So...Warranty work...Dealers all play a game?

[Gonefishing1]

I sure hope this changes. I don't understand why all dealers will not cover warranty work. I have been checking around since I am getting ready to purchase. I can get a better price at a dealer in SC but that is over two hours away. The closer FR dealers have already told me they will not do warranty work on it since I did not purchase from them. One said they would; however, I would be at the bottom for work. All customers who,purchased from him are first. Just don't understand you can buy a vehicle Ford and have work down at any ford dealer. You can buy an appliance and have warranty work done at any appliance shop that is authorized. But buy an TT and u have to go,back to dealer it was purchased from. That is crazy in my opinion. FR could fix this problem easy if you sell FR TT or RV you do,work on all that are under warranty.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Gonefishing1

I sure hope this changes. I don't understand why all dealers will not cover warranty work. I have been checking around since I am getting ready to purchase. I can get a better price at a dealer in SC but that is over two hours away. The closer FR dealers have already told me they will not do warranty work on it since I did not purchase from them. One said they would; however, I would be at the bottom for work. All customers who,purchased from him are first. Just don't understand you can buy a vehicle Ford and have work down at any ford dealer. You can buy an appliance and have warranty work done at any appliance shop that is authorized. But buy an TT and u have to go,back to dealer it was purchased from. That is crazy in my opinion. FR could fix this problem easy if you sell FR TT or RV you do,work on all that are under warranty.

Two hours away is not bad at all. I'd buy from them. And if you need service while on the road, hopefully you will be out west where I have never heard of any dealer refusing warranty work.

[Philos3]

I lot of truth is being posted here, as I understand it, as well as disbelief.

The RV Daily Report did a series of expose/RV industry trend articles exposing a lot of the hidden stuff going on in the industry. His opinion was that the industry is now in a downward spiral. I'm seeing signs of that downward spiral and believe he is right. The few success stories don't fill the gap.

Lemon laws covering the house portion of the RV would really shake up the industry, but I don't think that will happen. Certainly, some B&Ms are addressed as many mfgs are reading the forum posts and in some cases we have mfg's people posting as well to help their customers.

However, I don't think there is much sympathy for RVers outside the forums...Because these purchases are viewed as elitist, entertainment expenditures on RVs that are basically customized products.

Just compare the cost of an RV with the cost of a car. Imagine buying a $120K class B vs a luxury car. Really, who is gonna sympathize with the owner of an RV, even if you paid $15k for it...still a luxury that most of your hard-working neighbors don't have.

=========
One response to all of this that consistently works is lowering expectations and taking more responsibility for what you buy, both in upfront research, self-done PDIs/inspections and doing as much of the warranty work yourself. Great if you are lucky enough to get a good response from the dealer or mfg, but none of the B&M is gonna change the overall realities.

Am now looking at buying a new Mercedes van and up-fitting it myself...so the wife won't pzzz and moan about this unnecessary thing she doesn't want to spend much time in. And she is right. And that way I can sneak in a bit of some custom up-fitters work with my work, and some modular components.

[TonyShope]

Then it comes down to what is living? I have a home in North Dakota. It is (I have to be careful not to offend a moderator here) As cold as mean ladies top 1/2 in a brass bra in January. So I chose to travel for months until it is warm at home. So again it is all semantics. Does Forest River have a time frame for what is living? If so is it the same on my travel trailer as it is on a 1/2 million dollar RV. If not then why discrimination. Then it comes to why the "In the hot underworld not considered heavenly" would any person actually buy one. Is the idea not freedom of travel or do they wish to control that and back up less than honorable dealers who represent the company in a less than clean diaper manner?

[SidecarFlip]

In reference to post 43... Absolutely. Not one RV, from the smallest tent camper to a Prevost can be considered a necessity. They are all luxury items bought because the buyers can afford them. Not like food or shelter or even basic transportation.

As you state.. an Elitist not a necessary for living item.

Because RV builders are cranking out units as fast as possible to meet the demand, quality has become a secondary item. get them out the door at all cost and deal with the issues later (hopefully).

