Why people have negative views of Dealers

[TitanMike]

After a week of boondocking I decided to pull into the KOA in Ellensberg for a couple of nights before heading up into the mountains for a other week of boondocking. Needed to empty and clean tanks, fill water and Propane, and repro vision after my son cleaned out my refrigerator.

After setting up I was walking through the park, greeting all the puppies, etc when I encountered a really unhappy camper. He had water leaking EVERYWHERE.

Stopped to assist if I could. Turns out this was his first trip with his brand new trailer. When he hooked up water he first hooked to a port named "water fill" and water freely flowed out the bottom on the curb side. Then hooked to city water marked port and even more water dumped out on the street side.

I looked underneath and the tank drain valve was wide open. On the street side both plugs were missing from low point drain. Asked owner if he'd seen any plugs in a kitchen drawer or a y other possible storage spot. Nope.

On a hunch I opened the water heater cover and there were the plugs along with the WH a ode rod, just sitting there.

Put in the plugs but had to get my 1-1/6 socket as the owner didn't have one.

Turned on water and bingo, no leaks. Went to the outside kitchen and ran water. Pure antifreeze came out.

Explained to owner where to find the bypass valves at the water heater and what positions he'd need to set them in and fill hot water tank, purge all lines of antifreeze, before using heater.

In conversation, Dealer turned this novice loose with a brand new trailer without even preparing it for him and showing him the basics.

Compare that with the Dealer I bought from. Scheduled a delivery day and time. Had water system flushed and filled and under pressure during the two hour walk through and instruction period. Even set up my hitch which required no further adjustment.

No wonder people have a poor view of dealers after seeing how this guy's trailer was "prepped".

Told me he'd bought it from "Clickit" in Spokane.

[itat]

Good for you for helping out this newbie. Hopefully he'll pay it forward later on when he is as experience at this stuff. And shame on his dealer!

[SlowrideHD]

I'd never head to a campground without setting up in my yard-driveway, or wherever, and running through every system.
He must have never even been tent camping!
Good on you for helping him get started.

[W5CI]

Thank you for helping out a New RVer, but Sham on him for not asking any questions before accepting delivery oh a new to him rv. I guess he was in to big of a hurry to get to camping or didn't have time to schedule his PDI. don't blame the Dealer blame the Customer in this case. Just ask how does this thing work before laying down your cash

[tomkatb]

These rv’s are becoming very complex.

The PDI is very important.

Ones first trip should be to a quiet campground for a three day figure stuff out.

In our case it rained for a week. We studied everything. Fixed stuff. Opened boxes. Barbecued.

Another issue is the current generation is not as good at figuring stuff out, according to the Chemistry teacher I know well.

[Daycruiser]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

These rv’s are becoming very complex.

The PDI is very important.

Ones first trip should be to a quiet campground for a three day figure stuff out.

In our case it rained for a week. We studied everything. Fixed stuff. Opened boxes. Barbecued.

Another issue is the current generation is not as good at figuring stuff out, according to the Chemistry teacher I know well.

If RVs came with Game Controllers they'd figure it out quickly.

[frank4711]

We are new to camping and took delivery in March ... dealer set up 2 hr PDI took a list from here not sure what to expect ... we get there rep says Jerry is waiting for you at you camper .... Jerry says lets start outside ... everything was out-hooked-up-and running he said ask along the way ... he said we try to find and fix anything the manufacturer missed .... outside went good then we go inside and every thing is on... A/C has it down to 65 degrees and he says lets turn these off and warm it up in here and on goes the furnace yep warmed it up and turn back on one A/C ... review all appliances tv ... ran water hot and cold shower flushed ... Cindy and I opened closed pulled on looked under and found a couple of lose screws that hold up the drapes a good experience. Any dealer that does not do a complete PDI should not be done business with. Good for you Mike for helping he got a break when you walked up .. Thanks

[Larry-NC]

Good job, Mike!

[Kacz]

Very cool of you to stop and help out. I'm sure it was appreciated. Funny though no where in your post was this 'novices' age... only they were new to camping. Sadly a couple of old fogies leveraged your good deed to bash young people for no reason at all?

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Kacz

Sadly a couple of old fogies leveraged your good deed to bash young people for no reason at all?

Right?!

[moose074]

I say always two sides to a story. I would be curious why dealer let go like that or if guy was in hurry. My first trailer no PDI they took truck keys and hooked it up. While I signed paperwork. I should have asked questions. Camped in backyard first night with only the entertainment system not working. Second rv almost two hour PDI even though I thought I knew I watched listened and asked questions. Camped at state park on way home dvd not “ wired” correctly and I still had questions.

[Greg in michigan]

In 1992 wife and I bought our 1st rv. Didn't have the internet then so a little hard researching things. I knew nothing about RV's at that time.
Bought a 21 foot trailer about 1 1/2 hour from home. Well it was 11/2 hours from home to go pick it up but 2 1/2 to get back home as we couldn't drive over 50 mph due to how bad ithe rv swayed. Whats a sway bar? At that time I never heard of one and the dealer must have thought we didnt need one as I didnt get one. ( pund intended )
Whats a pdi ? After all we did get a stack of paperwork.
We sure made mistakes due to being young but we built memories and loved camping.
Just bought rv number 5 late 2018 and we still love camping........just not young anymore.

[redhooker]

Originally Posted by Kacz

Very cool of you to stop and help out. I'm sure it was appreciated. Funny though no where in your post was this 'novices' age... only they were new to camping. Sadly a couple of old fogies leveraged your good deed to bash young people for no reason at all?

I noticed this as well. Lots of assumptions negatively towards the new RVers.

