MichelleI thought I would write about my experiences and knowledge gained about RV Service/Repair. Many of you know I’ve had on-going issues with my slide out, but that’s only some of the issues I’ve had with my RV. Keep in mind that what I’ve experienced is not unusual nor is the experience with the slow uncaring service at RV Dealership repair shops. I say specifically RV Dealership repair shops because my experience with private repair shops has been different.
So to start, I had an original limited 2 year warranty when I bought my motorhome (Class C RV). However, those warranties don’t always cover big ticket items which warrants buying an additional warranty. In my case the add-on 5 year warranty was much more comprehensive and covered the hydraulic leveling jacks, the slide out, the refrigerator and air conditioning. And many other things. Initially I was very happy to have my 5 year warranty but now I’m not so sure it pencils out.
Most people will not have many items fail in the first 2 years because they are only using their RV for short summer vacations. I saw issues sooner since I started living full time in my RV after the first year of ownership.
If you buy a ‘new’ RV you should expect to create a ‘punch list’ (like you would a new house) of items to be fixed. I bought my RV in Alabama because the price was way cheaper even considering the 2700 mile drive back to Washington. Uh, gas was waaayyy cheaper in 2019.
On my drive home from Alabama the hydraulic leveling system stopped working about 4 days into the trip; some decorative fascia on the inside of the slide fell off (big huge piece); drawers and doors kept opening during driving; screws fell out from who knows where (that is still happening 3 years later). And lots of little things.
For the first 2 years of the original warranty, you must go to an approved repair shop for your specific model when getting repairs done. For me, there are only 2-3 in Washington which is very inconvenient. Also, if you did not buy your RV from that specific dealership, you will NOT be given any kind of priority for repairs. Since COVID this has become even worse, and some dealerships turn you away altogether if you didn’t buy from them.
It took 5 months to get the repairs done for my punch list including the hydraulic leveling jacks. To top it off they never did complete everything on the punch list (although I’m sure they got paid to do it from the warranty company). The service rep lied continually (think used car salesman). They kept the RV for months, letting all the batteries (engine and house) go dead. In addition, we were going to have some really cold weather, so I requested they winterize my RV. I was willing to pay for that. I was told it had been done but when I finally got the RV back it had NOT been winterized… pouring antifreeze only in the P-traps is NOT proper winterizing! Luckily no damage was done.
Fast forward a year to 2020. I started living in my RV in April. The RV had been in storage all winter although I ran all the necessaries every two weeks. Two things happened after storage. The slide started acting up for the first time, and the refrigerator stopped working. Long story short, the dealership received authorization under warranty to fix the slide and replace the cooling unit on the refrigerator. OK, not a short story! 😊 The dealership said the slide issue was a bunch of loose screws on the bracket outside. They replaced the screws with more and heavier ones. The refrigerator cooling unit was replaced but these things didn’t get done for 3 months awaiting parts etc. It was summer and I lived out of 2 camping coolers for 3 months (you would never believe how much money I spent on ice)! Not only that but when I got the RV back home the slide still wasn’t working! Are you kidding me!? Since I had already taken possession, they would have to open a whole new ticket and start the process all over again. Note to self: ALWAYS check that the work was done and the problem fixed before taking possession!
It’s not like a car dealership where you leave your car for one day and it gets diagnosed and maybe even fixed. Nope, they want your RV for 2 weeks for diagnosing the problem (which they generally do in one day). You then take it home until parts arrive (6-8 weeks) then take the RV back to them for another 2 weeks of repair (also done in one day). If you live full time in your RV you must find other accommodations during those times. Thank goodness for great friends!
I chose NOT to get the slide fixed again at that point because I was going to be stationary for the next year.
Fast forward another year to April 2021. At this point I’m getting ready to retire from work and start full time travelling at the end of May. The refrigerator again stops working. The cooling unit has failed again. After some research I find this particular brand of refrigerator is known for going on the fritz. I had a choice to make… take the 3+ months to have the cooling unit replaced under warranty, knowing it might fail in another year; OR buy a different brand refrigerator on my own dime so I could start my travels as planned. The idea of living out of camping coolers again and all the money for ice was too much to bear! I chose to buy the better brand and had a Mobile RV Technician install it. He charged me hardly anything for the install and it was a difficult job. BUT, that refrigerator is still working 1.5 years later! It runs better than the other one ever did. *Side note: doing this I knew would void the warranty for the refrigerator. Any future repairs will be on me for this item. Fingers crossed!