I don't believe I'd buy any unit today, From what I see (and hear on here), while some are without issues, most have issues of one type or another. From cheap tires to poorly built frames to leaks in roofs to shoddy interior workmanship, the list goes on and on.

Whether you can afford one or not isn't germane. What is, is value for dollar received and quality built in, not dealt with after the sale.

There are some very well built RV's out there, just not the mass produced ones sold by the major players.

[Philos3]

"why...would any person actually buy one.?"

That is strictly a personal one-on-one answer. No owner need justify it. No one need understand or accept any of the other 100,000 loose screws self justifications commonly offered up.

My wife certainly thinks I have gone a bit over the hill and have at least a couple of screws loose... as much as she can she will avoid riding in whatever RV I get, and hopefully I will see the light and not buy one at all.

May have to get pretty liquored up to sign that check. Despite being in a community property state, all my money is separate property. As I told her, hold on to this roller coaster.

[BandJCarm]

I will be frank. (Actually, I'm Bill, but I'll try and be frank..........).......Why are some of y'all on an RV Chat Site? Some of you won't buy one, hate all manufacturers and dealers, and probably most campsites. I am honestly asking........if you have an RV, do you enjoy camping? Do you camp? If you don't, why are you downing every aspect of this???

If you don't want to buy one, and think no one else should, then fine. But I own one, and am very happy that I do, and I come here to learn how to maximize my usage of my camper and learn all that I can....because I know so little, or I did 12 months ago.

I've had a litany of issues. But I still am glad I have what I have, and am convinced it'll last me a long time, and that I will use it for my enjoyment. My wife likes it even better than I do.

And so I remain.........scratching my head............

[BC Boy]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I will be frank. (Actually, I'm Bill, but I'll try and be frank..........).......Why are some of y'all on an RV Chat Site? Some of you won't buy one, hate all manufacturers and dealers, and probably most campsites. I am honestly asking........if you have an RV, do you enjoy camping? Do you camp? If you don't, why are you downing every aspect of this???

If you don't want to buy one, and think no one else should, then fine. But I own one, and am very happy that I do, and I come here to learn how to maximize my usage of my camper and learn all that I can....because I know so little, or I did 12 months ago.

I've had a litany of issues. But I still am glad I have what I have, and am convinced it'll last me a long time, and that I will use it for my enjoyment. My wife likes it even better than I do.

And so I remain.........scratching my head............

X2!!!

[Vince and Charlette]

It changed my outlook when I read in an old post that "Your RV has to become your hobby." Thankfully, our MH is.

[Philos3]

X3!!!

[OldGal3]

X4

[rmac04401]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I will be frank. (Actually, I'm Bill, but I'll try and be frank..........).......Why are some of y'all on an RV Chat Site? Some of you won't buy one, hate all manufacturers and dealers, and probably most campsites. I am honestly asking........if you have an RV, do you enjoy camping? Do you camp? If you don't, why are you downing every aspect of this???

If you don't want to buy one, and think no one else should, then fine. But I own one, and am very happy that I do, and I come here to learn how to maximize my usage of my camper and learn all that I can....because I know so little, or I did 12 months ago.

I've had a litany of issues. But I still am glad I have what I have, and am convinced it'll last me a long time, and that I will use it for my enjoyment. My wife likes it even better than I do.

And so I remain.........scratching my head............

X4- nicely put. Makes me wonder what some of these people did when things went wrong in their house after buying or having it built after a year? I'm sure there were issues with those purchases.

Yes some RV owners have had real big issues, that need addressing, most are little things. The warranty is only one to two years at the most for RV's unless they spent thousands of dollars for an extended warranty. Those would be just like third party warranties in auto industry, dealers would not be required to do work under that third party warranty.

Yes there is a big difference between my 18,000 dollar TT than a 100,000 + MH.

Anything manufactured will breakdown. Not an excuse for the manufacture.

