Warranty work mess

[Bigmikejones]

OK, after all the covid junk, things are crazy out there. We searched local for Heritage Glen 370bl, nearest one 400 miles away. Got it home, had some warranty issues, NONE OF THE LOCAL FOREST RIVER DEALERS would work on it. Neighbor towed a new Jayco from San Bernardino to Oklahoma city, had issues, no one would work on it. He was out of pocket to repair. So what are we to do?? Can't keep driving 800 miles round trip for warranty work on things QA at the factory should have found. Any ideas out there???

[flyflotrtim]

Contact Forest River Directly and ask re the procedures to follow to have a mobile technician and/or local RV repair facility do the warranty work.

[NJKris]

^^^^^^This is your only option. The disadvantage of buying from far away. My dealer is 3.5 hours away. I had to do the repairs myself.

[Mr. Dan]

Don’t start with Forest River the corporation; start by contacting the Wildwood warranty people.

[Bigmikejones]

Already contacted them. Will have to get mobile tech to fix, paybthem and wait for refund. Not good option. Have 5 dealer in the area, they " only work on units they sell." Funny, NONE OF THEM HAD OR COULD GET 370bl in for us to by. Either go to central california or Junction City Oregon for one.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Bigmikejones

Already contacted them. Will have to get mobile tech to fix, paybthem and wait for refund. Not good option. Have 5 dealer in the area, they " only work on units they sell." Funny, NONE OF THEM HAD OR COULD GET 370bl in for us to by. Either go to central california or Junction City Oregon for one.

With all the poor quality Covid Campers needing warranty/repair, dealers have more work than they can handle with the ones they've sold. So they have no desire to work on rigs that they didn't sell.
That attitude was around before Covid but has gotten way worse during the record Covid RV sales.
We drove from Napa Valley to Chicago, back in 2006, to get our first new RV. FR found us 3 local dealers willing to do the warranty work. But that was a different time and the quality was way better. .

[Bigmikejones]

True that on quality. Found all kinds of things that factory QA should have caught, but slipped through the cracks

[SteveyWanda]

That’s doesn’t sounds like fun to try and fight for reimbursement. But trying to get warranty work isn’t fun at all. Based on my and my brother’s experience with TTs I’m not sure there is much of quality control in the industry. Locally (central coast, CA) its about a three month wait to even get in and then you’re waiting for months for parts shipment.

[Greenhound386]

With respect to the fact that you couldn't buy the unit locally due to it not being available, I totally feel for you. I'd consider that an extenuating circumstance.

That said, I recently made some compromises in order to ensure I bought locally and therefore ensure that warranty work will be taken more seriously. I have a 5th wheel that's only a month old, and it has an ever-growing list of warranty issues to address. My local dealer is already booked out an entire month. I'd probably be pissed if I found out that I had a bunch of people who purchased for way less out-of-state were ahead of me in line and preventing me from getting work done.

Just playing devil's advocate, but as I mentioned, I understand the OP's specific scenario is a bit different.

I actually think I'd prefer to have a knowledgeable mobile RV tech come out if Forest River footed the bill! Definitely go that route if it's available.

[SteveyWanda]

I have heard that mobile techs are the way to go. They usually have faster repair times, lower rates and are more thorough. I agree, if you’re comfortable going through the reimbursement process, you’re probably better off.