Amish Family RV and Denise

[BandJCarm]

I like this.

So many complaints at this site about travel trailers and motorhomes.

Mine has had more problems than anyone's, I'd bet. But it's fine now, and Orvan has fixed it. May God bless him and keep him alive as long as I need him! LOL!!!

P.S.
I gave his address, which my GPS found. But I sent him a thank you card at that address and it came back undeliverable. Yet I saw a mailbox in the road. So I don't know how to get him a note in the mail. I will figure that out. I bet he has a P.O. box somewhere. Mario takes him to town in that old GMC Jimmy.

[lswartz]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

P.S.
I gave his address, which my GPS found. But I sent him a thank you card at that address and it came back undeliverable. Yet I saw a mailbox in the road. So I don't know how to get him a note in the mail. I will figure that out. I bet he has a P.O. box somewhere. Mario takes him to town in that old GMC Jimmy.

Did you send it to Ligonier instead of Topeka? Since he did a super job, you might want to resend it.

Try this address;
11681 N 600 W-57, P.O. Box 773, Topeka, IN, 46571

[steelpony5555]

Yes he is for real and is a Cedar Creek guru....he know everything about them. He was still going over mine right up to when I hooked up to it he didn't like how one of the fenders fit and ran got tin snips and shortened it to fit better right up to when I was gonna pull it out of the shop.....Denise is the one who ok's all work and decides it they will cover the job or not.....but it appears she ok's most all work.....I know Keystone won't do that and I don't think a majority of the other RV companies will do what Forest River does......and yes I was miss spelling Orvan's name. I use to install phones for the Amish in Pa and yes they put up little shacks just off their property for phones. I know, why?? So that is why he will never just answer the phone....but they always called me back...It was well worth the trip from Texas even if I had to pay for all the things he did....

[Parrothead Mike]

Orvan told me he worked for CC for 17 years and his brother-in-law, who also works there, spent 15 years at CC. There is another fellow there, non-Amish, and apparently he's the one that likes country music because it was playing on the radio in the shop when we went to pick our 2015 Silverback up this past June.

We called last April and got in late June. When I picked up he told me he was already backed up until November. Told me they opened the shop in 2016. He's going to make a good living doing what he does, but also mentioned that there are other Amish basically doing similar factory-experience-to-home operation around Shipshewana. One place just north of town works primarily on fridge and AC issues.

They do take e-mails. Orvan explained that you send an e-mail to a service and they print it out and fax it to his shop. His wife is usually the person that does the scheduling.

Orvan told me he was going camping in early July for a week with the family. Has a 2006 CC (I believe) and has one of the local RV haulers pull the camper to a campground in the area.

He went above & beyond in what I expected for service. He replaced things I initially didn't even ask he about. Front cap, slider edge caps, found floor damage in bedroom slide I didn't know about, and caulked every little piece of trim on the exterior. Great guy - great service.

[tomherb]

Hi All,

In reading this post, it talks about certain repairs and improvements that Orvan at Amish Family RV recommends for our Cedar Creeks but I haven't been able to find a listing of these repairs and improvements other than the drip edges on the slide outs. For those of you that have gotten the full treatment from Orvan could you share with us what work he did? I don't have any current issues with my Cedar Creek but we will soon be planning a trip west for 2018 and it might be a good time to make an appointment for next spring with him to do some of these repairs and improvements as we go through Indiana.

Thanks for your help!

[Hutch333id]

For us, he re-aligned the slides because they do get rattled around. Replaced some of the rubber seals on the slides, put a slide runner under our bedroom closet that help it better position itself when the opposing bedroom slides come out (the bottom of the closet used to stick part way in and we had to drag it out). He (and his team) went through the interior of the coach straightening up minor trim issues. Sealed the chassis with expanding foam to prevent water accessing the bodywork when driving in wet conditions. Replaced the kitchen window where the seal had perished and allowed the thermopane glass to fog between the two layers. They re-secured the salon the edges where it rides up from the front and under the overhang (it used to pull out of the track on the apex going from the vertical edge to the horizontal). They replaced the trim around both sets of steps after becoming cracked because they'd been screwed in too tightly and couldn't contract during the winter. Braced the side wheel arches to strengthen them. Re-caulked the trim on the outside of each of our five slides to prevent water access. Re-taped the top of the slides with Eterna bond, cleaned and gave us a can of the lube/cleaning spray for the Swchintek slide rails, gave us a tube of decor and another sealant. This was on top of replacing the front and rear caps, attaching the camera, replacing a damaged body panel and access door, replacing some cracked decals.... oh and replaced a motor in the drivers side, schwintek slide.
There might have been more, I can't recall now without getting the invoice out.

