RV Repair Parts to Keep on Hand
Many times, I hear people saying that you MUST keep dozens of different repair items on board your RV but I disagree. In three and a half years on the road, over two RV's, we've had to replace the same parts on both regularly and those are the parts that I feel should be kept on hand. Let's see what they are.
Parts You'll Want On Hand
- Vacuum Breaker Valve - This is a repeat offender. We've replaced three of them. When we first got our original RV, we were wondering why we kept getting water under the bathroom vanity! Initially, it was just a little water but the amount grew over time. I tightened every single fitting under the sink and it didn't stop. Then, I realized that the leak wasn't coming from the pipes or fittings. It was coming from this odd-looking little thing under the sink! I had no idea what it was so I did some research and found out that it was the "Vacuum Breaker Valve". The entire purpose of this valve is to prevent backwash from the black tank flush into your potable water system. We were fortunate in that no nasty stuff from the black tank flush had made its way into the water. However, every time I was emptying the black tank and flushing it, the vacuum breaker was leaking badly. I replaced the vacuum breaker and the leak stopped! However the replacement turned out to also be faulty. I replaced that second one and it was fine until we traded in the old RV. We've since had to replace it on our new RV and the replacement is doing fine. We now keep two vacuum breaker valves on hand at all times
- Sail Switch - There is probably nothing that fails more often on RV's than the sail switch in the furnace! There is the rare occasion that the failure of a furnace is due to the control board but, 99% of the time it will be the sail switch. You'll know that it's failing if your heat turns on, the fan runs for about 30 seconds and then shuts off. No heat will come out of the vents. That is, usually, because the sail switch has failed. The sail switch is the signal to the system that it can start feeding it propane and ignite. If the switch doesn't activate, the system will assume a malfunction and not turn on the propane or ignite. We have replaced four sail switches in our time on the road. At one time, they were actually being shipped defective and the replacement bracket had to be modified prior to installation. I learned that from our mobile RV Tech that did the first one for me. I had to replace another sail switch in that RV and did it myself and I've now had to replace two in our new RV! We keep two on hand at all times.
- PEX pipe & Fittings - Water is the mortal enemy of all RV's! Keeping some lengths of PEX pipe and an assortment of clamps can help you mitigate any leaks quickly. We keep three 3' lengths of blue and three 3' lengths of red PEX pipe on hand. We also keep an assortment of clamps so we have whatever clamp size is needed.
- Silicone Sealant - Finally, you should always keep a tube of silicone sealant on hand for any leaks that pop up. When the incident with my large, side window happened, I found out that it had not only been installed incorrectly but the factory had failed to put any butyl tape between the windows (both large, side windows) and the RV. Essentially, there was no sealant on the windows. I installed the butyl tape (something else to keep on hand) and added a bead of silicone sealant across the top and halfway down the sides. Only go half way because there are weep holes at the bottom of the window that should not be blocked. We'd previously had a leak in the other large window when it rained a particular way and this stopped that leak.
In Summary
So, unless you're the type of person that worries about everything, these are the only real spare parts you need to have on hand. There are links to everything mentioned in this blog in our Amazon Store.
For more detail, watch the video below: