I had two or three comments and e-mails from people warning me about the Holiday Rambler we are considering buying, because with the parent company, Monaco, now out of business, it will be an orphan unit.

I have never been a fan of Monaco, because their reputation for customer service has been pretty bad. However, that is not to say that every rig they ever built is problematic. As for the orphan unit concerns, the coach we are looking at is a 2000, so it is out of warranty anyway. The good thing about buying a used RV, besides the fact that someone else has already taken the depreciation hit, is that all of the bugs have already been worked out.

As it turns out, we may not have a buyer for our bus anyway, so the deal may not happen. Our potential buyer has some logistical problems that have changed the look of things, so if you know anybody looking for a nice bus conversion, send them my way.

There has been a lot of talk about orphan units around campfires and on the different RV internet forums. I’m not sure that all of this concern is really necessary. Even on a new RV, keep in mind that most of the components are covered under their individual manufacturers’ warranties, so the whole orphan unit thing doesn’t have to be a deal killer. If I were looking at a new orphan unit sitting on a reliable dealer’s lot, I would negotiate an extended warranty into the contract.  

Of course, keep in mind that my opinion of most RV manufacturers’ warranties is biased by the fact that Fleetwood never did address the problems we had on the Motorhome From Hell that we started our RVing life in. We had the factory warranty, for all the good it did us.

After a whirlwind weekend of stuffing envelopes, we’re driving back up to our mail service in Mesa this morning to get everything sent off. Poor Miss Terry has really been hitting it hard trying to make up for lost time.

After everything is in the mail, we’ll drive over to Apache Junction to visit with her Mom and Dad, Pete and Bess Weber. We’re pulled in so many different directions at times that it’s hard to squeeze in everything we need to get done. But family time is very important to us, and we take advantage of the opportunities we do have to spend with the people we love.

Thought For The Day - A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.