My Range in my house broke last night. It's only 3 years old. Instead of getting pissed at whirlpool for making a crappy range , you just get it repaired or fix it yourself.

I just scratch my head like previous poster stated. I bought my trailer to enjoy life. I can't enjoy life if I were to be in a bad mood for everything that goes wrong in life.

There is much more in life that would be worse than having a dealer say they will not do warranty work.

I'm a cancer survivor so I know there are bigger things to worry about.

This was not meant to offend anyone. I have had issues with mine but I still believe I got a great trailer for the money.

Enjoy the RV life!!!

[SidecarFlip]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I will be frank. (Actually, I'm Bill, but I'll try and be frank..........).......Why are some of y'all on an RV Chat Site? Some of you won't buy one, hate all manufacturers and dealers, and probably most campsites. I am honestly asking........if you have an RV, do you enjoy camping? Do you camp? If you don't, why are you downing every aspect of this???

If you don't want to buy one, and think no one else should, then fine. But I own one, and am very happy that I do, and I come here to learn how to maximize my usage of my camper and learn all that I can....because I know so little, or I did 12 months ago.

I've had a litany of issues. But I still am glad I have what I have, and am convinced it'll last me a long time, and that I will use it for my enjoyment. My wife likes it even better than I do.

And so I remain.........scratching my head............

Called the 'pioneering spirit'. If it needs fixed and it's within your realm of fixing, you do it...least I do.

[Jack Larson]

I bought local, happy as can be. All my warranty worked handled well. The girl who handles the warranty work goes above and beyond on everything. She says that is how she makes her living, off of warranty work. I'm about 6 or 7 miles away from them, and still stop by to visit and ask questions. Always welcome me with a smile, and respect. I believe you get treated like you treat others. And it is an unneeded thing in life, but I sure enjoy the "forced relaxed time " it brings. It's not a perfect world, just depends on how you make it out to be.

[wicked1]

Hence why I always look for a quality clean used 2-3 year old RV so I don't have to deal with a dealer, I can do 90% of repairs myself or upgrades, don't have to deal with the BS 12 month warranty and massive depreciation over first 1-3 years.

I enjoy my home on wheels, lets wife and I see places using our own home, truck, food, and bed/bath/etc.

I don't regret my decision and I saved money so I can do some minor upgrades to our New to us Crusader.

I just think MFG try to push units out to fast however they all claim the inspect a new unit up to 3 times before it leaves the factory, they have very little communication with their dealers.

To me it feels they push them out quick to make $, let the sucker buyer deal with the dealer who blames the mfg and it just continues to be a viscous cycle, however their are some MFG's and dealers that are decent.

We are the ones who get screwed bc we spend our hard earned $ to buy something they touted as being a quality product and then when you have an issue most not all rub you off on the dealer who really only wants to sell units and do T&M Labor bc warranty work isn't worth it to them.

MFG's and dealers have to work better like they do in the Auto industry, I was into boating before getting and RV and I thought they were bad, this has to be the Worst industry for a consumer being MFG's and Dealers do not support us the way they should.

I Love my unit and we are doing mods to make it what we want, I have learned in 4 years how to maintain and repair what I have (being handy helps), I will use the one dealer I found who does quality work to do thins I can not buy, have leaned a lot here from more experienced campers and videos on YouTube, also by talking to fellow campers.

I am not sure if this industry is going to experience some sort of lull, I don't have numbers to support this but if they keep going the way they are, surely there will be a change in this industry.

[KatanaPilot]

You shouldn't have to spend a lot of your time and money to fix things that should never have left the factory - but you do and the manufacturers and dealers know it.

The next generation (many of whom have trouble changing a light bulb) - won't put up with this and will not go RV'ing. I think Greg Gerber is right with his assessment.

50 State Lemon Laws would force the industry to clean up their acts - but the big players lobby hard against it and a surprising numbers of owners are against it too. Why an RV owner would be opposed is hard for me to comprehend. We keep rewarding bad behavior, yet we wonder why it doesn't change.

