dennis.mcdonaugh Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 (edited) We really haven't used our motor home in two years. Over that time, I've sort of kept up with maintenance, I put a new chassis battery in it last year when I drove it over for its yearly safety inspection and I've kept up with re-caulking the roof and things like that, but I have not been doing most of the maintenance as it came due since we weren't using it. Now I'm doing all the deferred maintenance at once. Holy cow have prices gone up! I'm starting at the front and working my way back to the end. I going to end up spending close to $1500 just for parts and fluids. The upper and lower service kit for the Haldex Pure Air Plus air dryer is over $275 from NAPA. The cheapest I could find the engine air filter is $190 for an AC Delco unit from Amazon. The fuel filters are over $100 for the pair of Fleetguard replacements. Oil and oil filter are over $130. The generator oil and oil filter, fuel filter, air filter and antifreeze are over $100. Transmission oil filters are right at $100 and a gallon of Transynd is $50. Has it really been three years already? The three filters for the hydraulic reservoir are $100 and 5 gallons of AW-46 hydraulic fluid is $75. Finally, 20 quarts of gear oil for the differential is $400. That still leaves miscellaneous things like grease for the chassis, PAC brake lube, Dexron transmission fluid for the hydraulic systems, windshield wipers, and fan belts. Edited March 15 by dennis.mcdonaugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 You are correct. I just did the maintenance on mine and I'm at $1800 and counting just for fluids and filters. I just keep thinking of all the money I saved by doing it myself. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr4Film Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Welcome to the world of RV Diesel Pusher ownership! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaz996 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Yes the inflation is nuts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I work on mine throughout the year, trying to keep it maintained and ready to roll But I quit tracking all the costs, I'd hate to think what I've spent on the maintenance and all the upgrades. It seems to be a never ending battle But you gotta pay if you want to play. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throgmartin Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Speaking of maintenance.......... One of the most overlooked maintenance items is caulking. While being the cheapest to perform owners still forget to add it to their list. Few realize just how much over looking caulking can cost you. We just handed a customer an $ 8,000 bill for repairs, all due to letting caulking go to the point of failure. $ 50 worth of caulking could have prevented that huge bill. While engines, transmissions and other chassis components need attention, so does the house portion. Water is your biggest enemy. Identify all the seams that need caulking then stay on top of it. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6Wheels Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 And fuel has not come down either. $3.79 in Georgia, but I bet it is higher elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 3 hours ago, throgmartin said: Speaking of maintenance.......... One of the most overlooked maintenance items is caulking. While being the cheapest to perform owners still forget to add it to their list. Few realize just how much over looking caulking can cost you. We just handed a customer an $ 8,000 bill for repairs, all due to letting caulking go to the point of failure. $ 50 worth of caulking could have prevented that huge bill. While engines, transmissions and other chassis components need attention, so does the house portion. Water is your biggest enemy. Identify all the seams that need caulking then stay on top of it. I agree with this, I missed a problem in my belt molding, passenger side rear where the rear cap overlapped/met the roof. There was a bulge and the caulking failed probably due to chassis flex. The small caulk failure resulted in a pretty large delamination problem. Since then I stripped out all the old belt mold caulk and went back with Geocel. Plus now I have a garage I can park in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 So... was checking the batteries to make sure they had enough water and noticed this loose wire hanging in the back. It also has a wire attached to one of the batteries... see the pics. Any idea where that loose wire should be attached? I don't see any connection point on the back side of them. The wire has two small wires inside the protective plastic wrap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Temp sensor for inverter, the other likely for a solar controller if you have one. Typically the eye goes on negative battery post but I'd prefer not to have any polarity on it in case the insulation breaks. I'd just tape it to the battery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jim Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 thanks Ivan, Yes, I do have solar. The eyelet is so small that it did not make sense that it went to one of the battery posts. So, just tape it to the side of a battery like the other one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 16 minutes ago, Just Jim said: thanks Ivan, Yes, I do have solar. The eyelet is so small that it did not make sense that it went to one of the battery posts. So, just tape it to the side of a battery like the other one? Yeah, Jim, I taped ours to a battery side inside the opening between our 4 batteries so it doesn't get influenced by outside air but whatever works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gweedo Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Clean all the connections and use dialectic grease on them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veraken Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 I had a problem when I was on