fulltiming and Repairs

[White Water]

Where do you live when your rig is being worked on?

[sourdough]

I don't fulltime or intend to. But, if you live in an RV fulltime I would assume that a person would have some contingency plan/funds to cover an extended stay in a hotel (for us condo) for some time in the event of an RV failure. After that, what DOES a person do if they can't live outside a trailer?

I can't imagine moving out of a fixed sticks and bricks house, selling everything and ending up with the RV and TV as my life unless I had at least 7 figures in the bank. You have to be able to "do stuff" - and, all the what ifs that suck so much money.....and new cars/trucks?

I know my assessment is probably idealistic, and maybe not realistic, but that is our thinking and reality.

So the question was "what do you do when your trailer is being worked on?" That is 100% dependent on the OP and their willingness to spend money, access to money, what they are willing to endure or do without etc....So, seems to me it's back to the OP and a better definition of their circumstances....to me.

[chuckster57]

Our full time customers will bring their unit in for diagnostics, leave and then bring it back for repairs when parts arrive. While their unit is at the dealership they are staying with family or hotel/motel. We find this the best way to reduce “down time”to a minimum.

[bobbecky]

We full time, and except for warranty work over five years ago when we spent three days in a hotel near the repair shop who was great getting right on the repairs, we have not had to move out. We’ve had a couple repairs made by mobile RV repair companies while staying in a park, and fortunately I am able to do all the rest of the work we’ve needed. I find that a towed RV is much easier to maintain than a motorhome where you could have some major engine or transmission work needed that could have you down for many days, and with a truck as the tow vehicle, if it’s bad enough, you just get a new truck. But yeah, you must have some money reserves for repairs and maintenance.

[FlyingAroundRV]

I find that a towed RV is much easier to maintain than a motorhome where you could have some major engine or transmission work needed that could have you down for many days, and with a truck as the tow vehicle, if it’s bad enough, you just get a new truck. ...
That is a really important consideration. When deciding to go with a truck-trailer as opposed to the class A-toad combo, we never considered this scenario. Now that you mention it, I realised we dodged a really significant (potential) bullet by going the. TT-TV route.

[JRTJH]

We have friends who are "full timing" in a "million dollar motorhome"... They have their home to fall back on, but that doesn't eliminate the breakdowns that occur along the way while their in their "mobile house"....

They have been stranded on the Oregon coast, in Canada, in Florida and in Texas in the past. Some were an inconvenience, but one, in Oregon involved a new diesel motor changeout. Essentially, they were "forced out of their motorhome" for about 6 weeks while the problem was diagnosed, new motor ordered, shipped, and then on reassembly, as parts broke or were found defective, ordered and replaced. Things like reinstalling the radiator after the new motor is installed and dropping a wrench on it, requiring a new radiator... Sure, it was a "clumsy mechanic" but whatever the excuse/reason, they were not allowed to live in their motorhome while it was in the shop, on jacks....

They just bought tickets, flew back home and waited it out after the first week, once the situation was known.

That said, any of us are subject to being in the same situation. Whether we "full time in a trailer" or "tow one cross-country on vacation" while we're living in it, we're going to be "forced out of the house" if it breaks down..... It's not just "full-timers" that face this potential, all of us, from the weekend camper who finds his weekend trip ruined because of a kitchen fire to the full timer who has to have a slide removed to repair water damage, we all can be "without a place to stay" if things go wrong......

Knowing (or planning) what comes next is something we all need to at least think about as we tow our trailer 1000 miles from home. Any of us is subject to a tire blowout that destroys the side of our trailer, just as an example of what "could happen".....

Having contingency plans is something we all might need to address.

[Badbart56]

I haven't experienced any issues that would keep us from staying out of the RV. That said, there is an excellent mobile RV repair company here that I have used for two issues that were covered by the extended warranty.