on-site warranty 2022 grey wolf 26dbh

[Laurakcote]

New TT owners here. We purchased a new 2022 grey wolf 26DBH and parking it in a trailer park immediately for at least one year, one hour away from our RV dealer. The ForestRiver manufacturer warranty covers 1 year. Is it common for extended warranty to provide on-site repair visits? Our dealership provides an extended warranty with ONSITE visits. As we are parked, levelled, sewage connected and require tractor for lot set-up driving to and from for any repairs seems difficult. Would you opt for on-site extended warranty?
Thanks

[SeaDog]

welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. You need to read the fine print very carefully in any extended warranty package the all differ. Also RV warranties are not like auto warranties. How handy you are can make a huge difference in what you actually need past the one year mark.

[Qwkynuf]

Seems unlikely that most dealers would send a tech to wherever you happen to be, especially an hour each way.

You will probably need to go with the "independent mobile RV tech" route. In that case, you would find your own tech and have them come out to diagnose the issue, then you would request a warranty approval from Gray Wolf. If/when Gray Wolf approves the work and the cost, you would have the tech come back out and complete the repairs. You would pay the tech, and then submit your bill for reimbursement.

In the end, the work would get done, but you would be on the hook for paying up front, and for project managing and dealing with communication and paperwork.

I know that this is going to feel very consumer-unfriendly, but think about it from a business standpoint. At the dealer, they are looking at sending their tech offsite to a random location - in your case, 60 minutes each way, plus whatever time they spend on site diagnosing the problem. Then the tech is going to have to make at least one more trip to actually fix the problem once the warranty claim is approved and the parts arrive.

Given that manufacturers pay the dealers far less than their published shop rates for performing warranty work, why would the dealer give up one of their techs for a job with a minimum of 4 hours of drive time that they won't be reimbursed for?

From the manufacturer's standpoint, why should they know or care where you parked your RV? I only live 30 miles from my dealer - why would they be willing to pay significantly more to do a warranty repair on your unit, compared to the same repair on mine?

It's easy to say "Well, they should include on-site repairs for an XX miles radius", but that "XX miles" always conveniently include our own particular case.

So, in summary, the dealer is almost certainly not going to want to do it. I would be *very* surprised if they would even do it if you were paying full shop rate. The manufacturer can't/won't force them to. The RV warranty relationship between dealer and manufacturer is simply not the same as a car warranty. Not ideal, but it is what it is. Most likely, you can have your issues repaired under warranty, but you will have to use an independent RV tech, pay them out-of-pocket, and then wait for the manufacturer to reimburse you.

[5picker]

If you are not able to return to your dealer (or a dealer) for warranty then you have but a few options.

As mentioned, mobile repair companies do "on-site" repairs and often under warranty but be prepared to get prior factory approval and you will often have to pay the mobile repair person and then seek reimbursement yourself. (through the dealer or the factory) There are a few mobile techs I know that will do that leg work up front but then charge extra (cash from customer) to handle it.

Second option is an aftermarket warranty with an "on-site" repairs clause.
Again, as mentioned, READ THE FINE PRINT CAREFULLY!! often times, only certain repair facilities will honor the warranty and they often include clauses where the repair is covered but you are responsible for travel time, etc. Not all warranties are the same.

Some warranties are actually worthwhile but many are not! Did I mention, READ THE FINE PRINT CAREFULLY! Talk to the service department (not the guy selling the warranty) about buying the warranty and EXACTLY how a claim will be handled. Oh, and READ THE FINE PRINT CAREFULLY!

And finally, if you are able, many repairs can be done by the owner and either the dealer will seek reimbursement on your behalf or the factory will provide you the parts and "MAYBE" a small reimbursement for your time.

Best of luck!