I have a question about getting repair work done while fulltiming.
I understand that 5th wheels (what I have...see Canadian Newbie under "Introduce Yourself) require more maintance than a stick house and while I hope to handle a lot of them myself, there are some things like hydraulic brakes, furnace gas leaks etc that I would not want to tackle.  From the little experience I have had and a few forums I have seen, it appears that IF YOU CAN FIND SOME PLACE THAT IS WILLING to service your rig, its a long wait for service and then your rig is tied up for weeks while it is handled. (ie: mine's in now for what I think is a 1 hour repair....they told me they need it for at least a week)
My question is...Fulltimers..do you end up staying in hotels for days waiting for service or is my perception incorrect?  Are there techniques you can use to get things handled quickly?

We've had need, mostly due to my inexperience :) , to take the trailer for service 5 times now in a little over a year, and I must say we haven't yet experienced any of the problems you mention. We've been able to make mutually agreeable appointments and have been treated well and quickly in all instances. BTW, only one was at our dealer. the others were all at Carriage dealers in other states. When we've had to stay overnight the trailer was brought out to us in the afternoon and taken back again in the morning. The dealers let us stay for free also. One even washed the rig when they were done. How cool is that? We've never experienced a dealer not wanting to work on our unit because we didn't buy it there, and most of the work was warranty, paid by Carriage. In our experience at least, you perception is incorrect. Good luck, Fred

Thanks Fred....That's what I like to hear!

I want to say, like Fred, we have at times had to take our 5ver in but the dealer has always allowed us to stay in it at night there at the dealership. If they know you live in it they, in most cases, will work with you.  

We've only had to take our fifth wheel in a couple of times, once for an electric problem which we took to a Titanium dealer in Kamloops, BC and they fixed right away - the dealer was Jubilee - we were treated very well and would recommend them highly. We had a problem with our main slide in Oregon and had to have a mobile tech come out. That took a few days but we were okay, we just couldn't bring in our slide to take it to a dealer. In Rockport, TX, our microwave crapped out. I called Dometic (the manufacturer) and they recommended someone to replace it. We did have some problem there but finally made an appointment, they replaced it under warranty except for labor and we were on our way in an hour. Everything else (minor things) have been looked after by our dealer at home in Ottawa. What I've heard from others is if you have to have work done and it will take a while, most dealers let you live in your RV on their lot while they work on it. I think your fears are basically unfounded. Good luck & happy traveling!

I cannot  imagine how difficult it would be if my DH was not a handyman.  It seems like there is always something happening but usually minor and he can fix it.  We, also, have always been able to stay in our motorhome at night on repair site when repairs are being done.  The one we just left even had hookups for us.

We are fulltimers and have had to go in for repairs. We've always stayed in the motorhome for the duration of the repair. We've stayed inside buildings in the MH at their suggestion. When that was not permitted they moved us outside but always with electric hookup. We just tell them this is our home and "no" we don't have somewhere to stay while they repair. So far, so good!!!!