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Old 01-13-2016, 08:16 AM   #1
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How does the warranty work?

After starting with about 120 different fifth wheels we go it down to 2. Bay Hill 379FL and Columbus 381FL kind of leaning toward Columbus . Question is the warranty. The only dealer around that has the Columbus has a pretty bad rap in their service department. Not to mention they are over and hour away. That being said there is a local rv repair place about 2 miles from my house. Should I need warranty work can the guy close to me do it? I guess that might be a question for that guy right? Anyways planning on making a decision today. Any feedback on our decision would be appreciated.
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Old 01-13-2016, 08:27 AM   #2
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Should I need warranty work can the guy close to me do it? I guess that might be a question for that guy right?

Probably/Maybe ................................Exactly^^^^^

That being said what you want to do is minimize the need to return the camper for warranty work. You can do that by doing a very diligent inspection on your own and a detailed pre delivery inspection BEFORE you sign the paperwork and own the unit. Take your time and do lots of research. If you're not comfortable find someone that is who had owned a few trailers and take them with you. Just make sure they're not a dumas. You do not want to sign for ownership and then "leave" it with the dealer, which is what they will attempt to have you do most of the time.

Granted chances are that in the future something will happen or break requiring you to use thge warranty but you want to eliminate as much as you can prior to buying it.
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Old 01-13-2016, 09:12 AM   #3
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The only dealer around that has the Columbus has a pretty bad rap in their service department. Not to mention they are over and hour away. That being said there is a local rv repair place about 2 miles from my house. Should I need warranty work can the guy close to me do it? I guess that might be a question for that guy right? Anyways planning on making a decision today. Any feedback on our decision would be appreciated.
The only dealer required to do warranty work is the selling dealer. So if that dealer has a poor reputation for service, I would proceed with caution. Call the local shop and ask them if they will do warranty work for you. Its totally up to them whether or not they will. If they aren't a FR dealer, you may have to do some extra work to get approval then pay the shop yourself and get reimbursed from FR. But, many independent service shops have stellar reputations for the work they do - because that is all they do. They aren't an after thought to a place focused on selling new units. And if they say no, you can contact FR or use their website to find some other near by FR dealers to contact and see if you can find a good service department that way.

This forum is full of horror stories related to poor dealer service / problems getting warranty work done, and many of us have learned about these problems first hand. No matter what you decide, you're ahead of the game by figuring this out before you buy.
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Old 01-13-2016, 09:31 AM   #4
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After starting with about 120 different fifth wheels we go it down to 2. Bay Hill 379FL and Columbus 381FL kind of leaning toward Columbus . Question is the warranty. The only dealer around that has the Columbus has a pretty bad rap in their service department. Not to mention they are over and hour away. That being said there is a local rv repair place about 2 miles from my house. Should I need warranty work can the guy close to me do it? I guess that might be a question for that guy right? Anyways planning on making a decision today. Any feedback on our decision would be appreciated.
Remember these Are Travel Units,so use the same rational if your unit has a Issue when you are 200-2000 Miles away from your buying Dealer! Very few times has our unit Failed at Home! Contact F/R Warr with your proposal BEFORE you buy! Youroo!!
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Old 01-13-2016, 12:01 PM   #5
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call the shop and see if they're willing to do the work.
then contact Palomino and see if they'll reimburse you for approved warranty work, from that shop.
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Old 01-13-2016, 12:14 PM   #6
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Can not stress enough to make sure everything works before you sign anything especially if dealer has poor service reputation. There is lots of motivation to fix your unit right and quickly if they haven't been paid. Warranty work is usually not profitable and once the motivation is gone, paying service customers will usually come first. Also when making your decision as to when an where to buy, be sure you assign a value to local warranty repairs. If you don't expect much for warranty work, figure that in. My local dealer's service reputation was terrible. In my decision process, I assigned zero value to them for being local for warranty repairs.
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Old 01-13-2016, 12:27 PM   #7
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What year Columbus? 2015 or 16?


