Silly question about service?

[kfd82]

I am very new here, been lurking for a while and finally signed up last week, and new to owning a TT.
I have noticed a lot of people complain about lack of service from their service department; "been sitting there for months and not fixed yet" etc..
I've also noticed that a lot of people by parts and accessories from Amazon or Walmart, etc...

My question is, do you think the two are connected? IF you bought more items from the dealership's store, do you think they would take better care of you when it comes to repair time?

I'm not saying buy everything from them, but if you were in there several times per year and got to know the folks and they know your face I think there is a "Oh that's Mr Smith, he is a good customer, lets get him fixed up as quickly as possible" that takes place.
Most private owned stores operate this way. Any mom and pop shop (no matter what kind of store) always seem to go further towards helping their regular customers.

I understand this may not apply to giant RV dealerships that are the RV world equivalent of walmart,

Just a thought.

[Sierra360PDEK]

My dealer was always great, quick service and friendly then Camping World bought them out and well, not so much anymore. I do most of my own work and hire out to a mobile service tech things I can't or won't do.

[41ford]

I took our FR 5th wheel in for several warranty issues 10 days ago, one being the bathroom door will not close properly, all three of the door hinges are bent, screws holes stripped out, clothes rack in closest lost a screw, fell and was bent.

Wife called this morning for status, because we are going to take it on a 3-week trip to the California Redwoods on August 6th. They told her that it could take up to a month to repair it, since parts are needed.

I did get a call from service writer about door closing good. I told him to remember looking at the bent hinges and that I had loosened nearly every door screw so it would close. If I loosened them up any more, the door would fall off.

Yep, they just tell you it's that time of year when everyone is camping. You're partially correct in saying there's Mr. & Mrs. So and So, who has a thick wallet, but it just comes down to paying customers get their service first before warranty work is done. Regarding service work, which one do you think pays more?

[Jimmyjpa]

We had to wait over two months for warranty work to be done on our Georgetown from our dealer. We buy lots of stuff from them and we still have to wait. I try to do as much as can
If I can't I have to wait.

[SeaDog]

I doubt that buying parts for the dealer will get you any better service especially if its a Camping World as none of the departments seem to talk to each other.

[41ford]

I will be picking up my 5th wheel at noon today from the dealer. I will see how much work they did perform. They told the wife that the replacement bathroom door w/frame was on back order from FR and will be more than a month out.

I believe two of the items, screws stripped out on the screen door latch and clothes rack have been fixed.

The reason I have to wait until noon today to pick up my 5'er is that it was put way back in their bull pen and a number of other units have to be moved to get it out. They will call when the new door arrived in September.

Yes, the paying customers are getting the priority service, warranty work is getting shuffled back.

[Kathymarie2u]

We are having much of the same experiences! We are not happy with Camper World either. Will have to find someone new to service our RV!

[41ford]

The nearest Camping world is 2 hours away, the manager of the CW store is a long time family friend ours, really enjoy shopping there. We bought our 5er at a local dealership, but it sounds like just about all large RV dealerships have service issues, not just Camping World.

Just got a call to go pickup our 5er and it will have to go back when the new door comes in.

[NCBBA11043]

At least the one by me in Akron/Canton OH area. Doesn't matter if it was under warranty, or I paid out of pocket. Had to wait MONTHS to have simple things done, and they didn't even do everything that I was PAYING them to do. Horrible service. I've had my fiver just over a year (warranty period) and the frig is having issues. Went back to where I bought my first TT back in the 90's - took him less than 2 weeks and it was a warranty item with Dometic that he had to fight with them about. Find a good service shop and patronize them. . .

[CaptnJohn]

CW called this AM. SUSPECTED warranty item ordered last week has proven to be bad. It will arrive and be installed by the end of the week. Two other items already taken care of. CW Myrtle Beach is fantastic.

[nothermark]

No, I don't think the reason service is bad is because folks buy parts other places. It is a poorly run parts stream combined with a business that has a large seasonal load. They are understaffed in summer because good workers will not put up with being laid off half a year.

FWIW - As far as Camping World goes I was told by a former CW service manager that part of their problem is all ordering is done through an office in Chicago. That seems to add about a week to the schedule plus whatever it takes to get the parts from the supplier. If it's a warranty repair add several days to a week to get approval to order the parts.