He found things and pointed out the issues and things to be aware off for the future.
Worth the day and a half without the trailer which he wants by about 7am.
FWIW.. we stayed at the Best Western hotel in Howe.

[Parrothead Mike]

Typing from the invoice I received from Amish Family RV here is what they did: Front cap was fading - they replaced (I initially didn't ask for this). LED lights burned out - they replaced all interior LEDs (18 total). Outside bottom corners of slide floors worn & frayed - they installed slideout pans on all slide floors. Dump valve handles stuck/pull hard - they removed front underbelly panels & replaced all dump valve cables (cut cables down to correct size) then reinstalled underbelly panels, used one new panel because old panel was cracked. Black hydraulic line under bed was cracked because it was too short and was hitting slideout floor - they replaced the black hydraulic line under bed. Small cut in linoleum flooring by bathroom door - repaired. Unit has seal voids through out - went through the whole exterior of the trailer & resealed unit. Water leaking out from underbelly by fresh water tank (this was something I caused by over filling fresh water tank) - removed rear underbelly panels & found low point drain line was loose/popped out - they resealed fitting and added a hose clamp to tank & tested it. Wire guard was broke under rear slide - they replaced wire guard. Seals torn around slideouts - checked & replaced where necessary - they also foamed between slideout ramps & floor of unit under rear slideouts. Removed bed tabs on bedroom slide mechanism & adjusted bed top struts. Bedroom slide floor was wet (Orvan showed me by sticking a screwdriver into the particle board, it went in at least 2-3 inches) this was caused by seal voids on bottom of T molding on the bedroom slide - they removed bed from bedroom slide & removed bottom molding on the outside and removed the old slide floor, then re-glued & installed new slide floor & reinstalled moldings on outside & reinstalled the bed. 12 hours labor = $1,320 plus parts that weren't covered by warranty.

I have to say that Orvan went well beyond what I expected by searching out and fixing items I wouldn't have seen and would have likely caused problems down the road. The wet particle board on the bedroom slide is a reoccurring problem on some of the CCs according to Orvan. When he pulled off the outside molding on the bottom of the bedroom slide he was concerned he'd find the board wet & he did. I would never has seen this until it was a big problem.

I came to appreciate the problems created by water. Water isn't just a problem for the roof, but for any seal/molding on the exterior of the camper. They caulked every, and I mean every piece of molding on my Silverback. He then gave me a tube of caulk that he used on my unit & said it was the best stuff to use on the camper.

I will likely take my unit back to Amish Family RV in 2019 as a preventative maintenance. Thankfully I live only an hour from Topeka, IN.

PS: Orvan is a genuine nice guy. He took time to explain everything to my wife & I.

[tomherb]

Thank You both!! This was just the info that I was looking for.

[spock123]

I know this a old thread but I can’t say enough about Orvan Fry. If I should ever buy another camper it will be a Cedar Creek. The only person to work on a Cedar Creek is Amish Family RV

[dalford]

Originally Posted by spock123

I know this a old thread but I can’t say enough about Orvan Fry. If I should ever buy another camper it will be a Cedar Creek. The only person to work on a Cedar Creek is Amish Family RV

X2, we were there Monday, had the cap replaced plus $4000 of warranty work on a 2.5 year old Silverback. Orvan is meticulous and know the CC product inside and out. Thanks Orvin and Denise at Cedar Creek...

[Outlaw24]

Originally Posted by Parrothead Mike

Orvan told me he worked for CC for 17 years and his brother-in-law, who also works there, spent 15 years at CC. There is another fellow there, non-Amish, and apparently he's the one that likes country music because it was playing on the radio in the shop when we went to pick our 2015 Silverback up this past June.

We called last April and got in late June. When I picked up he told me he was already backed up until November. Told me they opened the shop in 2016. He's going to make a good living doing what he does, but also mentioned that there are other Amish basically doing similar factory-experience-to-home operation around Shipshewana. One place just north of town works primarily on fridge and AC issues.

