RV Repair, RV Dealers, Minot and the lack of parts

I have just in the last few days started to take apart my entire slide on one side of my trailer to put in a new floor and repair some old rot caused by a leak from long ago. I have removed the majority of the Metal skin, the old floor, cut out the rotted structural parts and will re-install the new floor today.

So in this project I have, as expected, needed some generic parts and supplies from the RV dealer here in Minot.

So I went to Capital RV, THE LARGEST dealer in the state of ND. They have more than a hundred RV,s on their lot and a conversation with the Sales manager revealed my guess at their inventory at about 15 MILLION Dollars was very close. This is to say nothing of their new building which makes the average Wal Mart look small.

But do they carry simple parts and supplies?

I walked in the other day and asked for a roll of Eterna-Bond tape.

The guy in parts didnt know what I was talking about. I found it myself on a shelf. They didnt have the rubber slide/swipe "gasket" the generic kind that is used on probably 80% of the RV's out there. it is nothing more than a 4 inch wide strip of generic black rubber about 1/16th inch thick.

On another day I went to get some Butyl Tape for sealing the joints and window...The PARTS MANAGER didnt know what I was talking about. I again found it by looking on their shelves.

This is in addition to some of the simple things they just didnt carry but would have to order for me...Oh that will be two weeks...Ah IF our distributor has it in stock.

I told them they should reduce their unsold inventory of RV's and put that money into carrying some real parts not just generators, toilet paper and kitchen gee-gaws.

On each of four visits for parts of some kind there was not one other customer in the entire place and as we left no less than 4 or 5 sales people sitting on the couches in the "atrium" area at the front of the store would wave at us and say "good bye"

Now this is MINOT. So before you all say well you should have gone to Home Depot...dont. I had already been to Home Depot, Menards A( giant version of HD here), every local hardware store and seemingly every other shop in this town. Just finding the right kinds of screws has been a challenge.

Since there is no Plastics store in Minot I have had to improvise on the Nylon Slide material that is used in this trailer. (I was missing one of the four)I bought a Plastic cutting board at KMart and made one myself.

But the biggest irritation is that no one in these places has any real knowledge of the parts and supplies they are selling. They are just cashiers and inventory clerks.

My sense is that I knew more about RV repair than the entire parts department of the largest RV dealer in the state. That is a real indictment of the state of things in the RV retail world.

Needless to say I will be glad when this project is finished so I can stop torturing the Hardware, RV and Kmart employees of MINOT.

Seeking Advice

ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Aug 21, 2015
4X4Dodger wrote:

#1. - I told them they should reduce their unsold inventory of RV's and put that money into carrying some real parts not just generators, toilet paper and kitchen gee-gaws.

#2. - On each of four visits for parts of some kind there was not one other customer in the entire place and as we left no less than 4 or 5 sales people sitting on the couches in the "atrium" area at the front of the store would wave at us and say "good bye"

#3. - But the biggest irritation is that no one in these places has any real knowledge of the parts and supplies they are selling. They are just cashiers and inventory clerks.

4. - My sense is that I knew more about RV repair than the entire parts department of the largest RV dealer in the state. That is a real indictment of the state of things in the RV retail world.

Won't torture anyone by quoting your entire rant..:S

BTW - as rants go - yours is/was quite good..:C

So - by paragraphs above....

1. Guess you got them straightened out!
BTW - "real parts" don't equate to real profits - see below.

2. Those salespeople are probably on commission.
They will know less than the parts employees about almost anything RV. "Salesmanship" = maybe.

3. OK - they *are* just cashiers and inventory clerks!

4. That is nothing new.
You should add that you (not "probably") *do* know more about the RVs (not just the parts) than the: cashiers, inventory clerks, and the salespersons.
(That's a serious statement, not the least bit "tongue in cheek")

Lastly - you don't have to be in MINOT for that experience, and
even for folks in more urban areas (with lots of RV dealers) know........

AMAZON is your friend!

Of course, you won't find cashiers, inventory clerks, or salespeople waving good-bye from under the atrium.

Which has a lot to do with all of the above.
The parts is just a sideline for the RV dealer - as most everyone can/will find a better price on any items they stock "elsewhere" (like Amazon or other internet sources).

Shop from your recliner - delivered to your door, often by the next day.

Selling those RVs (by clueless salespersons) is where the real profit resides...;)

.
seaeagle2
Explorer
Aug 19, 2015
As a former boat owner who lives in Seattle, the brick and mortar Fisheries Supply and Seattle Marine are beyond belief....

4X4Dodger wrote:
I share most of the posters feelings that this is a general malaise among pretty much all sectors of retail. However I think, with some exceptions of course, it is really prevalent in the RV industry. What I wrote about Capitol RV here could be equally applied to Swenson RV and a few smaller ones.

As for the web, yes I could have done that but I am up against a firm and quickly approaching deadline to be out of my house. If I cant find something I am making it, it;s faster.

