Forum Discussion

Walaby's avatar
Walaby
Explorer II
Jun 12, 2015

Renewing myTT experience... repair work question

So, after many years (okay, maybe decades is a better choice of words), I am getting back into RV'ing. Planning on purchasing a new travel trailer. Plan on (or at least hoping to), pay cash. Have narrowed down to a couple of trailers, with the Jayco 27RLS as the leading candidate at this point.

Have not gotten to the point of price negotiation yet. Market research and discussions with several people, lead me to believe that my local dealer (Camping World), probably won't deal much, if at all, on their internet price. I can find similarly equipped trailers, for several thousand less, in Florida, where I travel to fairly often.

I am concerned that if I buy in FL, and have "issues", that I may not get the help I need from the local CW. For example, if there are little things here and there, that maybe I can't address myself, that should be covered under the factory warranty, that I might find myself with a local dealer who won't work on it. So, Im trying to decide, is it worth it to save a few grand and take the chance, or should I bite the bullet, pay the difference, and at least know that the dealer "should" take care of me, when I have issues. At least for the factory warranty period.

I know each dealership will be different, I get that. But, does anyone have any real, practical insight into how much hassle I will have, if any, getting work done locally? Let's say something jams up on the slide, due to no fault of my own. Or, like I read here earlier, the wheels on the slide dig into the structure and strip off wood chunks. If that happens to the trailer I buy from Florida, will any dealer handle that as factory warranty. Am I worrying too much about nothing? From what I have read, it's not like car dealers, where if I bought a Jeep, any Jeep dealer will do the warranty work.

Thanks for any thoughts either way. Just trying to assess the relative risk/reward of buying out of state for best price, vice buying from local dealer.

Thanks

Mike
  • Walaby's avatar
    Walaby
    Explorer II
    Jun 14, 2015
    Thanks guys. Doing more research, looks like there is a lot of positive comments about Jayco's warranty. Some negative comments, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. So, not concerned with factory warranty. Local CW is the only authorized Jayco repair facility within an hour plus. I'll roll the dice on that, and if I have issues will go from there.

    Mike
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    gat75 wrote:
    Don't know about Jayco, but Forrest River had a very restrictive policy concerning warranty work when I bought our 2010 Blue Ridge 5V out of state.

    Want to say that their warranty policy was mentioned on their web site when I bought the trailer.

    We bought RV new in La, took trip several months later to Wash DC. Had problems with water pump, Camper World in Hammond La said they could not fix RV under warranty. They said I would have to take it back to dealer.

    I made complete trip without use of water pump. Upon returning home, had a local FR dealer fix the water pump, (he acted as though it was no problem getting factory to pay for the new water pump)...

    Think I would read Jayco's warranty policy before moving forward.
    That's strange. I bought the TT in my sig new in Syvainia Ohio. On my way home to Phoenix Az, I had a problem with the fridge... I was thinking that I might have to return to the selling dealer... Nope. I called the seller, and they contacted Forest River, who called me. They wanted to know where I was, and what route I was taking. They then set me up with a dealer enroute.
    When I arrived, they were ready for me with an empty bay. I was in and out in about an hour. It was like a NASCAR pitstop.

    If you really think about it, most problems will occur away from home. So a warranty that is only good at one dealer... isn't much of a warranty at all.
  • BubbaChris's avatar
    BubbaChris
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    How about doing the math this way?

    How many visits from a mobile service tech that you pay out of your own pocket would it take to make up the difference between the FL price and your local CW price?

    And in some of those cases, Jayco may be willing to provide the parts if you're paying the labor if they're being fussy about who does warranty repairs.

    Although my mobile RV tech isn't great on scheduling things, at least my TT is sitting in my driveway while I'm waiting on him (rather than getting shuffled around by the guys at CW on their lot).

    In my case I'm going this route because I bought pre-owned so the warranty doesn't apply. And the nearest dealer for my brand is 120 miles away.
  • allen8106's avatar
    allen8106
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    We bought our Jayco 5th wheel new 100 miles away. I found a Jayco dealer less than 35 miles away but they don't sell Jayco 5th wheels, only pop-ups. However, I took my 5th wheel to them for some warranty work and they did the work in a timely manner with no hassle.
  • Walaby's avatar
    Walaby
    Explorer II
    Jun 13, 2015
    That's good to hear. I read what little bit about the Jayco warranty that they post on line. Seems like a pretty decent warranty. I gotta believe any dealer that sells them would be an authorized repair facility. I just know that some dealers on cars hate doing warranty work because they don't get paid what they could charge the public. But, I reckon if they want to continue to be known as a Jayco dealer/repair facility, they will do the work.

    Maybe Im just worrying about nothing and I'll find the best price within traveling distance of me, and go for it.

    Thanks

    Mike
  • owenssailor's avatar
    owenssailor
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    Jayco has been great for us. We have had 3 issues under the 2 year warranty. 2 were handled by a local dealer in Ont but not the place we bought the trailer from. The other was done by Camping World in Tucson. In all cases there was no problem or hassle.
  • gat75's avatar
    gat75
    Explorer
    Jun 13, 2015
    Don't know about Jayco, but Forrest River had a very restrictive policy concerning warranty work when I bought our 2010 Blue Ridge 5V out of state.

    Want to say that their warranty policy was mentioned on their web site when I bought the trailer.

    We bought RV new in La, took trip several months later to Wash DC. Had problems with water pump, Camper World in Hammond La said they could not fix RV under warranty. They said I would have to take it back to dealer.

    I made complete trip without use of water pump. Upon returning home, had a local FR dealer fix the water pump, (he acted as though it was no problem getting factory to pay for the new water pump)...

    Think I would read Jayco's warranty policy before moving forward.
  • Walaby's avatar
    Walaby
    Explorer II
    Jun 13, 2015
    Yes, I did. Could only find two reviews. One from 2011 and one from 2014. Neither one was good. The 2011 one was really bad from a service perspective. I do know they changed management a year or so ago. I have three dealers to choose from here, I just don't know how they are with customers who don't buy from them. Need to find out if they are Jayco authorized repair facilites as well.

    Mike
  • echo4sierra's avatar
    echo4sierra
    Explorer
    Jun 12, 2015
    Did you look for reviews for your local dealer? Yelp, Google, places like that? I live in the boonies and there is only one dealer around. An independent seller. He has good prices, not as inexpensive as the huge dealers, but he will put my work before others who did not purchase from him. For me it's important to have that relationship since the next closest dealers are at least 2 hours away.

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