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Old 09-11-2020, 03:27 PM   #21
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Orvan

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Originally Posted by NMWildcat View Post
Great plan. I just wish Orvan was closer to us, or could clone himself! Good luck and Happy RVing!
You realize that Orvan only works on Cedar Creek products, right? I believe he worked for Cedar Creek for many years before he opened his service center just down the road.
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Old 09-11-2020, 05:57 PM   #22
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You realize that Orvan only works on Cedar Creek products, right? I believe he worked for Cedar Creek for many years before he opened his service center just down the road.
I have heard that he is CC only, don't know if it's entirely true. But actually we are considering buying a new CC, but sounds like Orvan is the only reliable service
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Old 09-11-2020, 06:23 PM   #23
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I bought a Cedar Creek 5th wheel from RV Nation. They have great prices on new units however Forest River warranty is bad. Burned a wheel bearing 8 months after I bought it while in Texas. When I called for warranty they told me no one could fix it in the area I was in. Went to parts store and bought a new wheel bearing and installed myself. Took 8 more months to get reimbursed for just the parts. Forest River warranty is non-existent once you leave the dealership. Lucky I bought an after market warranty - now that warranty works great as I've used it a couple of times.
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Old 09-11-2020, 07:12 PM   #24
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I would think any mobile tech who did FR warranty work is hungry for money and not very good . They don't pay squat all flat rate . sometimes that works and most times not 12 mins to replace a kitchen faucet .

yes it can be done but does not include all the prep time . just getting the tools out and old faucet out will take up 12 mins .


I bought from Couches over a 1000 miles away . Got a two yr warranty from FR for false advertising instead of just the one yr . When i had a warranty issue which wasn't very often or much .
Couches service writers just sent me the parts and i installed . worked out great . got parts quick and the work was done right the first time
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Old 09-11-2020, 07:12 PM   #25
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We purchased our 2020.5 37mbh from RV Nation back in January 2020...we had it built. Long story short, we’ve had a few warranty issues that we’ve needed addressed...the biggest being that the wrong size ac unit was installed on the front of our trailer (13.5 vs 15k). We live in Richmond va, so it’s not convenient for us to just run to our dealership in Ohio, so we’ve had to try to deal with local dealerships. Both FR dealerships here have flat told us that FR doesn’t pay them enough for warranty work to justify them doing work for us unless we had bought unit from them. Basically, they didn’t have a chance to rip us off on the front end to justify doing the warranty work on the back end. Southern RV and Hayden’s RV if you want to know the dealerships in question. So we’ve had to deal directly with Cedar Creek. I will say, I had very low expectations of the RV industry going in to this just from experiences over the years with other family members and internet stories and I will say that Cedar Creek has failed to even meet those expectations. They are INCREDIBLY slow to respond to emails/vm’s...I’m talking WEEKS to answer. They approved to send me an upgraded ac unit at no cost after weeks of daily calls and emails. That was 3-4 weeks ago. I decided to pay the difference and go with a heat pump this time. They are telling me that they do not cedar creek uses the Blizzard heat pumps from the factory, so that’s what they’re sending me. They (Melissa Vogt) didn’t sound too sure on that at the time of purchase, so she said she would check to be 100% sure and get back to me, as I want the penguin 2 to match my other unit. Well, that was two week ago and probably 3-4 emails ago and she has yet to return email or call to let me know what she has found out. There is much more to this story...none of it a good reflection on Cedar Creek or RV Nation, but you get the idea...set your expectations low if you buy out of state and cannot afford to run back and forth to your selling desert ship. It’s an infuriatingly slow process to get anything done, much less to just get them to even respond to any type of communication.

I do know a couple of weeks ago they had around 200 new units sitting on their yard that could not be shipped as they didn't have Any AC's to put on them.
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Old 09-11-2020, 07:44 PM   #26
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I do know a couple of weeks ago they had around 200 new units sitting on their yard that could not be shipped as they didn't have Any AC's to put on them.
My local dealer told me the same thing a week.

Also said that he can’t get the unit I’m looking for. Guess it will be best price & how far i’m willing to travel.
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Old 09-11-2020, 08:56 PM   #27
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A friend of mine just bought a new Avalanche from Keystone in a central Ohio dealership. He now lives in southern Alabama.

Anyway, he needed some warranty work and they blew him off. Point is you can get poor service from any of the manufacturers/dealers.

He got his problems resolved in Alabama at another dealership.

I had over $3000 of warranty repairs done. None of these were noticeable at the pdi. After 5000 miles they were noticeable. Orvan did the work.i believe I have a pretty solid Coach now.

