How do you go about finding good service for your motorhome?

[Professor David]

I live in Rapid City, SD which is a relatively small town with very few mechanics willing to work on motorhomes. Not many options for service. I've only had this "new to me" rig for about 2 months. I took it to a local RV repair shop a few weeks ago to have it "checked over" and feel like I got ripped off when I got a large bill with little work done. My fault for trusting they would be fair. Go figure but..this place also tried to sell me an expensive water purification system (about 1 grand installed) telling me that my original water purification system wasn't working and could not be repaired. I ask the service manager what exactly was wrong with the current unit but he could not clearly tell me. I asked him if it was a fitting, the facet, etc...no clear response from the guy. I said no thanks to the new system since I'd rather use store bought water. Turns out I just turned on my water today since we are just passed the freeze danger in this area and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the original water purification system. Not leaks, nothing...just needs a new cartridge. Online reviews for this place are very good...another indicatione that online reviews can not be trusted. The sad things is that this place seems to be booked up solid for weeks. I suppose I'll write up a bad review but my general philosophy is to just move on and never go back to a business like this. It been awhile since I've been ripped off so blatantly.

I have found a good mechanic for the chassis side of things and a pretty good place for tires/wheel/alignment stuff. I've heard that the best techs go out on there own these days rather working for RV shops...so called RV mobile techs. There are several of these mobile tech in my area that are listed online. My question is...what's the best way to find someone to work on the house-side of your motorhome? I suppose word of mouth, since online reviews seem to be problematic being often faked.

 

[Laura & Charles]

We usually ask the office of the park we’re staying in. If you’re not in a park, you can still call them and ask if they’d recommend any mobile RV repair techs.

Been doing this nearly 7 years and have used many mobile services all around the country (these are high maintenance mistresses we’re in an affair with). We’ve only had two or three that I wouldn’t call back if needed again in their area.

 

[Professor David]

We usually ask the office of the park we’re staying in.

Great input! I'll call around local RV parks. Thanks!

 

[DonTom]

I live in Rapid City, SD which is a relatively small town with very few mechanics willing to work on motorhomes.

This place says they do motorhomes. I find most of the house stuff we can do ourselves. When you have a problem there, just ask in this forum.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Isaac-1]

This is part of why I try to do as much as I can myself, on a side note we are headed to your area right now (in North Texas tonight, hopefully we will make it to southern Kansas tomorrow night, and be somewhere near the badlands by about Tuesday.

 

[Professor David]

This place says they do motorhomes.

Thanks Don for checking around. I did call Floyd's but they only work on diesel engines.

 

[Professor David]

This is part of why I try to do as much as I can myself, on a side note we are headed to your area right now (in North Texas tonight, hopefully we will make it to southern Kansas tomorrow night, and be somewhere near the badlands by about Tuesday.

Isaac, I agree. I try to do stuff myself but it's going to take a bit for me to figure out this motorhome thing. Lot's of moving parts on these things. I've only been working on this thing about 2 months. Just starting to wrap my head around it.

PM if you need anything while you are in my area. I'll shoot you my phone number.

 

[Isaac-1]

Thanks, will do

 

[Onyrlef]

I live in Rapid City, SD which is a relatively small town with very few mechanics willing to work on motorhomes. Not many options for service. I've only had this "new to me" rig for about 2 months. I took it to a local RV repair shop a few weeks ago to have it "checked over" and feel like I got ripped off when I got a large bill with little work done. My fault for trusting they would be fair. Go figure but..this place also tried to sell me an expensive water purification system (about 1 grand installed) telling me that my original water purification system wasn't working and could not be repaired. I ask the service manager what exactly was wrong with the current unit but he could not clearly tell me. I asked him if it was a fitting, the facet, etc...no clear response from the guy. I said no thanks to the new system since I'd rather use store bought water. Turns out I just turned on my water today since we are just passed the freeze danger in this area and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the original water purification system. Not leaks, nothing...just needs a new cartridge. Online reviews for this place are very good...another indicatione that online reviews can not be trusted. The sad things is that this place seems to be booked up solid for weeks. I suppose I'll write up a bad review but my general philosophy is to just move on and never go back to a business like this. It been awhile since I've been ripped off so blatantly.