I wish Consumer Reports would evaluate the RV industry. It's large enough but probably too fragmented product-wise.

I enjoy RV'ing, but I dislike the constant repair and worry about what will fail next. We used to worry constantly about our cars, but the Japanese came along and changed the industry. I don't worry about my cars or trucks at all. Partly because they are incredibly reliable, but also because the dealer will actually fix it in a timely manner (and ask for my feedback after they do!)

I'm glad many of you have had great experiences. Some of us have not and wish we had been better informed prior to purchase.

[BandJCarm]

Y'all keep beating that dead horse, I'm gonna keep beating mine........

I did not say I'd had a great buying experience with no problems. NOWHERE did I say that. In fact, I've had a bunch of major issues in the first 10 months. I haven't given a list, because the stuff is all fixed. But don't assume that because I enjoy owning this thing that it has been Peaches and Cream. In the first 10 months of ownership, I have:
-Had NO hot water, verified by Suburban Technician, and replaced the unit
-Broken faucet (everyone does, another "sorry installation process"), replaced
-Axles out of alignment, cost me $900 for the Joy Rider shock system to fix and align
-Shower head replacement
-Slides stop working (in or out) and SLID OUT WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD ON I-20!!!!!
-Rear A/C leaked oil all over the roof, and was about to fail, replaced with new unit
-Replaced entire roof because the above oil could not be cleaned off
-Installed disc brakes............(should be a factory option, but not).

NOW.........with all that, maybe you Negative Nellies think I should be suing everyone, screaming loudly, and demanding a duel.

Nah. I love my camper. I just stinking LOVE this thing. Factory fixed every one of the above items except the Shocks and Brakes that I added myself..........and even if those had been factory options, I'd still have had to pay for them. But it all got fixed.

DO I WISH none of the above had been a problem????? Well, duh!! Yeah, of course. Do I wish that the entire industry was as reliable as the auto industry? Yeah, but there are over 60,000,000 automobiles produced each year for goodness sakes. RV sales are about 375,000. Now before you demand that the two industries be identical, let that sink in.

I just don't get the constant complaints.
-If your local dealer won't fix YOUR unit, go find one that will. These things roll, by the way. They are mobile. Come see me, my dealer WILL fix yours, I guarantee. And besides, 2 miles away is a 'custom' RV repair shop. Come on down, we'll fix yours.
-How long do you plan on being a "Camper"? If more than one year, WHY on earth is this warranty discussion so vitally important to you? Important? Yeah!!! You bet! Saved my bacon. But 12 years from now will you still be wringing your hands over how badly that process worked (for you......MINE worked fine!)......?????
-If you can be successful in fomenting change in this entire industry, and making things work great for all of us, I'm going to march in your parade! I will come help. But if you are not going to get things changed, I think I'll go camping instead.
-In the meantime, I sort of hope that SOME of your ideas of "better construction on the front end" maybe don't come to fruition..........reason?? Well, I can barely afford what I have, and if they slow down and make 100% great quality units, I will be lucky to afford a pop up. Sad maybe, but that's reality!

So I still am scratching my head........

[wicked1]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

Y'all keep beating that dead horse, I'm gonna keep beating mine........

I did not say I'd had a great buying experience with no problems. NOWHERE did I say that. In fact, I've had a bunch of major issues in the first 10 months. I haven't given a list, because the stuff is all fixed. But don't assume that because I enjoy owning this thing that it has been Peaches and Cream. In the first 10 months of ownership, I have:
-Had NO hot water, verified by Suburban Technician, and replaced the unit
-Broken faucet (everyone does, another "sorry installation process"), replaced
-Axles out of alignment, cost me $900 for the Joy Rider shock system to fix and align
-Shower head replacement
-Slides stop working (in or out) and SLID OUT WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD ON I-20!!!!!
-Rear A/C leaked oil all over the roof, and was about to fail, replaced with new unit
-Replaced entire roof because the above oil could not be cleaned off
-Installed disc brakes............(should be a factory option, but not).

