18-year RV industry worker says RVs haven’t changed, customer demands have

In this column, we summarize some of your emails and comments regarding RV service centers and repairs (we asked you to submit your stories here). We’ll tell you all: the best, the good, the bad and the ugly. At the end of this article, you’ll find a place to submit your own comments. I encourage you to do so.

Keep in mind, we typically only present one side of the story in most of these. Also, any remarks about service centers and mobile techs mentioned are the opinions of our readers and not necessarily RVtravel.com. 

Here’s what you had to say:

18 years in the RV industry

Brian K. says nothing has changed except the demands of the consumer. He writes, “Amazing how quick buyers are to say everything is junk. Working in the industry for over 18 years, I can tell you nothing has changed except what people have demanded that they ‘need’ to have on an RV. An RV was never meant to have residential items in them to be taken over the roads that we have today.”

Dealerships can’t find qualified people

Jack B. has worked for dealerships and shares this observation: “I worked at two different dealerships in 11 years, a small mom-and-pop and a mid-size dealership. Part of the problem for dealerships is qualified people. Remember that a tech has to be a plumber, electrician, carpenter and a mechanic. All that takes time to learn and at the time I worked in the business, we had a hard time finding well-trained people. We started holding training online back in ’08 and were getting good results. One more thing: Show up at the dealership in person puts a face on the work order, phone calls can get lost.”

RVs a total rip-off

Dan S. has had to repair or replace too many items on his RV. He says, “All RVs are a total rip-off for the money spent. Here is a list of things I fixed or replaced in the first year on our new 2019 Forest River Micro Lite:

“Threw away the mattress immediately and replaced it with better quality plus a 4.5 lb. density memory foam topper and padded mattress cover. Replaced the mechanical thermostat with a digital one. The mechanical one would cut off at 75 degrees and cut on at 65 degrees, so we were constantly either too hot or too cold. The wood trim straps on the ceiling began to come loose and had to be glued and nailed, necessitating the purchase of a finishing nail gun. Fastenings that hold the window blinds and curtains came loose.

“The sink fell down and had to be repaired and reinforced. The shelves in the pantry were so flimsy I reinforced those before they fell. The pigtails on the propane tanks started leaking and had to be replaced. The one original battery that came with the unit was cheap crap and would not even run the led lights and furnace fan for 24 hrs. while boondocking and had to be replaced with a 200ah AGM battery.

“The stabilizer jacks were so flimsy they were bent and useless after a few uses and had to be replaced with larger and sturdier ones. By the end of year two, the toilet was leaking and had to be replaced. I performed all of this myself at a cost of hundreds of dollars. If I had gotten all this done at an RV repair shop it would have cost thousands of dollars. I paid $24,000 for this RV at the end of 2018 and now in 2023 the same model sells for $35,000 to $40,000. A complete rip-off!”

A fine tooth comb job!

Raymond D. is happy with the quality of work on his travel trailer. “We have no complaints nor any issues with Fermin at Will’s RV here in Franksville, WI. Once our TT comes out of storage, Fermin and his gang go over it with a fine tooth comb, top to bottom, tongue to bumper. Once it’s done, Fermin recommends maintenance that I can do or he and his men can do at a reasonable price. Wills RV has been maintaining our TT for more than six years and never had anything negative to say about their services.”

YouTube is a huge help

John W. does his own work and offers advice: “We bought our Lance 1685 trailer new in 2012. It has never been to a dealer or service center since. The best approach is to get familiar with all the systems and DIY fix as needed. YouTube is a huge help. I understand that some repairs (slideout removal, axle replacement, etc.) may need a qualified mechanic with experience and equipment I don’t have. Luckily we haven’t needed those kind of repairs. The best bet is to pay a little more for hopefully better quality. BTW, our ‘old’ Lance made it from Virginia to Alaska and back last summer with no issues.”

RV dealer goes the extra mile

Larry L. got no help from Camping World but another RV dealer went nationwide to help. “My 2017 Flagstaff travel trailer needed a new pilot light assembly for the Suburban oven. Camping World in Salt Lake is a dealer for Suburban stoves, so I called to order the part. The parts person said the part is discontinued and unavailable, and that I was out of luck.

“So I went to Miller’s RV in Spanish Fork (UT) and asked them if there was anything I could do. They looked up the part, confirmed that it is discontinued, and then went on a nationwide part search at several different supply houses. They found one clear across the country, special ordered it, and called me three days later to say it had arrived. Thanks to YouTube, I was able to install it myself and my stove functions perfectly. Kudos to Miller’s. Camping World, not so much.”

Much better experience

Don N. left Camping World for another RV dealer. “I’ve submitted many negative texts about Camping World of Jacksonville. Ended up trading to General RV of Orange Park, FL. Much better experience. Couldn’t camp for over a year due to Camping World. Worst experience of my life.”

Wanted to make sure the customer was happy

Mark B. had issues with a new camper but the dealer fixed it promptly. “After the mostly negative talk here on dealers and service techs, I just wanted to say we ordered a Real Lite truck camper from Mericle RV in Fort Lupton, CO. Did take a couple of months longer than expected for delivery, but that’s on the factory. When it did come it was missing the side awning, the drain line for water was pinched shut and the control panel didn’t work properly. Mericle contacted the manufacturer for parts and fixed issues very quickly. Very pleased with their sales dept., service and attitude. Seemed like they just wanted to make sure we were happy with our purchase. Anyway, would recommend them and we are pleased with our camper.”

Editor’s note

Note from RVtravel.com: If hiring a mobile tech, a small or mega service center, make sure that they are experienced in the issue and have insurance in case something goes wrong. Also, check their warranty policy on the work they perform. Check reviews too and read between the lines—if the review sounds way too good to be true it might be. Compare with several reviews and not just the ones on their website.

Questions for you about RV service

Over the next few weeks, we’ll share stories of your RV service experiences. We want to know:

• Have you had good luck with great service or not so much?
• Did you get good service from knowledgeable technicians?
• Are you waiting to get into a service center or have a mobile tech come out?
• What has been the average time to get an appointment?
• Has your RV been in a service center for a while?
• Are you able to get any mobile techs to come out?
• Are the service centers able to get parts?
• When you do get the repairs done, is the price reasonable?

Please fill out the form below and tell us what your experiences have been like. It can be a horror story, an opinion about what’s going on, a positive experience, or anything else related to the topic. We want to know the great, the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Check back next week for more on RV service centers. See you then.

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