I have longed for a good Marine Supply store like Seattle Marine or Fisheries Supply they seem to actually carry an inventory of everything. And everything you need for an RV is there and in many cases of better quality. AND you can buy very good SST fasteners of every type. Which are unheard of at places like Menards/Home Depot. I even went to Fastenal here...no luck.
colliehauler
Explorer III
Aug 18, 2015
It sounds like I'm very lucky to have a very well supplied RV parts dealer in my area with low prices.

I'm dealing with replacing the slideout floor in my Wildwood as well.

The local rv place has nothing in stock so I don't even bother going to the place anymore.

I do use ebay to buy parts from sometimes with good results.
4X4Dodger
Explorer II
Aug 18, 2015
Chris Bryant wrote:
In case nobody is aware of it, there is soon to be a single national distributor of RV accessories- for quite a while there was StagParkway and Coast Distribution, with Northwest Trailer Parts growing to become national.
A company called LKQ Corporation (Keystone Automotive) has bought all three distributors. You can read an OpEd piece about it here.

As to the parts availability- one thing is the season in Minot is not very long, so it's tough to sit on inventory over a winter. In addition, the bean counters say to not stock any item that you cannot turn over 4 times a year. If I did that, I would have a fraction of what I do stock- of course, I'm not wildly successful in business, so... :)

Well actually the season on Minot is 12 months long as thousands of workers in this state live in RV's full time. (mostly in the Bakken) And if you can afford to floor 15 million dollars in vehicles you can afford to carry GeoCel Proflex RV Sealant...(had to be ordered). There is a huge disconnect between the vehicle inventory and the parts inventory.
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Aug 15, 2015
In case nobody is aware of it, there is soon to be a single national distributor of RV accessories- for quite a while there was StagParkway and Coast Distribution, with Northwest Trailer Parts growing to become national.
A company called LKQ Corporation (Keystone Automotive) has bought all three distributors. You can read an OpEd piece about it here.

As to the parts availability- one thing is the season in Minot is not very long, so it's tough to sit on inventory over a winter. In addition, the bean counters say to not stock any item that you cannot turn over 4 times a year. If I did that, I would have a fraction of what I do stock- of course, I'm not wildly successful in business, so... :)
jamesk1
Explorer
Aug 15, 2015
I have used Magic City RV here and the lady is real helpful. They have had in stock everything Ive needed so far. I agree that a place the size of Capitol could have more for the upkeep.
4X4Dodger
Explorer II
Aug 15, 2015
I share most of the posters feelings that this is a general malaise among pretty much all sectors of retail. However I think, with some exceptions of course, it is really prevalent in the RV industry. What I wrote about Capitol RV here could be equally applied to Swenson RV and a few smaller ones.

As for the web, yes I could have done that but I am up against a firm and quickly approaching deadline to be out of my house. If I cant find something I am making it, it;s faster.

I have longed for a good Marine Supply store like Seattle Marine or Fisheries Supply they seem to actually carry an inventory of everything. And everything you need for an RV is there and in many cases of better quality. AND you can buy very good SST fasteners of every type. Which are unheard of at places like Menards/Home Depot. I even went to Fastenal here...no luck.
Cloud_Dancer
Explorer II
Aug 14, 2015
I pay high property taxes on a small place in San Antonio TX. I can go there and park my motorhome and work on it. It's close to Texas RV Supplies, which is a wonderful place to find RV stuff. This store also supplies a large RV repair place that's on the same property. The guys in the store know plenty about parts. They are active RVers.
It's a central location, in case I have to special order anything (comes in pretty quick).
There's also RV dealers nearby, and a Camping World, and plenty of hardware supply places, to say nothing of metals/fabrics/plastics/fasteners stores. And, boat places are here also.
But, to make this plan work out if I'm there in the summer,....all air conditioners need to be in good shape.....:B
GMandJM
Explorer
Aug 14, 2015
It's amazing how many people work in RV sales and have little-to-no knowledge about them.

We have a local shop that sells automotive parts and does small repairs. A couple times we've gone in looking for odd fuses and such. If they've not had them in the parts section, they checked with the mechanics and both times they found what we needed and sold it to us at a fair price.

If you had talked with your RV shop's mechanics they likely would have actually known what you wanted and might have had some you could buy.

Always check Menard's first though...."save big money at Menard's" ;)

(Not an Advert)
cameronpatentla
Explorer
Aug 14, 2015
Reminds me of Radio Shack. Remember that chain of stores called Radio Shack? :-) Thanks for the nostalgia. The day I went in asked the clerk if they had any 741 OpAmps, and the clerk insisted that what I really wanted was an RS Optima Stereo Amplifier is the day I left and never returned. Except when I returned to get batteries (1 free D on my battery of the month club card). And a Scanner. And a cell phone. But eventually, I stopped going there--because they went out of business.