RV Warranties

A lot of basic service stuff, one can usually find a video on YouTube on what to do. Like annual servicing of the water heater, cleaning and protecting the roof, replacing a refrigerator, packing bearings, etc. Just a short look at some of these type videos, you will begin to realize that what some dealers charge for what would appear to be very simple tasks, borders on highway robbery. Some things take only a few minutes of your time and yet the dealer will find a way to charge 2 hours of shop time.

I would like again to thank everyone for the replies I got on my warranty subject. I am someone who works on anything and everything, and with google etc.its endless. I had the same ideas but its good to
hear from actual RV owners.

If you're fairly handy in that you could fix the plumbing, do some light electrical and build a shed around your home I would pass on the warranty.
Google and Youtube are exc as well as a forum like this or the brand forum for your model are exc places to get help. RV's are not near as daunting as one would think.
I would look for a 2 year old trailer if possible. 1st they should be way less than even a newer discounted one and 2nd most of the bugs should've been worked out. Lots of people buy one then want something bigger or want a different layout and trade up.
If you're not at all handy then either buy new and get an extended warranty or buy used and get a warranty. If you have deep pockets then don't get the warranty.
I would also add that there's plenty of RV's that don't have problems worth taking to a dealer. Having owned 3 different trailers from 3 different MFG's I would not get an extended warranty. I'm also pretty handy. If you like to tinker on stuff then most problems are easily fixed. Some yearly maintenance is also required. Like caulking or bearing repack. RV's need to be stayed on top of and not neglected. Too many problems occur from owners that don't know about the maintenance requirements and let things get out of hand then complain that the MFG made junk.

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
The roof warranty is by the roof mfr ...

Not true, and widely misunderstood. The actual roof is covered under the same warranty as the rest of the trailer structure by the trailer manufacturer, the roof membrane is warrantied by the manufacturer of the membrane used, whether EPDM, TPO, or whatever. What many also conveniently seem to forget is that warranties are intended to cover errors in manufacturing, not stupidity on the part of the owner, such as tearing the roof membrane with a tree branch. :R

Warranty on a travel trailer or most other RVs is nothing like a warranty on a vehicle.

It is much more like the warranty on a house. The trailer mfr warranties the shell of the trailer. The roof warranty is by the roof mfr, the fridge is warranted by the mfr, the furnace by the mfr, etc. Heck, the axles under my TT were warranty by the axle maker (Dexter) who tried to blame a problem on Forest River and how they mounted the axles. Forest River of course blamed Dexter. Finally they both had argued long enough they claimed the axles were now out of warranty.

The Extra-Ride extended warranty did step up and pay for the repair, though read the fine print. I had to pay for shipping the new axles from Dexter to Dallas.

It would have been cheaper to just buy new axles in Dallas, have the mounting built and installed. Of course the place where I bought the trailer would not do that, because they are a Forest River dealer and have to do repairs with OEM parts.

If you feel you need a warranty, I would definitely say buy new and possibly get an extended warranty through the dealer.

Frankly it is cheaper to use mobile RV techs and pay for repairs that you cannot do yourself.

But we are full-timers. If we put the rig in the shop for a warranty repair, we have to find a motel, or relative where we can live for the lengthy repair / warranty claim cycle. Maybe you can do without your trailer for 30-90 days in the summer. We cannot.

newrver327 wrote:
... looking for a used travel trailer...

If you change your mind and decide to buy a new trailer for the warranty coverage, I've got some comments.

The quality and speed of warranty service depends almost entirely on the dealer. According to posts in this forum and others, many dealers are not even moderately interested in taking care of their customers issues. A repair that takes a few hours can take many weeks or months. Parts orders re "lost"; management changes; slowness and ineptness is rampant.

Many RV'ers who buy new for the warranty find they have to do the repairs themselves due to difficulties with the dealer.

Just be aware. Sometimes dealers have a good warranty program, sometimes not.

If the warranty is important enough that you feel you need one on even a 1 or 2 year old unit, buy new. The cost of the warranty would cover the price difference in most cases.
The components in a TT are warranted individually, appliances, roof, etc have varying warranties from their individual manufacturers.
If you are handy and take care of most things around your home yourself, and do the basics on your vehicles also, you can do most of the basics on a TT also. For those times you cant, find a local independent repair tech to help you. Contact a couple of the local Campgrounds as well as the yellow pages, and use them.

these are not cars where there fixed in a day or two some times a rv will sit on the dealers lot for months waiting on a one hour repair job.

newrver327 wrote:
I have never had a travel trailer, always a tent but now wife and me are retired and looking for a used travel trailer. I found out they don't have warranties,even ones that are one year old. So I'm want to know what other RVers do, mainly should get a warranty from GS etc. I've heard that some repairs are very expensive.

You either buy new for the warranty (and a never slept in bed :W ) or you buy used without a warranty and deal with anything that comes up yourself, meaning you either fix what's wrong yourself OR take it to someone who can and pay them to do it. Either way, do yourself a favour and forget any notion you might have that camping in an RV of any sort is "inexpensive" ... it's not, not by a long shot. If you're lucky you won't have any major issues but you always do want to be aware that catastrophe can be waiting just around the corner for you - believe it, a dead fridge that needs to be replaced won't be inexpensive. Most would probably agree that water leakage is the worst as it can easily destroy a trailer to the point where it's a write off, so especially if you're buying used pay very careful attention for any signs of water leakage. If you don't know what to look for pay to have the unit inspected before purchase by someone who does.

Create your own repair fund by saving the price of a warrenty divided by the number of pay checks you get each year. Then when something happens fix it your self from this savings fund. You will be better off.