Fulltiming and Repair Work

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white water

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Jul 25, 2015
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when your rig needs repairs, where do you live? It seems to take forever to get even the simplest things done. Do you make an appointment and show up then or do they need you to leave it days or weeks before they even look at it?
 
It will all depend on the service center. When I have had work I can put off and schedule I try for winter. Our coach we have now we bought new and had several issues including a slide faliure and paint cracking. We took it to a service center by the factory. They had it most of the winter. Another new unit we bought from Camping World had a AC faliure shortly after purchase and scheduled an appointment 6weeks out. I drove two hours to drop it off on my appointment day. 2weeks later they still had not looked at it. I went and got it took it to a local small shop that can do warranty work. They got it in and looked at it . Ordered AC unit while we still used it then we took it back when it came in. They had it for a day.

So to answer your question I would ask around about a good service center from customers.
 
Camping World is why I even bring this up. I bought a new unit from them in January. It had 8 or 10 fairly minor issues. Here we are in July, and they still don't have them all fixed. It has been brought back 4 times and has been kept at least a month each time. This is ridiculous! I would not be bringing it back to them for warranty work if it were not for the fact that during one of the visits, they damaged the back fiberglass cap and had to do paint work. It was painted so poorly that I had them re-paint ,which has not been done yet!
 
Over the years with various RV's, we have had several major repairs done while on the road, including replacing an engine, a transmission, and a complete rear end. In all cases when the shops were made aware that our RV was our home, they've made our repairs a priority, and allowed us to continue living in it except when work was actively being done and we left for the day. The only time we've actually moved out for a few days was when we were having some paint work done, and didn't want to deal with the smell. A cabin at a nearby KOA worked well for us that time. When our transmission failed in Kentucky, the truck shop we were towed to needed 3 days to ship in a Ford remanned replacement, so they towed us to a nearby campground until it arrived, and then completed the swap the following day. Overall we've found most repair shops to be very cooperative when we've needed assistance. I do most lesser repairs myself, with the help of the Internet when needed, but I would likely call a mobile RV service tech if I was really stumped by something.
 
We've found that at least some RV dealer shops are fairly responsive if you explain that you live in the RV or are traveling away from home long term, but much of our experience in that is now several years out of date.  The situation seems to be worsening, according to the reports we see here all the time.  The general standards and timeliness of RV dealer shops is so poor that, whenever possible, we try to use other types of shops, e.g. chassis service centers, factory service centers, mobile RV techs, and specialty shops (a/c, appliances, etc.). We also try to postpone work and get it done in batches at times more convenient to us.  Shopping around for service is a necessity.

You are kind of stuck with your CW and warranty problems, so all you can do is negotiate as best you can.
 
Perhaps consider a mobile RV tech service, at least for some repairs or maintenance.  At one RV park I was in I saw such a service come out to the site and replace an air conditioner unit. 
 
I always tell the service center when i schedule an appointment that I am a full-timer and have no other place to live.  Nearly always, they accommodate me.  Some service centers, especially factory service centers, also have parking lots and hookups so you can spend the night in your RV.  And one advantage of factory service centers is that they tend to have parts available. 

I think that dealers who take weeks and months to fix things are taking advantage of you.  Obviously, they prefer to do work at their convenience, not yours, so you have to be insistent and clarify when you schedule.

I have only twice had to stay somewhere else while my rig was being fixed. Once was when it needed major warranty work on a soft floor that turned out to be a broken weld--needed to take slide out, remove linoleum and plywood floor, re-weld broken frame, replace plywood, and put new linoleum throughout motorhome.  I rented a car and drove to my son's house for 10 days.  Another time, I had slide work done and stayed one night in a hotel. 

Also, one big tip: if something needs repair, ask if they have the part when you schedule.  Often, waiting for parts is a major cause of delays.  I have gone so far as to order a part myself and have it shipped to somewhere I can pick it up myself.  That was for a non-essential item on a derivable rig.  And I do use mobile repair people as well.
 
When we have needed repairs, we have used a mobile tech service.  They usually do warranty work too.  I don't think I could go weeks or months without my home!
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
The situation seems to be worsening, according to the reports we see here all the time.  The general standards and timeliness of RV dealer shops is so poor that, whenever possible, we try to use other types of shops, e.g. chassis service centers, factory service centers, mobile RV techs, and specialty shops (a/c, appliances, etc.).
Click to expand...

When we're near home we have a shop that can fix pretty much anything.  But when we're on the road, the last places we turn for assistance are RV dealers. With a DP motorhome we increasingly find that RV dealer no longer have the ASME certified technicians needed for many repairs.  Gary's list of types of service providers agrees with our experience of where we have been able to get help when needed.
 
  We have never left the MH or moved out; that includes 12 days in a shop's parking lot, three days at another and four days at another. Note that these are engine/transmission/chassis shops. In all cases we were welcome to stay aboard and at the longest stay (WW Williams in Montgomery) they even rounded up a propane fillup and a honey wagon.

  We routinely stay overnight for yearly service. Usually there's an electric hookup at least.

  For RV "house" service we use mobile service; some has been great and some not so great. We wouldn't take it to a shop for house service unless it was absolutely necessary, and it has never been absolutely necessary except that time when mobile service rebuilt the furnace during an ice storm...in Florida.
 
We lived in my bro-in-law's spare bedroom last winter when the plumbing froze and the shop had the coach for 3 weeks to replumb the entire thing.  We actually had a pretty good time.
 
Something I might throw into the mix is if you are able to, be your own RV tech. In other words I try to learn as much as I can, buy as many tools and supplies that I can, and just fix as much as I can myself. Obviously something like a refrigerator is out of the question, but most other things I can and have done myself. Just saying......
 
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