I have found a good mechanic for the chassis side of things and a pretty good place for tires/wheel/alignment stuff. I've heard that the best techs go out on there own these days rather working for RV shops...so called RV mobile techs. There are several of these mobile tech in my area that are listed online. My question is...what's the best way to find someone to work on the house-side of your motorhome? I suppose word of mouth, since online reviews seem to be problematic being often faked.

There's an entire work from home industry dedicated to providing fake reviews for businesses and products. To add to the misery many service providers have learned consumers are largely easily manipulated and there's exponentially more money to be made hustling than in honest dealing. Unfortunately, the old notion that honesty is the best policy and in the long run the hustlers won't last is a pipedream from a bygone era. You could write a bad review but they'll bury it with an onslaught of fake positive reviews designed to push negative reviews out of sight.
But yeah, that's where the tech's are going. The good one's aren't going to languish around working for peanuts for some RV dealer when they can make real money as independent contractors. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice and hire a guy for a small job to get a sense of who you're dealing with.

 

[whiteva]

Step 1. Identify problem in simple terms
2. check forums for same problem
3. Grab tools from shop
4. Jump into problem with both feet
5. No beer until parts have been ordered
6. Complete repair when parts arrive
7. Open a beer and send thanks to RV'r that gave you the best solution

(Possible 6a.. offer a prayer that Jesus owned an RV or MGB and can have compassion for language used during said repair)

 

[Tulecreeper]

I would not call a city with a population of 75+K as a "relatively small town". I live 40 minutes from the second largest city in AR, with a population of 90+K, and that's "going into the city" for me when I go shopping.

 

[Onyrlef]

I would not call a city with a population of 75+K as a "relatively small town". I live 40 minutes from the second largest city in AR, with a population of 90+K, and that's "going into the city" for me when I go shopping.

It's all relative isn't it, on Saturday there are 75,000 people in any one of the Walmart's we have on every other street corner here. We're just really a bedroom community of Dallas, pop. 285,000.,( 30% larger than Little Rock). Allen, Tx., ( walking distance from here) where the Right Wing D.S. guy killed those kids last Saturday, calls itself a liitle town, it's population is a mere 105,000.

 

[Professor David]

I would not call a city with a population of 75+K as a "relatively small town". I live 40 minutes from the second largest city in AR, with a population of 90+K, and that's "going into the city" for me when I go shopping.

Good point. Rapid City is the second largest city in South Dakota. I actually love it here. I can reach pretty much any part of town in 5 or 10 mins. I've learned to not say Rapid City is small to a long time citizens of Rapid City...makes them mad.

I spent way too much time living in huge metropolitan areas with millions of people stacked/packed together...Detroit, LA, Indianapolis and San Francisco. Loved San Francisco because it is many "smaller", unique districts in one city. Rapid City is pretty small to me but it's all relative.

 

[JudyJB]

Another quicker thing to do if you are camping somewhere is to ask around the campground. Look for someone with the same type of rig you have and ask if they know anything about whatever it is. Most people are very willing to help with information on a fix or a good nearby repair place.

As an older woman traveling alone, I probably end up with a lot of sympathy help, but I also have a son who lives in Napa, CA. My DILs stepfather used to work for a very big wine company, so could get wine cheaply at the company store, so my son used to get a lot of good wine cheaply. I don't drink much, but I usually carry a bottle or two of decent Napa wine and use that as a thank-you gift for help, but just a thanks will usually do.

Anyway, all you usually need to do it put your hood up on your motorhome, or look puzzled while opening outside compartments. (OK, that may only work for you if you are a short, older lady.)

At a dealer, make sure you get a written quote before you let anyone do anything. And watch out for minimum fees for small jobs. I once had Camping World change a light bulb and tighten something or other, and they charged me the half-hour minimum of $65 for each 5 minute task!!! And don't let them take your rig and park it in the back of the "waiting for parts" lot. Once it gets there, you probably won't see it for several months!! As a full-timer, I always let them know when i make an appointment that I will be waiting for it in their facility and expect them to start working on it at the time of my appointment!!! And while I am waiting, I keep checking at the service desk to see how soon it will be finished.

Finally, if they say you need something like a new AC unit, and they try to tell you it will take 6-8 weeks to get one shipped, take your rig home and do some checking on your own. If you call around, you might find some other dealer who has one in stock and can fit you in next week!! (Did that myself last September.)

