RV Manufacture warranty

JDsdogs wrote:
Yeah, I know. I have more questions than a 4 yr old on a sugar high. :-D

LOL. Questions are good.

About the global registry of mobile RV techs... :B

I can't authoritatively say there isn't one, but there isn't one.

Think of the difference between a licensed contractor and a handyman. The handyman is usually a lot more transient, maybe working through his sobriety, etc. That's not to say he isn't fair & ethical or doesn't do a good job, but he works by word of mouth and isn't necessarily always around or available when you need him.

I've got two great mobile RV techs nearby who do great work. One of them is a great guy who does incredible work and we've become good friends over time. He's my go-to guy when I need help, and he stops by to say hello just because. The problem with him though, is that the secret is out and he's in high demand. He'll go for a week without answering calls because he's busy and the calls slow him down.

I use the other guys out of necessity if my favorite guy is busy. They're busy too though, so there's no guarantee.

So if you're looking for a handy directory so you can call a guy when you need him, I don't think you'll find one.

If you're on a trip and need some help, I would first check at the office where I'm staying and see if they know anyone. If that doesn't work, look for long-term residents and see if they know anyone. Next I would call other local RV parks. I'd also try local RV storage yards, because the techs are coming and going all the time at those places.

My last resort would be to search Facebook for local RV groups and ask the local members. I found both of my techs through my local FB camping group. Our local members are pretty brutal, so the bad techs get bashed and run out of town. Consequently, the two good ones are busy every day they want to work.

Hey All, thanks for the input. It certainly provided food for thought.
I have done all the repairs on our 2000 Motor Home, with the exception the loss of a wheel bearing in Louisville KY. A mobile service took care of us and at a fair price. I could have done that too, except I did not carry the necessary tools to complete the repair. I'm not getting any younger and probably should no longer be doing the heavy stuff anyway.
Leaning hard toward a used unit now.

Has anyone compiled a directory of mobil RV repair services available across the nation? Does Good Sam
have a list of providers that they recommend if you break down?

Yeah, I know. I have more questions than a 4 yr old on a sugar high. :-D

JDsdogs wrote:
If this is the case, buying new RV would have little value for us. If I'm going to have to take care of issues on my own, I may as well buy used and save some $$.

Warranty issues are a near certainty with a new unit. They almost always have to go back to the dealer for repairs in that first year until all the bugs are worked out.

The second near certainty is that warranty service is slow and dealers don't care. Your new rig will sit on their lot for weeks or months while the sausage is being made.

Your choices as I see them are:

1. Buy new and brace yourselves for a rocky first year.

2. Buy new and just deal with those initial issues on your own.

3. Buy used and hope that the previous owner was thorough in catching all of the factory defaults and hope that they have all been remedied.

If I had known in advance that it would take our dealer 20 months to complete all of our warranty repairs, I would have split them out into batches of things we could afford to deal with and things we couldn't, and then just have the dealer work on the items where I couldn't go out of pocket.

I'd say that 1/3 to 1/2 of the dealer repairs were so bad anyway that we ended up having to re-repair them ourselves or hire a mobile tech to clean up their poor work.

The day we finally said goodbye to our dealer was a very happy day.

Good that you are doing research. If you were driving fifty feet away from the dealer you purchased the unit from, don't expect too much in the way of emergency service. It will go on the end of the list and you will have it back in a snappy two weeks to a month. Most dealers do not do emergency. There are many skilled mobil mechanics out there that do.
Consider this: your spring breaks in front of the dealer you got the unit from. Service department has to do an evaluation as to the cause of the breakage. Then that evaluation is forwarded to the manufacturer. Then it gets reviewed. Then a determination is made on it being a warranty issue. That decision is sent to whoever communicates with the dealer. The dealer then either tells you that the claim is denied or that it is covered. Then the dealer orders the parts if it was covered and waits for them to be shipped. When they get in you are still at the end of the line waiting for an appointment to have the work done. Remember that nobody is in a hurry to make any of the above decisions. If it is denied, you are out the use of it for whatever it took to get to that point and now have to order parts and get on the end of the line and then pay for the repairs.
Rv systems are not rocket science and the parts are common to many units. If I have something go wrong on the road, I either fix it myself or get a mobil tech to the campground. Exactly the same way most fulltimers do it. A couple of hours of my time or a tech's time is worth it to me instead of losing the trailer for a month and having it damaged in the service yard.
Just my .02

We ordered our 5th wheel thru a small dealer..........upon delivery we Hit the road FT and never took it back to that dealer cause we were never back in that area.
Warranty issues....we called the RV MFG. and got an 'authorized' mobile RV Tech. Had to pay a 'service fee' but rest of repairs were under warranty

And some warranty issues.......I fixed them myself as it was easiest, less cumbersome and didn't have to wait for approval/authorization

Sometimes it is best just to git 'r done

We bought NEW cause we ORDERED it with some stuff we wanted and deleted some stuff that we thought was unnecessary

YES ....dealers do NOT have to preform warranty work if not purchased from them. They MAY...but you will be low priority/go to back of line
*Some dealers are better then others.

Used RVs can be worthwhile.......already taken the 'depreciation', MAY have already had the 'bugs' worked out or may be piece of junk
**If buying used I would recommend an 'RV Inspection' be conducted (like a home inspection prior to purchase)

Good Luck!

Yes, that's why so many buy used!