How much time is reasonable for work to be done

The warranty servicing dealer has to investigate, document and apply for warranty coverage. Before starting repair. Parts are ordered at that time if not available.

If one item is say Dometic, they reach out to Dometic. If the Atwood heater doesn’t work, they reach out to Atwood.

Now they’re waiting on parts.

Wrong parts come in; start over.

Sure dealers drop the ball but it’s not like a car dealership that’s dealing with the factory for everything.

The warranty servicing dealer has to investigate, document and apply for warranty coverage. Before starting repair. Parts are ordered at that time if not available.

If one item is say Dometic, they reach out to Dometic. If the Atwood heater doesn’t work, they reach out to Atwood.

Now they’re waiting on parts.

Wrong parts come in; start over.

Sure dealers drop the ball but it’s not like a car dealership that’s dealing with the factory for everything.

To me, this is a prime example of why, if you are buying new, the dealership is probably more important than the brand you buy.

My first 5er was a Dutchman, that was an absolute POS - probably spent as much time in the shop as it did at my house. Both the manufacture and the dealer were terrible. The worst was when it had a bad window, and spent nearly three months at the shop (granted, this was done over winter, so I didn't push). But everything took forever to fix, bad enough that me, a non-DIY guy, fixed quite a bit on the trailer.

Current trailer had less trouble and much better dealer support.

To me, the gold standard is my boat dealer. They will set an appointment, and basic service is done same day. When it has been something more repair related, I've dropped it off on a Monday, and picked it up on a Friday, never missing a weekend.

Why can't all dealers be like that?

While I can't give an actual answer to the question, I'd like to mention, that using a mobile tech, can often be a more satisfying experience. I have only taken one of my RVs to a dealership, and service was done while I waited. In my experience, and reading about others experience, a call to manufacturer, can get prior approval, for warranty work at an independent service repair, or mobile tech repair.

Jerry

IMO, if the dealer schedules an appointment for work to be done, regardless whether it is warranty or not, they should begin working on it before the end of business of THAT DAY! I might be generous and give them until the next day to begin, but after that I would have words with the service manager.
By the third day, if it was a warranty issue, I would be calling the manufacturer's area manager asking for an intervention. If it was not a warranty issue, I would be considering picking my unit up and finding someone else to fix it. On the fourth day, I would be out of there, never to return.

The local Chevy dealer has two lanes in their service department. One labeled "appointments", the other labeled "service". I asked a service rep one time if having an appointment meant faster service. He said no, it was still basically first come first serve. The appointment lane basically meant getting logged into their system faster after arrival.

I think most service departments work that way whether warranty or owner paid. And the busier they are, the longer it will be whether you have an appointment or just drop in. When someone drops off their unit (what ever that may be) with a vague description of the problem, they have no real idea of how long they will be working on that particular unit to move on to the next. A service department that guarantees to start work based on an appointment time would be one to hold on to.

Parts availability is sometimes a significant holdup in getting repairs done. And sometimes the specific parts needed can't be determined without having the unit on hand. That's no excuse for the extended periods that RV units seem to sit untouched at dealer's shops though. They should be able to schedule work better than they usually do, and keep you informed of their progress or lack of it.