Least problematic brands and dealers

Since we travel a lot we are not near our purchasing dealer very often. We have not had a problem with a dealer doing work on our unit in or out of warranty. In our real world experience we have not noted the folks we know with other brands having significant problems. Fit and finish problems are a industry wide problem no matter what the price range.

'BTW Lost we had our Apollo fail while we were in AZ the winter of 06/07 and they shipped it to our campground.


"For the OP newbie (norfla71) - Good Lord is right!
Do your own research for your area.
Decide what you want (brand & floor plan), how far you will go to purchase whatever *it* may be - at a price that is acceptable to you."

Words of wisdom from ol Bombero-JC

This is our second unit, first was a StarCraft 27FB which rotted due to of neglect from previous 2 owners; didn't catch it until too late and trailer was DOA.

Opinions are valuable, and that's why I'm asking for them, with the understanding opinions are subjective and based on personal experience. I'm not taking anything as law, just more info for a better informed decision.

One thing I can't stand is to see a nearly $100,000 fiver with major fit and finish issues (last Infinity had several loose/missing screws from around the entertainment center and also a small piece of trim MIA; unacceptable in a nearly $90,000 MSRP rig). I get good feelings inside the Montana and Cardinal lines.

Well OK the on and on is how things go on this or any other mildly moderated forum.

I usually just bite it and fix most small bugs myself in spite of the warranty.
Chincy RV parts cost little and a screw driver is easy to use.

If the RV owner is afraid of tools and parts and has no problem dragging back and forth to the dealer for warranted work then more power to them.

Me I don't mind turning a screw or two...gives me something to do :)

LostinAZ wrote:

Artemus Gordon wrote:
If you travel cross Country you need Keystone or any Thor product. No questions asked when we stopped in at any dealer. Most manufacturers want you to return to your dealer, Forrest River for example put it right in their literature. Friend of mine gave up his Artic Fox line because of problems with warranty repairs etc. AF has few dealers and that could be a problem if you travel. I looked at them and personally found them to be less attractive fit and finish. Don't hate them just what I saw! Like Airstream you hear great things , but still many of their units are delivered with serious problems. Therefore nationwide service is essentIal!

I would suggest not bad mouthing other manufacturers warranty policies unless you have owned one of their units and personally experienced these kinds of issues.

Good grief Artemus!!

"No questions asked when we stopped at any dealer".

"Most manufacturers want you to return to your dealer"

Let's see... you purchased in Montana, you're traveling in Florida and a slide malfunctions big time.
So - - you're supposed to return to the selling dealer in Montana for repairs?.
No matter how thin you slice it that's pure Baloney! (Balogna, if you prefer)..:S

and - YIKES!

WHY did you have to stop at *ANY* dealer??

Glad I don't have a keystone or Thor product!.:B

This thread is less than worthless - *anyone* can have a bad experience with a dealer or brand - while someone else loves them.

Some folks may require "a dealer" to tighten a loose screw in a window valance "under warranty" - simply because they have a warranty.

Unless *YOU* have owned (at least) a dozen or so of *different brands* - there's no way to compare.

For the OP newbie (norfla71) - Good Lord is right!
Do your own research for your area.
Decide what you want (brand & floor plan), how far you will go to purchase whatever *it* may be - at a price that is acceptable to you.

BTW - never needed any warranty service during the 2 year warranty period on my Jayco.
Yeah - a screw *did* pull out of a window valance - and the factory omitted a door glide (which I missed on PDI) - but I was my own warranty service center for both.
Took all of 5 minutes and about $2. for the door glide.
Bonus = No waiting for service, LOL!

Guess that means Jayco - and "my" service center are both great..:C

~

Good Lord, I started another fire storm! Lot's of good info to chew over, though. Our travel is currently limited to the SE region, and will for the next decade or so, in which case we're looking for one the larger brands. Not too worried about warranty work as there always seems to be issues with getting it approved, substandard quality parts or workmanship. However, we also need something that can handle long term use, climate changes (later) and will hold up for more than a couple of years or continual exposure. Nothing against AF or Northwood but, as someone mentioned, I've never heard of them before I started searching and like to actually get hands-on with the purchase.

The Dixie RV center closest to me is off of US 285 in FL. I see a lot of the bigger coaches on the road from them, but have also heard of service issues. Camping World gets such a bad rap because they are nationwide, and problems are bound to be magnified with so many dealerships. I've only had stuff installed, and they screwed up the hitch install and bed in my Ram; first by not knowing that I needed the required overload kit when the invoice clearly stated I had a 3500 (with the number of hitches they install this should have been a non-issue) and second when they tightened up the rail bolts without spacers under them. I do like the parts department, though, but hate to go in there because I'm like a kit at Christmas.

Artemus Gordon wrote:
If you travel cross Country you need Keystone or any Thor product. No questions asked when we stopped in at any dealer. Most manufacturers want you to return to your dealer, Forrest River for example put it right in their literature. Friend of mine gave up his Artic Fox line because of problems with warranty repairs etc. AF has few dealers and that could be a problem if you travel. I looked at them and personally found them to be less attractive fit and finish. Don't hate them just what I saw! Like Airstream you hear great things , but still many of their units are delivered with serious problems. Therefore nationwide service is essentIal!

When we had problems with our Apollo 1/2 time Oven under warranty Keystone forced us to go back to the original selling dealer in another state to get it replaced. Another dealer was not allowed to replace the unit. However, I suspect all manufacturers will support most warranty repairs at any authorized dealer. I would suggest not bad mouthing other manufacturers warranty policies unless you have owned one of their units and personally experienced these kinds of issues.

Artemus Gordon wrote:
If you travel cross Country you need Keystone or any Thor product. No questions asked when we stopped in at any dealer. Most manufacturers want you to return to your dealer, Forrest River for example put it right in their literature.

My Forest River brochure says "It is RECOMMENDED that all warranty work be handled by your selling dealer. If you have relocated or are traveling, should warranty be required, such service shall be performed by any authorized dealer in the U.S. or Canada." Not any different that any of the other warranties I have read.

Getting in late on this post but if you are talking about Dixie RV in Hammond, La. be prepared to wait, wait and wait for any repairs if needed and never receive a call back. They are a huge dealer but service is about as bad as it gets.

They are also a Camping World site and I don't know the connection but Camping World gets a bad rap because of the association. I have been told, but don't know for sure, that the repair section is done by Camping World employees. I would see what Berryland in Ponchatoula or even Gauthier's in Lafayette has to offer. Southern RV also has a dealership in Lafayette.

There have been a number of post's about Dixie by those who have bought from them. I know it is a******shoot when seeking service but Dixie sinks lower in the cess pool of poor service. Good Luck

.;)

Nutz,

Thank you for putting it all in perspective.