As some of you know, I used to work at a small, locally-owned RV dealership. In fact, it’s still there today serving customers well. (Shout out to Redwood Empire RVs!) But something that was unique about the dealership was that our foot traffic was such that I was able to do both sales and oversee some of the warranty claims there.
Something I learned early on is that the stickers with serial numbers on many RV components tend to fade and wear out quickly—sometimes even before the warranty expires.
While you may know about the general warranty on your RV, did you know there may be many warranties that cover components in your RV? In fact, did you know that some of the more expensive items in your RV may actually have a longer warranty than the general warranty on the RV itself? Yup!
For example, I work a lot with Rockwood/Flagstaff and host a Facebook group for owners and those interested in a Rockwood or Flagstaff. As such, I see every once in a while that someone finds that their axles are damaged.
The axles on Rockwood Mini Lites and Flagstaff Micro Lites are Dexter torsion axles. In fact, this suspension/axle system is one of the reasons I bought my first new Rockwood 10 years ago. (I have now had four!)
Like any human-made component, many last seemingly forever, and others fail early on.
Dexter has a ten-year warranty on these axles. Even if your RV is well beyond the general warranty, you can still work with Dexter if you discover an axle problem. And this is just one of the components in these RVs. But more than one person has reported that Dexter shipped them a whole new axle when they discovered an issue with theirs. Nice.
Make the warranty process easier
The point of all this is to make the warranty process a little easier. What I suggest doing is taking photographs of every serial number and build plate you can find on your RV as early as possible. Some of these stickers seem to last forever, but not all.
So, if you did have an axle issue, or a problem with the furnace, or the A/C unit has challenges, if you have photographs of all the serial number plates on these, it’s much, much easier to file a warranty claim with the company.
Oh, yeah. Some of those appliances, like certain air conditioners, furnaces, and other appliances, have two-year warranties. Nice, eh?
And you don’t necessarily have to go to the RV builder to file a warranty claim. Some of these companies will work directly with you to solve a warranty claim.
Of course, having a great locally owned dealership as your ally is always a good idea. This is why I strongly suggest buying from an independent locally-owned RV dealership. Of course, some locally-owned dealers are as lousy as some of the big chains. But typically it’s much easier to determine if a locally owned dealership is worth a darn.
Ask about Repair Event Cycle Time
One of the questions you might ask the service manager at the dealership is about their Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT). We’ll talk more about this in a future column, but this is a reference point that’s a core item at RV dealerships.
Basically, this is how long, on average, a repair takes from the time you notify the dealership to the time you are back to camping. There are aspects of the warranty process that are unnecessarily long, depending on the type of claim. But the lower the RECT, the faster the dealership is at getting you back to camping.
So, this is one thing you might ask as you’re shopping at a dealership.
And start collecting photos of serial number stickers soon. They do fade and get road grime on them.
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RVT1252
Newmar has a page, normally attached on the inside of a closet door, that lists key components with part and serial numbers…even windows, sidewalls, awnings, appliances, etc. It’s usually a full page of data. Their online database Newgle (Newmar/Google) also has this info by coach S/N or VIN.
Nice touch and very useful.
Using Freightliner’s DTNA system I can get schematics and look up every single part of the chassis.
If your mfg doesn’t offer these kinds of tools, take the pics or make your own list.
To my understanding Rockwood/Flagstaff are the only travel trailer/fifth wheel manufacturer that provides this information for buyers as well in an extremely well-crafted owners manual binder. I wrote about the Rockwood/Flagstaff owner’s manual here.
I completely agree with the importance of capturing pictures of all the various labels and stickers on your RV. This also applies to the important SAFETY information about your tires. I covered this in today’s post on RV tire safety. It’s almost as if we coordinated our post. I guess it’s just “Great Minds thinking alike”.
Tires also have “serial numbers”. If there is a recall you will need the tire serial if you want free replacement of recalled tires.