They do take e-mails. Orvan explained that you send an e-mail to a service and they print it out and fax it to his shop. His wife is usually the person that does the scheduling.

Orvan told me he was going camping in early July for a week with the family. Has a 2006 CC (I believe) and has one of the local RV haulers pull the camper to a campground in the area.

He went above & beyond in what I expected for service. He replaced things I initially didn't even ask he about. Front cap, slider edge caps, found floor damage in bedroom slide I didn't know about, and caulked every little piece of trim on the exterior. Great guy - great service.

Where do you send the email?

[Parrothead Mike]

When you phone Amish Family RV they will give you an e-mail address to send your list of issues to be addressed for your RV. Orvan explained that they work with a service that receives the e-mails and then faxes them to Amish Family RV since they do not use the Internet themselves. Once they receive your e-mail/fax they will get back to you by phone regarding an appointment. This is how their system worked about a year ago when I had them service my Silverback.

[aknavy]

I've got my 2013 Cedar Creek 36 CKTS Custom at Amish Family RV. They are fixing all my first year learning lessons, and taking care of some frame issues. Hoping that it will turn out as good as the reputation, and that the factory will cover some of the issues. We'll see - either way, I'm pretty sure I'll be happy, as I'm the second owner and have zero expectations from the factory. Orvan seems to know his stuff, and is very straight forward about his recommendations.

[boomer116ars]

Anyone have a phone number for Amish Family RV

[aknavy]

1-260-593-0951

[aknavy]

Well, I picked up my fiver yesterday from Amish Family RV. The grand total for repairs that weren't related to the insurance claim was just a touch over $8k.....ouch!

Now - the good part - Denise authorized the repairs and paid for it all! Talk about customer service.....I don't know how it all came together, but the wife and I did say a prayer or two that the cost wouldn't crush us, and it seems to have worked out.

I had a bit of front frame/upper deck flex and asked Orvan to check it out for me - come to find out it was out of specs, so he tore it down and found a few broken welds, as well as a couple spots that appeared to have not been welded.

Orvan recommended that I ask Cedar Creek if they'd cover any cost, so I asked, hoping for a partial payment for the frame repair.....imagine my surprise!

The welded up all those, as well as added some more structural support to keep it from happening again. Then the went on to complete the rest of the list. Things fixed:

Frame.

Font filon area/front baggage door replaced - looks like new.

All the front caulking and seals, as well as various other areas.

New style seal around the front deck area to allow for minor flex, if needed

Replaced the bedroom slide floor (water damage).

Slide pans on all three slides.

Adjust all three slides.

Repair 3 smallish fiberglass cracks, add H trim in two areas.

Paint - I have a Custom, so no decals. Multiple areas needed paint.

Those were the major repairs, he took care of several other minor issues as well.

Overall, awesome experience with daily updates. Only negative - the paint shop left it unplugged for 4 days and the inverter for the fridge shut down. Kinda smelly, but Orvan had cleaned the fridge out before I picked it up, and he/the paint shop generously reimbursed us for the contents.

Did I mention that we're second owners of this thing? Yep.

So - Cedar Creek, great customer service and thank you!

Orvan is well worth the drive to Indiana. Meticulous, fair, and knowledgeable.

[sakoboomer1]

Reading this is very IMPRESSIVE! Or an sounds like the good man. I hope I never need his services for our 36CK2 but if we do it would be worth the trip from Wyoming to Indiana!!!!
I have put him in my contact list!

[BandJCarm]

Will someone keep this and wave it in the air when folks say "Forest River won't stand by their products"??? Maybe some divisions. But CC has been awesome.

I'll be in Orvan's shop July 9. Yes, I'm tired of things going wrong, but it's all been fixed. I'm sure the current issue will be too.

Now, I understand Orvan doesn't do paint.........so I assume he/you took it to the factory for that???

[aknavy]

He works with a paint shop that does good work.

[Dlatwo]

I am having some trouble with the power inverter on my Cedar Creek and was wondering what kind should I replace it with as we have a 1000 watt Cheng and was wondering if it should be a little bigger and maybe a different brand.We have a 38FL and its a 2015 model.