Purchasing trailer with no local warranty support?

[95jersey]

So, I am looking at upgrading to new trailer, and the specific model that I like the most is not available withing 100 miles of my house. I would have to travel. I am not concerned about traveling to get the trailer I want, but what do folks do in warranty situations?

I have a whole bunch of local rv dealers, but of course they don't sell the model I want. I do not have the time to travel 150 miles back and forth for warranty work. One would hope or expect there would be no issues, but that is big gamble to take.

Can other RV dealers or repair shops do warranty work for brands they don't sell? Or am I hosed? Unfortunately if I have to go to an authorized dealer, that will have an effect on which models I want.

[ScottG]

goducks10 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
If people had to go through the rework and repairs my rv has, they'd be very hesitant to buy anything but local.
I'm not talking about things a handy diy'r or mobile tech can handle, I'm talking about MAJOR, structural and specialized repairs.
It all comes down to how lucky you feel.

What was wrong with your AF Silver Fox?

Ordered with 50A option for second AC. Unit should have had a single common skylight over the bedroom but was incorrectly built like this:


With this configuration, there's no room for the second AC and it is not structured for it.

At first, Northwood pushed back and said I didn't get "Second AC prep" (there's no such thing) but that's what the 50A is for and I even had the wiring and breaker labeled for "Second AC".
It took my local Dealer to set them straight and make them do the right thing.

So NW had to remove the roofing, peel back the plywood and add trusses. Then relocate the vent hole and fill in the extra opening.
The entire membrane was then replaced - kinda. They did the entire job in 1 day and it shows.
They did give me the second ac which vibrated so bad it was unusable but I fixed that.
They also hit something with the back of the TT, destroyed the tongue extension and left numerous scars throughout.
Given the damage and scrambling of contents inside my outdoor compartments, they beat the krap out of my trailer.

Had I not had a strong local dealer to go to bat for me, I would have ended up having my atty get involved.

Now I have some cracking in the siding showing up and rust is literally dripping off the frame and sewer hose storage onto the new covered cement floor it sits on.

[goducks10]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

wrgrs50s wrote:


The kicker, I found, was that not all independent repair places, or mobile techs are willing to wait for approval and payment from the manufacturer, therefore you pay up front and seek reimbursement in those instances.

The other kicker is what the work is worth to the RV manufacturer, and what it's worth to the independent or mobile tech, will most likely be different. You'll also be holding that bag in addition to service charges.

As a rule independents shop rates are a lot lower than dealers. At least around where I live. That may help with any labor differences. Parts is parts.

[goducks10]

ScottG wrote:
If people had to go through the rework and repairs my rv has, they'd be very hesitant to buy anything but local.
I'm not talking about things a handy diy'r or mobile tech can handle, I'm talking about MAJOR, structural and specialized repairs.
It all comes down to how lucky you feel.

What was wrong with your AF Silver Fox?

[drsteve]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

wrgrs50s wrote:


The kicker, I found, was that not all independent repair places, or mobile techs are willing to wait for approval and payment from the manufacturer, therefore you pay up front and seek reimbursement in those instances.

The other kicker is what the work is worth to the RV manufacturer, and what it's worth to the independent or mobile tech, will most likely be different. You'll also be holding that bag in addition to service charges.

Very true... And yet the outcome may still be better than dragging the unit to the dealer, where it will sit long enough for the battery to run down, while the dealer does not fix the problem...

[mgirardo]

95jersey wrote:
So, I am looking at upgrading to new trailer, and the specific model that I like the most is not available withing 100 miles of my house. I would have to travel. I am not concerned about traveling to get the trailer I want, but what do folks do in warranty situations?

Have you asked any of your local dealers if they can order the model you want? If they sell the same brand, they should be able to get the model you want.

We bought our Motorhome in NJ, while we lived in GA. The nearest Jayco dealer was 2 hours away, but they didn't want to work on our MH for warranty work, so we drove 3.5 hours to a dealer that would. They didn't even sell motorhomes, but they were a Jayco dealer. They did great service. Used them 3 times for warranty work over the 2 year warranty period.

-Michael

[Ralph_Cramden]

Huntindog wrote:

ScottG wrote:
If people had to go through the rework and repairs my rv has, they'd be very hesitant to buy anything but local.
I'm not talking about things a handy diy'r or mobile tech can handle, I'm talking about MAJOR, structural and specialized repairs.
It all comes down to how lucky you feel.

