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:
$8,000 later and still not “completely livable”
Richard M. wrote to us about the disappointing service his wife received. He wrote, “My wife wanted her motorhome completely checked out as she wanted to live in it for a year after relocating. It had been sitting unused for two years.
“Took it to a longtime dealer near Eureka, MO, with confidence it would be done properly.
They put in a new A/C, new steps, new stabilizer controls, and repaired some other minor items. She left it there for 5-6 weeks. She was assured it was completely livable. $8,000!
“When she finally moved into it two months later, after selling our home, she found the water heater inoperative. The first cold night the furnace wouldn’t light. I checked the burner pipe and found it full of mud dauber nests. Got certified tech to repair these. They had never been checked! Longtime established dealer. Beware there.”
Terrible service and runaround
Bill M. had to make numerous calls back and forth to the dealer service center and the manufacturer. He wrote, “Just a note about the terrible service we are receiving at Lazydays in Tucson, AZ. We brought our trailer in for warranty repair. We were told Grand Design would take more than a week to approve repairs. After 10 days we called Lazydays for an update. We were told they had not received approval yet. After a call to GD we found out they had not even asked for approval yet and GD would respond within 48 hours of inquiring. After many calls back and forth they finally ordered the part. Now we will see how long they will take to do the repair.”
Don’t buy an RV from a car salesman!
Patrick B. sent us information for readers who are having a hard time getting their wheel bearings packed, and also a warning. He wrote, “We recently changed our bearings and suspension greased by Action RV in Bosque Farms, New Mexico. It was an awesome experience. The staff are pleasant and professional and FUN. They had it done in one day! They told me when to bring it in and they finished it that day. I will be back.
“Unlike Blue Compass of Albuquerque, we purchased a Grand Design 17MKE from the place when it was an Aloha RV and had a great experience with sales and service. When we traded the 17MKE for the Reflection 150 2060RD, the dealership had been sold. I knew I should have gone somewhere else from the beginning. The salesperson was a former car dealer and knew nothing of the rig. The service manager was about as knowledgeable as the salesperson.
“We had several small issues with the RV, which needed to be serviced under warranty. The technician was the one person who knew his business and was delightful to work with and knowledgeable. But he was not an expert on solar. That’s not the problem. The problem is that he is not telling us where he was not an expert. In the end, we had to have a Victron distributor in the area, which I did not know then, come to my house, redo the solar system, increase the number of panels, and add the needed components.
“We had the skylight in the shower changed out as it cracked and leaked. A shade in the bedroom fell off the roller while at the dealership. It was laid on the bed and not replaced.
Then, there was the simple screen door latch that was stripped out. The dealership changed the skylight but did not caulk all the holes on installation. When we went to Louisiana, it rained for several days. When we checked the skylight, we saw that water and mosquito larvae were under the lip! So we caulked the open holes. The screen door latch was misplaced and did not hold the door. I removed the latch and reattached it. When the door arrived, I replaced the old one by myself. We could have done it ourselves for most of these issues, but the unit was under warranty.
“The part I hate the most and is probably the most common is telling me to bring the rig in on a particular day, and a week later, it is still sitting in the yard with no idea when it would be taken in! This happened with my truck at a Chevy dealer. I took the truck out and found a great service center, Brown’s Automotive Repair.
“The one-year warranty has expired, and I will not return to the dealership. If I can tow the rig, I will drive to Grand Design for any significant warranty issues. For non-warranty issues we cannot fix ourselves, I will go to Action RV in Bosque Farms, New Mexico.”
Les Schwab Tires repacks bearings, too
Shon W. lets us know this place repacks bearings too. “I don’t know if it’s just a West Coast business, but Les Schwab Tires has been repacking my bearings for years.”
Good things to say
Dean H. is happy with his service center and shares with us, “Only good things to say about Parkway RV in Deer Park, WA. We purchased our travel trailer there and have had warranty work and all annual required maintenance work performed there also with no issues. And at a reasonable price (did some checking around at other service facilities). Have recommended Parkway to friends and they have been treated the same even though they did not purchase from them. Highly recommend. We drive over an hour just to get there and pass several RV service centers, but it is worth the drive for the customer service and the price. 509-276-2925, 1121 Frontage Road, Deer Park, WA.”
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:
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Just saw Les Schwab Tires just opened a service center in Sioux Falls SD! I agree they provide excellent service! Had a rear wheel bearing replaced while in Tillamook OR last fall. Looks like are expanding!
Thank you, Nanci! 🙂 Interesting information on the lack of service by Lazy Days’ and Blue Compass’ service centers. Thank you for this week’s compilation of “service” experiences! Safe travels! 🙂
Les Schwab Tires should stick with tires since they are very good at making a mess out of a simple brake job. Years ago I took my 1969 F-250 Camper Special into a Schwab dealer in Washington for a brake job…they made the job such a mess the brakes never did work right after that so I finally sold the truck. I will never take my business to them again.