Cost of RVing may be too much for this RVer
This comes from RVtravel.com reader Joan Kincaid. . .
Dear Chuck,
I have enjoyed your Saturday writings for quite a few years and learned a lot. I am a widow who camps with a 25-foot fifth wheel. I had an experience last week that many retired campers will experience sooner or later.
On my last outing, my roof was attacked by a "lower than I thought" basketball hoop, and alas, I tore a small hole in the rubber roof. The dealer I took it to for repairs put a small patch on the roof, replaced two air vents and winterized the camper. It was when I picked it up that I had the shock of learning they charged $90 an hour for service. As I paid the $800, I started thinking, can I afford to keep camping and upkeep at those prices?
As a retired person on a fixed income $90 plus dollars/hour seems prohibitive. Since I owned a business in the past, I am aware of cost/profit margins, however, I also am aware of how to keep return business, in this case dealers that want to have return business when it comes to buying a new RV or replacing our "old" ones. This winter I will be weighing the pros and cons of continuing to travel next spring when I take the RV out of storage. Thanks for listening to my early morning ramblings, I feel better.
From Chuck: Joan, I don't think $90 an hour for labor is out of line these days. I know it's a lot, but that seems to be the going rate, even higher. But there are many little things that any of us can do to keep expenses down. You may have been able to patch that roof yourself quite easily (watch this video from Gary Bunzer, the RV Doctor to see how). I suggest you keep up with Gary's website The RV Doctor and sign up for his monthly newsletter. You'll likely pick up some tips that will end up saving you money. And I hope you keep RVing. Good luck!!
posted by Staff Report @ 10/09/2010 05:47:00 AM
18 Comments
18 Comments:
Sorry Chuck! I'm with Joan! $90/Hr is huge to many retired folks, Maybe not to you! You don't even know how old she is, so why would you suggest she get on that roof and do the repairs herself. Probably NOT a good idea for many older women. However, she probably could have found some good ole boy RVer who would have been glad to help her out for much less than that $90/Hr. Many of us will have to look for less expensive ways to cope if we are going to live this lifestyle. Half of us are BELOW the "mean" retirement income!!
Lon -- I'm not saying $90 an hour is good, I'm just saying it's not unusual these days. My answer has nothing to do with me or whether I can afford to pay that -- I was only stating that $90 an hour is not excessive for an hour of labor on an RV in this day and age. Maybe she shouldn't get on the roof, but the repair is so easy, she could get a younger friend to help. Did you watch the video?
Chuck, I feel her pain and that of many others. We are retired and bought a used 2000 34' diesel pusher with 33000 miles in 2009, did our first long trip and had many repairs to cope with.
1. locked out, broken door latch.. road service couldn't help. Had to break in myself.
2. a/c & serpentine belt broke. road service culdn't help had to do myself.
3. Fuel filter clogged.. couldn't figure problem but a shop in Sundance Wy fixec me up $65 hr.
4. Fuel pumps (both) replaced by Cummins TG Good sam had it covered.. except for deductable.(tot$3800)
5. Broke two fuel injector supply lines.. replaced all ($750)
6. Finally a fuel leak took me to a shop on Kansas, all injector leaking at the engine. $128 to troubleshoot and tighten all.
We put almost 7000 miles on our coach but the repair costs sent us home a month early.
I am a very handy person when I have my tools with me (40 years in the mechanical field) but I never expected that much repair work so I left them home.
The next trip will have to wait a while for the treasure to build up again.. that's what happens to folks when they don't know. Most shops will get that (sure you will) smile when you say you are gona fix it yourself and that puts folks off and they pay the price. Folks living on the edge.. (money wise) need to read more RVing conversations and then don't be afraid to ask the guy in the next rig if he can help. Most of us will if we have the knowledge.
I have been an avid RVer since 1967 when we bought our first travel trailer. I to am appalled at the $90/hr plus rates. More so after a friend who owns an RV dealership told me that dealers had to increase the rates to that level to cover the costs associated with warranty repairs. The manufacturers of units and subassemblies,(i.e. furnaces,frigs,etc)refuse to pay for the actual time required to complete a repair. As a consequence the service dept. was a constant money loser. We the RV public should demand that the suppliers pay their fair share. Maybe then we would see door rates become more reasonable. Till then bite the bullet or find a handyman friend.
Shops here charge $110.00 hr. She should learn to winterize the RV herself that would have saved her 1-2 hours labor right there.. anyone can do it. It is easy.
this is also a good lesson to not drive under objects... they are always lower than expected.
