Frustration with dealer warranty work

[Old car]

I waited 24 hours to post this since the event happened just to make sure it is presented fairly and not out of pure frustration.

We took our 7 month old Sabre 33CKTS back to Camping World (purchasing dealer) two weeks ago to have warranty work completed prior to beginning our camping season. Yesterday I went to pick up the trailer because they are waiting on parts and we have trips scheduled. What they are waiting on will not prevent us from using the trailer.

We arrive at the dealer and they pull the unit out. I notice a red sticker on the pin box and I start to peel it off. One of the service supervisors says he will pull the sticker stating it is used to indicate to the yard jockeys that the work is complete. I looked at him and said "Really, they haven't even touched this unit. Waiting on parts." He was rather surprised. I told him what we needed fixed and he said to give him an hour and he would at least get the window fixed (originally they were waiting on a new window to replace the entire thing). We leave and come back an hour later.

Window is fixed but that turns out to be rather minor. I now have a two foot gash in the nose cap where they hit the trailer with the fork lift. One hour! They put a couple of strips of Eternabond over the crack to keep water out. They are arranging the repair at a local shop that specializes in fiberglass work on trailers. I have the trailer right now and will only give it to them (not Camping World--the repair shop) once I have a firm appointment and where they can complete the work between our already scheduled trips.

I didn't blow up, cuss the people, or jump up and down. Disappointed, yes! Frustrated, yes! But losing it doesn't change anything. My trailer is still damaged and I don't consider it "new" any longer. I will be curious to see how it all turns out.

If you see a Sabre with a big band-aid on the front cap, stop by and say hello. When I pull into the campground everyone will think; "no slider hitch" because it is right in the same spot where something like that could happen. We do have a slider so it isn't the operator! Just another story for down the road sitting around the campfire!

[StoneyG]

I have come to believe over the years that Camping World is a great place to buy accessories and little more after trying several up and down the east coast.

[vinmaker]

I am sorry about your bad luck. I too dread ever bringing in the unit for service. I think I would much rather just have it repaired by a different business (like a good auto body shop) than bring it back to them. These things are not complicated and all you need is someone who is mechanically inclined and takes care and pride in the work.

The idiots they hire at some RV places at min wage do more harm than good.

If you do find an RV shop with a good crew. Treat them like royalty as they are worth their weight in gold.

Vin.

[asquared]

Sorry to hear this. Camping world damaged our old tt when it was in for service also. A minor dent but still a dent. We took a gift card and repaired it ourselves. They always had it for a long time until we started pushing them and then suddenly it was ready quickly. I would contact Gary Grigsby at forest river and find another service center that will handle your trailer in the future. you could also go here and let camping world know how this dealership is. Oh and it sounds like you handled a bad situation pretty well.

[Wiscampsin]

Sorry to hear about the damage to your 33CKTS. Congrats for not losing it with the CW staff. Hopefully the fiberglass repair shop will make it so you don't even notice the damage.

[deartruc]

Originally Posted by StoneyG

I have come to believe over the years that Camping World is a great place to buy accessories and little more after trying several up and down the east coast.

I once bought a 3500 watt gen from CW for my one week of boondocking a year. When it came in I added the oil and gas and fired it up. It ran great, I let it break in run for 15 min. Then I brought it over to the htt. Plugged in the camper and nothing. Engine even stalls. Made sure I had nothing turned on in the camper. Still nothing. Called CW. They said they couldn't accept it back since I added oil and gas unless I drove it to them. UMM, how would I know it was broken without adding oil and gas? Nearest CW is 2 hours away. Missed using it on my boondocking trip. Finally got the manufacturer to ship me (a repaired unit). Came in a box with little packaging and lots of cosmetic damage...but it worked!! So, I used the case parts from the broken one to fixup the replaced one. Worked fine the next time I boondocked. I find CW is a great place to get ideas and Amazon is the great place to buy once you got the info from CW.

[SKnight]

It's not just CW. My dealer had mine four of the 13 months I owned it when I picked it up two weeks ago. Four weeks just to get it in to look at it. Couldn't diagnose a water leak because it hadn't rained (I offered to donate a water hose and sprayer to them)what work they did was shoddy at best, they ran out my LP and killed my brand new batteries flat.

I'm going to open an RV dealership and will rule the world with the level of service I'd provide. It wouldn't take much.

[j free]

make sure the repair shop they send you to can secure the TT. I had camping world do some miner damage to my old 5er. And they sent it to there repair guy. When I picked it up from the repair shop people were living in my 5er at night. (security guards).
They left spilled soda in my fridge and stolen Items from inside the unit. They tried to blame it on homeless people but how many homeless would skip the can goods and 2 bottles of booze in the unit.
When I complained to camping world they stated they are not responsible for items left inside the unit. and are not responsible for homeless brake ins. After I threatened with legal actions they wrote a check to replace all items taken.
I will never take my unit to Camping World again.

