Last August, after traveling full-time for over 8 years, our family experienced our first-ever true RV breakdown emergency. Our motorhome engine blew out driving along Highway 1 in Northern California. It was a nightmare experience, and one I would not wish on anyone.
That said, we did learn some things from the whole ordeal. Today I will share what we learned. Hopefully, other travelers can avoid RV breakdown events or at least navigate them a bit better than we did.
Leading Up to Our Emergency
In the months leading up to our RV breakdown, we were hanging out in Northern Washington. Our RV, which we’d lovingly named Rhoda Vanderbilt, was working just fine and we honestly had no concerns. I did think once or twice that it was about time for some routine maintenance. Nothing was terribly overdue. She was trucking along just fine. I checked the oil level, saw that it was fine, and didn’t worry too much more about it.
When we finally decided to head South, we hopped on Highway 1 through Oregon. On the last day of our drive to the Redwoods, we stopped at a Walmart to have the oil changed in our car. We discussed having the oil changed in Rhoda as well but decided it would be too time-consuming. We would do it once we got where we were going.
The RV Breakdown
That evening, less than half an hour from where we planned to stop, we came up over a hill. The engine brake kicked in as it normally would. But this time, it didn’t want to leave engine brake mode.
My husband revved quite a bit higher than he normally would’ve in order to turn off the engine brake. When it finally did switch, he was met with a horrible noise.
I was following behind and didn’t see or hear any of this. However, when the RV pulled over, I pulled over behind it and immediately heard the noise, a rhythmic knocking under the hood. He turned off the engine right away.
We were in the middle of nowhere, but somehow we’d ended up in front of someone’s home. He came out to help, advising us to check the oil dipstick, which was completely dry. We added what oil we had and started the engine back up. The noise stopped momentarily but then came back louder.
There was no cell signal where we were, but we did have our Starlink. We used our inverter to power up our Starlink and found a small break in the trees to connect to the satellite. We used the signal to call my mechanic uncle back in Oklahoma. He suspected serious engine damage and assumed we’d have to replace the engine entirely.
In the hope that we could limp along to a place to sleep for the night, we turned on our emergency lights and drove slowly down the road. We didn’t make it half a mile before there was a loud bang. Smoke began pouring out from under the hood. Rhoda wasn’t going anywhere.
Calling Roadside Assistance
At this point, it was nearly dark and we were under even more tree cover. We couldn’t get Starlink to connect at all. The kids and I stayed behind in the RV to cook dinner while my husband drove somewhere with a cell signal so he could call roadside assistance.
He only had to drive a few miles down the road and was able to contact Coach-Net. A nearby towing service was contacted and towed Rhoda as far as the next town. (Shops were closed at the time.) The tow truck driver was kind and knew the town well. He took us to a safe place to sleep for the night and advised us to call Coach-Net again in the morning for a tow to a mechanic’s shop.
Dealing with the Aftermath of Our RV Breakdown
The events that followed our RV breakdown were a nightmare. To be quite honest, a lot of it is a blur.
The Next Day
The next morning was spent on the phone. We called Coach-Net first. They wanted to tow us from Eureka to a shop in Redding.
We called the shop in Redding and learned that they would charge $19K+ to replace the engine. Plus, they would need to keep the RV for at least two months! Not only that, but we would not be able to sleep in the RV during that time. Essentially, we would be homeless for those two months.
We called several other shops and got vague answers. Nobody wanted to give us a quote until they saw the damage. We finally got a quote of $10K from Johnson Automotive & Electric in Eureka. The estimated turnaround time was around 6 weeks. And we would be allowed to stay in the RV during that time. This seemed fair enough.
Getting Towed
Coach-Net was called again and agreed to tow to the shop in Eureka. We were told they would send a driver out in a couple of hours. Just before sunset, the same driver from the night before arrived.
We quickly started packing everything away, and the driver started hooking Rhoda up to the tow truck again. Unfortunately, that was not the end of our troubles for the day. In our hurry to pack up, we forgot to move the Starlink dish out of the RV’s front passenger seat. I had been placed there, face-down, while we were parked. Right after we got out on the highway, one of the legs broke through the front window, shattering the glass all over the floor.
I think the truck driver felt sorry for us. He went out of his way to grab some plastic wrap from his shop and covered the window in before parking us at the shop in Eureka, California, where we slept for the night.
The Shocking Quote of Our RV Breakdown
The next day, the mechanics got to work checking out our RV. Feeling hopeful, we took the kids to run around at the park. This was much needed, considering they’d been stuck in the car and the RV, for two solid days.
While we were at the park, I got a call from the mechanic. He told me I might want to sit down. This was not a good sign. The diagnosis was what we thought: The engine had thrown a rod, causing the RV breakdown. However, the quote to repair it was not what we’d thought. Instead, it was almost double what we were told on the phone — $18K and six weeks of waiting to replace our engine.
