2017/18 proved to be years that tried our patients regarding breakdowns and repairs. I was building a very good relationship with my service tech at the dealership. It proved to be invaluable when we were out on the road or just to ask questions. It got to a point where I would feel comfortable after a conversation to take it on myself. As we put Natasha down for the year until next spring here is a two-year recap of our issues

 

2017/18 Repairs, Fixes, and Faux pas

 

  • Water Pump
    • We do not do a ton of dry camping so this issue reared its head once we starting carrying fresh water and using the bathroom on the road. The pump would continue to run and not shut off once it pressurized the water lines. I thought that it was related to our leaks, as that would allow air to enter the lines or the lines just leaked. Again we were told that this too was a common problem and that the pumps fail.
    • Solution– Dealership trip to replace the pump under warranty. Turns out that the pump was perfectly fine and the connectors just came loose from the travel jarring. We got a new pump in the process and I now check the connection every spring and fall.
  • Air Conditioners
    • After a long hot trip to Florida in late September previous year, we found that the air conditioners were not working as well as they had been initially. I could not get them to stay on when I called for cool. I called my RV dealer and they explained once again that this was a common issue with Dometic Air Conditioners. Seems the seal that separates the intake from the outflow comes loose or is not good and the unit actually sucks in the cool air it is trying to push out. Thus the unit thinks its as cool as it needs to be and shuts the unit down.
    • Solution– Duck Tape!!!!! It was recommended that I reseal the intake with duck tape isolating it from the rest of the unit. Boom it worked like a champ and we have not had an issue since.
  • Converter/Battery Issue Again
    • Once again we begin to have issues with the converter shutting down while we are towing leaving us with no power to the refrigerator. I check the water level in the batteries and find that they seem to look good. So we stop periodically and run the generator to give the refrigerator of boost and then head off hoping the batteries will hold up till our next stop. They don’t.
    • Solution –We get to our next stop and I check the battery fluid levels again. This time one is bone dry and the other is down. We need distilled water and that becomes a bit hard to find initially. I track some down and fill the batteries thinking all good. Not so, we lose power quickly and the converter shuts down again. Time to hit Interstate Battery to see what’s up. I find a location near us and take the batteries in for testing. One is dead as a doornail with no hope the other in good condition. With a new battery in hand, we are back in business. This gets us home and I think all is good.
  • Slide Cable Brakes
    • We were about to head out for a month long trip when Ginny gives me a yell and asked what is this cable hanging down in the inside of the RV. One of the slide cables broke. Luckily we could retract the slide. And off to the dealer for yet another repair.
    • Solution –We were just the other side of our 2-year warranty by a month. I called Highland and they authorized a Warranty repair of slide cable. Thank you very much and a couple of days later we were back in business.
  • The Battery issue is Back
    • After a few week trips, we once again have a battery issue. Same deal, the water levels constantly were getting low. I had now started checking every trip and stop for the most part. Yet, we ate up another battery.
    • Solution – After a rather long conversation with my dealer, it was discovered that when they installed a generator for me, they isolated one of the 12v batteries for the generator. This was to be sure there was always starting power. The other deep cycle now was doing the work of two batteries and just could not handle the 8 hours of towing even with a trickle from the truck between shore power stops. They suggested and I had been reading about Golf Cart batteries as replacements. We installed two 6v Deep Cycle Cart batteries. The problem to this point has been solved. We have been on two trips since and had at least a 10-hour tow and the converter and batteries worked flawlessly.
  • Wheel Bearing Repack
    • So I am in for my annual wheel bearing repack on the rig. I informed that two of the wheels seals had broken leaking grease all over the brakes and drums. This meant that neither drum could be used and needed to be replaced along with brakes. I should have followed my instinct on this. I was having an issue stopping and put it off to just load.
    • Solution – New Brakes and Drums along with a wheel bearing repack and off we go.
  • Black Tank Hell
    • It had to happen, the dreaded overfill of the black tank while I was rinsing the tank out. We do not have an automatic rinse system in our rig. You must hook up a hose and fill the tank manually after dumping to clean it out. The problem lies in that the internal indicator gauge is never accurate and you need to time the fill to be sure that you don’t overfill. I thought I knew how much time it would take given the water pressure we where using. As Ginny was screaming for me to shut the water off, I found out I had made an error. The water burst up through the toilet and out into the rig. This was needless to say a big mess that was not pleasant.
    • Solution –Now until further notice I am timing and watching from the inside of the rig when the rinse water comes close to reaching the toilet. The gauge is still not my friend as of yet but we are getting closer to getting the crap off the gauge to make it more accurate.
  • Converter Gives Out
    • To operate anything that runs off 110v you need a converter that will turn you 12v to 110v. I started noticing our overhead lights in the rig where flickering. This was odd I thought felt there may have been a short. Checked all the connections and everything was tight. A quick run to the RV Shop and I am told that the issue sounds like a converter going bad. I run through the install with the service manager feel like I can handle.
    • Solution –I buy and install a new converter and problem solved.