We wrote previously about how important planning is to make sure we have a place to stay each night. Another very important part of the preparation process is to ensure the motor home is in great working condition. Our 2012 Thor Daybreak has had two previous owners; but has very low mileage (just over 8000 miles when we purchased it). So, in theory, all system should be in nearly new condition. During our maiden voyage, we were able to operate most of the appliances and house systems and only found a few minor issues that need to be tweaked. With a long road trip approaching however, we want to make sure the chassis systems are also in top-notch condition. After all, it is a motor vehicle, and the engine and drive train will need to perform well for a long time and a lot of miles.
We began to look for a service facility that could do a thorough check of our rig several weeks prior to the trip to allow time for corrective action, if needed and one more outing to make doubly sure all was good to go. Our original go-to place in Culpeper was not able to schedule us until May 18 - way too late for comfort. And, although they agreed to get us in and out in one day (provided no parts needed to be ordered), it was still too far from home if there should be something seriously wrong that prevented driving until repaired. We heard great things about this service center - but apparently everyone else did too. Is this another symptom of the up-tick in RV sales recently?
Our second choice, in Manassas and a previously visited service center, was able to schedule an appointment for May 11; but it was even further from home. Their systems check included only the house systems for $299, and their oil change charge was $125. So, we checked out an RV service center right here in Fredericksburg. We learned about them from a neighbor RV'er and made the phone call. They have a full check out service, including the chassis systems, for $325, and oil change for $90. And, no appointment is necessary. Tomorrow is the day.
One more thing. Em really wants to swap out the 6 gallon hot water heater and install a tankless, on-demand water heater. She likes long, hot showers!! Who doesn't? So we checked with our Fredericksburg facility to see what they would offer. Yes, they could install one at a reasonable cost.
After some research, I found only two manufacturers of tankless hot water heaters for RV applications. If there are others, they don't advertise it. One of the two is highly rated. The other, not so much. The only problem is, the highly rated system, made by Truma, is sold only by factory-authorized dealers. Failing to find a dealer within 50 miles of Fredericksburg, we called the factory and spoke to their sales department hoping they could either point us to a dealer or sell one to us by mail order. That brought good news/bad news: to maintain the highest possible quality control, they only sell through authorized dealers and there is no authorized dealer within 300 miles of home. Bummer!!! Truma offered to establish a sales relationship with our Fredericksburg service center if they were willing. But, they said that there was no local demand for Truma so it would be too costly to take technicians off line for training. I suggested that perhaps there was no demand because they were not an authorized dealer. That did not convince them.
We will continue to search for a solution, but in the meantime, we are psyching ourselves for short Navy-style showers.
No comments:
Post a Comment