Hello, We're New Escapees...Happy to be here!

[WeBJammin']

We are experienced campers and we have recently purchased a new 37' fifth wheel for full-time living. It's a big leap from our vintage, 44 y.o. 27' Streamline TT we have camped in for the past 10 years.

We thought it wise to become official Escapees as we've much to learn on this new journey and we have many questions. As I peruse the topics on the forum I am made aware of things such as cleaning out the hot water heater, waxing or polishing the outside of the coach, and many other routine maintenance tasks. Is there a list of these tasks and how often to take care of them? There are so many things we never thought of and, of course, never did to our TT, (and it has survived beautifully in spite of us)!! We want to start off on the right foot, to be conscienous about maintenance of our new rig.

Thanks Friends!!

[2gypsies]

Welcome to Escapees and this forum! As far as routine maintenance, I think you'll come up with your own schedule. When full-timing and using the RV daily, you'll see what needs attention. Batteries are top priority. Hopefully you won't have any leaks but if you do, deal with them instantly. They won't go away and will only get worse. Enjoy your new lifestyle....we certainly did for 16 years!

[Dennis M]

Welcome aboard! Get ready for a fun, exciting adventure!

 

As far as maintenance goes the best bet is just to keep your eyes and ears open and watch for any issues that may come up.

 

First thing you want is a good EMS like one of these from Progressive Industries. Next thing I would recommend is a tire pressure monitor system.

 

Next thing is to go out and have fun.

[sandsys]

Since you are starting with a new rig that likely has manuals you can do what I did--I made a maintenance schedule specifically for our rig. I started with the vehicle manual and put maintenance items on the schedule. Then I went through the house and appliance manuals and added them. I ended up with lists of monthly, quarterly, annual and mileage tasks. It was then easy to go down the monthly list the first of every month, etc.

 

As to washing the rig, we didn't do that as often as some people do. When we felt it needed it we would check around for a Blue Beacon Truck Wash as the do a lot of RVs. When we were in Arizona there were companies that came out to the various parks to wash RVs so we would just flag them down to add us to their list.

 

Linda Sand

[Dutch&Di]

Welcome to the forum and to getting a new 5th wheel. I would say, if it's dirty-wash it. Once a year, wax it. More frequently if you are parked under a lot of trees or in humid areas. We still do these "chores" ourselves the majority of the time by washing the side that is in the shade then waiting for the shade to hit the other side. Front & back are not really that hard and we do wash our roof at least 2 times a year. Dutch inspects the outside religiously which prevents potential mishaps. He greases the bearings based on his visual check and the miles he has traveled. He is as meticulous with our truck maintenance.

As mentioned a manual will give you a lot of info on when to do what but I still feel it is up to you when you do what.

For the inside, I/we vacuum weekly and I use The little Green Machine on my recliner and our couch 2 times a year. It removes the dust that a vacuum can't pick up. I also shampoo my carpets once a year unless we have spent a lot of time in the desert. I dust when I notice it and 2 times a year give the cabinets a good polish. Once every several years, I really inspect our cabinetry and if I see areas that have a bit of fade to them from the sun, I wash them down and put a lite coat of semi transparent stain on those areas then polish them the next day. Same with my kitchen table.

We did the same for the 2 houses we lived in.

We're not fanatics but we are neat. Keeping things up to date and tenderly cared for is what allows us to still be in our 1996 38' triple axle, triple slide Carriage for 19 years of fulltime travel. If we can't do something ourselves, we pay someone to do the job.

I'm sure you'll hear lots of ideas so take those you like and discard those you don't. Good luck. Hugs, Di

[vrainsmd]

We went to the Escapes boot camp before we started full-timing even though we had a MH for vacationing for 20 years. We still found it quite helpful. Some of the information we wish we had learned earlier because we learned those items the hard way, like don't wait until you have worn the tread down on your tires before replacing them and know how tall your rig is. We came away with a whole list of maintenance items.

 

Vicki Rains

[Kirk W]

Sorry to have been slow in giving you a welcome, but better late than never! We have been traveling by airplane rather than RV the past month and had limited internet but are happy to have you become a part of this great group! Join into any forum or thread as questions and comments are always welcome and new members make the forums healthy.

 

I might suggest that if you have not done so, you may want to give serious thought to joining us for the 2016 Escapade to be held in Essex Junction, VT next summer. It is always a great event and we would love to have the opportunity to meet you!

[Toddleti]

Welcome, you will find that every one here is great. All have a lot of info.

[HamRad]

Welcome to Escapees! This is a great place to be. Since you are experienced campers you already know that you just need to slow down and enjoy! Happy and safe travels. Dennis