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:
Techs call it a “Covid trailer”!
Ralph E. tells us that RV techs are calling a whole group of trailers “Covid trailers”! He writes, “We bought our 2021 Keystone Cougar from Camping World in September 2020. After a couple of trips the following year, the medicine cabinet fell off the wall. Luckily it was covered under warranty. Flash forward to this year, 2023. After de-winterizing, we noticed the corner of the bed slide out is dragging on the floor, causing a dent and breaking the corner molding. Prior to a Yellowstone trip.
“We took it back to Camping World for an August appointment and work didn’t started for three weeks. We find that the rollers on the bed slide are not touching the track. Since the 1-year warranty is over and apparently the extended warranty doesn’t cover squat, we are forced to pay almost $500. We had the bill submitted to Keystone hoping for a goodwill refund or partial, but no dice. This is just a couple of the defects we’ve found. Later, we find out the techs at the dealership call these ‘COVID trailers’, meaning they were manufactured fast with little or no inspection. I will never ever buy another Keystone.”
Good service and no charge at this Camping World
Mary Q. had good emergency service. She wrote, “We went to the Camping World near El Paso, TX. Our belly cover fell down in Fort Stockton, but we managed to get to El Paso. Not only did Camping World get us in that morning, but did not charge us anything to have it stapled back on.”
Fresh water tank empty and gray water full at service center. What happened?
Steve D. is not so happy with this diesel service center. He wrote, “Left our motorhome at Bay Diesel in Red Bay, Alabama, for A/C repair. When we went to pick it up, the fresh water tank was empty and the grey tank was full. I had filled one and emptied the other before we dropped the unit off. I also noticed my propane level had a noticeable drop. Other small details showed someone was using my motorhome to shower. Was this an employee? Did they leave it unlocked? And, to add insult to injury, what they quoted me for repairs and the bill were way off.”
Our Canadian friend says to go to a tire store, not an RV center
Allen S. had fabulous service at a Canadian Tire Center. He emailed, “After five years we decided to check the bearings and tires on our travel trailer. I wanted to do it myself but after a visit to Canadian Tire in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada, for new tires, they said they could do our bearings and brakes also since some of their own service guys have their own RVs. I asked them for pictures as they did the work and the trailer was in and out within a few hours, and I booked the day before.
“New tires, balanced, repacked bearings and all was good, and cleaned and adjusted electric brakes, and all went well with them also. The price was less than $200 for all this work and two new tires. So much quicker than having to leave it at the RV centre for days or weeks to get done and there are so many Canadian Tire stores across Canada that they all warranty the work and get you in and out in no time at all. Just don’t come when it is tire switch-over season for snows or summers!”
“Stay away … far, far away”
Fred G. had trouble with his new fifth wheel and the fix has been anything but fixed. He says, “Stay away from Camping World … far, far away. Their service department is a joke. I purchased a brand-new 2022 fifth wheel. On the first trip out, ceiling was falling down, moulding falling off and the shower pan was cracked. I took it in and they had it for nine weeks. When they replaced the shower pan they had to take off the walls, so when they put it back together they used all the old plug pins. Well, they break when removed. So by the time I got it home from shop, there were 10 plug pins laying on the floor of the shower. Who does that?
“Then the next time we went out the ceiling was coming down again. I glued and nailed it up myself. Then by the end of the week, the floor on one of the slides was falling out. I did not take it to Camping World for that. I would hate to see what would happen with that. They just slap things together anymore—there’s bound to be issues with any new rig.”
Much better service and price at the factory
Mark C. took their RV to the factory and it was an amazing price difference. He wrote, “Went to RV One in Concord, NC, to get an estimate on repairing two sheets of plywood in my Aria coach. RV One quoted me $30,400. Took to the Thor factory, where they quoted me $1,500. Thank God for the Thor factory shop.”
Very professional service
Ed B. is pleased with the service he has received from their service center. He says, “We purchased our new Grand Design 303RLS from Coachlight RV in Carthage, MO, in May of 2022. We have had to return to the dealership three times for warranty repairs (three different issues) and each time the service department has been very professional, courteous, and timely with regard to our issues. Our experience with this dealership in both the sales department and service department has made our first time as RVers as good as we could have hoped for, including the memorable trips we have already taken.”
