I fully understand your frustration. We've had a 1977 Mobile Traveler motorhome for about 15 years, and we've used it a lot, and always enjoyed it. It's had it's foibles, but we could chalk them up to "Dang, the thing is OLD!". I've had to make tons of repairs, from minor to major, but it's understandable, because it's OLD. Considering price paid, and cost of ownership since, it's been a great value.
In that old motorhome, we've never had the fridge fail, the water heater fail, or any other appliance fail. Good old "Made in the USA" stuff. And NO electronics. The only issue we ever had with appliances was the blower motor in the furnace, that would squeal and run the battery down quick due to it drawing far too much power. But it was like that when we bought it. Recently I found a new old stock electric motor for it, and now it works great too. Another major job was sealing the cabover. Another was rebuilding the valve in the old Thetford toilet. But our family had FUN in that old motorhome. When the kids were small, there were 7 of us, and two dogs, and we had fun. And fixing it myself didn't cost much. Nor did the motorhome have to go anywhere. We would still use it, working around problems, until repairs could be made.
Fast forward to today: We bought a brand new 2019 Keystone Passport in July, and it's been somewhat of a nightmare. The water heater has already failed. Needed the board replaced. The awning has pulled away from the wall. That's been fixed. Shelves in the back closet in the bathroom collapsed. Fixed. The manufacturer "forgot" to install the underbelly and heat ducts necessary..but they owned up and had it done. The dealership drove screws into the electrical wiring installing the underbelly, but that's on them. It was at the dealership a month to have that underbelly done...a full third of the time we've owned it. Then it went back to have the electrical repaired. But was only gone for a few days. We've had it back now a couple weeks and have used it once since.
The General Manager of the dealership where I bought the thing has repeatedly stated that today's RV's are better built than they used to be. Well, I'm not convinced. I've been up to my elbows in my old motorhome, and it's built pretty good. Do new ones have more "bells and whistles"? Absolutely. Pushing buttons to do things that I've had to do with matches or lighters is convenient. An electric awning is convenient. But I put the manual awning on our old motorhome myself, and it's NEVER pulled away from the wall, because I made sure it wouldn't. I've also never had a microwave oven in an RV before. Nor a tv mounted to the wall. Nor a built in stereo. All the bells and whistles are great, but I'm questioning their necessity.
So, anyhoo, here we are, several months in, and years of payments ahead of us, and do I think the new camper is worth it? Well. Looking at it from a strictly monetary aspect. Heck no. This thing is going to cost me many, many times more than what I've spent on our old motorhome (which we've decided to keep for now). And it's turning out to be just as trouble prone.
But when my wife and I are "out there" in the evening..under the stars..having cocktails and listening to soft music and hearing coyotes howling in the distance, and then can retreat to a comfortable space to sleep, and have a hot shower in the morn, and then go fishing, have lunch, relax, and repeat....Well, it's then that I forget all about the money and the hassle. And yes, that makes it worth it.
