Question Class A maintenance - self or no?

[High Desert]

I did bulk of maintenance on the Tiffin gasser we had. Just got a DP on a Freightliner chassis, so am going through the learning curve now. Plan to do the oil changes and fuel filter changes myself. After that will visit local Freightliner shop and learn from them, and what else I can also do myself. Generator service is easy enough to do on the DP also With the 8K diesel.

 

[FLSteve]

I just had chassis service done at NIRVC Atlanta. The only problem I had was that there were so many coaches there that the place was overflowing. The overnight service spots only have electric hookups which wasn’t a big deal, but our service took almost a week to complete as we had some other issues addressed as well. I was quite surprised by how small the place was. I was expecting it to be the size of a Carmax, it was half that.

@MapNerd ... when we stopped by on Labor Day to finalize the order for our new coach, I also noticed how busy the place was. There was constantly activity and coaches always being moved around. They really had them packed in. We did stay overnight and they gave us a full hook-up site under the covered parking area ... but I am sure that may change when we go there for service as we won't be ordering a new coach.

FLSteve

 

[MapNerd]

@MapNerd, how did you find their pricing on annual service items? I was looking at a NIRVC pricing schedule someone posted a while ago and it appeared to me their pricing for annual service was pretty steep compared to Freightliner’s.

I just emailed and asked. Compared to Gaffney, it is steep. I just couldn’t get into Gaffney after having to cancel my previous appt.

 

[FL-JOE]

I used to spend anywhere from $750 to $1,000 for the annual service on my Newmar 4360 at a Freightliner/Cummins service center. It depended on if I was having the generator done, or maybe the air filter was due, etc. From everything I read Gafney charged at least double that.

 

["EZ"]

I do my own service 90% of the time. I'm usually happy with the job done and it costs a lot less. It's a win win for me.

 

[FLSteve]

@MapNerd, how did you find their pricing on annual service items? I was looking at a NIRVC pricing schedule someone posted a while ago and it appeared to me their pricing for annual service was pretty steep compared to Freightliner’s.

@Neemer ... I just had the 30,000 mile / 24 month annual service done in September on a 2019 Dutch Star 4018 in Gaffney and the bill was $958.39. Just a FYI.

FLSteve

 

[scottwilliam174]

We did most of our own maintenance and repairs during the 18 years of owning our coach. I think our Teardrop trailer we have on order will be easier to maintain. And the tow vehicle is electric so not much to do on it. Washer fluid etc. .

I noticed that this post is from last year but seems to fit me perfectly. I am in the market right now for a teardrop trailer and will be towing with an electric vehicle. I will be towing with a 2022 Tesla Model 3 LR. I’m hoping to get some information on how much it effects the range and on which teardrop trailer you decided on.

Thanks,
Bill S.

 

[Gizmo]

In my younger years, I did all my oil changes to save money now I bring to Freightliner to do the yearly service. They do some re-torques and check several magnetic plugs and lube the chassis. I also have them do a full safety inspection which gives me peace of mind that my coach gets inspected by someone that knows what they are doing. It runs me 860.00 a year for the service.

 

[Rustymayes]

I will do as much as reasonably can. I just hate having to rely on "professionals". I was in the aircraft repair business my whole career and saw so many customers come to me to correct issues where they really got a good screwing. It really did erode my confidence in humans. Now I teach aircraft MX and alot of what I preach is how to make sure the customer's interests need to be put first not our own. I just got back into the RV thing and on my 2022 4081 DS I already have corrected three issues on my own that had I been just a check writer, I probably would have not had access to the use of my coach for at least three weeks. I feel for those of us that do not have the resources or the acumen to do our own work and have to rely on "the Guy" to do everything for us.
If I did not do my own work I would not own an RV of this caliber. I do have to say as I get older it take more time and effort to do what came easily yesteryear for sure! I was exhausted early yesterday after replacing the thermostat on the Cummins 450RV!

 

[AbdRahim]

I used to change oil and filter, once a year before putting it away for the winter and take to a shop for them to do oil, filters, generator and lube.

