Camping World RV Service:Good or Bad?

[precioustime]

Has anyone had any experience with service and repairs at Camping World? Their technical knowledge may be there but are they responsive to your needs? Do they keep you updated as to when parts are coming in? If they have been ordered? When can you expect service to be done? If you leave a message do they call you back that same day? Do you have to ask to speak to a Supervisor? Are Florida stores good compared to others? Do the service advisors realize you live in another town far away and you need info on your pending service in order to schedule the time to take in your rv?

[Unhappy_Camper_]

crudeman wrote:

Unhappy Camper 1 wrote:
I can appreciate that you are a devoted, satisfied customer of Camping World and I am sincerely glad that the one problem you had with them was taken care of. BUT, I don’t think you would feel the same if their “repair” caused permanent damage to your camper that you had struggled and saved to buy, had limited time to be able to use it, and could cause you not be able to use it at all.

Because I am on a fixed income, I had to consider re-sale value of any camper I bought so when I could no longer use it I could recoup what I had spent on this bucket list dream. If you have ever looked at vintage campers you know that a roof that has never leaked and a ceiling with no damage in next to impossible to find. What was done to my camper, to me, has ruined it and it has lost half of it’s resale value. What am I supposed to do if my allergies and asthma won’t allow me to sleep in it now, then lose half of my investment because of shoddy work?

And maybe I’m just upset and sensitive but, you’re comparing this problem with a bad order from Wendy’s???

Surely having mustard left off your hamburger is equal to waiting weeks on your repair that caused even further damage. :B

LOL crudeman! My first thought when I read that statement was seven out of ten times when I order a plain double stack with no cheese at McDonalds for my Chihuahua I get home to find cheese on it. I’m irritated, but no big problem - I scrape it off. I just can’t wrap my brain around scraping this issue off.

[crudeman]

Unhappy Camper 1 wrote:
I can appreciate that you are a devoted, satisfied customer of Camping World and I am sincerely glad that the one problem you had with them was taken care of. BUT, I don’t think you would feel the same if their “repair” caused permanent damage to your camper that you had struggled and saved to buy, had limited time to be able to use it, and could cause you not be able to use it at all.

Because I am on a fixed income, I had to consider re-sale value of any camper I bought so when I could no longer use it I could recoup what I had spent on this bucket list dream. If you have ever looked at vintage campers you know that a roof that has never leaked and a ceiling with no damage in next to impossible to find. What was done to my camper, to me, has ruined it and it has lost half of it’s resale value. What am I supposed to do if my allergies and asthma won’t allow me to sleep in it now, then lose half of my investment because of shoddy work?

And maybe I’m just upset and sensitive but, you’re comparing this problem with a bad order from Wendy’s???

Surely having mustard left off your hamburger is equal to waiting weeks on your repair that caused even further damage. :B

[Unhappy_Camper_]

Thank you for your post GrumpyGator. You the hit the nail on the head saying you don’t know until you’re screwed… or not. I wish I had known the risk before putting my trust in Camping World.

[Unhappy_Camper_]

I can appreciate that you are a devoted, satisfied customer of Camping World and I am sincerely glad that the one problem you had with them was taken care of. BUT, I don’t think you would feel the same if their “repair” caused permanent damage to your camper that you had struggled and saved to buy, had limited time to be able to use it, and could cause you not be able to use it at all.

Because I am on a fixed income, I had to consider re-sale value of any camper I bought so when I could no longer use it I could recoup what I had spent on this bucket list dream. If you have ever looked at vintage campers you know that a roof that has never leaked and a ceiling with no damage in next to impossible to find. What was done to my camper, to me, has ruined it and it has lost half of it’s resale value. What am I supposed to do if my allergies and asthma won’t allow me to sleep in it now, then lose half of my investment because of shoddy work?

And maybe I’m just upset and sensitive but, you’re comparing this problem with a bad order from Wendy’s???

[GrumpyGator]

Quite frankly, I'd be scared to take my RV to a CW for service. Some are good, some are bad. But you don't know until you're screwed... or not.

Worth the risk? Not to me.

[wbwood]

There are other businesses that have unhappy dealings as well. While you say there were hundreds of people complaining, you have to look at the total number of dealings they do. One location can do 100's of services a month. Are they all going to be good? No. And people normally post negative stuff online and generally not good. I've had a postive experiences in one CW and a negative one in another CW. The negative incident wasn't horribly bad. The customer servie was the main complaint and when they set up the WDH we had, they put it on the wrong link. We had a very bouncy 4 hr ride home. Took it to my local CW and they saw what was wrong as I didn't and they corrected it. Even they had a problem with the other CW when trying to contact them about the issue.

