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:
“If you are not doing something every day to your rig, you are doing something wrong”
Georgio P. has great recommendations for their Tiffin dealer. He wrote, “After owning many different RVs, my best advice is to take your Class A to the truck shop for servicing. Our Tiffin is a Freightliner chassis, so oil changes and general check-overs go to a Freightliner shop. For the rest, the house goes to a Tiffin dealer we use out in the country, McPhail’s of Harriston [Ontario, Canada], a top-notch shop. They know what they are doing and I can not say enough good things about Lil, their service manager. Many other things I will fix to keep the annual costs down. And some stuff I cannot do gets fixed by various mobile repair techs. If you are not willing to get your hands dirty, don’t buy an RV. As the guy said, if you are not doing something every day to your rig, you are doing something wrong.”
Yikes! Slide moving out while driving down road
Shenna S. tells us about the very poor service they received at Camping World. “Camping World was fully aware our driver side slide out on a 43’ luxury DRV 5th wheel was sliding out on its own while driving down the road!!!! We spent $25,000 for an attorney trying to get DRV and Camping World to fix the problem (1 of 64), to no avail. We ultimately sent the coach to a DRV dealer in AZ. They fixed it and sold it for us. Camping World is pathetic. We had the coach to them three times and no work was done. They picked it up and had it for three months to the day; issues were worse than when they picked it up.
“We will never buy from Camping World again. Marcus Lemonis is one of the world’s biggest crooks. They are buying up mom-and-pop RV places and not changing the name to Camping World, so most people don’t know what thieves they are.”
On the flip side, this RVer is very pleased with service from Camping World…
Bernie G. needed repairs on his RV after a mobile tech damaged the slide. He wrote: “We can’t say enough good things about Mesa Camping World. In January, the two motors on our largest slide failed in Butte, MT. The mobile tech we found, who had 5-star reviews, took a screwdriver and hammer to the slide mechanism doing irreparable damage. A local RV company charged us nearly $500 to shove on it and screw blocks into the wall to hold it to travel to our destination in AZ.
“Through calls and messages to Mike, the service manager, we set up an on-site call with Camping World at our RV resort. Steve arrived on time and spent three hours repairing the damage done. Parts were ordered and Mike kept us updated on all timelines.
“When parts arrived, Adam came to our site and replaced the necessary motors and damaged racks, plus gave us more info on other parts of our RV. With second thought, we purchased an extended warranty and the huge bill then became $200. Thanks, Camping World.”
Paid the bill and won’t use them again
Mitchell B. had incomplete work done and had to pay for them to finish it! He wrote, “Took my RV to Premier RV in Falcon, CO. Three of the items they ‘fixed’ broke again the next time I took the RV out. The one that got to me the most was the slide. They had replaced the slide motor. When I took it out the following year I noticed the slide was not synced. When I took it back they charged me to sync it. I explained to them I had not used the RV since they replaced the slide motor. They never synced after replacing the motor and blamed me for the problem. I paid the bill and swore I would never use them again.”
Best place for wheel bearing repack in Texas
Kris K. wrote to us about a place for repacking bearings. “In Houston, Texas, wheel bearing repacks for all trailers, please see ASAP Trailer Service & Supply on Facebook and 16330 Farm to Market 2920, Tomball, TX 77377, and 281-351-7855. Standup, honest, reliable team. I have used them for years.”
Awesome job replacing the floor
Ed G. wrote about the place where he had his RV floor replaced. “Had to have my floors replaced. The dealership we got our RV at did an awesome job. They had it most of the winter. Centennial RV in Grand Junction, CO.”
Royal treatment from the RV manufacturer after the dealer service center didn’t know how to fix the vent problem
Dennis R. wrote to us about getting the royal treatment from Forest River after a lack of service. “We got a very good price from Camping World on our ’22 Forest River class A motorhome. Then came the letdown—service. They very nicely, told us they did not know how to fix a plumbing vent issue, and that Forest River would not tell them what to do so they could not fix it. Huh? You won’t fix it? Finally called Forest River directly, who suggested getting it to the factory (they would pay to bring it there). We opted to drive it there ourselves on the first leg of a trip and had an incredible experience. They went over the coach with a fine-toothed comb and even repaired a couple of small issues we caused ourselves at no cost.
“Since then, we have gone by the factory twice for some small issues and continue to get the royal treatment. Forest River has backed our coach up with great service. Forget the dealer—go to the factory to get work done. It is a motorhome, it’s meant to travel, so find some nice places to visit near there and plan the trip. We are grateful to Forest River and now have over 20,000 wonderful miles on our coach!”
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:
##RVT1152
If you have to do something to your rig daily, you don’t have a lemon, you purchased the tree, lol.
Some of us don’t do something every day, but, preventative maintenance never ends. More preventative maintenance = less breakdowns & problems. From a retired 40 year mechanic. Dating myself. Now they are calling themselves technicians.
Camping World is taking over most service and sales centers. I will never do business with them, they are incompetent, incomplete work, damage RV’s, and keep it for months at a time and get it back with damage and incomplete work. I’m finding that I can’t find hardly any experienced repairs. You cannot learn how to service a RV from a online or textbook course.
Camping World is pathetic…statement of the week.
Thank you, Nanci! 🙂 Such a mixed bag of treatments and outcomes!?! I echo Dennis R’s comment about factory service centers. We got great service on RV #1at REV Group in Decatur, Indiana. So, too, with RV #2 at Newmar in Nappanee, Indiana. Depending on where you live getting to your manufacturer can be as much as 2, 3 days or more. But how does that compare to your RV languishing at a dealer for 3, 4 weeks, or more? Invariably manufacturing techs worked on the production line and are highly knowledgeable. Just my two cents. Safe travels! 🙂
100% right about camping world. I’ve seen many campers, fresh of the lot with a floating slide out. In each circumstance, the camper was brought back to them. Sat on the lot for multiple weeks. picked up after being told it was fixed and charged for it due to warranty fights. Next time I see the camper it has the exact same problem, untouched.
Camping World is to be avoided at all costs. They are absolutely horrible from pricing to service. I don’t see how they stay in business.
AAA RV Repair & Collision in OKC is the only place our trailer will go for any type of repair. It was bought at CW and (thank goodness} we have never had any major problem and so we can’t say anything about CW’s service. I broke the plastic door handle on the screen recently – took a picture of it & went to AAA. They immediately knew the name of the part & sold us one.
Abe Thompson RV Service Center is the most “Honest“ Service center in or around Kansas City, Mo. Yes they are located in Oak Grove, Missouri. But the drive could save you $100’s or more. They don’t gouge you like other RV Centers do. They will go the extra mile for you to be happy. They realize that you are stranded on the road and need your unit fixed fast. They do their best to accommodate you. There is an Oak Grove KOA almost right across the street. So you can be close to your rig at all time.