 32', this is the largest I can still park on beach row in most CA state Park beach campgrounds,

3 sliders, the old one had 2,

Room for a stackable washer/dryer, which I may or may not get, going across the USA last summer I found the KOAs have laundries and can do a weeks worth of laundry for $5.

When high, Hugh does.

Probably, I've rented the old one to Pelicans before.

Who's high?

Kidding about renting, Hugh.

I look forward to learning about your next adventures in the new rig.

Best.

Well done, Hugh...please keep us posted!

Thanks for the kind thoughts, RVs are NOT an investment, like cars its worth 20% less the day you drive it off the lot. A 10 year old RV is at best, worth 10-20% of what you bought it for new.

I think my timing was right, I owned it for six years and sold it for a few $ more than I owed on it. So I walked away from it free and clear.

Neglecting gas,which is stupid expensive in CA, I "think" it cost me around $6,000 / year including the bank loan, insurance, tires, oil, filters, etc. No major expenses, and I had a 7 year bumper-to-bumper additional warranty which the buyer could transfer to him for another year for $50. We also paid $30-$60/night to park in KOAs and other places, but those costs are still less then most hotel rooms, and shouldn't be figured in since you'd since you'd have to sleep somewhere,

So figure on average, once a month for six years, or about $6,000/year for owning it. So about $500/month to own and use it. The going rate for a lesser RV from a rental company is easily $3,000/week.


RVs are NOT a bargain to own, but if you actually use them on a regular basis, the cost is not terrible. What is the average going rate to buy a smaller Mazda SUV, probably about the same, like $500/month/

$500 a month is not much to pay for something you use and enjoy.