I have searched but surprisingly I have not been able to find a thread on this, perhaps because it is so hard to put an exact figure to it. I realize every MH will be different, even models that are identical, but I'm going to ask anyway.
What is a realistic amount to budget for maintenance on a yearly basis? I constantly hear how MH's are expensive to maintain, and having seen what tires cost realize MH's are not cheap. I have a pretty good idea what it costs to maintain a stick house and yard from having done it for so many years, so for those of you have been full timing for awhile, what do you figure your yearly maintenance costs are, and yes, just like having to replace a large appliance in a house, I know there will always be the occasional large repair, just like a having an appliance go out at the stick house.
Thanks for all the info I've gotten in the past, and info I am still getting.
John and Patti
Retired US Army
Lifetime member DAV and VFW
We budget about $2000 for annual maintenance and little issues that pop up. We figure there will be at least one surprise each year when we travel. This amount covers oil changes and filter changes plus a little extra. Things like tires we know will have to be changed about every 6 years so we bank a little each month.
Bill & Treasa Our Blog
2005 Winnebago Vectra 40AD
400 Cummins, Freightliner chassis
2004 Suzuki Grand Vitara 4X4
TripleE wrote: We budget about $2000 for annual maintenance and little issues that pop up. We figure there will be at least one surprise each year when we travel. This amount covers oil changes and filter changes plus a little extra. Things like tires we know will have to be changed about every 6 years so we bank a little each month.
I like the $2,000 a year estimate. It could be more or less depending on a multitude of factors, but that's a good starting figure.
Holiday Rambler Navigator DP, Hummer, and Honda VT1100C Shadow
Thanks very much, that was exactly the info I was looking for. I know I'll need to budget for tires, but wasn't sure about the rest. Just like any other type of lifestyle there will always be surprises, some good, some not so good, can't anticipate everything, but trying to be as realistic as possible when it comes to planning.
Sounds about right if you have someone else do the maintenance. If you learn to do some yourself, you can save a few dollars. My DH does the oil changes, filter changes, generator filter changes, etc. He buys the filters from Filter Barn and buys the oil on sale if possible. He greases underneath also. The things we take to someone else are: annual refrigerator maintenance, annual Hydro Hot maintenance (about $250 for both). For the larger items, unless it's an emergency, we budget and save for the next year. We always have a list of non-critical maintenance items.
Lonny & Diane
2004 Country Coach Allure 33' "Big Blue"
Towing 2008 Chev Colorado 4x4
Semper Fi
We have the Good Sam VIP, which runs 1900 a year, then budget 750 for the deductible (x3). Over the past 5 years, I've used it 3 times, a inverter, A/C Repair and a oil leak.
Thus, I'm at about the 2000 range also.
sdianel wrote: Sounds about right if you have someone else do the maintenance. If you learn to do some yourself, you can save a few dollars. My DH does the oil changes, filter changes, generator filter changes, etc. He buys the filters from Filter Barn and buys the oil on sale if possible. He greases underneath also. The things we take to someone else are: annual refrigerator maintenance, annual Hydro Hot maintenance (about $250 for both). For the larger items, unless it's an emergency, we budget and save for the next year. We always have a list of non-critical maintenance items.
sdianel, have you had any issues finding places to legally dispose of used oil, filters, etc? This would be my only concern with doing my own maintenance. Will any RV parks allow you to perform tasks such as oil changes, etc while staying there? It's been my understanding, (only from what I've read, no personal experience) that RV parks normally won't allow that type of activity?
Most of the RV parks that we used, would NOT allow you to change your own oil or do work on your RV, but would allow a Mobile Service Truck to change oil and do certain repairs to my motorhome..
They would change oil and filter on my motorhome for approx $40 on our gas rig, which was reasonable to me..
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