Finding components for older RVs may require a little detective work and a lot of patience.
By Steve Froese, F276276
March 2024
We recently received an email from Tom, a reader who relayed his story about trying to source replacement parts for products manufactured by RV-related companies no longer in business.
As our RVs age, it can become more difficult to find replacement parts. This is more challenging in the case of some manufacturers than others, especially if the company itself is no longer around, at least in its original form. Over the years, many FMCA members have reported difficulty sourcing parts for their RV because of a company being out of business. Often, the best option is to do extensive internet sleuthing. Sources for these parts can sometimes be found on the web, and you may discover that other manufacturers or third parties have acquired the parts inventory.
The manufacturer of my motorhome maintains an extremely strong online library and searchable parts inventory, including parts for older-model RVs. One can search by VIN, coach serial number, or year and model. Since I do most of my own repair work, this resource continues to be extremely valuable.
Fortunately, in terms of appliances, there are only a few major manufacturers, and most appliance models continue to be manufactured. This includes water heaters, furnaces, refrigerators, and ranges/stoves. However, some manufacturers of RV appliances have either deprecated certain parts or gone out of business altogether.
In Tom’s case, he experienced a failure of his Kwikee Level Best leveling control board and was having great difficulty sourcing a replacement. I am not sure whether Tom and other readers of this column are aware that Kwikee (along with many other RV appliance and parts manufacturers) has been acquired by Lippert (store.lci1.com). Knowing this, I did a quick internet search and found that Lippert does carry replacement touch panels for this product, although I could not immediately locate the actual control box on the Lippert website.
Those of us who own older RVs sometimes face the issue of obsolete parts. Fortunately, several companies have stepped up to fill this gap, and faithful reader Tom was persistent enough to identify one such company. I am unsure whether Tom reached out to Lippert for assistance, but he certainly displayed a respectful amount of tenacity in order to success-fully source the required control box.
The following information is not meant as a personal endorsement, as I have not had any experience with the companies mentioned. However, as Tom points out, there may be other readers who experience failures of their Kwikee Level Best system, or another RV system. Thus, the information may be useful, as the companies noted here may also manufacture other replacement parts.
After kicking over many stones, including RV salvage lots all across the country, Tom located a system called “Rosebud,” manufactured by Rosebud RV LLC (rosebudrvsystems.com; 503-705-8352). The owner of the company, Alan Vore, personally designed the system to be a direct plug-and-play replacement for the original Kwikee system, with the addition of a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone and a Rosebud app. That’s what I call kicking it up a notch. As an added bonus, the system only cost Tom $550.
Tom wanted additional quotes prior to purchasing the Rosebud, so he reached out to other companies and got some positive results. If you find yourself in a similar situation, search the internet; send out emails to the companies you find; and be patient, as sometimes responses can take a while. I can personally attest to this. While researching, I often have to wait several weeks, or even a few months, for companies to respond. Fortunately, this is not common.
The second company Tom identified was EQ Systems (eqsystems.us; 800-846-9659) in Cassopolis, Michigan. Unlike Rosebud, they and other companies quoted the price of an entire leveling system replacement. Many of the quotes Tom received ranged from about $7,000 to $10,000. However, EQ Systems quoted $3,500 plus $800 for installation if Tom was able to take the RV to their headquarters to have the work done. This was an attractive option for Tom, since EQ Systems has an area for RVs with electric for customers.
The other company Tom wanted to highlight was M&M RV Electronics (mmrvelectronics.com; 419-965-3014). What makes this company different is that they actually repair electronic circuit boards, which is definitely a dying art form! While this can be the best (and potentially least expensive) option, it obviously carries the risk that the board in question cannot be repaired. This is what Tom discovered after sending his faulty board to M&M. Even though M&M had initially communicated to Tom that they had very good success in repairing this particular board, they ultimately could not repair his. At first, they found some failed components on the board that were easy to source and replace. However, the board failed testing after these components were replaced. The culprit turned out to be the microprocessor, which, unfortunately, could not be sourced. This was partly because of proprietary Kwikee embedded firmware, which M&M did not have access to.
It is definitely worth reaching out to M&M if you discover you have a failed circuit board in your RV system (and kudos to you if you are actually able to troubleshoot the issue to a failed board). In my experience as an engineer, reputable companies that perform board-level repairs are usually very good at it, and it can be done quite inexpensively. According to their website, M&M repairs many popular active and obsolete RV systems.
Thanks to FMCA member Tom for doing this research out of necessity and for sharing his story so we could all potentially benefit. As a reminder, I am unable to endorse any of these companies, but Tom did have good success with the Rosebud system and identified some great options.
I suggest you archive this article for reference in case you should ever find yourself with failed RV electronics.
Send your troubleshooting questions to Steve Froese at techtalk@fmca.com. The volume of correspondence may preclude personal replies. Not all responses will apply in every instance. Some situations may require a visual inspection and hands-on testing. If you choose to follow any procedures outlined in this column, first satisfy yourself that neither personal nor product safety will be jeopardized. If you feel uncomfortable about a procedure, stop and make an appointment with an RV service facility. You may also want to consult the FMCA Forums (https://community.fmca.com) to see whether your question has already been addressed or, if not, to post it.
Recalls
Looking for the latest RV-related recall information? Visit FamilyRVingmag.com for a list of the most recent recalls issued by RV and component manufacturers. Or, to search for recalls, investigations, and complaints by vehicle year, make, model, and VIN, visit nhtsa.gov/recalls. NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline is (888) 327-4236.