Camping Woes Abound

[Morgans Cove]

We have a 2015 Columbus, 320RS, 36’ long 5th wheel. This is our first camper, and we bought it new. Thankfully, we bought the extended warranty! While we love camping, it seems like we have replaced or repaired nearly everything in it. Our first year owning it, it spent more time in the shop than with us! Does anyone else have the same woes? Or did we get that one special RV that’s going to cost us more $$ in repairs after the extended warranty runs out?

[spock123]

I brought a extended warranty from Camping World that was not worth anything. Our Cedar Creek has been pretty good but for fading issues

[Morgans Cove]

We bought ours from a different dealer. They, Camping World, & various private companies have worked on our issues. Generally, it’s never the same problem. Assorted roof leaks, although it is inspected and recaulked regularly, both ac’s replaced within a week of each other, refrigerator went out on a Saturday night, shower leaks under the door (even though it’s been recaulked 3 times), furnace doesn’t blow from living room vent ( no one can figure it out - and we aren’t able to make the repair since my husband is disabled), & today the gray water tank is being replaced! These are the highlights. Don’t know what to do when ext. warranty runs out in Feb.!

[Brother Les]

Nature of the Beast. All RVs are maintenance heavy. I hope that you can do most of what needs to be done in 'tinkering' with your unit in the long run. Having someone else fix 'stuff' is not really the way to go if you can 'do it'.

[Oaklevel]

We have never purchased an extended warranty and never need one.

Our 2006 and, 2013 were in the shop only for maintenance and extremely minor repairs. Probably did not spend $500 on either for repair at the dealer. The 2017 has not been back to the shop as of yet for any repairs.

[spock123]

We ordered a Wildcat one time from the factory and we kept the camper about ten months. The dealer kept it more than we did. I had spent a lot of time researching the Wildcat even went to the Wildcat factory to see how the Wildcat ‘s were being made. It seemed like we got a bad one. We have purchased five campers and it was by far the worst one. Don’t get me wrong it was a very pretty camper. Sometimes it seems like other things are happening to the camper. You just have to hang in there or if you feel like you have had enough then trade the camper for another one

[aceinspp]

I've only taken my 2015 back once for minor warranty work and has never been back since. Later RJD

[mjones12]

I have quit unhooking my 2018 Coachmen when we return from a trip, which is monthly. It always gets towed to the shop the next day, so why bother?

Trip I'm on now, AC has quit working, curbside led light is blinking and about to go out for the second time, and Fantastic Fan (now branded as Dometic) has a faulty switch. The fan is a replacement for the Fantastic Fan that would not run at all. And that one was a replacement for the Shur-Flo that was total junk and quit working.

Have had this camper 18 months now, and the first 12 months were even worse.

This is our fifth camper. Don't even bother telling me that's just the way it's supposed to be.

I think Dometic and other suppliers are pumping out junk as fast as they can to keep up with what the RV factories are pumping out.

[jimla]

We must be the lucky ones. Owned a Keystone product that had it's issues. Traded it in for 2019 Rockwood 8332BS that hasn't seen the light of dealership since buying it March of 2018. Think it's a rare model. Haven't seen anyone on this forum with one.LOL

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Morgans Cove

We bought ours from a different dealer. They, Camping World, & various private companies have worked on our issues. Generally, it’s never the same problem. Assorted roof leaks, although it is inspected and recaulked regularly, both ac’s replaced within a week of each other, refrigerator went out on a Saturday night, shower leaks under the door (even though it’s been recaulked 3 times), furnace doesn’t blow from living room vent ( no one can figure it out - and we aren’t able to make the repair since my husband is disabled), & today the gray water tank is being replaced! These are the highlights. Don’t know what to do when ext. warranty runs out in Feb.!

Find a good mobile RV repair person to come to you to do the repairs...you may have to get pre-approval from your extended warranty company first, though.

As for the furnace vent...

I had the same problem in my 5'ver.

Turned out the heating ducts were clogged full of sawdust and other debris from the factory.

I hope you have better luck with your extended warranty than I did...

I skipped it on my current 5'ver as I found out just how worthless they are with my previous TT.

And it was sold to me by the dealership I bought that TT from (which was not where I purchased my 5'ver).

[Morgans Cove]

Thank you, everyone! I have RV envy for those who have never had a problem! We are hanging in there, and hopefully this will be the last repair for a while. ����

[wildcatter]

Learn to work on them, years back I had a Thor with slide issues, I took it in 5 times and finally did it myself, I had to learn how the slide mechanics worked but once I did I fixed it and didn't have another issues with it for several years and then sold it. My current fiver is a wildcat, the floor was warped so bad you walked up hill on one side and down hill on the other sire, how I missed this during the PDI I will never know, something else to put on the list for the next one. It went back to the factory to get fixed, is it 100%, no but I will be trading it in before I start having problems with it.

[Chief T]

My heart goes out to you. You spend soo much money on a new rig, only to have soo many issues with it. I can't imagine the frustration you may be feeling.

We're into our 3rd season with our TT (Prime Time Tracer Air), and have had no major issues. Had a window valance and a light cover come off on a very bumpy road at NRA Whittington Center, and that's it. Full disclaimer, it doesn't have a slide-out, but everything else has worked perfectly.

Don't be discouraged; once everything is fixed, hopefully you'll have years of memorable experiences.

Safe and happy travels.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Chief T

Had a window valance and a light cover come off on a very bumpy road at NRA Whittington Center, and that's it.

That place is awesome...

Stayed there for a week one year ago this month...

First stop when I moved out of Denver.