We have enjoyed the full-time RV living for the past several years. What did it cost us to keep this beast running? If you own a motor home, you have lots of cost associated with upkeep and repairs. In the seven-plus years of having my Newmar Mountain Aire, we have kept up with all the required maintenance schedule on all the components.

Chassis maintenance tops the list, costing just under $6,800. This includes engine oil changes, transmission oil changes, and other adjustments to the Freight-liner chassis. This does not include a couple of engine failures which were covered by warranty.

Next highest expense was replacement of six tires, at about $4,500. The tires still had plenty tread, however the age and side wall inspection pointed toward replacement. This is not something to take a chance with. Damage from a blowout may cost much more. The tires had about 77,000 miles on them.

Coming in at over $1,800, our furnace was the most-costly item on the house portion of the RV to maintain. We use the Hydro-Hot mostly for hot water and secondary heating when outside temperature falls below that required by the heat pumps. In fact, we keep the diesel switch off most of the time. When taking a shower, the diesel burner is necessary because the electrical burner will not keep up with hot water requirements.

HWH leveling jacks cost us about $1,100 in repairs. There is no required maintenance schedule for the jacks.

The heat pumps maintenance and repair cost was about $900. The rear heat pump was replaced in 2005, which was covered by warranty.

The next component in the RV in maintenance and repair cost was the refrigerator at $670. We have had more problems with the refrigerator then anything else. It did not work the first day and had to be replaced. The cooling unit and ice maker was replaced in 2005, covered by warranty.

Of the above costs, only one component could be changed that may have resulted in a lower maintenance and repair cost, and that would have had to be done when the motor home was built. That item is the Hydronic Heating system, which goes by several names. On my RV, it’s Hydro-Hot. I do not know what the cost is to maintain an LP hot water system or LP furnace, but I do know that the difference in original cost is in the thousand of dollars.