NOW.........with all that, maybe you Negative Nellies think I should be suing everyone, screaming loudly, and demanding a duel.

Nah. I love my camper. I just stinking LOVE this thing. Factory fixed every one of the above items except the Shocks and Brakes that I added myself..........and even if those had been factory options, I'd still have had to pay for them. But it all got fixed.

DO I WISH none of the above had been a problem????? Well, duh!! Yeah, of course. Do I wish that the entire industry was as reliable as the auto industry? Yeah, but there are over 60,000,000 automobiles produced each year for goodness sakes. RV sales are about 375,000. Now before you demand that the two industries be identical, let that sink in.

I just don't get the constant complaints.
-If your local dealer won't fix YOUR unit, go find one that will. These things roll, by the way. They are mobile. Come see me, my dealer WILL fix yours, I guarantee. And besides, 2 miles away is a 'custom' RV repair shop. Come on down, we'll fix yours.
-How long do you plan on being a "Camper"? If more than one year, WHY on earth is this warranty discussion so vitally important to you? Important? Yeah!!! You bet! Saved my bacon. But 12 years from now will you still be wringing your hands over how badly that process worked (for you......MINE worked fine!)......?????
-If you can be successful in fomenting change in this entire industry, and making things work great for all of us, I'm going to march in your parade! I will come help. But if you are not going to get things changed, I think I'll go camping instead.
-In the meantime, I sort of hope that SOME of your ideas of "better construction on the front end" maybe don't come to fruition..........reason?? Well, I can barely afford what I have, and if they slow down and make 100% great quality units, I will be lucky to afford a pop up. Sad maybe, but that's reality!

So I still am scratching my head........

Hey how much did it cost you to replace brakes with disc brakes, might be something I would consider on my 5th wheel Crusader plan on keeping this one a long time.

[BandJCarm]

Originally Posted by wicked1

Hey how much did it cost you to replace brakes with disc brakes, might be something I would consider on my 5th wheel Crusader plan on keeping this one a long time.

Performance Trailer Braking Titan Hydraulic Disc Brake Conversion Kits and Installation

Send them an email. Ron is great at answering every question.

7,000 lb axles are $1,750 for the parts, and another $1,000 to install in your driveway. 6,000 lb axles are $1,550 I believe.

EDIT: Here is a page on their pricing:
http://performancetrailerbraking.com/disc-brakes

[Crabman]

I have never had any dealings with them but at least I like their mission statement regarding service. It would be nice if all dealers had one:


''GETTING BUMPED TO THE BACK OF THE LINE BECAUSE ANOTHER DEALER DOESN'T WANT TO DO YOUR WARRANTY WORK UNTIL WINTER? WE ARE ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP! NO MATTER WHERE YOU BOUGHT YOUR UNIT!!! IF YOU HAD NOT HEARD ABOUT US OR OUR LEGENDARY SERVICE OR OUR LOW PROFIT, HIGH VOLUME PRICING ON UNITS, WE WANT TO EARN YOUR BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE. WE ARE GROWING RAPIDLY AND HAVE ADDED A SECOND SHIFT IN SERVICE TO NOT ONLY HELP OUR CUSTOMERS THAT PURCHASED FROM US, BUT ALL WHO ENJOY THE RV LIFESTYLE.

COMING FROM A DISTANCE FOR SERVICE OR WARRANTY WORK? SPEND THE NIGHT PLUGGED IN FOR NO CHARGE IN OUR CAMPGROUND. IT'S NOT A DESTINATION, BUT WE DO HAVE 30 AND 50 AMP SERVICE AND WATER HOOK UP AT EACH SITE AND A DUMP STATION YOU CAN USE IN THE MORNING.

AS ALWAYS THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING KEYSTONE RV CENTER, SELLING FAMILY FUN RIGHT ON I81.''

RV Repair, RV Service, RV Warranty Repair, Travel Trailer Repair, Motor Home Repair, Certified Technicians in Pennsylvania!