 

[JudyJB]

There's an entire work from home industry dedicated to providing fake reviews for businesses and products. To add to the misery many service providers have learned consumers are largely easily manipulated and there's exponentially more money to be made hustling than in honest dealing. Unfortunately, the old notion that honesty is the best policy and in the long run the hustlers won't last is a pipedream from a bygone era. You could write a bad review but they'll bury it with an onslaught of fake positive reviews designed to push negative reviews out of sight.
But yeah, that's where the tech's are going. The good one's aren't going to languish around working for peanuts for some RV dealer when they can make real money as independent contractors. Sometimes you just have to roll the dice and hire a guy for a small job to get a sense of who you're dealing with.

When I was newer at this, I took my year-old motorhome to a well-known and supposedly well-respected RV service place in northern California to have an oil change done. They decided to give it their 150 or so safety checkpoints review, and presented me with an estimate for over $5,000!! Besides brakes and a bunch of other things I did not need, like flushing the transmission, they were planning to keep my rig for several days and drive it down the street to a tire place to have 6 new tires put on it, for a cost of about 30% over what the tire dealer would have charged me for tires if I have driven it down the street myself. The "pièce de résistance"
was that they said I needed new wiper blades, when my son had just replaced them the day before!!!!

 

[Onyrlef]

When I was newer at this, I took my year-old motorhome to a well-known and supposedly well-respected RV service place in northern California to have an oil change done. They decided to give it their 150 or so safety checkpoints review, and presented me with an estimate for over $5,000!! Besides brakes and a bunch of other things I did not need, like flushing the transmission, they were planning to keep my rig for several days and drive it down the street to a tire place to have 6 new tires put on it, for a cost of about 30% over what the tire dealer would have charged me for tires if I have driven it down the street myself. The "pièce de résistance"
was that they said I needed new wiper blades, when my son had just replaced them the day before!!!!

They receive training on methods for hustling customers and in most instances it works. The masters at the art of persuasion are the service writers at new car dealerships, many of them are on commission and make 6 figures. Their legal prey is most often seniors and women.
I recently took my Nissan in to a local shop to have the crankshaft position sensor replaced, the shop called that afternoon with an estimate of $1200.00 since they were going to have to remove the front bumper assembly to get to it. I asked why they couldn't simply raise it on the lift remove the front tire, reach in with a 9mm wrench and change it out in about 10 minutes. They put me on hold and then revised the estimate to $300.00. Of course they never had any intention of removing the bumper assembly in the first place, but the assumption, which 99 times in a hundred would have been correct, was I wouldnt know that and they'd have made off with an extra $900.00. Unfortunately hustling customers is de riguer now, why would my shop charge $300.00 for something it's just as easy to charge $1200.00 for and leave $900.00 on the table?

 

[JudyJB]

They receive training on methods for hustling customers and in most instances it works. The masters at the art of persuasion are the service writers at new car dealerships, many of them are on commission and make 6 figures. Their legal prey is most often seniors and women.
I recently took my Nissan in to a local shop to have the crankshaft position sensor replaced, the shop called that afternoon with an estimate of $1200.00 since they were going to have to remove the front bumper assembly to get to it. I asked why they couldn't simply raise it on the lift remove the front tire, reach in with a 9mm wrench and change it out in about 10 minutes. They put me on hold and then revised the estimate to $300.00. Of course they never had any intention of removing the bumper assembly in the first place, but the assumption, which 99 times in a hundred would have been correct, was I wouldnt know that and they'd have made off with an extra $900.00. Unfortunately hustling customers is de riguer now, why would my shop charge $300.00 for something it's just as easy to charge $1200.00 for and leave $900.00 on the table?

And you understand, of course, that the RV service place I went to was not really going to do all of those things themselves--they would send my motorhome down the street to a service place that really did things like brakes, if they were going to do them at all.

A very long time ago, I worked in the training dept of a transmission factory. There was a young woman who taught transmission teardown classes, so was an expert on transmissions, obviously, as well as a lot of automotive repair stuff. (They used to have races to see who could tear a transmission down and then put it back together again.) She used to LOVE going into a dealer and respond to their nonsense with real knowledge!! We all had fun with her stories.