We technically had the $18K in our savings account. But that would be a LOT of what we’d saved up. We really weren’t comfortable spending it, especially considering we got an awesome deal and only paid $25K for the RV. That said, we loved Rhoda. She was our home, and we’d been on so many adventures with her. We decided to try to find a way to make the repairs without completely draining our bank account.
Fumbling for Financial Solutions
The first thing we did was call our insurance to see if they could cover any part of the ordeal. I knew they probably wouldn’t help with repairs — and they didn’t. But I also knew I had coverage to pay for a hotel room in emergency situations. What I learned instead was that the coverage only kicked in if my RV was in the shop due to an accident, not a mechanical breakdown. Our insurance was apparently completely useless to us.
Next, I looked into credit card and loan options. However, since we never financed anything, we weren’t eligible for much in terms of credit, certainly nothing that would put a dent in the $18K or more we were looking at spending.
We talked with the shop about finding ways to lower the bill or setting up a payment plan. No dice there either. We weren’t getting anywhere.
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
While we were figuring out how to raise $18K, we were also juggling other issues.
Safety
Not long after we arrived in the area, we realized we had to be more careful than usual. While the town is unique and interesting in many ways, it did present some safety challenges in our particular location that were hard to overlook.
It felt unpredictable at times, especially with the sound of police sirens often in the background and the general busyness going on into the night. This atmosphere made us pretty wary.
Observing the challenges faced by the homeless population in town also heightened our awareness of the complex social dynamics. As a result, we found ourselves staying near our RV more than we initially planned, just to be safe.
Water
Water was another issue. While we were lucky to have some water in our fresh tank, it was running dangerously low. Not only that, but our waste tanks were getting full and we had absolutely no way to dump them.
Obviously, we needed to shower every few days too. In most places, this would be easy enough to solve by going to the local swimming pool, gym, campground or truck stop. This was not the case in our location. We ended up spending precious time that should have been used to solve our ordeal driving out of town to a gym that offered free membership for one week — and thus access to decent showers. But after our week was up, we were out of luck again.
Power
Oh, and our generator started acting up during this time as well. It worked sometimes, but only when it felt like it. We couldn’t run it all day while the shop was open and were limited to running it in the evenings to recharge our batteries.
Storing Our Things
At some point, we realized that whether or not we were keeping Rhoda, we would have to store our things elsewhere, even if it was being repaired. We didn’t feel comfortable leaving all of our stuff in our RV for six or more weeks if it came to that. To be honest, it wasn’t looking like we were keeping the rig and in order to sell it, it had to be empty.
Because we couldn’t fit everything we owned into our tiny Honda Fit, a storage unit would be necessary. We set about trying to find one. After many, many phone calls around town and the neighboring areas, we eventually settled on a place down the street because they allowed us to rent for just one month.
The Purge
The next step was going through all of our things. Space in the storage unit was limited, and since we were thinking we were going to have to sell the RV, we knew we wouldn’t be able to keep everything anyway. I pulled everything from every storage bay and cabinet. Anything that was worth money got listed on Facebook Marketplace and sold. Things that we could bear to part with went in a donation pile. Everything else was carted to storage, one tiny carload at a time (it took a bunch of trips).
Once all of the things we were keeping made it to storage, we had to get rid of the donation items. This was tough for two reasons:
- We were getting rid of almost everything we owned, and we really didn’t own much to begin with. Our kids’ toys, most of our clothes, all of our linens, and most of our dishes went into this pile.
- For some reason, it was hard to find places that accepted donations. We finally found two thrift stores, but both had very limited donation hours, so we had to work our schedules around giving all of our belongings away.
During this fast-paced purge, my wedding ring and a special ring from my grandmother were misplaced. I still haven’t found them, and assume they were donated or left in the RV.
A Little Help From My Friends
Shortly after we moved everything to storage, I reached out to my nomadic community for help. I explained the details of our RV breakdown and our situation. A fellow traveler whom I had never even met showed up to dump our tanks using a Blue Boy (which itself took a few trips). Others offered advice, places to stay, and help moving our things back to Oklahoma.
My sister set up a GoFundMe, and our families and traveling friends (and even some strangers we’ve never met!) shared the page and donated. We ended up collecting a little under $3,000 — enough to help us pay for the storage unit and get back to family in Oklahoma, but not enough to make a good dent in the repair bill.
More Problems
At this point, we had been parked at the shop for over a week and the owner was getting impatient. He wanted us to agree to either have the repairs made, move our rig, or start paying rent at $100 a night. We still hadn’t found a way to cover the repairs without going broke We had roadside assistance through our insurance, but they would only tow us 15 miles, which wouldn’t get us to a campground. No place wanted us bringing in a broken-down motorhome anyway, and who could blame them?
