Neutral: Where are the reputable FR dealers in Texas?

[Willygeetx]

A recent write up about Demontrond RV Houston:



NOT EVEN A GOOD BAIT AND SWITCH. I was looking at a new RV, 8325ss, or at least NEW on the Demontrond Houston website. It was a pretty good price off of MSRP (MSRP $47k- priced at $30k). In order to justify my purchase I scoured the local websites to ensure this was the best price around and it was. It was a 2016 to be sold in 2017. I got a write up of the sales contract from Salesman Tony. It clearly states that the trailer is NEW. I was going to purchase the trailer with a cashiers check and just decided to see how long it had been sitting on the lot in the Texas sun, before heading out. I called Forest River and using the VIN (Serial Number) I found out that the trailer had been built in 4/22/16 and sold on 6/13/16 (almost a year ago). It even had CUSTOMER warranty work done, requested by the customer not the dealer. Since it was considered used to the factory my purchasing it would have voided any factory warranty. I did have a conversation with Rick, the Travel Trailer Manager, higher than the sales manager, and he tried to give me some line about how they may have had the floor plans mixed up and they brought it back and they could "back out the paperwork". Regardless, the warranties would have been negated. Either way it was used by someone who brought it back, and I am curious what could have been wrong with it that this "reputable" dealer would have taken it back. Oh by the way since they got "caught", when I talked to Rick it had been mysteriously sold, conveniently erasing the issue in "his mind."

[widecreek]

We got our Surveyor 265RLDS at Family RV in Sweetwater, TX. Very friendly staff who remember your name. Been back two times for warranty work and been taken care of wonderfully. Will go back when I decide to upgrade.

2004 Lincoln Navigator
2015 Surveyor 265 RLDS

[dcheatwood]

Bought my current rockwood fiver at Hayes RV in Longview. Never been back because I don't live near there. But the buying experience was nice and pdi was thorough.

[robjordan406]

IF you want the best price on a FR, I think you will find MHSRV in Alvarado Texas to be your best bet. They are so huge, they get special pricing from the mfgers. I haven't had any service work performed yet but I was impressed with the size of their service building and organization. The class C I bought was 15K less than anyone in the nation and that is a huge amount when it comes to monthly payments.

Robert Jordan
WInnsboro Texas

[kfd82]

We bought our rockwood 8311ws from RV Station in Bryan, TX.
Only complaint I have is they didnt tell us about the 2nd year warranty from FR.

Only had it in for service once, a water pump issue, took them 3 weeks total. Two weeks to get to my trailer then 4-5 days to fix it.

I would recommend them.

[dalford]

We purchased our 33IK Cedar Creek Silverback from Tri-Am RV in Ocala Fl. The buying experience was very good (Gary Bennett) and the service after the sale has been great. We have had it a few times in the 1.5 years that we have owned with nary an issue with getting items fixed under warranty (yes, we bought the 2nd year warranty). Family run business for over 50 years. They also have a location in Bulls Gap, TN.

[Volvodriver]

Only had it in for service once, a water pump issue, took them 3 weeks total. Two weeks to get to my trailer then 4-5 days to fix it.

I'm skeptical about the total time to fix? or replace? the water pump on your unit. A reasonably competent rv tech should have it "replaced" in 15 minutes and depending on the location no more than one hour.

I had one changed out at the the international rally at Goshen in 2015 in less than 10 minutes.

Dave

[whj77372]

I have not had any issues with Camping World, Houston. I bought a 2015 Wildcat 327 ck and had it back for warranty work. They kept it for almost two months over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays but they told me in advance that it would be that long.

[2Bryans]

Bought our Surveyor 266RLDS at Shady Pines RV in Texarkana, Hwy. 67. Family owed, been in business 30+ years. Had TT back a couple of times for service and couldn't be more pleased. Service is fast and you can talk to their service guys. Honest, good folks. Highly recommend.

[jlsr]

Originally Posted by rjsabe

How about service after the sale. Who do you all recommend within the state?

We bought our Columbus at Funtown Cleburne. Service after the sale has been abysmal! Service does not respond to Phone calls or emails. 2 times there for the same fairly major issue, we have asked FR is we can take it elsewhere but were told to use the selling dealer . The first year of ownership resulted in many Mos of our unit sitting on their lot waiting for repairs that should of taken no more than a couple days.

We would love to use Bennetts but they would not be able to do our warranty work they said. We have some add ons we want to do and will use Bennetts for that, if we end up keeping our unit.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by rjsabe

The forum has been great reading. Thank you all for the contributions. What concerns me is I am finding few, if any, reputable dealers in Texas. Most of the positive feedback are for those which are out of state 1k-2k miles away in the North or Northeast. What gives? Looking for Rockwood Sig UL ~Rich

We bought our first new RV from RVWholesalers in Lakeview, OH, back in 2011. I had grown up camping and we'd bought a used unit to see if we wanted to get back into it. I went to dozens of dealers from Tyler to Dallas to Sherman to Colbert to Paris and everywhere in between when we decided to get a new one. I preferred to buy local because, at the time, I was buying the BS of not being able to get warranty work and I like to support local businesses when I can. Unfortunately I just couldn't do business with those dealers. I ran across a few that I think were reputable and straight shooters with me, but they just refused to even be remotely competitive on price. I don't have a problem with a business making money, but I'm not into them making this months payroll on my back. I ended up going with RVWholesalers and have been a customer ever since- I'm about to pick up our 4th rig from them in a couple days. So, here's my advice as a fellow Texan: Buy a rig from RVWholesalers and have it brought to your door- or go pick it up and save another couple grand- and pocket the savings over the local dealers. I know a LOT of people that camp and the ONLY time I've ever seen a local dealer even get close to RVW on pricing is if the local rig is a closeout and they are comparing it to a new model at RVW. If you're handy at all, you'll greatly appreciate the way RVW does warranty as well. If it's something small, like most of the warranty repairs are, RVW will send you the parts. You make the swap and then return the old part postage paid. No taking it to a dealer and waiting for someone to hopefully do the repair correctly (you'd be surprised how many people have more things broken as a result of the "repair"). If it's something that needs attention, you can often get a reputable independent tech to do the repair- RVW will even help you locate a shop. Most of the big RV dealers seem to hire 1 or 2 good techs and the rest are just kids that really have no idea what they are doing.

Just my .02.

[timfromma]

It's a bit like asking where all the honest politicians are.

There may be a few but they are few, far between and difficult to find.