Rant - getting someone to work on a Class C motorhome

wenglish I ran into a very similar situation with our Winnebago Class A when I had my catalytic converter stolen too. Two RV dealers the current Winnebago dealer and Camping World both declined. Told me to go to Ford. Local Ford dealer said they won't work on the F53 Chassis. The one they recommended never called me back.

Back when I bought my Winnebago the RV and Ford side were both under the same ownership so it was never an issue... until they split.

Finally, found a muffler shop that did the work and saved me about $1,000 in the process. But made me very concerned about what I would do if I actually had to get into a shop. Thankfully my local tire shop does repairs and they've done my Oil Changes and A/C work.

Man that's some shifty service from the RV dealer, it's not like they have never needed chassis service, they should have at least been able to tell you where to go (and not in the way that they did....). Hope you're able to get it done at the muffler place, but that opens up a range of questions about ball joints, hub bearings, tie rods and other normal service issues that you will encounter with the Chevy (or any other) chassis....

I have a longtime shop I have always taken my vehicles to. They always worked on my clipper (21ft), but they only had one lift big enough for it, so timing was a big concern. They also worked on a fleet of commuter vans and often got fulltimers needing work done. I'd give them the dates of my next planned trip and say "as long as I get it back a few days before that, I'm good". That worked well as they could prioritize and get that fulltimer back on the road as quick as possible or get the van back in service before tying up the lift with my rig.

Several years ago, the owner sold the business to another local shop. After about 2-3 years, they stopped working on motorhomes altogether. Their reason was "their insurance won't let them do motorhomes". I suspect the new owner just doesn't like dealing with them.

My last trip out in the motorhome, I had to have it towed home due to ignition issues. Tow companies will no longer reattach the drive train on vehicles - they claim it's due to torque specs. So I needed to find a mechanic to reattach it so I could deal with the ignition.

I called about 10 mobile mechanics. Most refused to take the job because it's "too old". One, stated,they won't do drive train work at all. Finally found one willing to do it. 10 minute job.

I now have a neighborhood guy who does work on old vehicles. He is always happy to work on it. I don't know what I will do when he can't do the work anymore.

It is definitely getting more difficult to find shops able or willing to work on motorhomes. And if yours is an older model, it's even more difficult than that.

I have a chevy C also. Wanted to change from SAE oil to full synthetic and stopped at the local Chevy dealer to ask about doing that. Got the same answer you did, they don't have a lift that could handle it. Asked where I could have any work done if needed and he pointed down the street to a truck repair shop. Gary