I started my fulltime travels at the end of May 2021 with a slide that was gimpy. My travels are documented in other blog posts, so I’ll summarize what happened in September 2021 in South Dakota. The slide broke in such a way that it was stuck in the ‘out’ position. There was no way I could get it to close so I was forced to call a mobile rv technician to come out to my camping spot on top of a mountain! Thank goodness he knew just where I was although it was a couple days til he could make it out. Just another opportunity for practicing ‘patience’! It took a huge hydraulic jack to lift the slide enough to push it in about 4 inches (the slide weighs a couple thousand pounds). The jack would then be moved and we’d do it all over again until the slide was most of the way closed. There were no approved repair facilities in North or South Dakota, none in Wyoming. There was a dealership in Idaho and Montana but they were both only working on RV’s sold from their company because they had too much work already. That left going back to Oregon or Washington! Since I have great friends who put me up when I need it, I went to Washington for repair. I did, however, go to a different location hoping for better service. Bwahahaha! What was I thinking? Of all the repairs I’ve had done, this was the fastest. Starting in early October with their diagnostic thru mid December when the repair was done. 2 months was amazingly fast.
Since I previously learned to check the work done before taking possession, I insisted on moving the slide in and out several times before signing paperwork. I could tell it was still not perfectly aligned and told the CS rep what I was seeing. He insisted it was normal. I told him, “Remember these words… I’ll be back in a couple of months having this repaired again”. You know that whole thing about self-fulfilling prophecies? Yep, jinxed myself by saying that!
I got back on the road right after Christmas 2021 and started the New Year traveling again. Exactly 2 months later (mid Feb 2022), the slide broke again. Exactly like the first and second time, only without much warning. Luckily I was able to inch it into a closed position. And that’s the way it stayed for the next 4-5 months. My living space was cut in half and I was in southern Arizona at the time. I wish I could have seen the CS Reps face when I called him and reminded him of my words when I left in December. Trying to shorten some of the rest of the story… I didn’t realize there was a mfr warranty on the parts that were installed in December. I took the RV to a repair shop in Austin Texas in early April (the soonest I could get in) where I found out that I had to go back to RV Country for the repair. Could have gone to one in Arizona but I knew the expense of staying in an AirBnB for 4 or more weeks with 2 cats would be too much. It would still be cheaper to drive back to Washington and stay with friends. I chose to wait to return to WA until after I met my sister and brother-in-law in Colorado.
I arrived in WA end of June and took the RV to RV Country on July 5th. It is now August 25 and I am hoping to have the RV back within a day or two. Why so long? I was one of the lucky ones to have my RV vandalized during a break-in at RV Country. Lucky in that the only thing done was stealing the catalytic converter. Others did not have it so easy! I had to work the claim and get the RV fixed. That was done 8/3. Turns out the slide issue fell under a Technical Service Bulletin put out by the manufacturer of the slide rails. The instructions for the repair kit in December instructed them to be installed upside down. Sooo, on 8/3 I was told a new repair kit would arrive on 8/12. I left the RV at RV Country with that understanding but the parts didn’t arrive until 8/20. Fingers crossed this is all behind me soon and I can return to being a Happy Camper!.
Side Note: The RV and Extended Warranties do NOT cover ‘Consequential Damages’. Due to the torquing / twisting of the slide, I have a lot of internal damages that aren’t covered. Not huge stuff if I do it myself, but probably $1,500 dollars if the repair shop were to fix it all (at a shop rate of $180/hr). Most of the repairs have been completed under manufacturers warranty rather than the RV warranties. So far the RV warranties have paid $2450 and I paid about $2900 for the warranty. If they covered the consequential damages it would pencil out better. In addition, I usually have to pay for each diagnostic that the repair shop does and that can be $350-400 each time. I’m not saying that an extended warranty is a bad idea, but in my case I may choose to cancel my warranty and get some money back for the 1.5 years that remains.
I left out a lot of minute details, so if anyone has a question or two feel free to contact me.