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Old 01-13-2016, 01:00 PM   #8
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Can not stress enough to make sure everything works before you sign anything especially if dealer has poor service reputation. There is lots of motivation to fix your unit right and quickly if they haven't been paid. Warranty work is usually not profitable and once the motivation is gone, paying service customers will usually come first. Also when making your decision as to when an where to buy, be sure you assign a value to local warranty repairs. If you don't expect much for warranty work, figure that in. My local dealer's service reputation was terrible. In my decision process, I assigned zero value to them for being local for warranty repairs.
It makes No difference Who is going to do the Work,it Has to be OKed by F/R before ANY work is done! If it is a Non F/R service you Still have to get the OK from F/R if you plan on YOU getting Reimbursed since You will pay the Bill! Youroo!!
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Old 01-13-2016, 01:05 PM   #9
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I was 115 miles but found a local RV repair shop who does warranty work on any brand.
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Old 01-13-2016, 02:02 PM   #10
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Warranty work..

I no longer trust any extended warranty....Purchased one for my very first 5th wheel when bought new from Bados Tacoma WA... Three years later refer went out and would not honor extended warranty even at the place I bought it. Cost over 1000 for new warranty. Heard Good Sam was good from other RVrs...so bought a used 5th this past year at Camping World in Portland Oregon. Since used I also bought the extend warranty for just over 2000. The sale guy promised it covered everything from bumper to hitch. He knew I was concerned specifically about the undercarriage and wheels. Over 15 years and 5 fifth wheels had a lot of undercarriage problems from blown tires to burned off axel..from hot bearings. Traveled Alaska to Guatemala with Adventure Caravan so lot of miles so sales guy was not talking to novice. So I read the warranty cover to cover...finding now it did not include anything about the undercarriage. So got my money back no problem. Heading to Arizona from WA blew tire and found the bearings were bad. All were suppose to be check out prior to sale to me but would not have been covered by Called Camping world and they said would pay for the new tire but not the rest. It pays to do two things ....First be sure you check out everything on that rig. If they have it so you can't check roof..stop and insist. If its dark or really cold come back later. If they promise they will check it and fix things...don't ever trust them. You or if new to RVing have friends go and help check everything from under it to the top..and insist on two batteries. So second get and demand documented response on everything...not just a form like Camping World uses 22 point check list that means nothing. It took me over a year putting off my trip around US and fighting with Camping world but finally got all new wheels, new brakes, new bearing...all not covered by the original warranty they tried to sell me. They were really nice after I suggested I needed to speak with an attorney....Strange how they not only found the tires were bad but repaired roof crack they seemed to forget to tell me about and a cracked skylight, and a broken hitch cover, and few other things. Possibly that extended warranty would have covered some but not the five new tires, new brakes, and new bearings.... Just be sure when you buy your rig...even if you do buy extended warranty, that what your getting is fully checked out and documents with dates and who checked them. ...Any tires on a used rig over 6 years...should be replaced...Tires and undercarriage may look great but if the rig has been sitting some place for a few years...and not moving..they may be shot. Good luck
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Old 01-13-2016, 02:14 PM   #11
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asking for heartache

My experience is once they have your money (purchase price), your a complete stranger to dealer and FR. I spent 2 months and threaten a law suit to get minor work done. Not to mention all the things I had to repair myself before my wife said this is silly spending $90,000 on a 5er and then spending all summer fixing it. I have not expired original warranty yet, but extended is out of the question. Good luck
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Old 01-13-2016, 03:15 PM   #12
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I've owned 2 Forest River products and most likely never will again. I have the distinct impression they are in the business of selling trailers and not taking care of them.

Any warranty work we have had done on either of the 2 FR trailers has taken from 6 weeks to 3 months and has been an ordeal every time.

