Camping World, what can I say?

[ciditad]

I took my 6 months old 19BHLE in for some warranty work, as Forest River rep approved some of the requests I had such as relocating the thermostat and reinstalling the shower door since it was done backwards, plus some cosmetic issues.

Original appointment with Camping World Manassas was in November but delayed to December due to their service department being too busy, and I had to reschedule for January due to a conflict.

Fast forward to me picking it up and found that they can't/refuse to do any of the approved work because it's too much for CW to handle even with Forest River approval. Fine, I had to quarantine myself after a trip so I took the TT back.

When I got the TT to the campsite, I realized they winterized the thing and didn't tell me. Not a big deal I can flush the antifreeze out. But then I walk around the TT and saw that the thermostat was hanging from the wall, the control panel was hanging from the bathroom sink with screws in the drain (only 3 were found), and the trim piece they said was fixed was laying in my bed. Oh and the access panel to the hot water heater was not put back, and the floor was full of dirty shoe prints (my wife has OCD and before this you could literally eat from the floor).

I called the service manager, George, and he said his guys forgot and he apologized and said it happens, they're too busy, blah blah blah.

I'm never ever going to buy another trailer from CW again.

[carguy4471]

I’ll add my camping world story:

I own a pop up now for 2 years. Started looking at travel trailers a few months back. Camping world wanted to charge me for transportation, prep, propane, and battery. When asked about the charges their explanations were laughable. Prep is to clean the unit and make sure everything works……. What?? You charge me to make sure everything on a NEW RV works?? They also stated that “other” dealers that do not charge these fees build them into their selling price.

I called the dealer I purchased my pop up from that does NOT charge these fees and found an almost identical RV for less money and they charge none of these fees.

What a joke….

[bikendan]

Moved to Dealer Reviews section.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by ciditad

I walk around the TT and saw that the thermostat was hanging from the wall, the control panel was hanging from the bathroom sink with screws in the drain (only 3 were found), and the trim piece they said was fixed was laying in my bed. Oh and the access panel to the hot water heater was not put back, and the floor was full of dirty shoe prints (my wife has OCD and before this you could literally eat from the floor).

I called the service manager, George, and he said his guys forgot and he apologized and said it happens, they're too busy, blah blah blah.
.

That's a good reason to inspect your rig when you pick it up at the dealer/repair shop. I never just hooked up and left. Luckily a few screws and a bit of repair on your part fixed their 'too busy' excuses. You might see if you can get a mobile mechanic approved to address the remaining problems. Even at our Camping World, the service writer would walk me through their repairs. Of course, that might be different today.

[wildmanabe]

Does anybody see a Pattern here with CW. I have had so many Neg experiences with them , an reading on what others also have had. Seems like they give the same excuse to everybody. "Our Tech" must of forgotten. How can a Tech undo something an then just walk away knowing its hanging in breeze or not connected.

[{Tpc}]

Unfortunately, when I opened this post, this was exactly what I expected to see. It did not disappoint.

With everything going on right now, I'm not surprised it was "too much". I'm not giving CW a pass here, but just about every business is having a hard time finding help. And when they do find help, they aren't properly vetted or trained.

In this case CW should have never pulled any of that stuff apart if they had no intention of doing the work anyways. Pretty easy to look at things like thermostat relocation and just say "no can't do it" without pulling it or the control panel off the wall. I'm guessing the person who started it has never seen a trailer being built, which for an RV tech, should probably be a first order of business, even if its just a video.

When I had tv signal problems, and I took it upon myself to figure it out, when I got up near the antenna I said I hope I don't have a bad connection in the middle somewhere, because without taking a whole ton of the trailer apart, chances of fixing it are low. Turns out it was easier than that. Still I could just look at and know if it wasn't something easy and right there, it wasn't getting done.

[kayakist]

CW in Manassas, the worst. They totally ruined setting up my motorhome and toad to the tune of $8,000.00. Installer drilled through a wiring harness that screwed up the car electronics. Never said a word until I picked it up and the instrument panel lit up like a Christmas tree. Constant delays and finger pointing. I'll never take my rig to any CW again.

[Dirt Sifter]

For balance, I got excellent service from CW in Ogden, UT and by Williams, AZ. Pulled into each with a different problem and they took time to fix it in spite of being visibly busy. Can't say the same for Meridian, ID, but ended up not buying their service anyway. Just wanted to throw this in the mix.

[Chuck_S]

Camping world wanted to charge me for transportation, prep, propane, and battery.

