Routine, Preventive and Emergency Maintenance of Your Used Diesel RV

People who invest in used diesel motor homes need to protect their investment. No matter whether you have purchased a new model or a used one, investing in it means big money. Your RV is just like your home, and you must take care of it. To make your job easier, here are some details pertaining to the scheduled, preventive and emergency maintenance of your diesel motor home.

Routine or Scheduled Maintenance

You need to do it at periodic intervals depending on mileage, hours or time. Its primary objective is to keep your RV in the best operating condition. It also prevents sudden and untimely repairs or breakdowns. Read up the vehicle’s user manual and warranty details. Understand who is supposed to do the scheduled maintenance. For example, the manufacturer is responsible for some routine checkups; failure to do this might make your warranty null and void.

Preventive Maintenance

When it comes to preventive maintenance, it’s simply common sense. If someone intends to go for a long trip, a sensible RV owner will do a reality check of the lights, tires and fluid levels. It’s wrong to assume that your vehicle’s fluid levels have no problem, there are no leakages or the tires look perfectly fine and inflated. Such negligence may result in untimely breakdowns.

Emergency Maintenance

You are required to perform emergency maintenance when you least expect a part, component or system of your diesel motor home to fail. What is the major cause of an emergency maintenance? It happens when you forget to perform the routine and preventive maintenance. If you are complacent about examining the air pressure of vehicle’s tires before you start your journey, the under-inflated wheels would overheat and lead to sudden breakdowns, and consequently result in the need for an emergency maintenance.

Maintenance Checklist

You are probably aware of the old saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and so to make your RV maintenance job a tad easier, here is a checklist to prevent unexpected breakdowns or technical snags.

• Change the fuel filters once annually or for each 12,000 miles you travel. It will cost you around $250.
• Inspect the RV batteries every 14 days and remember to add distilled water whenever necessary.
• Keep the tires inflated to proper pounds per square inch (PSI) every six months.
• Remember to do a reality check of the water filter on the engine annually. That’s because not all models have them. It will cost you around $150.
• Change your RV’s lube slack adjusters and air dryer filter annually.
• Inspect the coolant conditioner in the generator and engine annually. This is important to check for the appropriate pH balance. Make sure you change the coolant every four years. The cost will come to less than $35.

With proper the maintenance of used diesel motor homes, there are less possibilities of sudden breakdowns and costly repairs. Take care of your vehicle and it will pay you back with miles of happiness. Happy RV-ing!