Sadly I'm not sure any company is any good at taking care of the customer in this industry.
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Old 01-13-2016, 03:46 PM   #13
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You can also see about finding another local dealer with a good rep that sells forest river and have them order it for you. I have the 370FL and love it I think you will like it also.
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Old 01-13-2016, 10:57 PM   #14
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It's a 2016 379FL.
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Old 01-14-2016, 12:16 AM   #15
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Delivery Inspection

I am a recent first time buyer and have just realized that I focused on the wrong things during my inspection. F/R will not cover damage so make sure you really check for dings, scratches and tears. The other stuff will be covered under warranty. You have 90 days for cabinet alignment issues. The fixtures, axles, appliances, frame and slide are covered through the dealer but approved by the manufacturer such as Dometic, Lippert, Atwood etc.

Get on a ladder and check for damage to the roof! The unit was delivered to the dealer by an hourly driver, they could have snagged a branch or clipped a mailbox. If the dealer did not catch damage in PDI and you don't catch it in delivery inspection it could very well be on your dime to fix it.

Again, I would worry mostly about checking for external damage that you will have a hard time proving was pre-existing rather than running pumps, air conditioners and other appliances since those are covered by reputable manufacturers. Depending on the dealer they will probably step up to make you a satisfied customer but you must understand that many people go out and accidentally damage their cabinets, jacks, tires or stabilizers then claim it was pre-existing.
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Old 01-14-2016, 01:38 AM   #16
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It's a 2016 379FL.
The 2016 Columbus come with a 2 year warranty from the factory, prior to 2016, they only came with a year.
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Old 01-14-2016, 05:29 PM   #17
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Where oh where can the work be done?

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After starting with about 120 different fifth wheels we go it down to 2. Bay Hill 379FL and Columbus 381FL kind of leaning toward Columbus . Question is the warranty. The only dealer around that has the Columbus has a pretty bad rap in their service department. Not to mention they are over and hour away. That being said there is a local rv repair place about 2 miles from my house. Should I need warranty work can the guy close to me do it? I guess that might be a question for that guy right? Anyways planning on making a decision today. Any feedback on our decision would be appreciated.
Well here is the skinny on this issue;

1) There is a federal law that says "you can take your car/ rv to any location you please for service" BUT the factory does not have to pay for any warranty work at a "non dealer" location

2) The sticky point of all this is the issue of having a dealer do work on your rv, yes you can take it where ever you want, but the factory unless you are about 100 miles from home can deny any claim unless it is a FR dealer, and this is a sticky point with "JUST" rv's.

I hope this helps some in the end Happy Camping
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Old 01-14-2016, 11:56 PM   #18
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Here is how it works:

a. You take your camper to the dealership for warranty work

b. Because it is the busy season (Spring-Early Fall), it takes the dealership 60-90 days to fix the warranty issue....tech workload prioritizes repairs that pay more than warranty, takes time for factory to authorize repairs, etc...etc.

c. Repair is not done correctly or with any adherence to quality or pride in workmanship.

d. After missing 1/2 the summer camping season, RV owner never takes camper back to dealership for warranty work again.

e. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED for RV dealership and factory.

LESSON: You are your own warranty. One should never sell or trade-in their old camper if they intend to use their factory warranty. This way dealership and factory "delays" won't affect your ability to enjoy camping.

Did I ever mention the time I took my camper to a welder/fabricator to cut and re-weld the camper's frame square and true?
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Old 01-15-2016, 12:32 AM   #19
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Ask your dealer & FR about 2nd year warranty for $150.00.if they r anything like mine, they will b crap & I think you will find that is the general consensus of most dealerships.
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Old 01-18-2016, 12:20 PM   #20
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So many buyers try to save a buck or two to shop online or buy at the McDonald's of rv sales, then complain when their local dealer is too busy to accommodate them when they break down. It may cost a little more to buy local, but the local dealer already has a relationship with you and should give you better service than if you bought somewhere else. I had a slide motor fail on a Friday afternoon and called my selling dealer. He explained that they were very busy but since I was a customer they would try to work me in. They got me repaired in front of coaches already there.
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