Advice about Dealer Add-ons with new RV?

[WanderingNomad]

Getting a new Forest River Work & Play 30GS travel trailer, 37' long. Dealer has offered 6 add-ons, and I'd really appreciate advice about whether they are worth getting or not. (I have brochure files on these if someone wants to see them.) Here they are:
1. Protective Service - 100% of parts, labor and diagnostics for covered mechanical and electrical components. (Evidently XtraRide by Protective Property & Casuality) $1800/4 years; $2300/5 years; $2900/6 years; $3500/7 years; $4200/8 years.
2. Tire Shield - Repair or replacement of tires, wheels or rims, mounting, balancing, and taxes due to road hazard (nail, screws, glass, pot holes, construction debris, etc.) Unlimited tires, unlimited times! (Also by Protective Property & Casuality) $600/5 years.
3. Eco Pro Appearance Protection - An eco-friendly product. Applied to the exterior of your unit to help prevent fading/oxidation. You won’t have to wax it! Applied to the interior of your unit to help prevent staining and fading. Cleans up the pores in the paint. Also equipped with Microbe Repel, kills germs and viruses instantly and prevents mold/mildew build up and odors. (By Usbergo, ecoproducts.com) $2000. Lasts 5 years. I asked about exterior only and that is $1700.
4. Roadside Plus - Basically, a better “AAA” plan but geared towards camping. It covers any vehicle you lease, own, rent or borrow. Some benefits include:
Towing – Towing your disabled RV to the nearest repair shop.
Jumps-Starts – Jump-start your RV’s dead battery.
Tire Assistance – Changing a flat tire using a mounted spare.
Fuel/Fluids – Delivering fuel, oil or fluids for disablements.
Lockout Service – Locksmith services or opening locked RV’s.
Key Replacement – Up to one(1)replacement key/fob per 12 months.
Winch Out – For RV’s that can be accessed from a road or street.
Tech Support – 24/7 tech support from an ASE certified tech.
RV Mobile Tech – Dispatch of a technician for a disabled RV.
Trip Routing – Provide info, maps, trip and hotel reservations.
Concierge – Services like road closures and campground info.
Trip Interruptions – Reimburse expenses when over 100 miles.
$600/5 years. Sounds a lot like Good Sam's plan to me.
5. Forever Battery Coverage - It is military grade treatment that protects your battery for life, If your battery fails the battery is replaced. As long as you own your coach whether it be 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years and so on, your battery will be covered. No matter if its the new battery or replacement battery it will always be covered. If you go through one battery per year, they will be covered. (This is by Portfolio, portfolioco.com.) $450.
6. Roof Coverage - This covers what the factory warranty will not cover. This will cover roof peeling or blowing off, roof membrane edge splits, dry rot or cracking of the membrane, sealant failure, sealant cracking, seam tape failing, and UV damage. Only fine print on this particular coverage is your roof has to be inspected once a year, no matter what time of the year it is. (By RV Americare Roof Pro/Dealer Admin Services) $1500 The time frame is not mentioned anywhere.

 

[oldwildman]

I'm still a newbie with RVs. But #1 would make me nervous. It's for 'covered' parts. I had a friend who bought a used car with a guarantee. Then she found out that it was just for 'internally lubricated' parts. That's not the usual parts that go bad.

Make sure you read and see what parts are 'covered'.

 

[RRR]

No X 6

 

[Kirk]

1) Probably not. Your RV probably has a 1 year warranty to cover it and the appliances will each have it's own warranty. The coverage is just an insurance policy and unless the loss of an appliance or two would wreck your finances, don't waste your money.
2) No. Same reasoning as above.
3) Absolutely no! Those coatings are among the highest profit items they offer and most do little if anything to improve the life of the RV.
4) If you are going to travel extensively, a road service policy is generally preferred by most RV folk, but you should shop other places for one as they can be purchased at any time. The $600 for 5 years is not out of line but if it is from AAA, they have a very poor reputation in the RV community.
5) Absolutely no! If there is a bigger waste than #3, that is it!
6) Another absolute waste of your money. You should do roof maintenance annually anyway and as long as that is done properly you should be fine. Also, if you keep insurance on the RV that will typically pay for roof damage that is beyond normal wear and tear.