Just from the limited info in this story-the Dealer is guilty as charged. If the water was never hooked up, which is obvious, that should be done well before any customer shows up. The PDI is not the time for a dealer to check the systems in an RV. They should do that well before the customers time gets wasted watching them scramble around trying to patch you up and send you down the road.

A new RVer also may not even know how to do a PDI. This is also the Dealers responsibility.

A new owner may not be able to hook up at home. They may live in a condo, apartment, or other place that requires they do a shakedown at a campground. They may also not know that we (RV enthusiasts) are among the only vehicle purchasers in the world that expect our brand-new vehicle to be riddled with oversights, mistakes, and faulty equipment. Such is the state of our hobby.

[Boris0119]

I also agree that it is the dealers responsibility to inspect and prepare a RV prior to the PDI. Also to conduct a fair and thorough PDI when delivering the RV. I Just purchased my 4th RV with the 1st being a used model that the dealer just delivered and set up on a permanent site in 1988. I learned a lot of things on my own with this one. The second was a used 5th wheel I purchased in 2015. That dealer had the unit set up and all hooked up when we arrived for the delivery. The tech spent a good 2 hours explaining everything and answering questions. In June this year we bought a brand new 5th wheel toy hauler and again went thru a good 2 hour PDI. I do commend you for your assistance to the new RVer. There are many that would just walk past. After I purchased this new unit my Sister and Brother in-law decided they wanted an RV. They bought a used RV from the same dealer where I purchased my second one, again this dealer would not even accept their money or allow delivery until they scheduled the 2 hour PDI. So there are dealers that know what they are doing and care for their customers.

[Jhalbrooks]

I just purchased our first RV, a Grey Wolf 23MK. I was shocked at how little instruction I received. Thank goodness for sites like this and Youtube. We are headed out this weekend for the first time.

[Oldbears]

So awesome that you took your time to help this person!

I think its hit or miss with dealers.... For us - camper purchase #1 was flawless. We were presented with a clean unit, paperwork was thorough, and the walk thru was easy enough because it was a rather simple set-up anyway. Camper purchase #2 the dealer scheduled us a specific time for the walk thru, even calling us twice to make SURE we would be there on time, then when we got there they didn't even have the trailer pulled into the work bay to start their prep! We had to wait around for hours, and even then they sent us home with a camper with a dirty interior and someone left us a gift in the toilet!

And our recent purchase, we were presented with a camper that was spotless inside and out, and it was obvious that everything had been checked out. But the guy that gave us our walk-thru was either trying to mess with us, (because we told him it wasn't our first rodeo), or he was truly clueless. He pointed to the battery disconnect and told us it was the "switch for the propane", and pointed to the inverter remote switch and told us it was IMPORTANT to have it switched on ONLY when we were towing, and to turn it off as soon as we were parked! Yea.... I didn't bother to correct him because we were actually in a hurry to get on the road for our 700 mile trip home. So while my husband kept the guy busy outside, I went through and checked plumbing, gas, etc.. for ourselves. When I asked a question about the solar, the guy diverted, and I figured we'd just look it up in the manual later. The paperwork process was just meh...and we got on the road. A couple days after we got home, after researching the solar, I did find that the dealership had wired the solar incorrectly. So maybe the guy that gave us the walk-thru was the same guy that did the wiring! Who knows!

But overall, I think its hit or miss... And I'm an advocate of educating ourselves before purchases. That's where a forum such as this is a wonderful resource for folks. Thanks for sharing your story.

[NECamper]

We bought our first RV last month; an Alpha Wolf 26DBH-L. The delivery experience from our local dealer was stellar. They have a guy whose sole job is to perform PDI / "demo" for buyers and he was incredibly thorough.

I had a similar experience as an earlier post - arrived at the service area and our new rig was already hitched, plugged in and running. There was no rush and no set time limit as we went through operation of every system. I found one or two extremely minor items but I could tell that the dealer had done a very thorough PDI on the unit.

After the walk-through of the RV, I had a couple of the techs go through the hitching/unhitching process and a complete explanation of the WDH and anti-sway system.

I couldn't imagine just being tossed the keys and being sent on my merry way. But then again, I'm not the type of person that would tolerate that type of treatment from a dealer after handing over my hard earned cash.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by W5CI

Thank you for helping out a New RVer, but Sham on him for not asking any questions before accepting delivery oh a new to him rv. I guess he was in to big of a hurry to get to camping or didn't have time to schedule his PDI. don't blame the Dealer blame the Customer in this case. Just ask how does this thing work before laying down your cash

That's just not right. Sure he should have asked a head of time, but should he have too? No.. That is 100% on the deaelr. That RV should have been prepped and ready for delivery by the time paperwork was done. No excuses, absolutely no excuses for that.

[mjacxx]

To lay this at the feet of a customer is just not right. For one thing, the purchaser can't be expected to ask, in Aug, had the unit been de winterized? Since this unit had obviously been in the dealers inventory for awhile, the dealer did not wish to spend any more money on it and short cut the prep/inspection phase of the sale. Clearly, based upon TM's commentary, the dealer did not do a proper job.



It is unfortunate the purchaser did not live up to the expectations of the more savvy.



Good job Mike.

[Iwritecode]

I agree most of the blame should go to the dealer, but I feel like it's an 80/20 split between the dealer and the buyer.

Who buys a TT without doing any sort of research at all on how to use it? I was by no means an expert when I bought my first pop-up and the internet was in it's infancy back then (I don't even think google or Youtube existed) so there wasn't a real easy way to research how to do things. We also bought it used from neighbor so no dealer PDI.

We figured most of it out on our own but we did bring some more experienced friends on our first trip who helped us out quite a bit.

The fact that anything you could ever want to know about camping is literally right at your fingertips gives these buyers little excuse to have apparently done no research though.