We did discover at some point around this time that we could have our RV moved by large-freight transport services like uShip, and if we could get it to Oklahoma, my uncle could fix it for much, much less. The problem? Using uShip involved waiting for bids from truckers to come in. It also involved researching drivers to make sure you hire someone reputable, and we were out of time.
The Storage Unit Issue
Feeling defeated, we made the incredibly difficult decision to sell our beloved Rhoda Vanderbilt. We knew we couldn’t take everything that was in the storage unit since our only remaining vehicle was the Honda Fit, so we went to find more items to donate and spent a good three hours sorting through things again.
The next day, we received a message saying we had been locked out of our storage unit entirely. Apparently, there is a rule that you can only spend a few minutes at a time in your unit. Those who stay longer get locked out. We didn’t have much choice due to other circumstances. After explaining our situation and some pleading, we were allowed access.
Only after we donated a number of our belongings did we learn that my in-laws had decided to bring their truck from Oklahoma to Eureka. When they arrived, we loaded up nearly everything that was left so they could be stored until we arrived in Oklahoma.
Selling Rhoda Vanderbilt
We knew we wouldn’t be able to sell Rhoda for anywhere near what she was worth. Similar rigs were selling for $30K-$35K at the time, but we would get what we could, get to Oklahoma, and find something inexpensive to call home while we built our savings back up.
I listed the RV on Facebook Marketplace but didn’t get any bites. I started calling companies that would buy junk RVs. This hurt; Rhoda was NOT a junk RV. Aside from the engine, everything about her was perfect. She even had a relatively new solar setup with a 3,000-watt inverter and a few lithium batteries. Despite these facts, the first offer I got was for an insulting $2,000. I declined and kept calling. I got offers for $4,000 and $6,000, but that still wasn’t enough. Eventually, I found someone who was willing to pay $10K. That still seemed low, but I really didn’t know what else to do, so we took the offer.
The sale went smoothly. A tow truck arrived. We handed over the title. Payment was sent online and we saw it on our bank account right away. Our home was towed away. It was humbling and heartbreaking to see how quickly someone can go from having a comfortable, happy home to having practically nothing.
The Homeless Weeks
Way before any of this ordeal happened, we had booked and paid for a Hawaiian cruise and flights to and from the cruise. As the cost of the trip was non-refundable, we decided to take the car down to Los Angeles and stick with our original plan to fly out of L.A. to Vancouver, cruise down to Hawaii, and fly back into LAX, all of which would give us the shortest possible drive back to Oklahoma afterward (versus leaving the car somewhere further north).
Of course, this meant we had to find places to stay for the weeks in between. The goal was basically to see all that we had planned to see originally, as we didn’t plan to return to California for a good long time, if ever.
Hopping Through California
After picking up some camping essentials we knew would be needed, we started with a tent campsite just outside of Eureka so we could at least see the Redwoods while we were there. Next, we headed to a Motel 6 in Redding in order to visit Lassen, then to another cheap motel outside of Kings Canyon to check out that park, cooking as many meals as possible outside on a little camp stove.
Our next stop was Yosemite, where we stayed in a cabin generously paid for by a friend. We then went to Palm Springs and stayed in a lovely timeshare that was deeply discounted thanks to another friend. Finally, we went to stay with yet another traveling friend in her lovely home in the Palm Springs area. We went on the cruise as planned, and the vacation was a welcome break after a grueling few weeks.
Returning to Oklahoma
When we returned from our cruise and landed in LAX after dark, we climbed into our car, sitting in long-term parking, and started the engine, only to find that our car battery was dead. Fortunately, a security guard was able to give us a jump, and we arrived at our motel just as they were about to close up for the night. It was a close call.
The next day, we grabbed a new car battery and hit the road. At some point along the way, our car’s air conditioner quit working (because of course), and the drive was less than comfortable until we got out of the heat of SoCal and Arizona — but we drove anyway, hardly ever stopping (except to sleep) until we reached Oklahoma.
Finding a New Rig
Once in Oklahoma, the goal was to find a new rig. The problem? Truck prices were outrageous, and because of the time of year, RVs were few and far between. We searched for two weeks without finding anything suitable and in our price range.
The Trailer
We finally ended up driving a couple of hours away and buying an overpriced 10-year-old travel trailer. Unfortunately, we were so excited to find something that was halfway decent, we did not do a good job of inspecting and believed the dealership’s claims about a thorough inspection. I found a soft spot in the floor shortly after purchasing, followed by more leaks and damage in the coming weeks. Obviously, this was our fault for not inspecting more closely, but it was still pretty shady of the RV dealership.
The Truck
The truck we ended up buying in an effort to return to some sort of normalcy was equally riddled with problems, but at least it was cheap. Surprisingly, despite being in rough condition, the thing has taken us to Florida and back, and then down to Texas and back, without any major problems.