At most RV dealerships, the F&I (finance and insurance) person is paid a commission for all of the add-on things that he can sell to the customers and most never admit to that. The commissions are high because the sold items are mostly profit to the dealership with little or no expense. While you are doing research, you should also shop loans as well because the dealership also is paid a commission on those and in most cases they will cost 1-2% more in interest because of the payment to the dealer and his F&I person.

EDIT: After reading other replies, I will share that I have owned RVs for more than 40 years and have extensive maintenance of RVs experience. We also lived full-time in a motorhome for 12 years.

 

[Onyrlef]

I was in the military and we never treated a battery.

 

[WanderingNomad]

No X 6

Does this mean, "none except #6?" It has a Tufflex Dicor 1pc PVC roof membrane w/limited lifetime warranty. UV resistant its life span, will not break down from standing water or environmental elements. Puncture resistant, tear-resistant, with water-based adhesive. Sun, weather, and chemical resistant.

 

[Kirk]

Does this mean, "none except #6?" It

I am pretty sure that they both mean none at all. If you should choose to buy #1 & 4, there are probably better places to get them than from the dealer.

 

[Laura & Charles]

No. RRR was no to all. I agree.

 

[Onyrlef]

I agree, no to all. Give yourself time to think about it awhile before wading into things like protectants for paint that wouldn't otherwise likely show signs of deterioration during the term of the coverage anyway. These back end of the deal gimmicks are where the closers do much of their damage.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'm in agreement with Kirk et al. #1 isn't terrible but you are buying limited insurance for repair of things that mostly do not fail. And things you could have fixed using the money spent to buy the insurance the first place. #4 (Roadside) is useful insurance if you travel widely or often and the price quoted is reasonable, but you might do better with a roadside policy from Good Sam or CoachNet. AAA would be my 3rd or 4th choice for that sort of policy.

Dealers love to sell these packages because they are high-profit items. You can probably get the same or better coverage for less elsewhere and usually you can buy them any time during the first year of ownership without a price penalty. It's not a now-or-never thing so don't let the dealer rush you into them.

 

[WanderingNomad]

Wow, I’m totally new to this forum and I'm impressed with all the quick and thoughtful replies! Thank you.

I've lived and worked in a used camper for 2 years - north for the summer, south for the winter. As far as #1, as a newbie, I had RV insurance through GoodSam. Maybe I should shop around for this new one, and would be open to suggestions. On #4, I figured GoodSam's Roadside plan was ok for me at $133.50/year.

#2 & #5 I didn't see a need for separate insurance. If a problem develops that's not covered by the main insurance policy, I'll just pay for it.

#3 had me wondering about the exterior part since it claimed no need to wax for 5 years, but I certainly didn’t want the interior application.

#6 I simply had no idea, so I really appreciate the input.

Yes, it was the finance guy who e-mailed this to me.

I will be heading south for the winter, away from the local dealer, around a month after taking delivery, so if I need something I won’t be around the dealer anyway. I really appreciate all the related advice from you all.

Based on everyone’s advice, I’ll skip all 6 of them. Thanks again!

 

[Kirk]

From what I have seen, the Work & Play trailers have a better than average reputation. It seems that you are definitely a fulltimer and so need more than a cheap travel trailer and you are getting one. Good Sam roadside is one of the more common ones. It has been a long time since I last had their coverage but I think that they are still reasonably good. Most of us really never test that coverage until something unusual happens. In our 12 years of fulltime, my class A was only towed once. With the other times I have once had a spare tire put on for a flat and one other time was pulled out from being stuck. Those were the only times I had more than just phone support in 30+ years of paying for road service. The time that the class A was towed probably would have cost as much or more than all of the years of premiums, combined.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Put all that money in your gas tank. That is a much better investment!!

 

[DutchmenSport]

My current Montana High Country Fifth Wheel has the Alpha roof. The camper is now over 5 years old, and I've never done anything to the roof. I have not even had to re-caulk any cracks yet. The only thing I did on the roof was to replace the television antenna with a different one when the original got whammied by a low tree branch. It did not rip off the antenna, but it broke the shaft so that it could be turned from inside the camper. So number 6 is not necessary.

Batteries will last 5-9 years, depending on how well you monitor the acid levels in them. I replaced batteries a couple times on my previous travel trailers. #5.... waste of money.

