Warranty parts - warning, long delays

[Rancher Rob]

Just a note to those considering a dynamax purchase. Be prepared for long delays in waiting on warranty parts. Our 2019 37BH has been sitting in Spokane (at Dynamax's recommendation but 6 hrs away) for 10 weeks now. Supposedly, the dealer has been waiting on warranty parts. Some showed up. Some didn't get ordered. Some parts reportedly were ordered on an old parts management system that is no longer in use (but somehow can still take orders?). I'm not sure really what going on as we get different stories between the dealer and Dynamax parts.
10 weeks seems ridiculously long to wait for parts for last years model especially when they are simple things:
LED rope lighting
key fob
toilet sensor
curtain track
ceiling light
seam tape and wallpaper
floor tiles

Anyway, a quick search of "parts" in thread titles shows there are a few of us that have problems getting parts. Considered yourself warned and thanks all for letting me vent

[KRedburn]

Rancher,
I can relate you issue. I am 6 hours round trip from Spokane. Central Washinton.

I have also taken my DX3 to Spokane R&R RV they won't start until they have all the parts. Then if they missed diagnosed the issue (which happened on mine) you start the wait issue all over again. Very lousy service shop.

I now do all my own work. I have had no issues with getting warranty parts to do repairs.

Contact Brian D (West coast warranty rep) and explain the issue and have him update you on status. I do know that the tile takes a while to get.

Also, check the vendors list at the front of the forum. It gives you contact info for the various parts manufacturers that Dynamax uses.

Hope you rig gets fixed soon. Campin season is close!

[upflying]

After a 6 week dealer wait to fix non-working trailer brakes on my new TT, I will never use a dealer for warranty work again.
Most of the stuff is simple enough to do your own repairs. It's not worth the frustration to make warranty claim.
RV dealers have a ways to catch up to automotive warranty standards.

[MR.M]

Manufactures hope people get frustrated and do their own work and dealers could give a hoot

[Rancher Rob]

I already did a lot of warranty work and upgrades on my own or with local authorized warranty service centers. Replaced 3 defective basement storage autolocks, fixed exhaust hanger, repaired leaking coolant lines, rewired the CB, painted all the rust spots, put in a receiver with RV nav, re-ran winterization plumbing, etc.
But there were there were a lot of projects that I didn't want to take on or didn't have the tools and/or knowledge to do. Plus it was just getting overwhelming with all that needed doing. It was only 3 months old and only had one local trip on her besides the trip home from dealer. After also replacing the aquahot, replacing a hydraulic jack, the hydraulic pump, and a bunch of little stuff, I had a list of 32 warranty items! (though admittedly some of them were piddley little things like peeling seam tape or burned out LED rope lights)
But there were bigger items like:
Broken/breaking floor tiles
TV Multiplexor not working on 2 TV's
Multiple leaks
Black water/toilet system issues
Crooked mounted window

Once I get it back from Appleway (not R&R) then I'll take it to Freightliner and start the wait over again for their warranty work.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by MR.M

Manufactures hope people get frustrated and do their own work and dealers could give a hoot

That is complete and utter nonsense.

As for the delays...I'll check on them in the morning. 99 times out of 100 that's not the whole story, but I will get the whole truth and post it here.

You can do a quick search for parts and you will see some people with issues...because frankly people that take them in, get parts and move on, don't post. I take that back...Susie, who took their unit to Appleway RV had a phenomenal experience. She was two hours west of them when she made a call to me, I made a call to Appleway, she drove back into them and they stayed late to repair the coach...same day. They didn't even sell our stuff at the time. She did post about her good experience, (thank you for that) but you won't find that searching for "parts issues".

Now they do sell our stuff as a result and we are changing systems. Unfortunately we can't just convert 100% of our dealers over at once...so there has been a learning curve as dealers are transitioned in waves.

[MasterBlaster]

My suggestion is that when your getting work done let them order the parts, keep your rig and use it. It’s obvious that with what your getting done that you would still have a functional unit. Then when you call them and all the parts are in you schedule a date to have them all put on at one time. With the amount of warranty work that gets done throughout this industry you will find this way helps you to enjoy your rig much more. Just my 2 cents.

[bclemens]

This is the welcome letter that is in every coach...and I offer up the same suggestions. (has been edited a time or two, so the one you have may not be exact)

[bratbros]

I have to chime in here too in regards to Appleway RV. They have bent over backwards to take care of a couple of issues I had with my 30FW. And this was before they were an official Dynamax dealer. They did not have to order parts because they had what was needed on the shelf. You don't find that every day, nor do you find the courtesy and professionalism they displayed. A+ rating in my book! Oh, and I live about 2.5 hours away from them.

[RV Randy]

Originally Posted by MasterBlaster

My suggestion is that when your getting work done let them order the parts, keep your rig and use it. It’s obvious that with what your getting done that you would still have a functional unit. Then when you call them and all the parts are in you schedule a date to have them all put on at one time. With the amount of warranty work that gets done throughout this industry you will find this way helps you to enjoy your rig much more. Just my 2 cents.

