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RV There Yet?

The in-laws were on their way here Monday in their large RV. They were going to stop and spend the evening with a friend about 40 miles short of our house, and come park in our driveway Tuesday evening. Then, on to San Antonio Friday in time for dinner with more friends.

Until the RV broke down and left them stranded about 100 miles from here.

My wife’s stepmother filled me in on the details. Between her interpretation of the problem and my skills at remembering something after hearing it once, I think it was a faulty flux capacitor. Or a muffler bearing. On top of that, it had been replaced before they embarked. (I found out this evening it was the serpentine belt — which controls almost every vital system besides the engine itself).

They had their two dogs — one stone deaf and both quite defensive — and the repair folks kept telling them, “The part should be here tomorrow,” so they didn’t venture renting a car and coming on over. Generally the dogs stay in the RV the whole time they visit, except to answer nature’s call. The in-laws have their own coffee before coming into the house, spend the day with us (sans me on work days), then retire to the RV for slumber. My father in-law is 6’4” and finds few places to sleep comfortably.

After the mechanics finally got the part they needed, they healed the RV. We got them for Thursday evening — had dinner and then went to Coldstone Creamery (pics below) — and they’ll be here Friday morning before they head on down to San Antonio.

This is one of many times their RV (pick one of the few they’ve owned) has caused big problems on trips.

Which brings me to my first rant in quite a while. The RV as a species sucks lagoon water.

Any RV I’ve ever known has been a very nice substitute for a small house. Every square inch of space is efficiently utilized while maintaining a high degree of comfort. While underway, the driver and the riders can talk to each other, and as long as at least one soul is willing to roam freely about the cabin, they can do so while snacking and enjoying a beverage.

If you are the driver, it might be funny to pump your brakes when someone gets up to go to the lavatory, but it is always a bad idea while someone is getting you that next Solo cup full of Chex mix. If any of the aforementioned violates seatbelt laws, then it’s strictly hypothetical.

Despite all this comfort and convenience, the RV seems a risky investment at best — thanks to what’s under the hood. While the engineers who handled the living quarters apparently were at the top of their class, the group responsible for the “buddin’ buddin’” clearly were the bright kids who never applied themselves.

So, what is the traveling retiree or avid stadium parking lot partier to do?

Buy a reliable truck, learn how to properly secure and control a hitched object, and then pick out the perfect house-on-wheels to pull behind it. When you get to your destination, you can unhook the truck and explore a bit. It beats driving an RV and snaking a vehicle out behind it. Then, if one link in the chain has problems, fix or replace it and move on. The average roadside mechanic is more likely to have the parts and the skills to repair a pickup than an RV, and you might have money left to buy a meal or two.

I like to compare an RV to a TV with the DVD player or VCR built in, or an all-in-one printer/fax/copier/scanner. When one part breaks down, you’re still stuck with that device. Here’s where the similarities start to break down (pun intended). With a home electronic combo, you are not getting the best of each component, because these items are built to carry a budget price. Cost, however, is not what attracts folks to RV’s. Them babies is pricey.

Why, then, are they so craptastic?

Admittedly, I do not have knowledge of every brand and every model of RV. In fact, I’m stereotyping based on secondhand reports of two or three. If someone knows of a reliable RV, then please let me know. I’ll pass it on.

Until that happens, the only other conclusion I’ll consider is that RV’s are great, but my in-laws are cursed.

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