Maintaining a small motorhome

Even though we’re still seeing occasional below freezing temperatures at night, the days have been unseasonably warm. I don’t think anyone would argue with the fact that break-up has started a few weeks early this year.

In years past, I managed to not have my small motorhome ready for spring and summer use until, at the earliest I remember, late April or even well into May. This year, I finally got my act together and have the RV ready for use as you read this.

Oh, I still need to get the oil and filter changed, the generator serviced, and wash the outside and sweep the floors, but the unit is serviceable right now if we wanted to go somewhere. We’ll probably make some day trips during April and I plan to use the RV while attending the blackpowder club’s Memorial Day Rendezvous out at Point MacKenzie in May.

So, what’s different about having the RV ready early this year? Well, I had to get the lower exterior wall section repaired after I managed to punch a hole in it when I backed into a pile of 6x6 timbers I had stacked in the yard. I thought I was clear of the timbers, but I really couldn’t see well enough while backing up to hook on a trailer last summer. The lightweight aluminum “bumper” folded and punched through the body. I never felt a thing until the timbers blocked the rear wheels. I had the aluminum bumper replaced with a heavy steel square tube.

The furnace started acting up the same day I had the unit winterized last fall. I also had a set of tow hooks mounted on the front of the frame too. When I was driving the unit out of the storage building on the back of my lot, I managed to get stuck in the snow. I was getting ready to take the unit over to Cache Camper in mid-January to have all the repair work done. A friend was over latter in the day and was able to tow me out to the road. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time I lost traction in the snow and finding a good spot to hook up a tow strap on the front end wasn’t easy.

The RV is 12 model-years old and I had noticed the rear end was beginning to sag a little bit. The unit also tended to lean over on turns and would occasionally porpoise a little if I was driving too fast on a rough road. I was told that a set of overload springs on the rear axle along with anti-sway bars would solve most of those issues. The problem was that I would have had to take the unit into Anchorage for the work and I really didn’t know how much it would cost.

I mentioned these concerns to the folks at Cache Camper. I was told they had a “gadget” which installed in the leaves of the rear spring which would give the rear end some lift and reduce the leaning tendency on turns. I asked them to install a set while they were repairing all the other stuff I’ve mentioned.

I picked up the unit earlier this week and have only driven it the 20+ miles from Cache Camper to my house in Big Lake, but I did notice the RV seemed more stable (read level) on turns and the rear end looked to be closer to level with the front than before.

They say that “boat” stands for “break out another thousand” and that a boat is a hole in the water into which you throw money. I can agree with that to an extent based on my experience owning boats. I’m rapidly getting to the point where I would say something similar about RVs.

Although, to be fair, I’m the type that always seems to want to customize or improve the stock items that often come with boats or RVs or add things which would expand the use of the vehicle. If I could just refrain from making those types of changes, my costs would be reduced, but I might not enjoy using the boat or RV as much if things aren’t performing to expectations.

In another couple of years, the RV will need new tires — all six of them. There’s always the necessary and required maintenance items and then the “frills” I seem to enjoy. Maybe I should just give up and quit using the RV — NOT!