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RV Doctor ColumnRV Doctor #294 Dear Gary, I'm one week into looking at whether to buy an RV. I've done lots of research from visiting dealers, attending shows, reading books and viewing websites. I'm writing to you with what might be a silly reaction to the RV Doctor Column. It seems as though there are so many things that can go wrong with an RV, relatively simple things that can be sometimes disabling. On the other hand, the way you describe repairs, apparently there is hardly anything that can't be fixed, at least by a determined individual who will dedicate time and resources to learning the task, acquiring the parts and tools and taking the time for the repair. My next stop is going to be at my car dealer to see what is required to outfit my Grand Cherokee for towing a travel trailer. The sales people I talked with at the RV show and dealership asked me about the gross vehicle weight towing capacity. One of them tended to show me trailers that would test that limit. One advised that I stay with as light a weight as possible. From an earlier column, I found your descriptions of construction materials and methods helpful in understanding why trailers of similar size might have such a different gross vehicle weight. I have to admit, though, I'm a bit daunted by the complexity of the subsystems and the apparent number of things that can go wrong with them. There's a lot of maintenance around a conventional home, but it's starting to seem simple in comparison. Meanwhile, I'm truly impressed with the detail you bring in the answers to the questions people put to you about repairs. Don Bishop, (Overland Park, KS) Don, indeed, owning and using an RV is quite comparable to owning and maintaining a house. The bottom line is - it is a house....and on wheels! Rolling homes tend to move things around and shake things loose, but don't be discouraged by reading the problems sent to the RV Doctor. Keep in mind there are well over seven million RVs on the road in this country. I may get a lot of correspondence, but I don't think I've heard from all seven million yet. Also remember, I only hear from the ones that have experienced problems. Never do I get mail that reads, "Dear RV Doctor, just wanted to let you know that I don't have problems with my RV and everything has been working just fine." Wouldn't make for interesting reading either! The numbers of letters I never receive far outnumber the few I do receive; if you get my point. Granted, yearly maintenance is a must, but my philosophy is that if RV owners take the time to have the routine maintenance performed, most problems would simply be non-existent or at least minimized. My quest is to facilitate a higher educational degree for all RVers. Most of the major systems; LP, plumbing, electrical, etc., requires some attention each camping season, but rarely will a dealer let prospective first-time buyers know this up front. They would rather sell you the lifestyle and a new motorhome or travel trailer. Is this disingenuous? I don't think so, but I'm more in tune with those dealers who sell well and also back up the sales department with a quality service department able to take care of the mandated maintenance tasks that should be employed in order to maximize the potential of the RVing lifestyle. Sell the glitz and the glamour, yes, but also be honest about what needs to be done each year. For new RV buyers it's a grand learning curve and that learning curve varies in length and intensity based on the quality of the manufactured coach purchased. Buy a good, quality-built RV and your chances of experiencing irritating problems will be lessened. The maxim, "you gets what you pays for" indeed fits the RV buying experience. The nice thing about the RVing experience is that, oftentimes, the RV owner is quite capable of performing many of the relatively simple tasks. In any case, routine maintenance will minimize the down time, shop time and the far greater expense of crisis repairs. Besides, routine maintenance can be fun, interesting and educational. So go get that RV and join the millions who would not trade this lifestyle for any other form of recreation or travel. The moments of sheer traveling enjoyment far outweigh the few bumps in the road you may encounter. Dear RV Doc, I just purchased my first RV, a 2003, 37-foot Class A. My plan is to sell the house next year and go full-timing. I'm thinking about buying an external surge protector to protect my electrical system, an external water pressure regulator to protect my water system and an external water filter to clean my water. Do you think these are good ideas or just a waste of money? John O'Neal, (Vista, CA) John, I am a strong proponent of all the devices you mention. In fact I have written quite a few articles about all of them in the past. I would only question the location of the water purifier. True, many models are installed in such a manner to treat all the water that enters the rig and that's not a bad thing. It's just my preference to purify only the water I use for cooking and drinking. This is easily accomplished by installing a dedicated faucet at the galley sink. I do not care if the water used for washing dishes and flushing the toilet is filtered or not. Keep in mind, that's just my opinion. But, by all means, a surge suppressor, water pressure regulator and a water purifier are highly recommended. You may even consider adding a Hughes Autoformer if you tend to stay in some of the older, er...more mature RV parks and campgrounds. This device automatically steps up the voltage coming in to the RV if need be to protect the entire coach. Though many modern parks may have an abundance of power distributed throughout the park, it's not uncommon to experience dangerously low power at some of the older parks. Remember, our electrical demands weren't quite as high in the good ole days and some parks have been slow to upgrade. Dear RV Doctor, when on shore power all 12-volt lights and 120-volt items will work. I've had two new deep cycle batteries installed. A short time after disconnecting the shore power nothing will work. Could this be the converter or the battery isolator? Everet Eslinger, (Deltona, FL) Everet, it sure sounds like the converter relay is latching and not switching back to the battery side of the circuit. Chances are the contacts have been damaged or they are sticking. Before condemning the converter, however, double check all the cables to and from the batteries. Since the batteries have recently been replaced there's the outside chance a ground cable was not reinstalled correctly thereby effectively taking the battery out of the system. When energized, the converter supplies the output; when off, it switches back to the batteries. If the batteries are not grounded to the chassis or frame there will be an open circuit and though the batteries are there physically, they would be absent electrically.
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