While I feel her pain and can appreciate the situation, I do feel there was some responsibility on her part to get an estimate before the work was done. Unexpected expenses are part of life in RVing and if one lives paycheck (or Social Security check) to paycheck without an emergency fund for such incidents, maybe she should rethink the RVing lifestyle.
And those us of us on Social Security who must live in an RV will get no increase for two or more years. I have paid into SS for 55 years and get less than 1% return on my investment. They gave me $250 "incentive" and kept my $600 increase for two years. How can I pay for one hour at $90.00per. I am a female and too old to work the streets...any suggestios?
When I have a repair I can't do myself I avoid RV dealers for any service. I have a local man who has a mobile service who does excellent work without the high service charge. He doesn't have a big building and floor plan to support. For mechanical things on the chassis I look for a truck service business. They don't have a fancy waiting room and things might be real greasy but the work is always done right and at a better price. Just be sure to put down something to protect carpet and seat covers etc. Also, when something happens on the road, I go online to a blog and ask for local knowledge. I have had excellent referrals from locals. They know who does the best work at the fairest price in their locality.
$90/hr is not too bad when I compare it to the one time I had my motorhome in at the Rocky Mountain Cummins shop on a trip. There, (5 years ago), RVers were charged $115/hr, while over the road trucks were charged $78/hr for labor. It cost me over $1500 and my motorhome still wasn't running right because they didn't have the parts needed. I do all my own work again now.
Chuck, Do you think 6 million dollars for a three year contract, for a basketball player, who barely scraped by in college is a fair amount? I called a RV repair shop and asked their hourly rate; the answer? 106 per hour. Do you mean One hundred and six dollars per hour? Yeah but it isn't so much if you say 106. Who is kidding who here? TV mechanic? More like someone who professes to be handy with tools. I think it is a dealer rip-off preying on the out of town or the old and infirm trying to enjoy life. Please don't defend 90 bucks an hour.
Where are the ethics today? I think we can eliminate car or rv dealers. There are too many decent mechanics that can work on stuff for a lot less and not keep one eye on the clock as they are doing so.
Everett
All too often I have been the recipient of bills and services that were excessive as the result of technicians "learning the trade" at my expense. Unfortunately, many service centers charge the same rate for an experienced tech as they do for a newby, who often spends more time diagnosing the problem by trial and error than an experienced tech. For years the auto industry has had a "book" that determined price according to known repair requirements.
inflation - look no further than the federal reserve as the cause.
I am a retired union electrican and our total wages are about $40 per hour. The contractor I worked for charges $75 per hour. I am sure these RV shops don't come close to paying their employes $40 per hour. They are just taking advantage of people.
We RV 80% of the year. We do preventitive maintenance @ our home or @ friend's homes. We carry tools. We work on our own RV (both @ home & on the road). We have a group of friends(across the country) whom we work with to help keep all of our RV's out of repair shops. We try to be creative in keeping the RV in shape. For the majority of us, it's the only way to be able to keep this indredible lifestyle going! Joan can try to get a group of friends together to help her. Her contribution could be a lovely thank you dinner for their assistance.
Our local dealer in Connecticut charged $120/hour this summer. I usually do all my own work, but needed to raise the camper for suspension work, so safety dictated a shop with proper equipment. I am having a second similar repair performed and negotiated a $20/hour reduction in rate. Still, I know the dealer can 'work' the hours to get what he needs for the job even with an estimate.
Where I got my RV charges $110/hr. The cheapest rate I've found around here is $80/hr. RV shop rates are similar to an auto garage. Not cheap, but $90 is the going rate. I'm afraid that owning an RV is the same as owning and driving a vehicle. Expensive repairs can be an unfortunate part of it.
4 years I retired a '71 Winnebago for a new 2006 Fleetwood Fiesta bought the extended service contract. Ever trip something broke that wasn't covered. I fixed things myself but Locally they charge $125/Hr And last trip was a fuel pump towing 75 miles was covered but not the pump was not. I enjoyed my 2 days stay in the parking lot at the Ford dealership.
Pull the coach in,plug in the power,find the parts location and switches that control the device, diagnose the problem acquire the part maybe order if that is the case coach is in the way until the supplier gets the part mailed install it test it pull coach out figure bill call customer store coach until they can pick up. This is the process if the book shows half hour or there hours no allowances are made by the book for any of the above except the parts change and sometimes half hour for diagnostic.
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