There are very very few, if any dealers that are capable of major/specialized repairs. They simply do not have the trained capable help and shop setup to handle them. It is so rare that they will not make the investment to do it right.
If you are unfortunante enough to require such work... The factory is the best and in many cases only option. There are many threads on this. in quite a few of them, the dealer realizes that the repair is beyond what they can do, and THEY make the decision to hand it off to the factory. These cases are the lucky ones. Other cases have the dealer attempting and botching the repairs sometimes several times, and then insisting it is good. Then the customer fights on their own to get the factory to fix it right.SOMETIMES they are successful. But in these cases, the RV is always out of commission much longer than if the factory had been involved from the beginning.

That's an accurate statement.

[Huntindog]

ScottG wrote:
If people had to go through the rework and repairs my rv has, they'd be very hesitant to buy anything but local.
I'm not talking about things a handy diy'r or mobile tech can handle, I'm talking about MAJOR, structural and specialized repairs.
It all comes down to how lucky you feel.

There are very very few, if any dealers that are capable of major/specialized repairs. They simply do not have the trained capable help and shop setup to handle them. It is so rare that they will not make the investment to do it right.
If you are unfortunante enough to require such work... The factory is the best and in many cases only option. There are many threads on this. in quite a few of them, the dealer realizes that the repair is beyond what they can do, and THEY make the decision to hand it off to the factory. These cases are the lucky ones. Other cases have the dealer attempting and botching the repairs sometimes several times, and then insisting it is good. Then the customer fights on their own to get the factory to fix it right.SOMETIMES they are successful. But in these cases, the RV is always out of commission much longer than if the factory had been involved from the beginning.

[ScottG]

If people had to go through the rework and repairs my rv has, they'd be very hesitant to buy anything but local.
I'm not talking about things a handy diy'r or mobile tech can handle, I'm talking about MAJOR, structural and specialized repairs.
It all comes down to how lucky you feel.

[Lantley]

gemsworld wrote:
I have yet to encounter one single instance of any dealer refusing to do warranty work in any of the RVs I bought elsewhere.

In my opinion, this is a fear tactic used by the dealers to keep potential customers from shopping for a better deal elsewhere.

I have encountered warranty refusal. It is more than a fear tactic.
There are dealers who will not perform warranty service on units they did not sell.

[trail-explorer]

95jersey wrote:
Can other RV dealers or repair shops do warranty work for brands they don't sell?

Doubtful.

[Ralph_Cramden]

wrgrs50s wrote:


The kicker, I found, was that not all independent repair places, or mobile techs are willing to wait for approval and payment from the manufacturer, therefore you pay up front and seek reimbursement in those instances.

The other kicker is what the work is worth to the RV manufacturer, and what it's worth to the independent or mobile tech, will most likely be different. You'll also be holding that bag in addition to service charges.

[Y-Guy]

95jersey, since a very large number of RV are built under two large corporations, Thor & Forest River, there is a very good chance that your RV can be serviced at any dealer that sells one of the sister brands. You can contact; call or email the manufacturer of the unit you are looking at and who the nearest service locations are. One of our local dealers will service any RV you bought even from another dealer, but the difference is that local buyers are the first in line for appointments, but that's really only an issue in the busy summer months.

[wrgrs50s]

I don't know about other brands but I have a Heartland Sundance. Heartland will approve any independent mobile tech or shop to do warranty repairs, minus the service call/trip charge for the mobile tech, which is well worth it to not have to bring your rig in to a shop and wait.

The kicker, I found, was that not all independent repair places, or mobile techs are willing to wait for approval and payment from the manufacturer, therefore you pay up front and seek reimbursement in those instances.

[Huntindog]

gemsworld wrote:
I have yet to encounter one single instance of any dealer refusing to do warranty work in any of the RVs I bought elsewhere.

In my opinion, this is a fear tactic used by the dealers to keep potential customers from shopping for a better deal elsewhere.

We have a winner!. I will also say that for the money saved, you CAN get service fast.

I saved a little over $10,000 buying 2500 miles from home.I never needed much during the 1 year warranty, and even after the warranty was up, The manufacturer still did me right.
So I still have the $10,000. If I need repairs even today, many years from when I bought it, I can go anywhere and PAY CASH on the spot... I believe that would make me a PRIORITY customer.
Money talks. Always has, always will.

Anyways as for the OP... Buy what you want. The warranty usually isn't all that great in the RV world.