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Old 03-23-2011, 08:46 PM   #1
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1993 36' Land Yacht
jackson , Tennessee
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I need some counseling.

in october of 2010 i bought an absolutely perfect 1993 land yacht (36'). it had been stored inside all of its life. the first time i took it out the passenger side windshield wiper malfunctioned. the second time i took it on a 500 mile trip to tennessee's cumberland plateau. fifty miles east of nashviile the drivers side inside rear tire blew out due i know now to underinflation. four hours later, good sams had us back on the road and everything went perfect. now here's the deal, i took it to a rv expert who after $2,550 in costs made it perfect. everything from fluids to converters were replaced. my problem is that i am afraid to take it out. i am fearful of a breakdown in points unknown. the rv tech told me today to put the damn thing on the road or let him have it to move it to key west. am i the only person who feels this way? shud a couple of very minor problems be a reason to park it? weird i know. have you ever been here? cummins 5.9 (51000 actual, allison trans, legacy package).
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Old 03-23-2011, 08:53 PM   #2
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1993 36' Land Yacht
jackson , Tennessee
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one more thing...via my radio and television shows i have talked to hundreds of people who are in their 8th or 9th mh's ranging from 45 foot american eagles to gigantic prevosts and everything in between. they said i know its not about the money man...just go. am i crazy?
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Old 03-23-2011, 08:58 PM   #3
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Bukib,
Anything mechanical brand new or old has the potential to break down, it could happen to your car at home. Start out with some short trips so you and your rig can get to know each other. After you spend some time together you will be more comfortable for those longer trips.
Enjoy your time on the road.
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Old 03-23-2011, 09:00 PM   #4
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Deltona , Florida
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Relax! If you break down you have a nice place to stay!
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Old 03-23-2011, 09:07 PM   #5
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1989 34.5' Airstream 345
Jamestown , Kentucky
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RVs can be like Boats, or semi rigs.

Learn to enjoy, doing your own service. Unless you have the funds for a shop and Staff. and some do. Most stars, singers lease tour buss's for the very reason You are mentally dealing with.

Go to a truck stop and get a few , fun items. talk to some truckers. while there.

Fun items, a hammer, stick to tap the tires every time you stop. and or a heat sensor for tires and wheel bearing readings. A good commercial air gauge. Start a tool box of good, usable tools. etc. etc. etc.

If you ran a trucking co. Farmed, Ran Boats or owned and ran a construction, landscaping co. You are now dealing with every day issues for them.

So get the rig on the Road and Service, check, learn and Drive, Drive Drive

Enjoy

Every-time you stop for fuel and visit with RV persons you will Learn.
Every day in a camp site can be a learning experience.

Maintenance = More fun filled Drive, Camp time.
Drive time = More maintenance.

A Coach sitting will ROT
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Old 03-23-2011, 09:10 PM   #6
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Luxury coach travel is like going to Vegas . . . pay to play.
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Old 03-23-2011, 09:18 PM   #7
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1993 36' Land Yacht
jackson , Tennessee
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remarkable responses y'all. my son-in-law said that night when the tire blew...'you know what bill, this is what we're all going to remember. you held it in the road and the grandkids ate very well during the wait." the guy from best one tires replaced that tire in 15 degree weather with a 40 mile an hour wind. it cost me 436 bucks. i tipped him another 200. he said i really cant take it and i said its not a tip my man...buy the kids what you couldnt buy them for christmas. bottom line...it wasnt a problem at all. it was a true life experience.
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Old 03-24-2011, 06:57 PM   #8
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I agree with all of the above. Assemble an assortment of tools, talk to others (either in person or via the forums) and start out with short trips. Enjoy your time on the road. There is almost nothing I enjoy more than sitting behind the wheel of our "bus" and hitting the road.
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Old 03-24-2011, 07:16 PM   #9
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Bukib,

I too worry about problems on long trips. Especially with an older RV. The fear of going out can ruin a vacation. Eventually problems will arise and that is what you have Auto Club for, not to mention fellow RVers out there always willing to stop and help you out. Case in point, in a month I'm heading out on a 3 week trip in Utah. Most of the route is 2 lane highway and desolate. My greatest fear is a mechanical breakdown or tire failure in the middle of nowhere. Both my tow vehicle and tires on the trailer are less than a year old. There's nothing more I can do to prevent something like that from happening. I see people living on the road or on long trips with RV's that look to be held together with duct tape and rope and they have fun and enjoy it. I'm forcing myself to enjoy as well.

