My dad (baby boomer, may he RIP) could repair small engines with the best of them. But he still took his vehicles in to be repaired. He worked 6 days a week, and his truck being out of service meant no working (he was a landscaper). So a professional could fix it faster than he could himself. As for me, I'm 35. I buy new cars, and I like to have someone else work on them if it's ever needed. I could probably figure out how to do at least some of the work, but for me it's a time issue. I work full time, with a 45 commute each way to work. So on weekdays I have about 4 hours of time between the time I get home and go to bed. And I like to cook so I do that every night. My weekends are spent taking care of the home, traveling, and social activities. The thought of spending my free time doing something that I could pay someone else to do (and probably do it faster/better than me) just isn't my cup of tea. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just a shift in priorities. I know some people love wrenching on their stuff, even if it takes them days. Same reason I pay someone to clean my house... sure I could do it myself but why should I if I can pay someone else to do it?
But back to the OP, here's some answers, albeit my experience is not with RV's, but a travel trailer and now a 5th wheel. I'd imagine the service experience is pretty similar:
A manufacturer's warranty on their MH
-We have had this on both of our trailers, as each were purchased brand new. As others have stated, wait times, even for warranty work, can be long. We have a great dealer where we bought our trailer, but even then, they still have to get approval from the manufacturer for warranty work. Case in point, last year, 4 months after buying our trailer, the front air conditioning unit went out, while we were boondock camping for a week, in July. We had lots of handy people with us but nobody could fix it on the spot. So it was hot trip. After returning we took it into the dealer, and were told the manufacturer had 16 business days to reply to the request to fix it. This was because the dealer had to contact the manufacturer, then the manufacturer had to contact the manufacturer of the actual unit. They did end up fixing it, but they had our trailer for about 6 weeks. During this time they also did some other QC fixes that were covered under warranty, but nothing major.
An extended service agreement on their MH
We had this on our first trailer, and the experience described above was the same for an extended warranty.
Self paying with their MH
Now that our warranty is up, we do this. We've located a mobile RV tech who lives nearby to do things like winterizing it for us. He only charged $20 more than the dealer did, and had it done that day, at our house.
Mobile repair/maintenance at home for their MH.
See above.
Roadside Assistance for their MH.
We do not have this, but I'd imagine the level of service is pretty depending on where you are in the country, as these agreements just contract out with local tow trucks/companies to do the work.
