RVer was told ‘Part not in stock.’ Threatening to call the police made it ‘magically’ appear!

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:

Wouldn’t sell part without doing the install

Steven D. needed a new air conditioner but the dealer wouldn’t sell without doing the installation of it. He wrote, “A/C went out in Southern Cali in the summer. It was during the pandemic so replacements were in short supply. Called Gamblers RV in Hesperia, CA, and they said they had one at another shop and could have it the next day. After calling other shops without success I called them back and said I would take the air conditioning unit. They asked when I could drop my rig off.

“I stated I was not dropping my rig off but was going to do the repair myself. They then proceeded to tell me that it would take 7 to 10 days for them to program (‘program!’) the new A/C unit. I told them I could do the ‘programming’ myself, at which point they flat out said ‘No you can’t’, and refused to sell me the air conditioning unit. I’ve since installed two new air conditioners on my motorhome without any issues. They don’t want to help the customer unless you’re going to pay to have them do the repair.”

Threatened to call the police…

Timothy S. was going to resort to calling the police. He wrote, “I stopped doing business with Camping World. I was told that they would have to order the part after driving for three hours. I told them what part I needed two weeks before the appointment. I told the manager he had one hour to find the part and fix the problem before I would call the police and have them arrested for breach of contract. It was fixed within 30 minutes. I found a local dealer after that.”

Dennis M. sent us this suggestion in case of emergency.  He wrote, “Mike M’s advice about spouse being able to drive rig is good, but there is an alternative. A few years ago I helped a lady out with that kind of problem. Husband in hospital; timed out in state park and had to move; unable to drive Class A on Freightliner chassis. She found me because we were towing our 5th wheel with a Volvo tractor. I drove her rig to a private RV park. To avoid this problem (my wife never even tried driving the 10-speed stick shift on the Volvo) we purchased SkyMed insurance. They will get you AND your rig home!”

Recommendation for floor rot repair

Tim S. sent us this info on a great repair facility. He said, “Our ‘07 Tiffin had surprisingly inadequate corner moulding on the LR slide, which led to wet rot in the forward outside corner of the slide out floor. Scott at Amazing Creations, in Junction City OR, (amazingcreations1@yahoo.com) did a thorough and workmanlike repair for a reasonable cost. And Color Country Diesel in Cedar City, UT, saved us a ton of money by bringing their ingenuity to replace our fan clutch w/o removing all the surrounding equipment; then, they straightened (instead of having to find and replace) a stabilizer jack that got bent crossing one of Utah’s infamous (deep) cuts.”

Must maintain RVs

Roger D. has had very few issues with his RV but warns you must maintain them. He wrote, “I bought a used 2008 Damon Challenger motorhome. It had been well-kept and maintained except for a frozen rear brake caliper, which I repaired. We have had this unit for three years now and except for a bad generator fuel pump we have had no issues. Thor now produces the Challenger and if the quality is still like the Damon, I would not hesitate to buy one. You must maintain these units. Winterize and roof sealing annually with regular inspection goes a long way to unit longevity.”

RV manufacturer shut down because “customers wouldn’t pay for quality”

Rick O. writes to us about his NuWa Hitchhiker manufacturer. He said, “We bought new, from the factory, a 2011 NuWa HitchHiker Discover America. They have now stopped manufacturing RVs. The company president told me before shutting down that consumers would not pay for quality that they couldn’t see behind the skin. Thus his company became unprofitable and closed the operation. A former employee eventually bought the manufacturing facility and now does only service work for all the abandoned RV owners, including HitchHiker purchasers. We have continued to use their facility, which now operates under the name Kansas RV Service Center, in Chanute, KS. I have found their service good and when I have a scheduled appointment, I have never had a problem with it being kept, as scheduled.”

Nothing but good luck with r-pod

Henry F. happily reports on his r-pod. He says, “I purchased an r-pod 192 at the start of the Pandemic, and have had nothing but good luck with it. Sure, an occasional screw would work loose from a cabinet or door, but that has been the extent of my issues. Any other problems were self-inflicted. We have taken it on more than 20 trips and 6,000 miles.”

Kudos to NIRVC

Steven M. tells us about getting excellent service. “We have had great service at several NIRVC locations. They really care about what they do.”

How did it get to $200-an-hour service fees?

Wesley B. laments the high hourly service fees and costs of repairs. He wrote, “What I have found to be the case most of the time is (earn as you learn) nobody stays at the job long enough to know what’s wrong! And at 200 dollars an hour, it’s getting to the point where it might be cheaper to buy what you need on Amazon and replace it yourself, if you can. I’m 85 and now must have everything done, but being on S/S really cuts into enjoying my M/H. How did we get to 200 dollars? I’m sure that the person working on my unit is making much more than minimum wage.

“The cost for repairs is beyond what I can afford—$800 for tow off the interstate, $400 for shipping of alternator (with a three-day wait), $450 for the cost of the alternator, AND $800 for labor! Plus five days sitting in the parking lot!”

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.

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Last week’s Service Centers and Repairs Report:

• RVer gets fooled with “rotting RV.” “The RV I picked out from the website was not the one I signed the papers for!”

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