Where to get a big RV serviced, chassis wise

[kwelliff]

Looking to buy a large chassis class super c. Interested in a Dynamax Isata 5. It is 36 feet long and over 19000 lbs. It has a Dodge 5500 chassis. Also looking at a Thor Fourwinds with a 550 Ford chassis. Currently driving a Forest River Solera on a Mercedes chassis. My question is where would you take this large chassis vehicle for warranty service. My Mercedes dealer works on my 24 foot Sprinter on the parking lot. An oil change and tire rotation took 5 hours. Who's gonna work on a 36 footer. I live in the St. Louis area.

[Delco Bobby]

Originally Posted by kwelliff

Looking to buy a large chassis class super c. Interested in a Dynamax Isata 5. It is 36 feet long and over 19000 lbs. It has a Dodge 5500 chassis. Also looking at a Thor Fourwinds with a 550 Ford chassis. Currently driving a Forest River Solera on a Mercedes chassis. My question is where would you take this large chassis vehicle for warranty service. My Mercedes dealer works on my 24 foot Sprinter on the parking lot. An oil change and tire rotation took 5 hours. Who's gonna work on a 36 footer. I live in the St. Louis area.

I can't help you with your area but if you are buying new and your RV dealer can't service them you will have to call a Dodge dealer and a Ford dealer. Most will not be able to lift your RV but they should know which dealers can lift and do warranty work. You may have to drive a distance for warranty work.

Look up some large truck service outfits, some will be willng to work on your RV.

I expect that you will receive some specific suggestions on this forum soon.

Bobby

[wahoonc]

Don't know about Dodge... but Ford has heavy truck service centers that can handle the RV's. They aren't everywhere but there are quite a few out there. I know mine services a wide range of vehicles and I am sure a Dodge would not faze them a bit. I take my Subaru (company car) to the local Ford QuickLane all the time. (half the cost of Subaru dealer and twice as fast )

Aaron

[mowingman]

Inland Truck Parts, (ITP), services a lot of big RV's. There is one located in St Charles, Mo.

[Delco Bobby]

I forgot to mention that my Ford dealer serviced my Sunseeker and now my Dynamax REV. They can lift most class C RV chassis.

And as mentioned the price is better, they offer service with a smile and a thank you and no long wait for an appointment.

[Kenny kustom]

Fords go up to the 750.. So they can service the bigger rigs.

The 5500 is the biggest ram.
It's not always the lifting of the hoist, but it's the height that is usually an issue as well.

When I was at ford, the biggest thing I worked on was an F550 dump truck.

Honestly, I'm not sure where you
Could go!!


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[Delco Bobby]

Originally Posted by Kenny kustom

Fords go up to the 750.. So they can service the bigger rigs.

The 5500 is the biggest ram.
It's not always the lifting of the hoist, but it's the height that is usually an issue as well.

When I was at ford, the biggest thing I worked on was an F550 dump truck.

Honestly, I'm not sure where you
Could go!!


2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

Yeah in most places that I encountered it was the height of the bay door and the bay ceiling that limited what they could lift. tire stores were usually the weight.

[db7512]

Get the 800 service phone number for the units that you are looking at and call them. When I needed warranty work on my Georgetown I called the Ford 800 number that was provided. They connected me with the Ford RV help line who gave me a Ford dealer that was also a medium truck dealer. They took care of my problem.

[jk31668]

my local ford dealer will not do oil changes on my 31' mh as their bays are too tight to get mine on a lift. ok, i understand that but they also refuse to do the old fashioned way of getting under with a creeper as the ground may be damp or dirty? wth? found an independant repair shop that has no problem laying on their back.

[RamblerGuy]

Ford has a toll free number dedicated to motorhome assistance. It's 800-444-3311. They will find an authorized Ford facility that will service their chassis. The number is in the Owner's Guide.

Hopefully you will be as lucky as we have been. Our Ford E450 Sunseeker, which we purchased new, is now 6 years old with nearly 50,000 miles. It never had a warranty-related problem.

[WayneLee]

Having lived in St Charles years ago, I'm sure you can probably find plenty of truck repair shops across the river that can do the basic chassis work for you.

When I was driving a 36' Diesel Pusher, I found many RV Dealers, and Truck shops that could do repairs and service. I took mine to a Cummins truck place because they could also work on my Onan generator (Cummins purchased Onan several years ago).

A good source of help is to find people in your area driving similar size coaches and ask them where they have their rigs serviced.

[Marvlab]

We have always taken our RV's to the local semi truck service center for things that I don't or can't do myself. They have worked on both our previously owned Super C and our current class A.

[Kenny kustom]

Originally Posted by jk31668

my local ford dealer will not do oil changes on my 31' mh as their bays are too tight to get mine on a lift. ok, i understand that but they also refuse to do the old fashioned way of getting under with a creeper as the ground may be damp or dirty? wth? found an independant repair shop that has no problem laying on their back.

Yup. I would do certain jobs in the parking lot, but not dragging an oil bucket around, getting spilled on.
No thanks.

You could lie on your back too...

2016 Sabre 36QBOK
2015 Ram 3500 CUMMINS

[jkoenig24]

I have a Super-C DX3, based on a Freightliner M2 cab~chassis (33,000# GVWR). I'm lucky to have both Freightliner and Cummins service centers only 20 miles away. I've had both annual check ups done at the Cummins service center and, will definitely keep using them.

[kluza2786]

Check with Broadway Ford in downtown St. Louis if you decide on the Ford chassis. They should be able to take care of you.

[jkoenig24]

If you're still south in March, the Escapees will be holding their big bash "Escapade" in Tucson, AZ March 19th ~ 24th, 2017. The weekend before Escapade, Escapees run an RV Boot Camp which I would HIGHLY recommend. Boot Camp graduates are smarter, safer RVers. It's amazing all the RV education that can be packed into two or three days.

[pmsherman]

We travel for half of each year and never know where we'll be when we need another basic chassis service. With one exception, every WallMart we've stopped at that has a 15' high door service bay has been able to perform this service work. The one WM that wouldn't service the rig said " We don't have a specification for torquing the oil pan drain plug so we can't do the service."

You may need to back the rig out of the service bay. WM has been "improving" the service bay capabilities and they've told the stores that after the improvement, they can't drive a heavy vehicle forward out of the bay because the grate they install over the new channel in the concrete won't support the heavy vehicle's weight.

One WM even loaned me an oil collection bin so I could change the generator oil. I always carry a spare filter for the generator because it's one part that can only be obtained from an RV dealer.

Phil

[ilmor]

Originally Posted by jk31668

my local ford dealer will not do oil changes on my 31' mh as their bays are too tight to get mine on a lift. ok, i understand that but they also refuse to do the old fashioned way of getting under with a creeper as the ground may be damp or dirty? wth? found an independant repair shop that has no problem laying on their back.

Sometimes this is insurance company and/or lawyer driven requirement these days, especially with a big corporation like Ford as opposed to a mom & pop shop.

[gfarmcafe]

Originally Posted by kluza2786

Check with Broadway Ford in downtown St. Louis if you decide on the Ford chassis. They should be able to take care of you.

I'd check with them too. Just south of downtown St. Louis in the soulard area. Also, Byerly RV in Eureka, MO has a lot of bays and can handle the bigger rigs. They're very good to work with.