I've had bad and good experiences at a nearby Wendy's. It just depends on who is working there at the time we go there.

[Unhappy_Camper_]

I understand what you’re saying, and I agree different locations may have different management and service departments. I have owned a business and understand there are some people you can not please no matter how hard you try. I also know the difference in good and bad service and repair.

There was a time I thought my experience with this company might be an isolated incident ~ Until I began searching for customer reviews on line. There are hundreds of people like myself, all over the United States, who are very unhappy with the service they received at Camping World. I have posted three links on the Facebook page so far containing some of these complaints. I’m sure there are many people who have also received excellent service and repairs at CW ~ I’m simply not one of them.

[wbwood]

Dog Folks wrote:
It depends on the individual shop. Good Mangement,good staff, = good service. Other locations not so good.

Exactly...not really fair to incorporate all CW stores/service facilities into one statement. If you want to ask about a specific place then do and allow those to give their feedback both positive and negative.

But you will have to take it all with a grain of salt. You can have a 100 people say they had a great experience and you may have a bad one or the reverse could happen. And it can happen with any business.

[Unhappy_Camper_]

Please think twice about using Camping World for repairs. My motor home isn't as new or as nice as yours, but I love it. This is my Camping World experience:

I’m a sixty-one year old, single woman on a fixed income. I am not in good health and the biggest dream on my bucket list was to buy a vintage camper to do some traveling before severe Rheumatoid Arthritis confines me to my home. The search for the perfect camper for my needs took over seven months. Not only did I need to find one I could afford, the number one requirement for me (due to asthma and allergies to mold and mildew) was to find one with a good roof that hadn’t leaked. Anyone who’s familiar with campers understands what a rarity that is.

Finally, just as I was giving up hope, there it was. A 1985 Chevy, Class C Leisure Craft; clean, a perfect ceiling, and all original. The only problem it has was a small drip at the rear window near the upper storage cabinet during hard rains. The first thing I did was take it Camping World to have this drip repaired. When I arrived I was told to leave it there and they would call me with an estimate within three days.

On the fifth day with no call, I phoned to inquire about my camper’s status. I was told they were very busy and would return my call the next day. Two days later we had a storm bring a deluge of rain. I had still received no call, so again I phoned to make an inquiry. Again I was told they were busy and would call me the next day.

The rainy weather remained for two more days with no call from Camping World, so on the ninth day I drove to Bowling Green to personally check the status of my repair. When I pulled into the parking lot, there was my camper, sitting in the same spot where it had been parked the day I left it. I unlocked the door to check the small leak in the cabinet area. The cabinet was full of water and the ceiling in front of cabinet was water stained.

I was furious! I had taken my camper to Camping World to prevent this, and knowing it had a leak, they left it sitting outside during three days of rain. After a half hour of waiting to speak to the Service Manager, when he was finally able to break free to talk to me, he told me he had no idea my camper was there. Another fifteen minutes passed while they tried to locate my service order.

The Service Manager appeared quite peeved at my interrupting his busy schedule and having to go outside to check the damage, but I was becoming more and more upset with this organization, and he did come outside to look. His first “estimate” was to tell me I needed a $4000.00 rubber roof. When I said I couldn’t afford that, he told me I would have to seal all the top seams, around the bunk vent, and the air conditioner “to prevent future leaks” - A $1000.00 job. What could I do? I really loved the perfect vintage camper of my dreams, so I agreed.

After another week of waiting for the repair, my camper was finally ready. My arthritis wouldn’t allow me climb the ladder so I couldn’t check the work, but I mistakenly put my trust in a company I believed had a good reputation and provided good service. If I had read all the complaints and bad reviews I’ve found on line lately, I wouldn’t have been so naïve.

A little over four months passed before I saw the roof when I pulled it up beside to our upper deck to clean up after a camping trip. What I saw from the deck was a horrible mess, sealer (for lack of a better word) ‘globbed’ over the seams, with no attempt to smooth it. It looked as if they’d had someone with no experience climb up on the roof and rush through the job to get rid of me. Still, winter was here, I’d had no leaks, and had made up my mind I would never give this company another penny.