With the high cost of labor on a class A, waiting time and only changing oil once a year, now, I am considering doing the oil, oil filter,air filter, and generator service myself, and just having the shop di the chassis lube, grease the wheel bearings, etc.

I did change the regular headlights to led. I did not do the brights yet.

 

[Voyageurs]

I noticed that this post is from last year but seems to fit me perfectly. I am in the market right now for a teardrop trailer and will be towing with an electric vehicle. I will be towing with a 2022 Tesla Model 3 LR. I’m hoping to get some information on how much it effects the range and on which teardrop trailer you decided on.

Thanks,
Bill S.

Hi Bill. We tow with a model Y. I’m not sure what the towing specs are for a model 3 but for a model Y it is 3500 pounds. We have towed a T@B400 roughly 15000 kilometres over the summer. All across Canada and all over BC. It is a towing beast with lots of power and torque. And braking is superior with regenerative braking. Even on 13 percent grades you won’t need your brake pedal.

Count on a 50 percent range loss. We typically plan on charging every couple hours. We have never done a range test from a 100 to zero percent but my guess is it would be around 240 kilometres. We tend to keep it around 90 kmh as it’s a short wheel base towing combo and that is our comfort zone. We base our charge stops around convenient charge locations and generally find ourselves stopping at least every couple hours. But we tour a lot so quite often our travel days are shorter than that anyway.

I have some trip posts in the electric vehicle section of this board. Might be worth checking out.

Here’s our little combo. Hope that helps.

 

[scottwilliam174]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I figured it would be close to 50 percent. I have the Model 3 LR which has the same tow capacity. Do you have any problems with sway?

Thanks again,
Bill Scott

 

[Voyageurs]

Thanks a lot for your reply. I figured it would be close to 50 percent. I have the Model 3 LR which has the same tow capacity. Do you have any problems with sway?

Thanks again,
Bill Scott

None at all Bill. We don’t use a WDH either. But we are experienced towers, we pay attention to balanced loading, keep our hitch weight right at 10 percent and we seldom go over 90 kph with the short wheel base combo. It really is a nice combo.

 

[JRS]

I've changed my oil and filters on the generator but being full timers hard to do much more than that. I would do the work myself if I had a home to store jack stands, etc... In 3 plus yrs of full timing I never saw anyone change their engine oil.
When the rig was six months old, I had a San Diego FL dealership grease it but later found out they missed some zerks. So I stupidly put the jacks down to be able to get under it (without using jack stands). Won't do that again... Probably should give my grease gun to one of the kids to grease my tow bar once/yr when visiting.

 

[scottwilliam174]

None at all Bill. We don’t use a WDH either. But we are experienced towers, we pay attention to balanced loading, keep our hitch weight right at 10 percent and we seldom go over 90 kph with the short wheel base combo. It really is a nice combo.

I have one more question about something I’m worried about. I just purchased a 2022 Little Guy Mini Max and I am not sure if I need a weight distribution hitch with sway bar to tow with my Model 3 LR. I was hoping to go with just a anti-sway bar itself.

 

[Voyageurs]

I have one more question about something I’m worried about. I just purchased a 2022 Little Guy Mini Max and I am not sure if I need a weight distribution hitch with sway bar to tow with my Model 3 LR. I was hoping to go with just a anti-sway bar itself.

I wouldn’t think you would need a weight distribution hitch for that trailer at all. First of all tesla recommends against it…and I think so does little guy. I think you’ll see minimal squat on the tesla. Load it properly, don’t load the hitch to more than 350 pounds and don’t pack heavy in the trunk of the model 3.

Start without and go from there. I can tell you it will be easier for you at charging stops if you don’t have to undo a weight distribution hitch every time. We don’t have to unhook much for stopping but when we do it’s a 2 minute job…literally.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ventana]

I take mine to our local Oasis Freightliner shop. In the off season (Jan, Feb) they charge $300 for an oil change and lube. Things like checking/adding Dicor on the roof and fixing broken door catches I do myself.