[41ford]

The dealer called, after dealing with the wife, her 5'er will be ready no later than Thursday. I don't what she talked to him about to get them to have her trailer ready.

She did tell me that I said "no hurry" to the service writer. Yes I did, but I also said no later than the 29th. I guess he didn't hear that part of the conversation. When there's an issue with the 5'er, it's hers since she bought it with her money, but she always says it's ours.

I just consider myself as the driver and setup/break down man when we take it out.

[oldsmasma]

Our current mh has never been back to the dealer (almost 3 years after purchase). Our previous fifth wheel was only back once for a fridge recall. The trailer was with them for 2 days. We don't have any Camping Worlds in Canada so we do visit them while in the USA to marvel at all the stuff lol. We have purchased from Amazon but again there is less availability from the Canadian site than the American. DH does all of his own work and I think that us vital. I can't imagine having to take the me to a dealer for screws, mouldings or minor adjustments.

[ilmor]

My experience is that the guys who sell parts don't really trade info with the service dept., so there's no advantage in buying parts there. Anyway, buying parts from my dealer would involve a 4 hour round trip drive!

When I bought my Sunseeker the service manager told me at the time they were running about a 30 day wait period for service, service is faster after the "season" and preference is given to people who have purchased RVs from them.

[Big bird]

It is more a culture than buying a few items from a big box store. RV manufacturers and retailers are doing what the automotive industry does. Dealers want to sell not repair RV's. I got lucky and found an independent RV service company that does a lot of factory warranty work and has good relations with the factories. This is not 100% of dealers, but enough to make it miserable for us.

[Jimmyjpa]

We also found an independent repair person .he is great. He drives right to our house. He explains everything and gives us an accurate estimate. This only works when we are at home base.

[satdog01]

Am really getting concerned about dealers and warranty work I bought a 2017 Flagstaff 632OKBS from a dealer 130 miles away, as he had the only Unit we liked that was in two hour driving range First trip out the propane side of the Suburan water heater failed to work. After returning home called the dealer and explained that unit was less than a month old and I needed to be assured if I brought the unit in they would repair it same day. The reason I bought the camper was to camp, not have it set on his lot. He assured me that they kept all of the parts to repair it as a non warranty repair. After several calls, he finally agreed to fix the issue, but wanted me to go through a few cheeks prior to bring the unit in. I verified gas was at the valve, several voltage checks, checked the reset button by taking off cover, checked the high temp link as well. Bolton line he was not sure what was wrong. Boy! Help came from a lot of reading on this forum and going through the repair manual that had been posted! Found what I believe was the problem, pulled the heat shield and found burnt pieces of what appear to have been a sticker in the heat exchanger. Vacuumed it our, still no go. It was mentioned to clean the flame detector, unit did light but did not stay lit. so hit the electrode with 500 grit sandpaper, unit stays lit longer, about 10 seconds. Meanwhile the service manager who was going to set up an appointment this week goes on vacation! No one at dealership is familiar with the issue, went back through all again with assist manager who agrees that I have found the problem and is willing to ship the part plus shipping at my expense. After a lengthy discussion about poor sales follow up he went away. After a few minutes he did call to verify my address and to advise me they were shipping a $20 part plus $8 shipping at their expense. Waiting on part, looking to find a dealer in the area that will do warranty work with Forest River.

[satdog01]

Sorry for the length of previous reply, I did remember that there was a question about the Forest River extended warranty and do not seem to remember the out come. Was considering purchasing it prior to dealing with the folks I bought my unit from. Guess if my dealership does not do warranty work, why purchase the plan! Really a shame as he had several FR units on site, good selection of Windjamer, three Flagstaffs, several Salem, and a couple of others. Any one had any luck going to another dealer for work? There is a dealer I visited during our search 30 miles away with FR products just no Flagstaff.

[Oaklevel]

Hmmmmm our sales guy, is also the parts guy, and also a part time service guy........................... pretty sure they talk to each other...............

Our service is great I do try to support them when I can........ Bought two campers, a used fifth wheel car hauler, a used/ new fifth wheel hitch, hitch, a used alum. fifth wheel tailgate..... and several new RV parts...... They sell me RV antifreeze at their cost.

Small dealer 3 employees one owner.............

[campingbaba]

We bought one TT and one 5er from the same local dealer and have had nothing but great things to say about them . We have bought parts from Walmart , CampingWorld and our local dealer . I beleve that the service dept. makes the dealer not the parts dept .