Slide repair, Good Sam won't approve enough labor hours

We had a slide failure due to the mechanism not being able to handle the weight of the slide. We have been trying to get this repaired at Camping World for the past month. They blame Good Sam for the delay, then today they say that Good Sam will only pay for 8 hours labor, but it will take up to 16 hours. I called to figure out the problem and it turns out that the old slide mechanism can no longer be used, you have to upgrade to the new style, which requires extra installation hours. But they will only pay for the old part cost and the install.....which doesn't exist. They said they called another Winnebago repair place and they gave them a cost and that is what they went with for approval, but Camping World here says that is not true. I thought I would just take it to the cheaper place, but I'm in NC and that place is in GA. I can't drive our RV anymore because the slide keeps slipping out and I'm afraid it will be dangerous or damage the slide to point it can't be repaired. Basically I am being held hostage here until it gets fixed......our trip is now 1 month behind and counting.

I called to have the extra hours approved, but the only option they gave me was to do the repair and then file an appeal and hope for the best.

Does anyone have any ideas or options for this? An additional 8 hours is a lot of money and I'm stuck with between 2 repair places saying what it will cost, when one of them has never even seen the RV or what is required to repair it. I'm at the end of my rope and sorely disappointed in how this has been handled by both Camping World and my Good Sam extended service plan. It doesn't make sense to me why they won't pay for actual cost of the repair since that is my ONLY option.

Has anyone been successful with their appeal? Is there a way to appeal this before the repair is complete? It should start on Monday the 23rd, I'm hoping not to have to pay that huge bill and then hope for approval.

Extended Service Plan

18 Replies

Good_Sam_Care_T
Explorer II
Aug 04, 2018
Hello,

I am closing this topic due to lack of activity. Thank you for your time and participating. Please feel free to open a new thread on this topic in the future if you wish.

Thank you,
Ella
Good Sam Care Team
Yosemite_Sam1
Explorer
Jul 20, 2018
pennysmom09 wrote:
We e never had any trouble le with our slides either. There are way more happy campers with slides than those who have trouble. It's a proven technology, but anything can go wrong on an RV.

And I pray nothing goes wrong for yours too.

Happy and safe camping and travels.
pennysmom09
Explorer
Jul 20, 2018
We e never had any trouble le with our slides either. There are way more happy campers with slides than those who have trouble. It's a proven technology, but anything can go wrong on an RV.
Yosemite_Sam1
Explorer
Jul 20, 2018
ScottG wrote:
Old-Biscuit wrote:
ScottG wrote:
Well here goes another thread off topic and down the toilet.

So for a little side trip

Our 12 yr old 5th wheel......3 slides
2 opposing in living room and the 1 in bedroom

For first 7 yrs they went out/in WEEKLY during our travels
And to this day still function/seal like new.

I won't own another trailer w/o slides

I would never own another RV without slides either. Had them in RV's for the last 15+ years without issue.
Going to a no-slide RV would be like buying a house without indoor plumbing.

Must be the lucky few as this forum itself and most RV forum are littered with tales of slide issues.

Just 3 months ago we helped another camper whose slide is not retracting that I had to help push it back from the other side (it won't align if the push is uneven).

I just joked, so it's manual assist.

And no, I'm not suggesting to anyone to replace their rig with the non-slide RV, lol.
ScottG
Nomad
Jul 20, 2018
Old-Biscuit wrote:
ScottG wrote:
Well here goes another thread off topic and down the toilet.

So for a little side trip

Our 12 yr old 5th wheel......3 slides
2 opposing in living room and the 1 in bedroom

For first 7 yrs they went out/in WEEKLY during our travels
And to this day still function/seal like new.

I won't own another trailer w/o slides

I would never own another RV without slides either. Had them in RV's for the last 15+ years without issue.
Going to a no-slide RV would be like buying a house without indoor plumbing.
Good_Sam_Care_T
Explorer II
Jul 20, 2018
Disaster Chick,

Thank you for providing an update and I have shared your compliments with Justin. Please let us know if you need further assistance.

Thanks,
Stacy
Good Sam Care Team
Disaster_Chick
Explorer
Jul 20, 2018
To answer a few questions:

Yes, they are covering the extra hours. It was a fairly easy process once you had someone who could make that decision. I think there was just miscommunication between the service advisor and the extended warranty folks.

As for the slides.....I've had slides for 14 yrs on my old coach and this one. This is only the second problem I am had in all that time. The first time I had what we think was bad voltage in a campsite in Maine and that caused 2 AC units to fry, the third was on it's way and had to have the burnt wiring replaced and it also fried the motor on the one slide. So this new one is apparently an issue with them using a mechanism that can't handle the weight on these bigger slides. My old coach, that we had for 11 yrs never had an issue with the 3 slides. So hopefully now since we are getting the proper mechanism, this will be the last of it.

I'm just happy it was taken care of and we can finally finish our trip..............we've been staying with my in-laws while waiting on this repair.........need I say more! ?? I need to leave here soon, they are Italian and keep feeding us, if this doesn't stop soon we will need a new suspension to hold the extra weight!!
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Jul 20, 2018
ScottG wrote:
Well here goes another thread off topic and down the toilet.

So for a little side trip

Our 12 yr old 5th wheel......3 slides
2 opposing in living room and the 1 in bedroom

For first 7 yrs they went out/in WEEKLY during our travels
And to this day still function/seal like new.

I won't own another trailer w/o slides
ScottG
Nomad
Jul 20, 2018
Well here goes another thread off topic and down the toilet.
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Jul 20, 2018
RTCastillo wrote:
From what I've seen in the campgrounds and reading from various RV forum, it seems the slide is the most frequent cause of problems for those who have them.

I'm not gloating that I don't have one. But just getting a tour at Camping World and being shown one made me apprehensive there is likely a lot that could go wrong with it and not willing to shoulder the prospect of these head-aches.

Am I right or am I just envious (or too poor to afford one)? lol.

Im in your club, Never had, never will. I know of 3 owners that have had issues from mis alignment to bad supports causing failures. On one unit, the slide opening was 1" out of square and the only way to fix it was shim the slide to run out of square.. Was a FR product.