We pay good money for these Coach’s and I think they are trying to get better but Wuhan COVID has set them back. Plus they are selling units like hot cakes.
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Old 09-12-2020, 06:02 AM   #28
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You realize that Orvan only works on Cedar Creek products, right? I believe he worked for Cedar Creek for many years before he opened his service center just down the road.
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Originally Posted by NMWildcat View Post
I have heard that he is CC only, don't know if it's entirely true. But actually we are considering buying a new CC, but sounds like Orvan is the only reliable service
Orvan has expanded what he works on, I know for sure he works on the River Stone line also, but kee0p in mind they were a spin off from Cedar Creek. I have also seen Jayco on his lot just not sure if they were in for work or maybe stored there.

To the OP the trip to Orvan will be well worth the drive, for us it is over a 10 hour drive, we just try to plan it onto our trips, best of luck I am sure you will be satisfied. afterwards.
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Old 09-12-2020, 10:02 AM   #29
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WE also bought our 2019 CC from Couch's. I live in Southern MD, so our drive is nearly the same as the OP's. Throughout the build process we kept in touch with our dealer rep and the factory to find out when it would be delivered to Couch's. We went ahead and scheduled an appointment with Orvan coinciding with the delivery date and took it straight to him after PDI. He looked it over, fixed some issues, adjusted 2 of the slides and fixed potential down the road problems.

IMO, that was the best route for us living so far away from the dealer.

Based on our experience we would do the exact same thing again.
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Old 09-12-2020, 11:48 AM   #30
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WE also bought our 2019 CC from Couch's. I live in Southern MD, so our drive is nearly the same as the OP's. Throughout the build process we kept in touch with our dealer rep and the factory to find out when it would be delivered to Couch's. We went ahead and scheduled an appointment with Orvan coinciding with the delivery date and took it straight to him after PDI. He looked it over, fixed some issues, adjusted 2 of the slides and fixed potential down the road problems.



IMO, that was the best route for us living so far away from the dealer.



Based on our experience we would do the exact same thing again.


Yep...kicking myself for not doing that when we picked up ours. We considered it, but we’re on a bit of a time crunch, so couldn’t swing it. Now have an appt with Orvan No ember 30th. Looking forward to getting everything squared away the way it should have been done from the factory/dealership.

On a side note...I see way way too many excuses/justifications for shoddy manufacturing/service issues on here and other forums. That’s one reason the rv industry is several rungs below used car dealerships...customers let them all get away with well below substandard service all the way from manufacturing to sales and service. It reminds me of jeep wranglers...they are generally junk (I sold them for quite a while), but can also pretty much go anywhere. People just accept that they’re junk and almost present it as a badge of honor...hence...”it’s a jeep thing”. People need to complain more on forums, hold their feet to the fire, be more boisterous and maybe things will start to change. Otherwise, we all just need to come up with a catchy slogan for the RV Industry as well, relieving them of all accountability.
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Old 09-12-2020, 03:22 PM   #31
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On a side note...I see way way too many excuses/justifications for shoddy manufacturing/service issues on here and other forums. That’s one reason the rv industry is several rungs below used car dealerships...customers let them all get away with well below substandard service all the way from manufacturing to sales and service. It reminds me of jeep wranglers...they are generally junk (I sold them for quite a while), but can also pretty much go anywhere. People just accept that they’re junk and almost present it as a badge of honor...hence...”it’s a jeep thing”. People need to complain more on forums, hold their feet to the fire, be more boisterous and maybe things will start to change. Otherwise, we all just need to come up with a catchy slogan for the RV Industry as well, relieving them of all accountability.
Well, the same issues existed years ago, in the Auto Industry. There was numerous attempts to get the Auto Industry to build better and safer autos. Remember Ralph Nader and the Corvair?
But nothing changed. It took the importation of Japanese made vehicles to affect American auto maker sales. Only foreign competition caused them to change their ways. Not government intervention or consumer complaints.
Unfortunately that kind of scenario will never happen in the RV Industry.
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Old 09-12-2020, 06:32 PM   #32
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Well, the same issues existed years ago, in the Auto Industry. There was numerous attempts to get the Auto Industry to build better and safer autos. Remember Ralph Nader and the Corvair?
But nothing changed. It took the importation of Japanese made vehicles to affect American auto maker sales. Only foreign competition caused them to change their ways. Not government intervention or consumer complaints.
Unfortunately that kind of scenario will never happen in the RV Industry.