Motorhomes have to be driven. If you are not going to use it, consider selling it to someone who will. But why let someone else have all the fun and memories?
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Old 03-24-2011, 07:17 PM   #10
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thats why i like trailers, if your tv brakes down just have your rv towed to the nearest rv park, a place to stay while they fix your tv.
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Old 03-24-2011, 08:02 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bukib View Post
in october of 2010 i bought an absolutely perfect 1993 land yacht (36'). it had been stored inside all of its life. the first time i took it out the passenger side windshield wiper malfunctioned. the second time i took it on a 500 mile trip to tennessee's cumberland plateau. fifty miles east of nashviile the drivers side inside rear tire blew out due i know now to underinflation. four hours later, good sams had us back on the road and everything went perfect. now here's the deal, i took it to a rv expert who after $2,550 in costs made it perfect. everything from fluids to converters were replaced. my problem is that i am afraid to take it out. i am fearful of a breakdown in points unknown. the rv tech told me today to put the damn thing on the road or let him have it to move it to key west. am i the only person who feels this way? shud a couple of very minor problems be a reason to park it? weird i know. have you ever been here? cummins 5.9 (51000 actual, allison trans, legacy package).
I have my national license in counseling and many years experience with everything A-Z but somehow, I just can't help anyone who has fallen in love with an Airstream. I think it might be lifelong and you just have to learn to live with it. If I could fix myself with all the counseling experience, I certainly would. Here I am looking for another one to be a good friend to the one I haven't fixed up yet
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Old 03-24-2011, 08:11 PM   #12
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You know, some years ago (1986 to be exact) I bought the MG, then a whopping eight years old. What what I've learned from the MG is this: Every component has a lifetime, each one different from the next. As the years passed, I replaced one component after another until it was basically all replaced. That was about five years ago. Now I'm pretty much back to the beginning: Replacing the components that I replaced back in the late 80s. (I don't sweat little stuff like the MG's notorious electrical problems. That's just poor match-up of metal connectors, fixed within seconds.)

The moral I learned is this: Everything can be fixed or replaced, so go out and enjoy the ride!


Lynn

PS: I am glad, however, that the Airstream is more durable than the MG.
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Old 03-24-2011, 08:13 PM   #13
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I keep a travel log of every trip and the most notable paragraphs summarize all the things that broke or quit working in route. I've learned the most intimate details of each system by following the service/repair manual (most are available free online) and have come to enjoy the challenge of being "truly independent." My friends get a tickle out of reading each escapade later and the book is full of memories that were never planned. My worst adventure was inadvertently locking the keys inside in 98 degree weather with the wife and both dogs outside stargazing. Good Sam directed a locksmith to my boon dock campsite within two hours [cell phones are wonderful devices] and I learned all about how tumblers can be aligned with a small key ring finger nail file :-) Stock your toolbox, hit the road, and just enjoy the adventures that unknowingly await you - it comes with the territory!
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Old 03-25-2011, 08:11 AM   #14
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I'm always worried. Female traveling alone about 50% of the time. I did get good roadside service with my insurance.

I have added everything I can think of for safety. Well, except for a hensley hitch that I can't rationalize. Some of my girlfriends pull much larger trailers with undersized TVs, standard ball hitches, no maintenance to TT or TV, no tools, no insurance, etc. Hell, one of them doesn't even have tags on her trailer. They fly by me at twice the speed and talking on their cell --- with NO worries.