Is the fifth wheel junk, or dealer doesn’t care?
Joe V. is having a very hard time getting warranty work done. He wonders, “Terrible time trying to get warranty claims done. We don’t know if our Heartland fifth wheel is junk or if the dealer just doesn’t care. I have called the store manager and owner. Both told me to take it somewhere else. Heartland has promised to help but they’ve provided no help in a month. Only wish I would get the camper fixed, and then I will run. The camper is only six months old and I have canceled six camping trips or 40 days of camping.”
Great service from the independent RV repair shop
Lissa H. is happy with their repair shop. She writes, “We had a great experience with Unlimited RV, a dedicated RV repair shop (not connected to or affiliated with a dealership) in Knoxville, TN. We had found that water leaked in our slide-outs and the wood floors had rotted. We took it in for an estimate, and while there, they gave it a good look-over. They found that there was also a tear in the roof going nearly the entire length of our 5th wheel. YIKES! We were expecting an eye-watering price for the slide repairs, but adding on the roof replacement and potential damage repair about floored us.
“Luckily, because the roof was damaged by something like a tree branch, we were able to claim it on our insurance. The folks at Unlimited RV were extremely helpful in getting the information, estimate and photos to the insurance company. They were able to get us in for the repairs in just over a week, and they were done in just shy of three weeks. They kept us updated with the progress of the repairs, and even sent photos. Also, they installed solar panels and a new lithium battery for a very reasonable price.”
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
We’ll continue to 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.
Last week’s Service Centers and Repairs Report:
##RVT1128
Allen S., what type, brand of tires did you purchase? $200 for two new tires, balance, repack bearings and complimentary brake adjustments. My RV repair shop charges $225 for repacking and brake adjustments. Should move to Canada, ha-ha!
That almost qualifies as unbelievable. I pay almost $200 per new tire, without any bearing repacking. Your price sounds about right, Gil.
I’m retired as of 2021 and I just replaced all 4 of my trailer tires with 4 new Michelin E rated 10 ply truck tires for my 2018 Alpine for $1800.00. I did the wheel bearings along with the brakes myself. I picked the truck tires over the ST China Bomb tires. I live in AZ and now I’m in KY on a visit with my trailer. The new tires have traveled very well and will hold up much better. The original tires had around 10k miles on them and began to split at the bead part of the tires. The truck tires were a little more expensive than the trailer tires but when you invest thousands of dollars on your 5th Wheel you don’t want to put a China Bomb back on it. I have a 2018 Alpine 3661fl.
Calling them “covid trailers” is a tidy way of conveying that the probability of issues is high. It’s a good moniker, I just hope we don’t start blaming Covid for the issues people are experiencing. Covid did not build, sell nor buy these junky trailers currently degrading the RV experience. It would be interesting to see a survey on what time period people assign to the beginning and end of Covid trailers.
Greed. I don’t expect it to improve. No pride in workmanship, lazy. It seems to be normal, including in government agencies.
I have always had good experiences using Coach Specialties in Plano, Texas for both my Aliner popup and my Airstream trailer. They can repair what the dealerships do not know how to.
Thank you, Nanci!
This is such a trashy article. Nice attempt to smear the whole industry with your click bait headline.
Hi, again, Blake. To save myself time, I’m going to copy, verbatim, my reply to your similar comment on October 8, as follows: “Hi, Blake. We report what we hear from our readers–they are not “hit pieces” and we’re certainly not trashing “the entire industry”. In fact, this disclaimer is at the top of these posts: “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.” And when we get reports of good service, whether it be at a shop, an RV dealer, or a mobile mechanic, we report those. When our readers get lousy service, of course they want to vent. (You have to admit that some of their experiences are nightmares.) We’re allowing them to vent as well as providing a “buyer beware” service for our other readers. If there weren’t so many bad reports, we obviously wouldn’t have so many to print. Just like if there were more good reports, we’d print those. And we are very aware that the customer isn’t always right. But still… look at all of the horror stories we receive. They are not made up. Just sayin’.🤔 Have a good night. 🙂 –Diane at RVtravel.com“