Few questions about a new purchase

[Lokin4deer]

Hello all, I am about ready to buy a new TT and I would like to get opinions on a couple things.

I am looking at a bunk house somewhere in the 27' foot range, from what I can tell that doesn't get me a couch. Anyone have any thoughts on brands? I am looking at a Coachmen Freedom Express 257BHS or a Keystone Grand Touring 2400BH. Thoughts on these 2 or anything else I should look at?

What about buying out of state? Good or bad idea? My local dealer tells he won't cover any warranty unless its bought at his dealer. That seems odd to me? But in the next breath how much is the dealer actually needed for repairs? I am really handy so I would fix most of the stuff I don't want to get hung on a big appliance though. Saving a couple grand could make it worthwhile.

Thanks for any thoughts or help!

[Community Alumni]

afidel wrote:

Nope, my paperwork from KZ specifically states that only the selling dealership is required to perform warranty work and from what I've read this is not uncommon in the RV industry (vs the auto industry where any dealership can do the work and bill the manufacturer). I'd guess this is so that a dealership that invests in a decent service department doesn't get all the regional work for that one line dumped on them while others get by without the overhead.

I'm sure if you look at the paperwork little deeper you'll find the line that says to the effect, "you can use another dealer, but it has to be authorized first." If you're 3,000 miles from your dealer, I doubt KZ would tell you to take the trailer all the way back to the selling dealer to get the problem fixed. If they did then that would be an excellent reason to never buy one. I can understand them wanting to give the selling dealer a chance perform the work, but that's not always possible or ideal depending on the situation.

On the other hand, the standard is to allow warranty work to be completed by any factory authorized dealer, an authorized contractor, or a one time authorize contractor. I've done so plenty of times before.

[steve-n-vicki]

I bought mine out of state , I had a warranty issue pop up, I told the local dealer I just moved here , if they can lie to me I can lie to them, they fixed it quickly

[steve-n-vicki]

I bought mine out of state , I had a warranty issue pop up, I told the local dealer I just moved here , if they can lie to me I can lie to them, they fixed it quickly

[afidel]

proxim2020 wrote:
Chances are you won't have any failures during the warranty period that you're not capable of fixing yourself. If you're handy then your fixes will probably be an improvement vs the dealer's fix that will put the item back in its original state, only to have it fail again in the future.

For appliances and devices, your warranty exist with the manufacturer of the item. Sometimes RV manufacturers will troubleshoot and replace items, sometimes they'll direct you to the manufacturer of the item for service.

When it becomes necessary to have the dealer perform work then you can bring the trailer to any authorized dealer or have the manufacturer approve a mobile tech. If the dealer refused to fix your trailer because you purchased it somewhere else then they'd probably be in a lot hot water with the manufacturer. If a dealer made a statement like that to me then I would find another dealer.

I have a Freedom Express and I would say that the trailers are pretty good quality, well at least mine is and you don't see a ton of complaints about them. Ours has seen a lot of use for almost a year and a half now and it's held up very well. We only had one warranty claim for a lock that got stuck, but I believe there was a recall on it anyway. I've never owned a Keystone, but they can be a hit or miss from what I read. Do a search on the forum to see what I mean.

Nope, my paperwork from KZ specifically states that only the selling dealership is required to perform warranty work and from what I've read this is not uncommon in the RV industry (vs the auto industry where any dealership can do the work and bill the manufacturer). I'd guess this is so that a dealership that invests in a decent service department doesn't get all the regional work for that one line dumped on them while others get by without the overhead.

[aclay]

We had a Jayco 26BH, and really liked it. It was just too small for us. We then bought a larger sprinter (Keystone product). The Jayco was better built. I haven't had any big issues with the Keystone, but many, many small ones. I wouldn't buy another one. The 26BH did have a small couch. Get something with at least one slide!

[Community Alumni]

Chances are you won't have any failures during the warranty period that you're not capable of fixing yourself. If you're handy then your fixes will probably be an improvement vs the dealer's fix that will put the item back in its original state, only to have it fail again in the future.

For appliances and devices, your warranty exist with the manufacturer of the item. Sometimes RV manufacturers will troubleshoot and replace items, sometimes they'll direct you to the manufacturer of the item for service.

When it becomes necessary to have the dealer perform work then you can bring the trailer to any authorized dealer or have the manufacturer approve a mobile tech. If the dealer refused to fix your trailer because you purchased it somewhere else then they'd probably be in a lot hot water with the manufacturer. If a dealer made a statement like that to me then I would find another dealer.

I have a Freedom Express and I would say that the trailers are pretty good quality, well at least mine is and you don't see a ton of complaints about them. Ours has seen a lot of use for almost a year and a half now and it's held up very well. We only had one warranty claim for a lock that got stuck, but I believe there was a recall on it anyway. I've never owned a Keystone, but they can be a hit or miss from what I read. Do a search on the forum to see what I mean.

[hohenwald48]

Provided you are a little handy with tools, you will likely not need a dealer to provide you with warranty repairs. Most warranty problems are minor and easily repaired yourself. Additionally, all the components of the trailer have their own warranties provided by their respective manufacturers. I've never had problems getting parts supplied by them.

In the event you have a major structural problem while under warranty, it's usually best to drag the unit back to the manufacturer anyway as few dealers are able to handle any major repair issues. Some can but most can't. Of course, your ability to return the unit to the factory will be determined by where the factory is and what your schedule might be.

A dealer telling me they won't repair a unit purchased elsewhere would be a good way to guarantee that I would buy elsewhere.

[troubledwaters]

A couch is pretty standard in a 27'. I just looked real quick at the Jayco site for instance and found 27BHS, & 28BHBE, with couches. The two TT's you mentioned, are less then 27', and you will be hard pressed to find a couch in a TT less than 27'. There are smaller (25') TT's with murphy beds that usually turn into a couch.

[Lynnmor]

Find the lowest price and buy there. If you need a repair that you cannot do, call a mobile repair service and someone that has some skill will do it. Only if I had a major structural would I return to a dealer.

[midnightsadie]

a dealer telling me that ? I,d walk and find the cheapest unit I could for the rv I want, bought four rv,s out of state much cheaper than local , never needed warrenty work small stuff I fix. why leave your rv sit on there lot for a month to have a one hour repair done.

[West_Beachhouse]

If you purchase a new TT, then the warranty work will be performed by the dealership the TT was purchased from. Standard in the industry. If you purchase a used TT without an extended warranty, then the repairs could be completed at a shop of your choice. Our personal preference.
Our daughter purchased a used Class C with an extended warranty policy, and was able to take the rig to a shop of her choice that was listed with the insurance company.