These are all reasonable dealer expenses -- someone has got to pay for them. Compare the total price with other dealers who don't charge "extra" for them and you may find they're indeed already included in the dealer price. Automobile companies long ago stopped charging actual freight. If you live right out the factory gates you pay the same "freight" as someone 2000 miles away. The close guy is paying for the other guy's freight. Not so with campers/RVs -- you're paying your own freight.

Campers/RVs whatever you call them range from dirty to filthy when they arrive at the dealer -- someone has to clean them before delivery. I still find "stuff" from the factory in mine and it was delivered in 2005.

-- Chuck

[U.S.ArmyVeteran]

Luckily for us. Every Camping World experience was with Sales Department. And it was terrible.
So we never bought from them. Phewwww.
Can't imagine how bad service is :-)

[bobneal69]

Camping World is a big company just like McDonald's. The service and price you get depend on the local manager or owner. My experience with CW was great. A couple of years ago when I bought my RV I decided on the model I wanted. I researched it online and found the best price 500 miles away. I called the listing dealer to confirm the price was legitimate and told them I was going to try to find it closer but if I did not I would buy theirs. I then started with the closest dealer to me eight miles away and ask them to match the price. I got a few counter offers and a few you must be nuts from the dozen or so dealers I called but I kept calling. I was up to 90 miles away from home when I contacted Gander Camping World in Columbia, Missouri. After some back and forth we agreed on a price $300 higher than my original offer. When I went to pick it up I had the best walkthrough in any of the RVs I have owned. They had the RV in one of their repair bays. They demonstrated everything and showed me everything worked. They even showed me the outlets worked. I would go back there in an instant. It is also the only RV I have owned that so far has not needed any repairs, knock on wood. 2019 Forrest River Wildwood 171RBXL.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by bobneal69

Camping World is a big company just like McDonald's. The service and price you get depend on the local manager or owner.

No, it's not the same. With McDonald's and with the car and truck dealers, the factory enforces quality. Why do you think every McDonalds/Hardees/CarlsJr/Arby's/Burger King entices you with product to take a survey after EVERY purchase. They WANT to find the franchisee that's slacking and take him to task. And they WILL pull the franchise if the franchisee doesn't clean up his act. I made repeated survey complaints about the shake machine always being broken at an Arby's, got a coupon for two free meals each time, and ultimately a postal letter from the district supervisor with his phone number.

The automotive/truck manufacturer aren't quite so passionate, but you will find the key phone numbers in the back of your owner's manual. And if you have a warranty issue, you can take your vehicle to any dealer in the country for repairs and you will be given the same priority as their best local customer. Many RV dealers will simply decline to give warranty service on any unit they didn't sell.

Why is this? Because none of the manufacturers enforces good downstream behavior. If one started, the others would eventually have to conform. (Do you see a potential business model here? It would take a good bit of capital to get started, though.)

[JimMorrell]

I have found some excellent deals on Travel Trailers at Camping World. But once I take it off their lot, I look for a private RV shop for any repairs. Enough said!!!

[bobneal69]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

No, it's not the same. With McDonald's and with the car and truck dealers, the factory enforces quality. Why do you think every McDonalds/Hardees/CarlsJr/Arby's/Burger King entices you with product to take a survey after EVERY purchase. They WANT to find the franchisee that's slacking and take him to task. And they WILL pull the franchise if the franchisee doesn't clean up his act.

We were talking service, not quality of the product. We all know the quality of RV production is terrible. I've eaten at many McDonald's and I've had hot delicious food to cold dry food, excellent service to poor service, clean restaurants to not so clean restaurants. Yes, McDonald's corporate has high expectations but not every franchise always lives up to them. The RV industry has low standards but not every dealer lives down to them. There are some good dealers out there. I've been lucky enough to deal with some. I wish there were more.

[DrLewie]

Had my 5th wheel into CW for routine maintenance. They called and asked if I wanted the body work on the passenger side repaired. I apparently had my head up in a place that restricts vision, hearing, and thinking because I thought there was no body damage on the trailer, so instead of questioning the caller I told him not to do anything other than the maintenance. I didn't do a walk around when I picked up the trailer, since my head was apparently still in that dark place. Ditto when we got home. A week later we were packing to leave on a 2 month trip and I finally noticed the body damage. Aside from a corner trim on the rear passenger being pulled away, there was a nice blue streak along that side of the trailer. Coincidentally, the CW shop's garage entrance had a wide blue painted stripe on the wall leading to the door. Same color as the streak on the trailer. Since were were heading out the next morning I decided that as a form of self-punishment for my idiocy I'd get the damaged fixed while on the road. (Don't say it. I know.) That never happened, but I did buy a roll of white duct tape to reattach the trim piece. It later turned out that there was some hidden damage under the corner molding which I eventually had repaired at a body shop that specializes in RVs. Two lessons learned: 1) Always do a walk around when picking up your rig after any repair or maintenance; 2) Never, ever go to CW for repairs or maintenance. And I guess a third would be: keep you head where it belongs when having work done on your RV.

