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:
Local dealer sold out and rates went up 50%
Jesse C. laments that his local RV dealer sold out. He tells us, “My local independent dealer sold out to General RV. Labor rate went up by 50% and parts the same—all within two weeks. Same employees, but I think they are waiting for the ESOP [Employee Stock Ownership Plan] payout. Some were there 40-plus years. All of this is becoming the norm.”
RV was so bad they had to hire a lawyer!
Brain R. writes to us about having to get a lawyer involved to get satisfaction from the manufacturer. “I had to end up suing a certain manufacturer of our 3-year-old travel trailer which we bought new and had issue after issue, and issues of repairs being needed, including a complete replacement of our slide out due to a water leak that was never caught after repeated trips to the dealer we bought it from. Finally, after 7 months of being in the shop for that repair, they had to completely replace all of the flooring, too! We live in Florida and contacted Ron Burdge in Indiana and they took our case and were able to help us get a settlement to our satisfaction from the manufacturer of our travel trailer. Hope the previous writer for his problem reads this and follows through with what we did.”
Dealer failed but manufacturer stepped right up
Ken S. has some really good things to say about their manufacturer. “We purchased a new 2022 Coachmen 260DS in June of 2023; it had been sitting on the lot for quite a while and the price was quite enticing. However, the dealership had not taken good care of the unit. Interior parts were missing or damaged, the roof had holes drilled into it, manuals were missing and there was a host of other issues we uncovered during the PDI.
“The dealership did not instill confidence in us (parts were ordered but they were the wrong parts) so we pursued warranty remediation with Coachmen at the factory. Our experience was better than we could have imagined. If we had tried to get the list of issues fixed with the dealership, we know we would have been fought tooth and nail at every step; Coachmen didn’t bat an eye and went beyond what they had to do.
“They have a free (albeit basic) campground at the factory where we spent almost two weeks; they picked up the unit each morning at about 7 a.m. and had it back to us about 3 p.m. They have two customer lounges, and we took advantage of plant tours, visiting around town and nearby Elkhart. We cannot say enough good things about how we were treated and the work that was done. Interestingly enough, there were many units there that were returned for post-warranty work.”
Highly recommended service center for bodywork, too
Tom D. does most of his own RV work but needed body work done. He reports, “We bought our 1-year old used Class A in 2013, and I have performed every repair and most service other than the chassis, which I’ve trusted to Freightliner and/or Cummins. Recently had an exciting ‘off-road’ experience that resulted in significant lower front and rear cap fiberglass damage and damage to a few compartment doors. I chose to take it to Oregon Motorcoach Center (OMC) in Eugene, and despite how busy they are they were able to estimate and ultimately work on the bodywork and paint, as well as doing a complete mechanical inspection, annual services and repairing a damaged slide seal. Top-notch work, excellent communication and an experienced, passionate team made it easier to spend the tens of thousands it ultimately cost to complete all of the repairs. Highly recommended!”
This is the way an RV purchase should be handled
David C. has rave reviews and details the way a purchase should be. He writes, “I’d like to share an amazing purchase and service experience with Ram Motors RV & Truck Center, 8100 Jacs Lane, Albuquerque, NM 87113. Their phone is (505) 892-3600. From the first contact to getting a quote and throughout the entire purchase process and PDI, they have been exceptional.
“We purchased our new 2024 Dynamax Isata 3 24FWSFXM Freedom Edition from them. They gave us the best price by far of any dealer we contacted within a two-day drive of our home. I dealt with Mike McCulley; he did an excellent job negotiating in good faith and getting me the answers I needed. As we waited for the rig to be built, Mike would check in occasionally to keep us updated. The day the coach arrived on their lot Mike sent us a pic and started arrangements for our walk-through. I explained to Mike that we would do an extensive PDI/walkthrough that would take several hours (this isn’t our first rodeo!). He assured me that would be no problem and that they would have techs available to deal with any issues. Unfortunately, the next day Mike ended up in the hospital for several days. I ended up speaking with one of the three owners, Walter, and he managed the hand-off from Mike to Uriah Holland, who coordinated the rest of the process with us.
“We showed up right on time at the dealership and met the friendliest bunch of folks you can imagine. I was chatting with someone by the name of Tony while I waited for Uriah to get us going. Turns out Tony was the second owner that we’d deal with—what a great guy.
“We got to work on our PDI with JD (Jayden) who assured me that if he didn’t know the answer he would get someone who did and if no one at the dealership knew they’d get Dynamax on the line. I heard things like this from other dealers before and had been disappointed. Guess what, as we went through our extensive 8-hour PDI (we’re very thorough in this process) JD was on top of EVERYTHING.