Unfortunately I completely agree...just glad there’s Orvan out there for us
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Old 09-12-2020, 09:47 PM   #33
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Unfortunately I completely agree...just glad there’s Orvan out there for us
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Old 09-13-2020, 04:39 PM   #34
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Here is my 2 cents....six years ago I purchased a Palomino Solaire 205 SS from RV Wholesalers in Lakeview, Ohio. I saved several thousand $$ in the price compared to California prices. I purchased the TT online and sight unseen. The TT was delivered to my door and the PDI was done at the dealership prior to transport. I took a big chance, as buying sight unseen is not in my wheelhouse. Needless to say the TT had some minor warranty issues as well as a few major repair issues that occurred during the warranty period. On each issue I called the warranty department at RV Wholesalers and they found a repair facility located near my home. RV Wholesalers arranged for all payments for the work that was performed. One issue was the slide extending out too much causing the sidewall to rip away from the slide rail system. The other was a delamination of the fiberglass the size of a grapefruit. Regarding the delamination, RV Wholesalers arranged for the trailer to be picked up at my home and driven back to the factory for repair at no cost to me. All and all I was very satisfied with the warranty department at the dealership. I still have and enjoy the Solaire.
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Old 09-15-2020, 07:29 PM   #35
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Orvan does warranty work on Riverstones and does not work on Jaycos.
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Old 09-18-2020, 08:08 PM   #36
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I bought 33IK from Couch Nation in February. Within a few days the microwave stopped working while on a trip. First call was Forest River they logged the issue and weren’t very helpful and basically said take it anywhere. Next call was Couch Nation and after few emails they just sent it to our next stop. It arrived 2 days later. I did the remove and replace myself as I had no intention of leaving the trailer in a shop.
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Old 09-18-2020, 08:27 PM   #37
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Future reference

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I bought 33IK from Couch Nation in February. Within a few days the microwave stopped working while on a trip. First call was Forest River they logged the issue and weren’t very helpful and basically said take it anywhere. Next call was Couch Nation and after few emails they just sent it to our next stop. It arrived 2 days later. I did the remove and replace myself as I had no intention of leaving the trailer in a shop.
For future reference, if a named-brand component (e.g., microwave, water heater, converter, furnace, inverter, frame, axles/wheels. awning, range, plumbing fixtures. door, windows) fails, don't call the dealer, don't call the trailer company, don't call Forest River. Call the manufacturer directly. His name and number are in the literature that came with the unit.

This is different than a car/truck warranty where the dealer and manufacturer stand behind everything but the tires. In the RV case, the individual component provider is responsible directly to the owner.

The component manufacturer's warranty is longer than Forest River's, sometimes years. They have been known to stand behind their products even after the warranty has expired. Their telephone help is more knowledgeable and more willing to make you happy. They will often ship parts directly to you (promptly!) or refer you to prompt service.
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Old 09-27-2020, 12:00 AM   #38
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I drove from WA to Ohio RV Nation saved almost 18k for the same unit available here but better equipped.

After driving that far I checked EVERYTHING, I spent 2 hours going over the unit before I signed off on it.

We have had no major issues with our 2018 Silverback 37flk.

I heard all kinds of stories about not expecting much from Jeff Couch RV nation because they were a "volume dealer". I experienced just the opposite, over a two year period I had so many conversations with Brandon about different units, price quotes etc. After 2 years I finally pulled the trigger. JCRV even installed the uggraded rims and tires I purchased elsewhere.

If I were to get another unit I'd go there again. That being said 2020 is a crazy year, supply, shipping demand everything is effected.

Part of this is on you, I can see overlooking small item but something as large as an A/C unit should've definitely been on your list. If it were me I'd ask for the difference in price and call it good.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Old 09-27-2020, 05:54 AM   #39
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So you crawled up on the roof, popped the cover of both ac units and checked the model numbers on your pti?? Good on you
Wouldn't you just run the air conditioner at the PDI?
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Old 09-27-2020, 07:36 AM   #40
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I don’t care how much time you spend at the PDI. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t do a thorough PDI.

However, many of the defects won’t show up until until your Coach is on the road for a while.

Then at some time you will have a unit that is pretty stable with proper maintenance. All the dealers are at the mercy of the manufacturer. Sometimes they will turn out a lemon. But I think Creek is trying to make them with less defects.

I know Brandon well at Couch’s. I started talking to him in 2007 and I like him a lot. With Orvan in the background, I think you could buy a Creek anywhere and know you can get something major repaired properly. I think this is a unique backstop to Cedar Creek.

I couldn’t work anything out w Couch’s because I had a trade in that was more than they wanted to take on.
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