[Attila the Pun]

Sorry to hear of that terrible experience.
But I'm happy to say I've always gotten very good service from the VW in Colfax NC (just W of Greensboro). Can be tough to get an appointment for as soon as I'd like, but once we're there everything is done promptly and well.

[mtnlvr]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

That's a good reason to inspect your rig when you pick it up at the dealer/repair shop. I never just hooked up and left. Luckily a few screws and a bit of repair on your part fixed their 'too busy' excuses. You might see if you can get a mobile mechanic approved to address the remaining problems. Even at our Camping World, the service writer would walk me through their repairs. Of course, that might be different today.

That happened to me at BarberRV, Ventura, CA. After waiting months to get an appointment for warranty work & waiting all day, they tell me the work was completed, I check out, then get in rv & see that work wasn’t done- back into the service bay again. I swore I would never return there again- worst service. Alas- it only got worse. They put the wrong oil filter in & blew up my engine & starter. I had to cancel my big trip that I was only 5 miles into. Wait for a new engine to ship from Germany…….🤬

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by JimMorrell

I have found some excellent deals on Travel Trailers at Camping World. But once I take it off their lot, I look for a private RV shop for any repairs. Enough said!!!

This is exactly the correct thought process. And it applies to all dealers, not just CW.
Find your best out the door deal at whatever dealership, buy it, then never go back again.
Go to an independent service only shop/mobile for warranty work.
If you take it back to any dealer, it is on you and you get what you deserve. Dealership service has been poor for decades. Don't know why anybody thinks complaining about it will change anything.

[Big_Dawg]

[QUOTE=bobneal69;2689233]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

No, it's not the same. With McDonald's and with the car and truck dealers, the factory enforces quality. Why do you think every McDonalds/Hardees/CarlsJr/Arby's/Burger King entices you with product to take a survey after EVERY purchase. They WANT to find the franchisee that's slacking and take him to task. And they WILL pull the franchise if the franchisee doesn't clean up his act.

We were talking service, not quality of the product. We all know the quality of RV production is terrible. I've eaten at many McDonald's and I've had hot delicious food to cold dry food, excellent service to poor service, clean restaurants to not so clean restaurants. Yes, McDonald's corporate has high expectations but not every franchise always lives up to them. The RV industry has low standards but not every dealer lives down to them. There are some good dealers out there. I've been lucky enough to deal with some. I wish there were more.

I think part of the problem maybe that no one has started a Chick-fil-A of RV Dealers. Sure, you couldn't buy one a Sunday, but the rest of the time they would be climbing all over to you to give a great product and great service . . .





BD

[5er_tom]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

This is exactly the correct thought process. And it applies to all dealers, not just CW.
Find your best out the door deal at whatever dealership, buy it, then never go back again.
Go to an independent service only shop/mobile for warranty work.
If you take it back to any dealer, it is on you and you get what you deserve. Dealership service has been poor for decades. Don't know why anybody thinks complaining about it will change anything.

I think you are correct 95% of the time. I have purchased two RV’S from the same dealer in Raleigh, NC. They have been in business since the 1950’s. Their service, at least for me, has always been excellent. But, they are the only dealer that I trust.

It is important to establish a good relationship with your dealer when you make the purchase. Do your homework and find out what other RV’ers think of them. That is what I did. Lots of positive reviews. Now I can call them and ask when I can bring it in. Of course they are normally a few weeks out for appointments but I am given a date to have it there so work can begin within a day or two. No taking it to them and have them say we’ll get to it maybe in 3 weeks. Most dealers start the clock when you take it in and it sits there. Not for me with these guys. There is trust on both sides. I agree to take it in on a certain date, and they agree to begin working on it within a day or two of that date. This is a big deal as I often make an appointment while we are still on the road, knowing that once I get home that appointment is only a few days away.
So I guess I am in the 5%, and happy about it