Less than a year after this "preventative repair", Summer came again and with it, our first major downpour. The first thing I did was go to check on my camper. I was devastated when I looked inside. The cabinet was full of water and all the vents and the air conditioner had leaked. My perfect ceiling was ruined! My vintage camper had lost half of its resale value, and now I have the possibility of mold and mildew preventing me from being able to use it.

I went to two other repair men who both told me the height of the sealer that had been applied was preventing water from being able to drain from the roof; that it was causing the water to pool on top and even the smallest pinpoint opening at the seams would cause water to have no place to go but inside. When I called Camping World to complain I was told they were busy and it would be at least three weeks before they could look at it. It wasn’t until I said I would take it to the Corporate Office that were able to find a slot open in four days.

Today I am waiting for my appointment day to come. I have little hope this company will do anything without receiving more money (which they will never get from me) and I feel certain they will do nothing to compensate the damage to my ceiling. What I am hoping for is that others who have complained in reviews to come forward and tell their stories here on this site: Unhappy Camper on Facebook. Those who have been ripped off, received poor service, or feel they were wronged by this company are welcome to voice their experiences and post pictures of any damage they feel were caused by this company.

Camping World does not seem to care about customer satisfaction - Profit is the bottom line for them. Our venting may not cause them one moment of concern, but maybe we can prevent others who love their campers they way we do from having to suffer the problems this company has caused us.

[Stormlaw]

I will give you a frank response. Last June i took my new used RV in to upgrade rear camera, install two side cameras, install new flat screen monitor in dash, install in motion satellite, remove two tube TV's and install 2 flat screens that i bought from outside, check roof, inspect all systems, and re-align entry door. Over 4k in service.

They told me i needed a new roof and quoted me 7k, told me i needed a new entrance door at 2k. I declined but requested that they seal any leaks in roof and re-align the door.

When i called for a status on work i got the run around for almost 3 weeks. Many times i could not get through to someone in the service department. Finally after pressing then due to the fact that my around the country trip was in jeopardy, they finally told me the rig was done.

On the way home i discovered that the 32" flat screen above the front passenger seat was rattling so bad that i could not take the ride home let alone an around the country trip, the entry door was worse than before.

I took the rig back but the service department was closed. I showed the store manager the problems.

Anyway you get the picture, for the amount of money i paid, i would have expected a more professional job.

On my around the country trip i discovered that the inside roof had leak stains where non previously existed, that my new fancy infrared rear camera was blind at night because it was mounted behind the stock plexiglass housing (this was the biggest nightmare of them all on the trip), i could not back up with my motorcycle trailer at night, and in one bad incident in Florida i jackknifed the trailer into the rear of the motorhome damaging the trailer ad cracking the rear bumper of the motorhome. (That damage is all fixed now.)

I will never take my rig back to camping world. I am actually paying another outfit right now to re-mount the camera, rebuild the entrance door, install a new PVC roof, etc.

Live and learn.

[Bear25314]

After our experience with the having service done at Camping World,
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25840459.cfm

I wouldn't let them change a brake light on my RV.

[skrams]

CW in Buffalo and Rochester we've dealt with, and both have been fine.

[MichDoc]

I can honestly say that I've NEVER had anything better than a poor experience with Camping World. The last one, Nashville (does anyone else see a pattern with the Nashville location?) was, by far, the worst. That was the location that made me an EX-camping world presidents club member, and EX-customer as well. Don't know what their problem is.....don't care. I just know I'm through with CW.

[Salty_Dog]

Stay away from Camping World Syracuse. While the quality of the work was OK, prepare for a lot of frustration. We dropped our rig off in Oct 2012 for minor repair of front cap where I damaged it and for some warranty repairs/corrections - adjust rear slides, repair fascia under bed, replace defective CO monitor, and correctly label the sewer tank handles - they were reversed. First problems - issue with insurance company. They tried for weeks to contact - took one call from me after they made me aware of their difficulties. The cap repair work was completed in Feb. Called in early March expecting to be able to pick it up. Nope the warranty work was only half done. Explained again to service rep what was to be done. Sorry - to busy, maybe later next week. Stopped in mid March to check on. Took an hour getting the rig moved and trying to get slides out to verify repair. Nope - only partially done. Showed service rep what was left. Couldn't do it that day (Saturday), maybe later next week. Picked it up next Saturday. Get it home - they had used my power adapter and was still at Camping World. Called - if you would like to come back, we'll try to find it! Ahhh - no - I'm 1.5 hrs away. OK we'll mail you one. Never showed up - Not the money for the adapter - we bought one - the whole experience was lousy!