Dear R.V. Shrink:
We are now living full-time in our motorhome. To convince me this was a good idea my husband argued that we would not have all the house maintenance chores that used to eat up so much of our time. As it turns out, he is still constantly working on our motorhome and tow car. He has just become a slave to a new possession. I'm not sure if we own the motorhome or it owns us.
There always seems to be something he has to tighten up, button down, add, drain or clean. Is this normal? I sometimes think he is obsessed with working on our new home on wheels.
--Worn out from watching in Wenatchee
Dear Wenatchee:
It's called precautionary maintenance. It is a necessary evil whether you own a home, a boat, or an RV.
Part of the problem with full-time RV living is not having a convenient place to work on some projects that need to be done. Most parks do not allow mechanical work to be performed on site. Many won't even allow you to wash your rig.
Keeping things lubed, cleaned, tightened and in good working order, will save you time and money in the long run.
Everyone has a different skill level when it comes to keeping their RV in tiptop shape. But regardless, these things have to be done sooner or later.
It sounds to me like your husband is on top of things. You should be grateful he is so diligent about it.
We have a home base. We make a pit stop once a year and do all the major maintenance that is harder to do on the road with fewer tools and less opportunity to find an allowable space to work on projects.
Most precautionary maintenance chores take little time if you stay on top of them.
Your husband probably enjoys this work and has some pride in ownership. Those are great traits.
--Keep Smilin', Dr. R.V. Shrink
5 comments:
Doc,
Nice reply. I find myself driving my wife a bit batty with my tinkering, cleaning and checking our motorhome. I see it as good preventative maintenance and accident prevention. She views it as motorhome obsession bordering on motorhome fetish. I try to control myself but guys just have to tinker from time to time. The motorhome is the perfect object of my affections,,, I mean obsessions. :)
Mike, Traverse City
Everyone has to have "something to do", or they will just be waiting for the grim reaper. Be glad he keeps himself occupied.
Hi, If you don't look,touch,shake things and find out what they do and how they do it you'll have to learn all that on the side of the road when it breaks. That takes time and you may not have purchased those parts you may need.
With a motorhome you have thousands of parts and most are moving in some fashion. It is only natural that when things move there is wear and tear and we need to keep on top of this constantly before things break. Most wives seem to think their husbands are obsessed with the RV. I am obsessed with staying safe, sound and running. Without constant maintenance the rig will fail and then the complaints will be the total opposite. "Why did you let this go until it broke." We can't win. fellas, so just keep the rig working.
My wife cannot sit still and do nothing. She must always have something to do. I can read, nap,sit back and enjoy the scenery, nap, walk the dog, nap and enjoy doing nothing. It's just our natures. This morning she is dressed, made the bed, washed breakfast dishes, and is looking for parking in downtown Charleston. I'm still in my PJs and thinking of getting dressed. One must be patient with these eveready bunnies. When I need to do something, I do it than go back to standby mode to get out of her way. Works just fine for us.
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