^^^ X2.

And, I have seen numerous examples on here where Brian and his team have provided parts to folks who have repaired issues themselves. I haven't had to get too many parts yet, but when I did, they showed up in a reasonable time frame.

My advice to potential new buyers: Don't let any of this scare you off. There are tons of people on this forum, myself included, who will tell you that Dynamax customer service and support is excellent.

[rskeans]

Originally Posted by MasterBlaster

My suggestion is that when your getting work done let them order the parts, keep your rig and use it. It’s obvious that with what your getting done that you would still have a functional unit. Then when you call them and all the parts are in you schedule a date to have them all put on at one time. With the amount of warranty work that gets done throughout this industry you will find this way helps you to enjoy your rig much more. Just my 2 cents.

That's exactly what I did and the dealer wasn't even a Dynamax dealer. In fact they were a Forest River dealer that only dealt with trailers. Initially I left the DX3 with them but I noticed it sitting on their lot. I inquired about that and they advised they were waiting for parts from FR. So I took the DX3 home and they called when they had ALL of the parts. Totally painless and I had use of our MH.

[bclemens]

Timeline is accurate. It has been 10 weeks, which is entirely too long.

Oct. 28th: It looks like the coach arrived
Nov 5th: It came into the shop. Appleway is reviewing their process as well and acknowledged that it should have come in sooner and parts should have been ordered within 3 days. (by the 8th)

It looks like there was some confusion over the floor repair (I am still looking into why there was confusion) and parts were not ordered until Dec 4th which we (Dynamax and Appleway both agree is unacceptable). Some of the parts that were ordered from us, needed to be special ordered from a vendor since we made a change to that part (door/macerator). We would not ship some of the parts until we had all of the parts and the door supplier was shut down for two weeks over the holiday break.

Then it looks like the door glass was broken when it arrived. I guess we reached out and someone said a solid door was either fine or preferred over a glass insert.

As for the "old system vs. new system", it looks like the customer called one day to check on the parts and we only checked the old system not the new system. He did not see the order because it was made in the new system and at first stated that he did not see an order but that didn’t mean that Appleway hadn't placed an order. That they could have ordered the parts direct from vendors etc. He later realized what had happened and informed the customer that there was in fact a parts order placed, but that he had checked the wrong system. This didn’t have anything to do with delays in the parts ordering Brandon was just trying to provide the customer with an update. Normally, Brandon would not actually have anything to do with parts as we have people for that. He just handles the claim portion. He was just trying to accomodate the request.

As of right now, all parts have been shipped other than the door which I have asked to be expedited. I don't know the extent of the damage to the door, but normally a solid door can be repaired not replaced.

The glass is only held in with a plastic bead...not sure why we can't put the old glass in the new door.

[bclemens]

The owner of Appleway texted me and said the coach is in the building, we overnighted any of the small parts that were left (still need to figure out the door) and it is ready to go once the parts arrive. The door lead time is 3 weeks...though the crack appears to be aesthetic and nothing to prevent use of the rig. While I understand no one wants to bring it back...it should be a simple replacement that any dealer could do.

[Rancher Rob]

BC,

Thanks for looking into it. Kudos to you and Dynamax on being up front and honest about the short comings. I also greatly appreciate you greasing the wheels on this!

Valid point that those that get the right parts quickly, don't usually post about it. On the other hand though, there are enough posts that show parts ordering problems are an ongoing issue. I'd love to post that when I call to order parts that I get the right parts the first time two days later. But that hasn't been my personal experience.
Thank-you for the link to the Owners Manual. I did receive the nice welcome letter when I bought the unit but the USB drive was corrupted and was unreadable.

Floor Tiles - The confusion with the floor tile repair, from our understanding, is that the technician determined the floor was improperly installed and needed to be completely replaced. We were told that warranty had been approved for replacement (mid Novemberish). Then the next week or so, the story changed and we were told Dynamax was going to send out brackets to fix the problem with the tiles breaking (something to do with the slideout). I'm dubious but hey, I'll give Dynamax the benefit of the doubt and hope that it does fix the problem. Brandon did expedite the brackets once my wife figured out that Appleway thought they were ordered but Dynamax had no order for them. Don't the service center and dynamax share the same screen/order data?

Partition Door - The replacement door was broken on arrival. Then we're told they don't make the glass insert door anymore only a solid door. We agreed to just get the solid door as it blocks the bunk bed lights which shine through the glass and wake us up anyway. That was a win for us as we had already talked to Appleway about spending extra to add a tint film to the glass. Thanks for expediting the door! Yes, if that is the only hold up, we could swap the door ourselves.

On a positive note, I will say that Becky of Appleway and Brandon Droptiny of Dynamax are great to work with on the phone (According to my wife who calls one or the other almost every day).

