Breaking down on the road is never fun, whether it’s an engine that won’t start or a slideout that won’t retract no matter how hard you try. Alas, breakdowns are a part of most RVers’ lives.
But it’s those times when it takes a long time to get what’s wrong repaired that are maddening. What’s the longest you’ve ever waited for a repair while on the road?
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Bought small and simple so I can do it myself
Broke down about quitting time in a Friday. We were able to take to a very nearby truck repair shop. They told us to check the other (auto) repair shops in town, and come back if the others couldn’t help us. The other shops’ doors we’re too low to enter, so back to the truck shop. They let us leave our cat in the RV while it was in the shop to rebuild the differential. We were back on the road Thursday afternoon. We took advantage of the delay to explore some places we’d always driven past in our way to our destinations.
A hay truck going the other way on a gravel road wiped out our windshield. So we had to order a new windshield and wait for it. Parked under this huge cottonwoood tree on the bank of the Snake river in September. In southern Idaho. Near a winery. Just terrible.
I feel your pain.
There is always someone in line ahead of you and then you sometimes have to wait for parts to be ordered and delivered…..and hopefully the repair shop received the correct part the first time.
Our F250 truck broke down halfway across Idaho during the wildfires of 2015. We waited a week with our 5th wheel parked in Kamiah surrounded by dense smoke while a Ford dealer in Lewiston on the western side of the state tried to fix the problem. It was unbelievably frustrating, not to mention scary!
We haven’t needed many repairs on our current 2010 Monaco Diplomat but we had a new 2012 Thor Challenger that was a nightmare. On August 28, 2012 I called Thor to have the microwave replaced (our 3rd since Thor replaced the original June 14, 2012 and 4th since we purchased the MH September 5, 2011) only to be told the earliest they could get us in was October 8. For some reason I thought that since it was a known problem they would get us right in, silly me!
The reason why we had to wait so long is because we were struck by lightening. Had to have the coach towed to Freightliner to have the engine part of the repairs fixed ( 3 1/2 weeks). Then had to have the coach part of the repairs fixed ( month and a half). Luckily it was summer in Florida so repair shops weren’t that busy.
FYI: While the metal body of an RV should act as a Faraday Cage and protect the occupants from lightning strikes, modern vehicles have so much electronics that frying the circuit boards is a real possibility. This effect is dramatically increased if the RV is plugged into shore power at the time of the strike. But since consumer gear isn’t hardened from voltage spikes (like lightning), even a strike close to a vehicle that’s isolated from shore power can still have extensive electrical damage. Lightning is a mighty force.
The only times I ever inquired about repairs at a dealership, I was told “we don’t do warranty work on rigs that we didn’t sell” and “the soonest we can look at it is next week”. Fortunately, most of the problems are not rocket science, so what I can’t fix myself I will find an independent shop to do it.
I thought the question was road service, and was amazed to see responses in days. I’ve never waited more than a day, but then I wouldn’t stay at a place that couldn’t respond faster than that. I have spent more time waiting for parts.
My strangest repair: DIY frame welding at a campground. Maine was NOT kind to my old rig, and yes, I had a welder with me!
My longest repair was waiting for tire shop to mount and bring me a spare roadside while I was immobilized.
If one cannot fix things themselves now days…within reason…then you better find another means of transportation and enjoyment..because greed has taken over the RV business in America.
Had a flat tire on the pop up in North Dakota leaving us stranded and no cell service. 4 men jumped out of a truck with a load of tools and pretty much pushed us out of the way and had that tire fixed in no time. Again had another flat with a pop up in Maine. A service ranger came out of no where, helped us pop it up and fixed in no time. So we really waited no time in getting help. With Progressive, do not get Liberty Mutual they will not send a tow truck to help with RV. But we now have Progressive and good coverage for the trailer. Fingers crossed no more tire problems.
My friend took his Class A from East to West Coast, with a burp in Wyoming…
A tire blowout pierced the rear airbag just shy of Devils Tower. We limped into a small town garage. They kindly replaced the tire and McGvyered the air bag to get us to a larger repair facility.
None-the-less, 100 miles further west, we had to get a wrecker on I-90 after the transmission got chewed to shreds from being misaligned with the drive shaft and a wrecker was needed.
Over a month later, we were finally able to check out of a hotel and drive away. We have no need to go back to Gillette, WY anytime soon.
We had a freak accident in our 6 month old fifth wheel in the middle of nowhere 120 miles from St. George, UT so Camping World there was virtually our only repair option. Parts had to be ordered so we had to leave it there and come home to Idaho. After 6 weeks of being told the parts were still on order, I called the manufacturer of our Heartland RV only to find out the parts had never been ordered at all. With the help of Heartland and constant phone calls I worked thru wrong part orders, supplier shutdowns and 4 months later we picked up our RV, brought it home to a local RV repair shop who took about a week to repair the repairs. Ridiculous!
30′ pull with bearing failure 75 miles from home. Destroyed bearings and carrier, had to grind the slag off the badly pitted and scarred spindle. Cut off the old race and ground some more to eventually replace it and bearings. Took 2 trips back and forth after we drove home for tools.
That was 2 days. The wait in the shop for a new axle? A little over 2 weeks.