Mechanically and Electrically Handy When Owning a Motor Coach

[WildCat]

Hi -

To better educate myself, I've been reading many posts on your forums and others. Although I'm very excited about the possibility of buying my first luxury coach (Prevost, Newell or Wanderlodge) quite honestly I am apprehensive after reading stories about potential fire hazards. Members seem to talk about fixing things with relative ease - just disassemble this, rewire that, check voltage across this, re-plumb that, replace this, etc.).

Unfortunately, I am NOT HANDY and don't have any experience with noticing and/or fixing the tell-tale signs of problems (other than very obvious problems). So I worry that some major safety issue may exist (fire hazard, etc.) that I wouldn't notice, thereby putting my family in danger. How common are these problems and how important is it to be mechanically and electrically handy when owning a motor coach? I hate to give up my dream just because I'm not handy. On the other hand, I am very meticulous and careful about things, and so hopefully that will balance things out (but if I don't know to watch out for something, then I cannot be careful about it).


Bernie Myers

[Neweller]

Bernie welcome to the Luxury Coach Lifestyle!

Really, a lot of fix-in stuff has to do more with where you start in your budget vs. coach knowledge and so on... If you really feel you don't know enough acceptable knowledge or don't have money to pay for the use and abuse you might give a motorcoach as an owner, then you may want to reconsider taking the plunge. I think if you follow a good check off list prior to departure and throughout the the care and use of your luxury coach, most people will do just fine. If you knew somebody that you could hang out with or travel with, you might get a more comfortable feel for it. Maybe rent a coach for a weekend and try it out that way. Now I'm assuming you have not done any of this before, if you have well that is another story.

Most of these coaches you are referencing and if are in good overall condition starting out, shouldn't be all that difficult to keep safe on the road. Fires are actually pretty rare in these just like in a home. When you figure out how many are in use every day, then the numbers are very low when it comes to safety. These high end luxury coaches are built with very high quality, actually much better engineered than the home most people live in.

Hey, do yourself a favor and hang out around here for awhile and see if you start to feel more comfortable with the possible option of luxury coach ownership.

We are all here to help one another and you're always invited to share any questions you might have. It's a great lifestyle!

Hopefully others whom have had similar reservations at one time will chime in and share what they can.

[NewellCrazy]

Welcome Bernie,

I won't say being "Handy" is required of an luxury coach owner but with skilled labor selling for around 120/hr give or take depending on where you are, Being able to do light maintenance tasks can save you a bundle, also it saves time in many cases as well.

Sean

[WildCat]

Thanks for the replies thus far.

I don't mind trying to become handy with motor homes. I just need to find out how to do that. Maybe I'll buy some of the books I believe I saw on amazon. I was hoping to find a class to take that was geared towards newbies. Has anyone seen such a class offered?

[Vantare]

you can save a lot of money doing your own repairs. most of the problems are simple to solve.....at least for me. There are some in depth books out there that will give you a good preliminary education on the electrical and plumbing aspect of motorhomes.

[Chester B. Stone, Jr.]

Bernie, if you are not in a hurry, consider attending the FMCA rally in Wyoming next June. They have many classes and exhibits that will give you much insight.