I think it has to do with personality.... I do worry - but I GO! Do as much as you can to be prepared and get that baby on the road!

Laura
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Old 03-25-2011, 10:04 AM   #15
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1989 25' Excella
1989 34.5' Airstream 345
Hobe Sound , Florida
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I have had my breaks fail on the way to the top of a 7,000 foot pass in Arizona, to my steering wheel literally popping off the column on cruise at 62mph in Minnesota! I'm still here and plan to continue my wonderful travels! Mabe I'm the crazy one, but you only get to go arround once, so enjoy it!
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Old 03-25-2011, 10:24 AM   #16
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1972 27' Overlander
Venice , Florida
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Mechanical things break down - that's just a fact of life. Mechanical things can be fixed - another fact of life. I never give a second thought to breakdowns when I head out. If it breaks, I'll either fix it or get it fixed. I don't ever recall seeing dead bodies on the side of the road because someone's rig broke down and they starved to death because they couldn't get help. Get in that thing and drive the wheels off it.

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Old 03-25-2011, 11:20 AM   #17
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Bullhead City , Arizona
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It is all part of the adventure. I have been living on the road for a long time .One of the better break down tales I have. In Mexico many years ago. 60 miles from nearest town very desolate area we lost a fan belt.Sat wondering what to do we had a spare unfortunately it was wrong size. Off the road aways was a little ranch. A man came walking up to us from there . He didn't speak english we didn't speak spanish . Managed to communicate any way . He went back to his house .Came back in five minutes with the fan belt we needed. We gave him a jar of instant coffe a hug and were on our way again. Anything can happen . Have faith and go for it.
Jo
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Old 03-25-2011, 02:08 PM   #18
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1974 27' Overlander
Sault ste Marie , Ontario
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First trip we took was a 60km jaunt to a local provincial park to check out things and make a list of all the things we forgot or didn't know we needed. Boy was that a long list. The second trip 2 weeks later was about 8000km and a month long. Yes stuff broke, not much and nothing serious. 12 yr old truck pulling a 37 yr old trailer, bring a tool box!!!! We had a blast and created some memories (all good ) that will last the rest of our lives. Just do it!!!!!............Cheers.....Phil.
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Old 03-25-2011, 02:52 PM   #19
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1984 34.5' Airstream 345
Foothill Ranch , California
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I have 10 motorized vehicles in my fleet... Youngest one is 13 years old, and the oldest is 38 this year!!

All my life i have owned older stuff, and its a fact that its not a IF, its a WHEN....
The reality?
My worst moment was when driving a 8 month old car!
Double blown out tires, after hitting accident debris on a busy German Autobahn, in the wet, with cars crashing everywhere around me...
I wish I had been in my Motorhome then, I tell you! I was not hit, but it was close, and even today, 19 years on I still hear that noise and tense at the thought!

Here is my $0.2!
Its a mindset thing.
Hope for the best,and plan for the worst.
My advice is simple, and based on my history with these things!

Have a plan...
1/ If you like to fix stuff, and are able, pack tools, and a set of realistic spares.
2/ Have Good Sam, or AAA or whatever your preference.

If you go with #1, you need #2 as well!

Please stop and think, and take a deep breath... If a tire goes, or something breaks, park somewhere safe, and you have a wonderfull comfortable place to wait while the Cavalry comes to your rescue!

The cure to your concern is easy... get out there and let the miles melt your worries away!
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Old 03-25-2011, 02:54 PM   #20
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mays landing , South Jersey
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pgr32e View Post
First trip we took was a 60km jaunt to a local provincial park to check out things and make a list of all the things we forgot or didn't know we needed. Boy was that a long list. The second trip 2 weeks later was about 8000km and a month long. Yes stuff broke, not much and nothing serious. 12 yr old truck pulling a 37 yr old trailer, bring a tool box!!!! We had a blast and created some memories (all good ) that will last the rest of our lives. Just do it!!!!!............Cheers.....Phil.
Definately bring all the tools. Dont ask me why. Sal.
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