shore power where my chassis batteries were only being charged at @ 12.5v or less. After investigation I found that it was due to a bad temp sensor from my inverter ( I have a Trace RV2012) to the battery. I just disconnect the temp sensor. I talked to Xantrex and they do not have a replacement for my unit and they said just leave it disconnected - not needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenster Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 On 3/14/2024 at 8:26 PM, dennis.mcdonaugh said: Eat the elephant one bite at a time. I have to ask, where you found engine oil and filter for $100. What engine do you have? We really haven't used our motor home in two years. Over that time, I've sort of kept up with maintenance, I put a new chassis battery in it last year when I drove it over for its yearly safety inspection and I've kept up with re-caulking the roof and things like that, but I have not been doing most of the maintenance as it came due since we weren't using it. Now I'm doing all the deferred maintenance at once. Holy cow have prices gone up! I'm starting at the front and working my way back to the end. I going to end up spending close to $1500 just for parts and fluids. The upper and lower service kit for the Haldex Pure Air Plus air dryer is over $275 from NAPA. The cheapest I could find the engine air filter is $190 for an AC Delco unit from Amazon. The fuel filters are over $100 for the pair of Fleetguard replacements. Oil and oil filter are over $130. The generator oil and oil filter, fuel filter, air filter and antifreeze are over $100. Transmission oil filters are right at $100 and a gallon of Transynd is $50. Has it really been three years already? The three filters for the hydraulic reservoir are $100 and 5 gallons of AW-46 hydraulic fluid is $75. Finally, 20 quarts of gear oil for the differential is $400. That still leaves miscellaneous things like grease for the chassis, PAC brake lube, Dexron transmission fluid for the hydraulic systems, windshield wipers, and fan belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis.mcdonaugh Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 (edited) 9 hours ago, Kenster said: I normally keep up with maintenance yearly, but I didn't change any fluids the last two years since I didn't drive it 30 miles in that time. I have the ISC and use Mobil Delvac Heavy Duty diesel oil from Walmart for $14.82 a gallon. Edited March 18 by dennis.mcdonaugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobkat11208 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 On 3/16/2024 at 9:12 AM, 6Wheels said: And fuel has not come down either. $3.79 in Georgia, but I bet it is higher elsewhere. Even with Open Roads fuel card (my open roads.com) it’s starting to creep up here in Indiana. But, for example at Loves close by, I’ll take $3.825 vice $4.449 pump price any day. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenster Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 (edited) I've got a 100 gallons on board that I bought for $3.36 a gallon. I don't want to burn it up. Edited March 18 by Kenster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 EVO Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Your wasting your money replacing Allison spec trans fluid at 3 yrs with few miles! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 11 hours ago, 96 EVO said: Your wasting your money replacing Allison spec trans fluid at 3 yrs with few miles! This where oil sampling really makes sense. Not only do you get information on any type of significant wear issues with the transmission but also the condition of the oil and if it is well withing spec's you can extend the oil change interval. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereeves Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 (edited) On 3/16/2024 at 8:12 AM, 6Wheels said: And fuel has not come down either. $3.79 in Georgia, but I bet it is higher elsewhere. We just drove this 2000 Diplomat from Lakeside, OR to here in Oklahoma City, OK at the end of Feb. The cheapest diesel we paid was like $3.79 a gallon and most was over $4.00 per gallon. I was wanting to keep tab of it for the overall fuel price for that and the Navigator that had to come back as well, but a quarter way into the trip i decided i didn't want to know that. Oh and the route was OR to Bend, OR then south through NV and across AZ and NM on I-40, which was kind of like a Ukrainian highway, or how i imagine a Ukrainian highway is after 2 years of war... Edited March 19 by dereeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis.mcdonaugh Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 29 minutes ago, dereeves said: We just drove this 2000 Diplomat from Lakeside, OR to here in Oklahoma City, OK at the end of Feb. The cheapest diesel we paid was like $3.79 a gallon and most was over $4.00 per gallon. I was wanting to keep tab of it for the overall fuel price for that and the Navigator that had to come back as well, but a quarter way into the trip i decided i didn't want to know that. Oh and the route was OR to Bend, OR then south through NV and across AZ and NM on I-40, which was kind of like a Ukrainian highway, or how i imagine a Ukrainian highway is after 2 years of war... No, that gets discouraging right away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetjockey Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 I have owned numerous aircraft and all of them cost less to own than my motorhome! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J A Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 On 3/19/2024 at 7:27 AM, jacwjames said: This where oil sampling really makes sense. Not only do you get information on any type of significant wear issues with the transmission but also the condition of the oil and if it is well withing spec's you can extend the oil change interval. Yep. Doing what you believe in and believing in what you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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