Last question I have, is while I gave appleway a list of 30+ items, Brandon says he has 14 approved warranty requests for our unit. Can you send me the list? Brandon said he didn't have a way to do that. I'm wondering if some were denied or grouped together or how the list was cut in half. Though I know Appleway has been unable to duplicate the leaks so that accounts for a few that weren't even submitted.

Again, thanks Brian for all the help on this. You are starting to redeem my decision in going with Dynamax. Here's hoping that this beginning 6 month painful initiation is the end of most of the woes and we can actually use it again soon (assuming it isn't snowed in at the dealer for the next few months .

[bclemens]

I don't know that we would have the list...I say that, in that we have the list of items. However, when I talked to Appleway, they told me that the bulk of items on the list did not require parts. So they may not ask for pre-auth on those items. They could be "flat rate", things they already know what to charge and sometimes Appleway doesn't even record and charge they just fix it if its minor. So I would have to defer to them on if there is anything on the list that would not be covered...again, as they would be the only ones to know if they submitted everything from your list. We only really see what needs actual handling (over the flat rate amount or something that does not have a flat rate).

And I will say, Brandon has said your wife has been very pleasant through the whole process. So at least everyone is getting along. Now we just need to get these things wrapped up.

[PSU]

The tile floor has been our significant issue as well on our 2019 DX3 with several rounds of tile replacements at our local dealer in 2019. As we also have an issue with a cracked shower enclosure (unable to find a qualified local fiberglass repair professional), we have been advised by Brandon Droptiny that Dynamax would like to do the repair work at the factory. The willingness to address these issues in this manner is appreciated and may ideally be the best way we would go. Unfortunately, the round trip of 3900 miles is more travel than we will put on in a year and we would like to consider an option that is closer to Kalispell MT. Our local dealer has been very good when it comes to the routine warranty repairs but as they are virtually a "one man shop", the work on these two items is more than they are set up to handle.

I contacted Appleway in Eastern Washington(250 miles away) as it appeared they were more qualified to handle issues like the slide-out bracket and shower enclosure replacement, but they advised that they were so busy that they would not be prepared to take the unit until fall 2020 as it was not one of their own sales.

My Question: Does anyone(Brian?) have a dealer recommendation in the Western States(MT to AZ) that has a highly qualified service facility that can handle these bigger issues?

[rskeans]

I had warranty work done by this Forest River dealer in Lake Havasu, AZ and the work was excellent. I have no idea if they would tackle your job, but it could be worth a try. BTW, their slow season is the summer months when the average day time temp is 110+. That might work for you. https://www.sunshinerv.com/

[Wolf Alaska]

Originally Posted by MR.M

Manufacture[r]s hope people get frustrated and do their own work and dealers could give a hoot

I find this to be a poorly thought out comment.
Doubt it was meant to seem as it did.

This forum & its members seek to share knowledge & solve RV hobby issues.

We don't need an "us against them" war.

My experience in RV, with new & used, since 1982
is that many techs, RV owners, & RV dealers will help you. Things may or may not happen per your wanted schedule. The help you hire may or may not have the skills to do what you want done

RV's are complicated vehicles, yet many RV owners fixate on low price + expect perfection.

I say, owners should try to help the situation & get their RV(s) road worthy.

The support Dynamax proves to the fleet of owners is exemplary, greatly appreciated, & an example to the industry that should be adopted.

🐺

[Motorhome1]

Originally Posted by Wolf Alaska

I find this to be a poorly thought out comment.
Doubt it was meant to seem as it did.

This forum & its members seek to share knowledge & solve RV hobby issues.

We don't need an "us against them" war.

My experience in RV, with new & used, since 1982
is that many techs, RV owners, & RV dealers will help you. Things may or may not happen per your wanted schedule. The help you hire may or may not have the skills to do what you want done

RV's are complicated vehicles, yet many RV owners fixate on low price + expect perfection.

I say, owners should try to help the situation & get their RV(s) road worthy.

The support Dynamax proves to the fleet of owners is exemplary, greatly appreciated, & an example to the industry that should be adopted.

🐺

X2. Well said

[joet19711]

Originally Posted by Wolf Alaska

I find this to be a poorly thought out comment.
Doubt it was meant to seem as it did.

This forum & its members seek to share knowledge & solve RV hobby issues.

We don't need an "us against them" war.

My experience in RV, with new & used, since 1982
is that many techs, RV owners, & RV dealers will help you. Things may or may not happen per your wanted schedule. The help you hire may or may not have the skills to do what you want done

RV's are complicated vehicles, yet many RV owners fixate on low price + expect perfection.

I say, owners should try to help the situation & get their RV(s) road worthy.

The support Dynamax proves to the fleet of owners is exemplary, greatly appreciated, & an example to the industry that should be adopted.

🐺

X3 Well said.