How important is it to buy local?

Each of our rigs came from different dealers who had the unit we wanted at the time. One dealer was a four-hour drive from home, closest was an hour. Our current unit went in for service twice -- once for an improperly wired bathroom fan (which we ended up fixing ourselves because service didn't order the part like they said they would), and for a leak around the scare light. Most of the repairs we had on our rigs were done on the road. AC went while wintering in Florida -- repaired by mobile tech under warranty. Leaf spring broke in Amarillo, TX -- repaired by mobile tech. Replaced axles near Amarillo, TX. Front jacks wouldn't raise in Elkhart, Indiana -- Forest River sent us over to the Lippert Factory who replace them in their parking lot -- under warranty. Different rig -- axle replaced in Durango, CO under warranty. Had to wait a few days for the part because it was 4th of July weekend! Had a tire blow out near Erie, PA when a leaf spring broke that caused $6,000 damage to the side of the unit. A dealer in Erie promised if we could get it in by 4:00 they would get us on the road again, same day, but they closed promptly at 5:00 on Fridays. We got there, and true to their word, were on the road at 5:01. Another unit had the roof replaced under warranty -- our dealer sent it to a specialist 6 hours away. They had the trailer all winter, and come spring, we were set to roll again. Stuff WILL happen if you use your rig, but fixes can be painless. Small stuff, non warranty, mods, DH does himself.

We always buy the unit we love, regardless of where we need to go. The repairs WILL get done!