We all love our RV's, but we can't have it all. Each model has something that is a royal pain.

My first RV was a Fleetwood Jamboree, Model 24D (24 foot). It was "just a camping" RV, not much more. I liked it, for an "RV with training wheels." However, the one PITA feature was that there was ONE TV, in the front, and although you could view the TV from the bed area, the remote control wouldn't reach that far. So, if you were in bed watching TV, and you needed to turn the TV off, or maybe change channels, you had to get out of bed and walk up to the TV to turn it off, or walk to an area within the range of the remote. Ok, I admit, that was laziness....... But the RV was great, and I cried a few tears when I traded it in!

Second RV was Forest River Model 2860. I LOVED that RV. However, the one PITA feature was that the shower, well, you had to take a GIANT STEP UP into the shower. For those that are young, hale, and hearty, this would not be an issue. For those whose joints are starting to creak, well, this could be a problem, not to mention, what if you fell while taking the giant step DOWN to get out of the shower. Ok, I'm only 52, but that part did start to concern me. But I still cried when I traded it in..... (On the other hand, that model had TWO grey water tanks, one for the kitchen/bathroom sink, one for the shower. That was a pretty neat feature! I will miss that!)

Now (as of yesterday), I have a Forest River Model 3120 (and I LOVE the HUGE bathroom!). Ok, there is one PITA feature in this unit! The "extension" (the part that folds down, but when you fold it up, you have more counter space....) off the sink area, well, when you have it UP in order to use it for counter space, well, nobody can come in the entry door! Because the "fold up counter space extension" guts into the entry doorway. As one of my friends said, "um, if you have that extension up, and one of your friends comes to visit, they will get knocked in the solar plexus when they come through the door." Well, as a solo traveller, I guess I could consider that a "safety" feature. When I go to sleep, I'll just make sure the extension is up, blocking the doorway, and if someone tries to get in....... WHACK, right in the solar plexus! On the other hand, if they try to come in through the driving area doors..... well.... KITTY WILL GET THEM!

So what other models have PITA features in them?

JJ

I hate to say this but we have never found anything in our MH that was a big problem. The people did a great job laying out everything and only used the best material's that money could buy at time of manufacture. We have very close to no problems in most cases. Over time parts will age out and fail like coolant lines, tires (old age), batteries, lights inside and outside, and other odds and ends. Two TV's work same now as day one, two engines are leak free, dash A/C plus two over head A/C units work great. Everything works so what is not to like? It is good to own a system that works.

Mine is the positioning of our electrical outlets. There are two that are in especially awkward places. One is under the dining table. I have to get down on my hands and knees to plug anything in - and that is where I use my laptop. The other is in the front and I have to step down into the stairwell to see where to plug it in. If we are using an inverter overnight (my DH has sleep apnea and needs a machine at night) the power is not connected next to the bed. He has to use an extension chord to plug into the bathroom outlet to run his machine.

Fortunatly, I have outlets both below the dining table and above, so using my laptop isn't an issue. However, I can agree with you about the location of electrical outlets.... sometimes they are in odd places.

JJ

The only thing that could qualify in our 32' bus are the 3 great storage bins which are ATTACHED to the driver side, dinette slide-out. Cannot seriously use these as they'll overtax the slide motor. (300 lb limit) No problem with lightweight stuff: fishing gear, rubbermaid tub with couple extra towels, etc.
Passenger side slide NOT connected to storage bins...so the heavier stuff goes there: tool box, case of wine, couple 1-gal bottles drinking water.
Since the refrigerator and good interior storage is ALSO on the passenger side...we lean like a drunken sailor if I don't do some juggling before we hit the road.
Have it down to a science...but I understand why the larger RV's do not have those storage bins connected to their slide-outs.

The cable connection for exterior TV's are on the back non door side of the camper, about 30 feet from where I would need it if I decided to have an exterior TV.

The electrical outlet locations suck in our Renegade. We have one under the table which is a PITA to get to, and there are none in the area from the kitchen to the bedroom. The other PITA and biggest waste of money is our built-in vacuum. The first few times we used it, the long hose connection kept coming out and it was hard to maneuver. We took our Oreck out of storage and put the hose into storage. What a pleasure it is to vacuum now!

The all-time worst PITA is that our thermostat is positioned right next to our stove/oven. So in the winter when we cook, it's reading above 80 degrees next to the stove and about 20 degrees in the rest of the space. Whoever designed this was an idiot. The thermostat is also used for the air conditioner. So when we're cooking and it's hot in that area, it goes on when it's actually quite comfortable in the rest of the space. To resolve this one, we only use the bedroom air conditioner and close the bedroom vents and open the living room/kitchen vents.

That WAS idiotic!!!! Doesn't anyone have a clue here????

JJ

We have been RVing for a decade and a half and in that time have owned several different type rigs. So when we bought a new motor home in 05, we had a laundry list that encompassed everything down to the most minute details. Therefore, I have only one PITA and it's not the manufacturers fault.

When I turn on the wipers, even for momentary cleaning of the windshield, the head lights come on. Since the coach is made in California they had to comply with the vehicle laws in that state. No wonder everyone thinks California is full of nuts and fruits.

Hi RLM,

In Canada all new vehicles have to have running lights--usually headlights are used for this purpose. It saves a lot of lives, while consuming very little energy. It is far easier to see a vehicle with the lights on in the day time. It is a wonderful safety feature not a pita.

One of my past cars had this feature, well, it was "automatic on" for the headlights. It was my 2001 Chevy 2-10 pickup I used to have. Turn the car on, headlights automatically come on. From reading the owners manual, there was an "over-ride" for it, but I left it as is....

JJ

Both of our cars and our motorhome automatically turn on the lights when they are started. I assume the lights can then be turned off after that. We've never tried because we think it is a good safety feature when you're driving, but I guess that there might be times when when you would have the engine running that you might not need or want the lights on. Our lights also go off when we turn off the engine. Now that is a great feature! The lights don't run down the battery if we forget to turn them off manually.

Electrical outlets are not where you would think they should be, thus they deserve the PITA award. As for those daylight running lights, how many times have you seen vehicles on the highway, and it is DARK OUT, running without any lights on, so they are not a PITA. BUt I wish that ALL RV manufactures would locate there fuse panels at eye level, ours is located in the bathroom, and you have to lay on the floor with a flash light to check it, this is a real BIG PITA.
A good idea would be for all of those engineers who design these RV products, is to live in one of there units for at least 2 to 3 weeks, thus we might see improvements made.

GREAT idea MPfireman !

Well lets see, how about storage. Someone else mentions storage below the slide out for the kitchen/frontroom. Its the only real storage on the drivers side. So now if you load up the passenger side you are over weight and can cause an uneven weight distribution. Thus you are between a rock and a hardspace. That was problem number one second problem was the dinning room table and seats were the booth type. So due to the outcropping of the counter for the left side of the kitchen sink, one cannot walk thru the motor home with the slideout closed. It butts up to the forward booth seat. We did solve the problem by taking out the booth and putting in a table and chairs. Than we decided that since if you sat down on the couch/hideabed you could not get up again, problem number three, we pulled it out too. Well that has solved two of the three problems.