“If there was something that needed to be resolved he got the right tech on it immediately. There was no argument, no trying to justify things. Nope, just hard work to get everything resolved. That’s when we met Jose, the magic man for everything technical. Wow, what an exceptional tech and a great guy to deal with.
“He was able to resolve everything and was very good at explaining how things worked. When we hit a roadblock with our heat pump, Jose got the right contact on the phone at Dynamax (just like they promised), and then the right person at Firefly to resolve the issues. Again, never an argument, never a hesitation to get it fixed right or try to brush us off. Several times Walter, remember him, an owner, got involved to help coordinate things. Walter manages the service department and is hands-on and is an excellent leader of his team. I can’t believe an owner was actually getting involved and even running to the local auto parts store to pick up something so his guys could keep working!!
“After the PDI was complete, we settled up with Uriah. Uriah wasn’t aware of a discussion Mike and I had had about one charge on the invoice. After we discussed it he called Chris, the third owner, who manages the sales team, and they agreed to honor what Mike had promised. No fight, no pissing match, just honest discussion and trying to understand what happened.
“We drove off that evening to our campground nearby to try everything out over the weekend. I had an agreement that we would return on Monday if there were any issues we found. The team had agreed to have a tech ready if we needed anything. We did find a couple of issues, so back to the dealer we went Monday morning. As promised, Jose was ready and worked diligently and got the issues resolved. Again, no complaining, no arguing, just a team happy to get things resolved so that we were completely satisfied.
“I would HIGHLY recommend Ram Motors RV & Truck Center. It is owned by three great guys who know how to take care of their customers. Their team follows this model and works hard to make your experience with them exceptional!!”
Auto industry service is broken, too
Richard F. had a similar service schedule and wait experience with his truck as what happens with RVs. He wrote, “Unfortunately the same is true in the auto industry. I made an appointment at a Ford dealer in January for March 4th for transmission work, bring the truck in, and after four days they told me my inspection was two weeks out. They didn’t ask if I needed the truck for work or if it was my only vehicle. They never said anything about having to wait 2 1/2 weeks before they would even inspect it when I brought it in.
“When they finally get to it, God knows how long I’ll have to wait for parts and then for them to do the repairs. The whole system is broken. Their excuse is the same as in the RV industry: ‘Not enough technicians’.”
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:
##RVT1151
RV and auto industry are not the only ones suffering from not enough techs. In the industrial world we can’t find techs either. We started paying for their college and paying them $70,000 a year after graduation and still can’t hire anyone. Someday you may not see enough batteries for sale for the RV if we can’t hire anyone to keep the machines running.
Same in the Plumbing & Heating profession. Yes, it is a profession. The old description of a plumber-“Strong back; weak mind” went out the door decades ago.
Retired Teamster here, same thing, kiddos want $$$ for doing nothing.
They even have auto transmissions now, no need to figure out how to shift gears.
Aarrg Matey…
Not enough techs? What do Americans expect when so many have become lazy and only want money to sit on their duffs? Then pee and moan about “immigrants” pouring in…well corporations want cheap labor…and quality control is a distant thing of the past century. People better get off their duffs and roll up their sleeves..or go the way the Roman Empire did. Parents…teach your kids what working for a living is instead of always holding their hands out. Oh and about that dreaded AI that is taking over all aspects…who asked for it?
Thank you, Nanci! 🙂 An update on our favorite service technician, Les Glenn. He left Diesel Plus over a disagreement over their proposed changes to the pricing structure for his services. He is now at Lee-Smith, Inc, the Spartan RV Chassis authorized service shop in Chattanooga. Their address is 2600 8th Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37407, (423) 622-4161. A great benefit of Les’ new employer is they have 50-amp receptacles in their storage yard. The downside is Spartan makes fire truck and ambulance chassis and they rightly get precedence over RV work (as happened with our New Aire last week). Thanks again and safe travels! 🙂
Kind of funny how Ford is the best selling truck since 1977…sure don’t see GM or that other junk brand claiming that title.
My husband is a 35 year ASE retired GM service tech in 4/14 he literally gave his dealership 2 years notice to when he would retire. He was a heavy engine transmission specialist and recommended they hire an apprentice and he would train. After 6 new hires who didn’t like the heat, didn’t like getting dirty and wanting to earn the same amount as my husband retired with no replacement. We keep in contact with people there and now 10 years later they still have no one and send work out at 50 % higher flat rate to cover extra expenses and there is almost a 2 month wait for work.