Your Owner’s Manual – A Valuable Piece of Equipment!
The owner’s manual is the most under-used piece of equipment in the RV in my opinion. It gives you all kinds of great information about your RV for care and use of systems, safety equipment, warranty information, loading properly, troubleshooting, and maintenance. In all of my time in the RV business I have yet to see an Owner’s Manual in any condition other than pristine.
I am as guilty as anyone for not reading the manual in the early part of my career but have come to appreciate the valuable information it provides and the time and trouble it can save.
First thing you will find in the manual is usually a description of the limited warranty and a description of what is warrantied as well as possible exclusions. In most cases, RV manufactures are assemblers. They will take the raw goods and shape them into a coach through their manufacturing process. They will identify what they warranty, and what their suppliers warranty, at this point. In most cases most manufactures apply an adjustment warranty to their products that range from 90-days from purchase date up to a year from purchase.
In this section the manufacturer will talk about how to load your unit and the importance of balancing the loads so that braking and drivability will be optimized. They will explain how you
should walk around your unit to inspect for wear and tear as well as how each individual element affects your unit. The element that is most cause for concern in our part of world is moisture and its effects.
Condensation is probably one the most detrimental things that happens naturally as well as when your unit is full of happy campers just breathing or cooking in the unit. Some of us might have seen this phenomenon when we were at the drive in and the windows fogged up. Even when your unit is not being used, you should put safeguards in place to remove the moisture of from your unit (Click HERE for some ideas on keeping your RV dry.). You may be in for an unpleasant experience if the moisture is left too long, unabsorbed. In our walk through’s when you buy your coach we go through some of these safeguards such humidity control devices as well some simple chemical applications that absorb the moisture. Owners should use one of these systems to ensure long-term use from their unit.
Your valuable manual will also cover safety equipment and its maintenance such as lubrication of axles, break wear, alignment of axles, breakaway switches, and of course the battery which is the heart of the unit. The factories take no responsibility for maintenance and typically these items are limited
by time as most trailers do not have any way of recording distance travelled. These items are the ones that the factories most likely will not warranty for more than the specified time and unfortunately these are the most neglected by the owner.
If you suspect that it may be time for you to have some of these items on your valued RV looked at, you are probably right! Don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly and helpful Service Departments for an inspection so that we can help you continue to make a great vacation easy, and safe to take.