[Rsharrer]

If in need of repair, parts, or advice, and in the area of Newcastle, California, I highly recommend Affordable RV Rental. One of those rare RV businesses that does quality work on time. They performed warranty work on my 8289ws. Completed it within a week. When I picked it up, the technician went through the work order with me and even had photos on his smartphone to better explain what he had done.

[OldCoot]

Why not just have CW notify you who and where the shop is and you take it there and see for yourself? You eliminate the possibility of CW damaging it again.

[jeffrapp]

Here is a link to another thread on this same topic, that I participated in.
Forest River Customer Service - Page 3 - Forest River Forums

[Oaklevel]

Our friends are trying to trade & buy a new camper from camping world, When they came back to do the deal & pick up their new trailer the manager tried to give them the new camper that they had already refused as it was leaking. Another was in the field but they were told it was not their new one but it did have their name on it. The manager kept making fabrications & they would have walked away with their old trailer except, it now was severely damaged now by CW. CW hit the rear corner of their old trailer opening it up. CW has gone to pure heck..... I hear nothing but horror stories.

[campnqueen]

Personally I think MOST dealers suck! We purchased our rv from the same dealer as SKnight.

Our dealer also tore our steps off and had our unit 16 weeks the first year we had it. I would call FR to see if the story of "waiting for parts" as true and of course FR had never heard from them.

It sucks that FR does not do a better job of pre-delivery inspection before its delivered to the customer. Additionally, the dealers do not care what happens after you sign the papers.

You can "fill in the blank" with the name of just about any dealership. They are a pain in the ---- to deal with!

[timothy clancy]

Ahhh camping world where do I start with this big conglomerate who's main goal is money money money . My friend bought a new cedar creek 5 wheel in feb when I got mine ( not from camping world ) it's still their after their pdi still waiting on parts. My wife and I went in to get a few things for our new camper figuring that they were cheaper then out dealer plus only 10 miles from us but that was not the case first if your not a good Sam member it's more and second just to use an item we purchased two director type folding chairs with side tables attached for 33.98 per at our dealer where cpw pries was 40-46 per chair depending on membership or non good luck and safe travels


Clancy vibe272bhs

[Old car]

I do know who the repair shop is that Camping World uses and their lot is secure. I plan on delivering it myself to the shop once the details are worked out and I have a firm appointment.

[67cudafb]

The idiots they hire at some RV places at min wage do more harm than good.

If you do find an RV shop with a good crew. Treat them like royalty as they are worth their weight in gold.

This is so true. Some are even crooks charging for things they haven't even repaired. We are dealing with or third rv and third dealer. This dealer is fairly new in Jax Fl. The General manager seems sharp and strikes me as very honest. The service seems to be a bunch of bumblers. They put in a slider as part of the deal and the guy spent about 5 hours and the rails were already installed for hitch that was in the truck. So we spent all day picking up our new Wildcat and didn't take it home until the next day as the weather sucked and didn't want to fight backing it thru gate in the dark. We took it back up last week to have awnings over slides installed and a couple items fixed. We will see how it goes.

[buddy300]

I like doing the same as deartruc , I get CW's ads and purchase from Amazon.com.
And where Old car is referring to might have been a different dealership two years ago, I did like the people. Our sabre 32-rats-6 is second 5er from them. Big warranty work was hard to get done, otherwise a great family business. Too bad they sold out. Won't go back.

[wicked1]

If anyone is in PA CNeer RV is great because it is family owned and not a retail chain or a bunch of nitwits working for someone, Chuck has his whole family working there Great People.

[dbld6210]

here in central Texas, we have a great RV repair place, its in Hearne Tx, its called Texas Star RV, if any of you are in our area, call them. 979-279-2300

[BeachLady]

I ( yup I, I bought the rig, he has the truck) purchased our Silverback 5th wheel in the fall.We made arrangements for our walk thru a couple days before our first trip out in the Spring. As we were walking around the outside, refreshing ourselves to the amenities, the Service Man says " Now I believe you were called about this." as he points to the split in the seam that used join the passenger side to the back. To which I replied, "NO". "Well now, we've taped it up. You just bring it. YIKES!
Spring has sprung! and we were not happy... No happier when it came back with scratches down the other side. As I pondered what the Sam Hill had happen. I remembered their building is split face block. Yup, same yard jockey...he got both sides.This is the 29RE, the smaller of the Silverbacks. I was supposed to get some satisfaction in that they fired him. Didn't happen. The season is short in the Northeast and this is costing us BEACH time.
The only consideration I got was I demanded they they deliver it this time as my husband AKA "the driver" was out of town and I wanted to get it stocked. They had the nerve to tell me they didn't do that. That was the day you all felt a slight shift of the Earth on its axis.Beach Lady was tired of being a lady ... more fun to be a B T H!http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ilies/cool.gif