When we first got our coach at BCS, I asked Loren Cassidy if there was a formal scheduled maintenance form for it. He basically implied no, but produced copies of a generalized form, not specific to Beaver or Monaco. I discovered some things, as he forewarned, didn't apply to my rig and would be a waste of paper, etc. So when I had time I perused the coach owners manual and that for the engine and tranny, and the genset and hydronic unit, and a few online resources and came up with my own chart. Needless to say, not everything I came across was in agreement with everything else, so it took some discerning scrutinizing and judging, and maybe a little compromising, for some of the numbers to get finalized on the chart. Specific manufacturer guidelines, however, were a no-brainer.
Like I did when I took over the family farm long ago, I got a large eraserboard and charted all the service necessities on it. I then mounted the board using velcro on the inside of my garage back door that opens right next to the coach's pad. I simply mark on it when some work or change is done. Of course I also keep a file of receipts, etc. for the coach - one at home and one onboard, but the one on the garage door is handy and regularly "in my face", so its hard to forget stuff. I can erase old dates and/or mileage and easily enter the latest. Eraser and multiple markers attach magnetically to the face of the board, as do some colored "game pieces", for lack of a better term, that I use to hold incidental papers to the board and to mark whether the battery switches are ON or OFF.
The one issue with this method is that things on the wall behind the door often rub on the board when it's opened. That's a positioning logistical issue that's easily remedied, but my lazy side just hasn't tackled it yet. I have a similar board mounted on an inside overhead garage door panel for my other vehicles, but its relatively out of harm's way; it's only in that spot due to lack of bare wallspace elsewhere, and yes, it is a little difficult to write on when the garage door is open
, but any open port in a storm.
The motorhome board's scribblings are rather tattered after 8 years and could use refreshing, but I for one at least can tell what they mean. Some long-range service schedules have never come to fruition, and may never under my ownership, but they're listed regardless as a reminder at least of their potential. The idea is to not have the service schedule stuffed away in a drawer or file someplace, out of sight and out of mind; but rather in an unavoidable place regularly if not daily seen. Yeah, I get jadedly used to its being there, but I certainly refresh my mind about it a lot more often than if the schedules were stored away.
Joel