Where We Are Now
At this point, we are still stuck in our less-than-ideal trailer and truck. We have made numerous repairs to both, and both are at least usable now. But we miss our motorhome terribly and are saving to purchase another Class C as soon as we can.
The whole experience was traumatic, to say the least, and we debated getting off the road entirely for fear of another, similar situation. The thing is, we adore traveling. We have an incredible road family and have stayed in some of the most beautiful places. Our kids have seen things many adults never get to see and their education is as hands-on as it gets. Ultimately, we decided to push past our fears and continue on, knowing another catastrophic breakdown is actually pretty unlikely. Still, for me at least, travel days do come with an extra large helping of anxiety that I only hope will diminish over time.
13 Tips To Help You Avoid a Traumatic RV Breakdown
Obviously, you don’t ever want to find yourself in this or any RV breakdown situation, and there are things you can do to help ensure things go smoothly if they do happen.
Never Travel to a Place You Wouldn’t Want to Get Stuck
It’s important to consider your surroundings when traveling. While it’s inevitable that you’ll pass through some less desirable areas, aim to spend your nights in locations where you’d be comfortable if a breakdown occurred. Knowing the local amenities and safety can make unexpected delays less stressful.
Stay on Top of Maintenance
Regular maintenance is crucial to prevent unexpected issues. Even though our RV had oil at the start of our trip and still broke down, routine checks and timely services could minimize the risk of major failures. It’s wise to handle maintenance proactively, rather than hoping for the best. Using online tools like RV LIFE Maintenance can help owners stay on top of routine checks and preventative measures.
Don’t Overload Your Rig
Overloading can stress your RV’s mechanical systems and potentially lead to breakdowns. While we aren’t sure if weight was a direct factor in our breakdown, being cautious about load limits is a simple measure that can prevent a variety of mechanical issues.
Don’t Drive Late in the Day
Try to complete your travel early in the day. If something goes wrong, you’ll have more daylight to manage the situation, and it will be easier to find a service station or a safe place to stay overnight.
Have a Way To Call for Help
Always have a backup communication plan. In our case, Starlink was invaluable during a service outage. Having multiple ways to call for help, such as a secondary cell provider or a satellite communicator, ensures you’re never left stranded without support.
Always Carry Roadside Assistance (Even Multiple Plans)
Coach-Net has saved us more than once after an RV breakdown, and they were especially helpful during this situation, even offering us a discount on towing after we had been towed the times we were allowed by our plan. We have considered paying for a second roadside assistance plan in case we ever needed to be towed twice for one breakdown. It would have been helpful in our situation.
Consider Mechanical Insurance
Investigate mechanical breakdown insurance options. Companies like Progressive offer plans that cover emergencies, and third-party warranties can provide additional peace of mind against costly repairs.
Get Solid Quotes Before Being Towed
We tried to do this, and I would do it again. After an RV breakdown, before using your one tow from your roadside assistance, call all of the mechanics in the area to find out how much they might charge for the repair you need. I only wish we had been given an accurate quote over the phone. It might help to ask how solid the quote is before accepting it as fact.
Keep a Full Savings Account
As mentioned before, we did have enough savings to cover this repair, BUT we didn’t have enough to cover the repair and have some left over for future emergencies. Keep your savings account as full as you possibly can.
Maintain Good Credit
One of our major mistakes was not having a credit card. Get a credit card, use it regularly, and pay it off every single month. This will build credit, making it easier to get a high-limit credit card or a loan if you’re ever in a bad situation.
Have a Solid Nomadic Community (and Travel with Them If Possible)
The thing that helped us most during our RV breakdown event was having a good nomadic community helping us out. From the total stranger who stopped by to help us dump our tanks to the close friends who donated money and offered up their homes to us, we are so, so thankful for our people and how they helped us through this horrific RV breakdown. I don’t know how we would have done it all without their generosity.
Ask for Help
I am not one to ask for help. I like to solve problems on my own. However, had I reached out to my family and friends for help a bit sooner after our RV breakdown, I probably would have given myself a few more options.
Never Rush Into an RV Purchase
Never, ever purchase an RV without inspecting it thoroughly or better yet, having it inspected by a professional. I KNOW this one and I knew it going into the purchase of our trailer. Unfortunately, I was exhausted, sad, and defeated by the preceding weeks of trauma and just needed a place for my family to sleep, and that got the better of me.
Conclusion
It’s important to note that the series of events described in this story will unlikely happen again. We have been traveling for a long time and never had emergencies quite like this. While it is a good idea to plan for and be prepared for such issues, the possibility of an emergency coming up should never keep you from getting out there and enjoying the RV life.
There’s far more good out there than there is bad, especially when you have the freedom of a home-on-wheels that allows you to look for it!