Roadside Plus? Now, depending on what your insurance company has to offer you, this might not be necessary. Folks swear by Roadside Assistance plans, but at $600 a year for 5 years ($3000), what happens if you sell the trailer or get a new one? I've been RVing (with my own campers) for almost 40 years now, and needed roadside assistance only once. I did have a plan then, and it helped. But for the cost of the plan, it wasn't worth it. These plans are really iffy-iffy.... some work well, some don't. The biggest problem is, what if you need roadside assistance and you are in an area they don't cover? Before settling on this one, do your research and LOTS of internet searching and reading complaints about ALL of them. Then decide what will work best for you.


What about the Eco Pro? Well, this is another one you need to research before settling. We had a body treatment done on 1 other camper. It worked well for 1 year. Our current fifth wheel is now 5 years old. It had Resist-All applied to it. Let me just say this: In 5 years I've never waxed my fifth wheel. In 5 years I've only washed my camper with a Dawn dishwashing solution. In 5 years, my camper is still shiny (when it's clean).

The product you mentioned needs more research. Personally, I'm a firm believer in Resist-All. We had a new truck done with Resist-All too. That was 5 years ago.... and it's never been waxed, and run the the car wash at least a thousand times since new (we have an unlimited car wash plan). And the truck still looks brand spankin-new. I do use WD-40 twice a year and clean off the road tar spots. I'm a believer in Resist-All. Anything else .... just do your research.


Tire Shield ... now.... that was the biggest joke and waste of money we ever encountered.


#1, save your money, do your own banking and let warranties cover things and fix things yourself when the warranties run out. (case in point, our Samsung Refrigerator .... originally 3 year warranty .... found out several "parts" of the refrigerator had a 5 year warranty.

Basically, save your money .... except for the skin treatment. That might be worth while.....

Well, that's my 2 cents.

 

[workinonit]

I wouldn't buy a single one of them.

 

[RRR]

Does this mean, "none except #6?" It has a Tufflex Dicor 1pc PVC roof membrane w/limited lifetime warranty. UV resistant its life span, will not break down from standing water or environmental elements. Puncture resistant, tear-resistant, with water-based adhesive. Sun, weather, and chemical resistant.

No to all

 

[Bobtop46]

You're just giving them more money for nothing in return, unless you are into paying them to give you the run around.

 

[WanderingNomad]

From what I have seen, the Work & Play trailers have a better than average reputation. It seems that you are definitely a fulltimer and so need more than a cheap travel trailer and you are getting one. Good Sam roadside is one of the more common ones. It has been a long time since I last had their coverage but I think that they are still reasonably good. Most of us really never test that coverage until something unusual happens. In our 12 years of fulltime, my class A was only towed once. With the other times I have once had a spare tire put on for a flat and one other time was pulled out from being stuck. Those were the only times I had more than just phone support in 30+ years of paying for road service. The time that the class A was towed probably would have cost as much or more than all of the years of premiums, combined.

The Forest River Work and Play 30GS is the same as the Coachmen Adrenaline 30GS. I saw both and ended up with the former because the dealer was nearby. I spoke with a factory rep in person and he showed me extra details about the frame, the side walls and the roof among other things, and even e-mailed me the pdf file of his powerpoint training session for dealers. I'm still new, but I was impressed with the quality. It is more than I need, but I couldn't find anything else with enough space for may office and exercise machine.

 

[WanderingNomad]

Roadside Plus? Now, depending on what your insurance company has to offer you, this might not be necessary. Folks swear by Roadside Assistance plans, but at $600 a year for 5 years ($3000)

I'm sorry, maybe I didn't make that clear in my original post; it is $600 for all 5 years, $120 per year.

I'm not a big fan of over-insuring. Insurance sales, in my humble opinion, are based on fear. At one job I had, one duty was to allow a supplemental medical insurance company to have access to every employee. Before that occurred, I sat them down and explained that the agent will be playing on their fears and they should not let their fears overwhelm their good judgment. I encouraged them to hear out the agent and say they'll think about the various options and decide about it after considering them.

DutchmanSport, I appreciate all your comments, as well as those of others who posted. Clearly this is a great forum to belong to. I can only hope I can be of some small help to others as time goes by.

 

[RVfixer1]

60+ years of RV experience....None to all