Hi guys,
Maybe the question should be rephrased to "does anyone recommend having a motorhome sit a year + without attention?
BTW if you are full timing or just out in your motor coach for 6 to 8 months. Are there any preventative measures needed with the coach? What I mean is if your on the road and stop at a park for 30 to 45 days. You are obviously using the things in the coach you'd naturally use while you make it home. Is there anything you need to do and/or think about with the coach sitting in one spot for 45 days?
Harry
Mine doesn't like to sit 60 days. Stuff won't work properly until I get 30 miles or so down the road. The ones that will tell you it's fine to let one sit for a year or more are the same ones selling! Mine sat for essentially 2 years before I bought it. It was 1400 miles home and some stuff still wasn't properly working. When you're fulltiming, there's not much choice. But I try to not let mine sit for more than 30 days before at least a 50 mile trip.
As stated previously. I have had all my coaches in 8 years of Full time sit in place for several months at a time and never a problem, ever. I do start the engine and Genset once or twice when parked for the Winter season , which is usually about 4 months or more and never drive it until I am departing. I don't do anything different that when I do a weekend somewhere. I am using the inside systems , of course, but this thread seems to have morphed into an idle equipment debate and if you don't abuse your stuff, it will usually repay you....
Mine has sat more than it has moved as I rework the interior. The biggest problem I have had is that the air shifter is very slow going from D to N to R....Sometimes it takes 20 seconds to change gears. It works ok the other way (R-N-D) but after a few cycles it frees up. I have lubricated the linkage on the transmission. That helped a bit. So far the trips I have taken have been no more than 200 miles. I plan to travel through W. Virginia next month. It will be the first time I have had it in the hills.
My experience is the same as Larry's.
There are a lot of different "fulltiming" scenarios of which sitting in one place for long periods of time is one. We sat in South Lake Tahoe for 3.5 months, but that is the longest....typically a week here and there. Ultimately machinery must be used or you will have problems.....as an example......no one wants to buy an older small aircraft with low hours that has not been used on a regular basis....the consequences can be deadly. The consequences of an RV not being used is just sitting on the side of the road waiting for Coachnet, or Good Sam to come bail you out.....usually no one dies.
"no one wants to buy an older small aircraft with low hours that has not been used on a regular basis....the consequences can be deadly."
After 45 years as an aircraft mechanic... that does influence my thinking... However, Broken down along the Alcan Hwy waiting for Good Sam's doesn't excite me ether... Since that is on my bucket list... I think I will over maintain ..preemptive if you get my drift....
Had a friend we travelled with through Alaska and he burnt up the tranny on the Alcan and had to leave his Prevost in Alaska to the next Summer and the bill for the tranny rebuild, towing and storage was over $37k. So in that Jimmy , I would "over maintain" going there again as well. lol
Hey Jimmy, didn't anyone tell you there are no airplane diesel pushers? See, thats where your maintenance has been going wrong!
Its amazing the number of things to deal with in a motor coach isn't it? I try to compare it to stick house maintenance or car maintenance and you just can't do it. If there is one reality, at least in my mind, its to buy a top of the line coach that has a full set of maintenance records that you have checked out by a professional.
I don't know what you can do better than that? Stuff fails and all you can do is keep up with on-time maintenance and perform preventative maintenance as best you can. Then if things break, you fix it!
If there is a better way I'd sure love to hear it?
Hey Jimmy, I put a cheap shot on you earlier, we know that you know the diesel is in front of the plane!
Harry
Most likely will be taking the Prevost.. it has the Transmission Retarder.... I'll keep that in mind....