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:
Warranty work gone terribly wrong
Jennifer A. wrote us a rather long but interesting email about the headache of having 16 windows replaced under warranty. “We were needing to get some warranty work done on our fifth wheel, which included the installation of 16 windows. We contacted ZAZ RV & Marine Service Center (Lubbock, TX) to see if they could handle the job.
“We coordinated with them on the delivery of the windows from our manufacturer and roughly the date of when we would be in the area to get the work done. At one point during our conversations, they told us that it would only take four hours, which shocked us given the size of the work. By the time we arrived, the story changed and we were told it was going to be a two-day job to get all of the windows replaced, which made a little bit more sense.
“Upon pickup, everybody was telling us how amazing the windows looked, how good of a job everyone had done, and how happy we would be with it. We were just so relieved to have this huge job done that we did not take the time to open the slides and go in and look at the work. We were just ready to sleep in our own bed again! So we drove our RV back to where we were staying about 20 minutes away. As we were setting up, the list began…
“First, they did not clean up after themselves, so as a result there were Brad nails and junk and crap everywhere. Well, everybody knows what happens when crap gets stuck under a slide when you go to put it out. Yep, you guessed it—a quarter-size gash/hole in our floor!
“Then we start looking at the windows. I notice the first window I see looks a little funny. I go to the side view and I can see right through the frame to the wall. The corner of it is curved out so far that I can stick my hand behind it! How do you miss that?
“Upon continuing to inspect all of the windows, the very next window I look at I put my hands on and it moves. It moves two inches to the left two inches to the right two inches up two inches down. What the heck?
“After we inspected all of the windows, we realized that there were eight of the 16 windows improperly installed. In fact, the only reason why eight of the windows were properly installed was because they had a wood trim around them, which forced the windows to be installed properly otherwise the wood trim would not fit. The only good thing about ZAZ is they literally had someone out to our campsite within 30 minutes of us getting there to see what was wrong.
“We also came to realize that they did not even put any silicone along the top of our windows, so guess what? They all leaked! They didn’t even do a water test! So, over the course of the next 36 hours, my husband had to watch over the tech’s shoulder for every move to make sure things were being done correctly.
“They wanted to put the old windows back in, but we insisted that they get the new ones to fit right. Guess what? They got it to fit right only after we pushed.
“They finally put some silicone on the windows, but they did it wrong! It was a crappy silicone. They put it on too thin and when we went to do the water test, the windows failed. Take two of the silicone and they finally get it on right, but it’s a sloppy job and one that I’m not necessarily happy with. But at this point, I have to start choosing my battles.
“They were supposed to repair the floor but never did. They totally forgot about it, which is fine with us because our manufacturer said they were going to take care of it instead.
“In our interaction with ZAZ, we were also having them repair one of our own mistakes. Basically, along our travels, we bumped a curb and bent the mid-driver side jack. We figured since they will have our fifth wheel anyway, now is a good time to get it fixed. We discussed it with them, discussed the purchase of the part, and the hourly rate was all agreed upon. We purchased the jack from an RV dealership because they could get us the part cheaper than ZAZ could. That was okay with them. Anyway, we give them the jack and they do the work.
“Upon pickup, we noticed the jack did not look right but couldn’t put our finger on it. When we got to where we were staying, we realized the jack was bent! When the tech arrived to fix all the window mess we discussed above, he explained the bent jack. He said it was a result of the fact that not only did the jack bend but the black bracket bent, too. They straightened the black bracket the best they could but because it was bent when they went to put the new jack in, it bent the jack as they were tightening it up.
“When we asked about them fixing this, their response was, ‘We can’t fix it, we don’t have the capabilities. You will need to take it somewhere else to get fixed.’ We are like okay… fine… we can figure that out down the road, but in the meantime we felt they needed to at a minimum provide us with a brand-new jack that’s not bent so when we are able to get this fixed properly we’d have the jack ready and not be out any more money for their mistake.
“Long story short, they are basically refusing to make this right. Their only solution was to give us a jack but they wanted to keep the jack they just put on, which would leave us putting back on the even worse original jack or no jack at all…”
Leveling question
Frank G. has a question about leveling his motorhome. Perhaps others have experienced this and can leave a comment? He wrote, “Started M/H Vantana, retracted jacks, pushed auto level but after one minute the engine quit running. After three attempts, I turned off the engine and leveled M/H. Why did this happen? We were hooked up to electric power. Just wanted to level the M/H after one month.”
Reader says to stay away from this RV
Dana L. has had plenty of problems with no resolution and writes, “I purchased a 2022 Keystone Cougar 29RLKWE in January 2023 from Camping World. It’s a piece of junk. I’ve had nothing but problems, including needing a new roof, which Keystone denies and won’t honor their warranty. My problems are too long to list here. Stay away from Keystone junk!”
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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##RVT1180
16 mono-directional windows needing warranty replacement in their 5th wheel? Sixteen? What’s the brand and model as this is tough to visualize. Especially when they said there was one that could move two inches in any direction in the window frame. Yeah, no…..
Vince, I agree. I have a hard time imagining any window moving 2″ all directions in the framing!
Frankly, if I needed every window replaced, the unit would be going back to the factory. Big hint on the dealer’s knowledge level ignored up front when they were advised it was a four hour job!
It was a little hard to decipher Frank G’s situation, but if I read it correctly, he has a Newmar Ventana and is trying to level it with the engine running.
On my Newmar Mountain Aire, the HWH leveling system is tied to the ignition system so one cannot run the jacks down, then put it in gear and drive off causing damage before they can auto retract.
I can raise my jacks with the engine running…all to the sound of an alarm advising the jacks are not fully retracted.
Not sure what year he has, and Newmar has over various year models, changed what features are tied to the ignition circuits, but I’m thinking this is a safety feature kicking in to prevent damage.
Dana L. I agree with you about Keystone, I had a Cougar that basically fell apart the first year I owned it. From my experience Keystone IS junk. But I bought mine at Bretz RV in Montana.
Camping World…the scourge of the RV industry.
Stay away from camping world and thor!!!
Thanknyou, Nanci! Have a great day and safe travels!