Newbie question about warrantee work.

[Njlungbuster]

This may be a dumb question lol. I own a trailer but never owned a new one that has a warrantee. If your trailer needs work done, can you take it to any rv dealer that retails your brand of trailer or do you have to bring it to where you bought it? I'm assuming(you know what they say when you assume) it's exactly like a car and that you can take it anywhere. Reason I'm asking actually had nothing to do with needing any work. I'm actually considering getting a new camper but the dealership is like 3 hours away. I have a dealership 4 miles from my house that sells the one I want. If I can't convince them to give me the other price, I want to know I can get service there in the future.Thanks

[sgfrye]

rbpru wrote:
In answer to the OPs question, theory often hits the cold light of reality.

Folks with brand new TTs occasionally complain about waiting moths for repairs from their dealers. It seems to be the luck of the draw when it comes to dealers.

It also depends on the how handy you are and the type of repair needed. After all, when the warrantee run out, you are the repairman.

Good Luck

.

good points.
dw and i bought a new TT last summer. i learned early on that i would be way happier if i learned how to do rv maintenance and repairs myself.

a camping world rv tech actually gave me that piece of advice.

i like to know whats going on bumper to bumper.

if in the future you need to go to any dealer for warranty work or any other repair work i have one piece of advice based on my one time warranty work experience. it was a small tear in flooring that was covered by forest river thru camping world. do not even try to handle any thing over the phone with any service dept. i phone tagged for a month trying to setup an appointment. the cw is 1 hour away. i finally got tired of phone tagging. drove to service dept and face to face got an appointment for 4 days later. took the TT to dealer 4 days later and waited 2 hours while the work was done. i love the idea of a mobile tech and will be going that route in the future

[dodge_guy]

SoundGuy wrote:

midnightsadie wrote:
these post are right on the money, but even the selling dealer will take weeks even months to get around to doing warrenty work,just doesn,t pay good.

Old Wives Tale - warranty work is paid at the same shop rate as non-warranty work. The problem is there's a process - claim has to be submitted by the dealer doing the work on behalf of the customer, with a description of the problem and often pics to illustrate. Once submitted the manufacturer's warranty rep(s) may take days to weeks to approve the claim and will often undercut the requested claim - e.g. dealer's service manager submits a claim for 5 hrs of tech time for the repair, manufacturer's warranty rep will only approve 3 hrs, service manager replies and insists on 5 hrs, rep relents and offers 4 hrs, and so on. Only after this approval are repair parts ordered and that in itself can take considerable time, depending on what it is, whether the manufacturer has stock or it has to be manufactured, then it has to be shipped. This all takes time, often weeks or even months ... but it has nothing to do with "not paying good" or the dealer intentionally dragging his heals. Simply put, it's the system we live with and until that changes the story will always be the same regardless that forum pundits who claim to know otherwise know not at all. :R

That is all correct, except that warranty work is paid at a lower rate and possibly less hours than customer pay work!

[midnightsadie]

good luck, hoe you work out a price you like, remember the only dollar amount that counts is the out the door price including the tax. don,t be afraid to walk out the door ,they,ll get back to you with a better deal.

[Njlungbuster]

Thanks everyone. This is all great information. Just getting all the info I can because I'm going this morning to talk numbers and hopefully work out a deal. Wish me luck lol

[Atlee]

Any seller of a line of RV's can do warranty on said trailer. However, and this is a big however, few if any will do warranty work on a trailer not bought from them. While they might not be able to actually refuse to do the warranty work, they can always schedule that warranty work for whenever they can get to it.

Most dealers will always put their RV customers in front of a person who bought somewhere else.

I once looked at a new trailer at a dealer in Salem, VA, just off I-81. I live in Richmond, VA area. He said his dealer's policy was to always work on their customers first. They would get around to warranty work on trailers not bought from them, when they could.

He said the exception to this was folks passing through on I-81 who had a warranty issue. Wasn't their fault they didn't buy locally. He said they would be pushed as far up the line as possible so they could get back on the road as soon as possible.

[rbpru]

In answer to the OPs question, theory often hits the cold light of reality.

Folks with brand new TTs occasionally complain about waiting moths for repairs from their dealers. It seems to be the luck of the draw when it comes to dealers.

It also depends on the how handy you are and the type of repair needed. After all, when the warrantee run out, you are the repairman.

Good Luck

[SDcampowneroper]

Agree with several of others, mobile techs are not bound by dealership.
In our experience they will work anywhere on any make they are authourized to.

Ask the camp you are in or near your home for a reputable mobile rv tech.

[drsteve]

If there are any campgrounds nearby, they can usually point you to a good mobile RV tech.

[jim1632]

About warranty work. Most major appliances in RV have a separate warranty that can be used with any dealer authorized to repair the item

Manu warranty only applies to the frame and body items for the RV. Many of these repairs are simple household problems. Anyway when you are in need, you will probably be parked in a campground maybe a 1000 miles from the dealer. All dealers sell their service but first time I returned to mine, the service desk wanted to schedule me several months in the future, even though I needed just a squirt of caulking to cure a leak in entry. Had to beg to get someone to do what was a five minute job.

Shop all dealers in vicinity to get pricing comparisons, You can ask local to match that price or be within a small amount. For example, I bought my RV in Denver based on an advertised price nearer to my home in VA.

[myredracer]

Even if you take it to the original selling dealer and repairs that need work under the factory warranty, good luck on getting the work done properly if at all.

Three attempts to get our awning fixed - couldn't fix it. Eventually bought the needed parts to fix it myself. Three attempts to get the bathroom door fixed - couldn't fix it. Eventually bought the needed parts and fixed it myself.

At one point the service manager said they would no longer do any more warranty work because of the fact I added some LED lights and claimed it voided the factory warranty (not true as per factory fine print). Another time when I wanted to get something fixed they outright refused and said "it's just a travel trailer". I could go on... :M

Bottom line is, unless it is something major, fix it yourself and avoid the stress and anxiety. Besides, you'll probably do a better job anyway. And as pointed out, your TT can sit at the dealer for many weeks while it goes through the process - not good during the camping season for sure.

[SidecarFlip]

RV dealers tend to act independent especially with after the sale work, warranty or not. Think I'd bite the price bullet and buy local from the local dealer.

[SoundGuy]

midnightsadie wrote:
these post are right on the money, but even the selling dealer will take weeks even months to get around to doing warrenty work,just doesn,t pay good.

Old Wives Tale - warranty work is paid at the same shop rate as non-warranty work. The problem is there's a process - claim has to be submitted by the dealer doing the work on behalf of the customer, with a description of the problem and often pics to illustrate. Once submitted the manufacturer's warranty rep(s) may take days to weeks to approve the claim and will often undercut the requested claim - e.g. dealer's service manager submits a claim for 5 hrs of tech time for the repair, manufacturer's warranty rep will only approve 3 hrs, service manager replies and insists on 5 hrs, rep relents and offers 4 hrs, and so on. Only after this approval are repair parts ordered and that in itself can take considerable time, depending on what it is, whether the manufacturer has stock or it has to be manufactured, then it has to be shipped. This all takes time, often weeks or even months ... but it has nothing to do with "not paying good" or the dealer intentionally dragging his heals. Simply put, it's the system we live with and until that changes the story will always be the same regardless that forum pundits who claim to know otherwise know not at all. :R

[guidry]

You can also call several RV storage yards and ask if they have someone they recommend for mobile RV service.

[midnightsadie]

go to google type in mobil rv tech your area see what shows up. here in my area we have a few , there really nice guys. most older guys with lots of experience.and they can tell you if they do warranty. if your handy just do the little stuff yourself.