Time for a Change in the RV Industry, Or how I learned to hate warranty and craftsmanship issues.

by Jeff · July 27, 2022

As RV owners we all know the dirty little secrets surrounding RV ownership, right?

You can keep your current rig but how many RV parks out there are requiring that rigs be newer than 10-12 years unless it’s “vintage”?

Buy a used (new to you) one and you don’t really know what you are getting without a comprehensive inspection and then you still have the age out issue.

So you buy a new one because you want more room or towability or your life goals have changed and because just like a car, it comes with a warranty and should be ready to go right?

This is a common mistake/misconception, even amongst experienced RVers. As we all know, there is a lack of reliable warranty work available. Every dealership promises that they will make sure your warranty issues are fixed prior to your warranty running out in a year or two. The problem is being lost in the system of RV warranty.

We purchased our first fifth wheel through a private party and it was 5 years old. The previous owner had done a lot of maintenance on the rig and kept all receipts. There was no warranty and I am a fairly capable do-it-yourself kind of guy. Just like many others out there we trolled the RV dealership lots for years and kept evaluating where we were going to end up RV wise. As retirement started getting closer, E and I settled on a very well reputed new fifth wheel. High end company selling through one of the nations largest dealerships. We looked at the unit multiple times prior to agreeing to make an offer on it. The deal done and we bought an extended warranty because this is our permanent residence now. Being experienced owners, we determined to look in every nook and cranny to ensure we were getting what we paid for. So, with a fair knowledge of the unit (even in these circumstances the “delivery specialist” had very little knowledge of the unit) we obtained assurances of being placed at the front of the list for warranty work and emergency work and towed our new home off the lot.

Of course, as the RV industry is fully aware, warranty items begin popping up as our use increased. Fireplace remote never worked (they replaced the entire fireplace), Spyder (lights and all electronics) controls panel went bad. closet door fell apart in transit, cabinets and range not level when slides out, A/C unit heating fine but not cooling, baggage door latch failed and the list keeps growing. We have now owned our rig for 9 months and I have discovered the reason for the delays is an absolute lack of communication:

The delivery specialist does not talk to the salesman or the sales department at all. That specialist also does not talk with the service department and if they do, you need to ensure that the service writer actually puts the note in your files and writes down what the delivery person noted during your walkthrough. If you are not vigilant with this, they will henceforth deny it ever happening. This is not malicious on their part, it is just a lack of clear communication,
The service writer is not always writing the issues down. Written or recorded communication with this specialist in losing your needs/warranty requests is an absolute necessity, lest they be never recorded or forgotten.
The service writer has to communicate with the parts department to order the parts you need. The chances that this actually happens for you is very low without repeated communications to ensure that the two departments talk and then you must follow up to ensure that this did happen.
The parts person then has to contact the manufacturer/supplier for your part and order it. My experience shows that this may take multiple tries by the parts person. Again, communication either written or recorded is a must.
The manufacturer does not necessarily talk to the dealership concerning ordered items. Your parts person also does not follow up with the manufacturer unless a specific request is made by you.
The parts person then never communicates to the service writer. This results in the service writer not knowing whether that precious part is going to be available for installation when you get there for your appointment (which was made, under duress, months out). This appointment is hard to come by even though you were guaranteed priority service when you bought the RV and limited in time to their needs, not yours.
So you arrive after driving however far (mine is 100 miles one way) and turn your rig over to the service writer. This person then starts the paperwork for your service and doesn’t know whether the parts are in or ready until parts gets in an hour later and you are off to the restaurant and then they don’t call (remember communication) to tell you they don’t have X parts. So, at the appointed time you return and ask to see the repairs and they begin with what they couldn’t do because the parts were either not ordered or they arrived damaged or they don’t have time to finish today.

So, communication is the absolute key here in the service department. Don’t be afraid or timid about calling them out on the communication issues and also don’t be afraid to contact the manufacturer directly. They often actually have the purchase orders right in front of them and can tell you whether your parts have shipped to the dealer.

An example of total lack of communications between departments occurred in delivery. The fireplace remote (universal unless using older models of the Furrion fireplace) did not work to control the fireplace. Batteries were swapped out, other remotes were used and they just wouldn’t control it. Delivery guy tells service writer who fails to take notice of it. I call service guy and ask him about it and of course he replies that it’s not in his notes. We make sure he knows that the fireplace works and just needs a replacement remote (20 bucks from Furrion). He says it will be ordered. I go to the service call and find out they are replacing the entire fireplace, what? I tell him all it really needs is the remote and he says that’s not what we talked about….um, ok. They replace said fireplace and there is no remote in the box? They have one on the shelf in retail store area… I check and yup, it’s the universal. I tell service guy and he says they have to get it approve from Furrion to replace it. Umm, okay, remote right there on shelf, call Furrion, get approval and give me remote. Nope, needs approval and purchase order along with approval from manufacturer. I get ready to leave without remote and he runs to the rig with the remote they just “found” and it works fine.

WTF???????

There are a lot of dealerships out there who will sell you a new unit direct from the manufacturer that they have never inspected or even checked systems on before they turn around and sell it to the consumer. They do a walkthrough with the buyer on delivery day and odds are that the “delivery specialist” isn’t even familiar with the unit. They put water in the tanks, turn on the water heater and show the buyer all the “cool” stuff. They get you hooked up to your tow vehicle and then convince you to buy everything that you actually need to use your new RV. The list is endless; Water hose, sewer hose, levelling blocks, chocks, slunky, oh, yeah a black hose separate from your drinking hose to flush the black tank with, and speaking of the black tank you need tank treatment (and they sell you the house brand which may be ok). Then they try to get you to buy more… Do you really need to have that external waste tank, Anderson level, x-chocks, extended sewer hose, heated water hose, water pressure regulator, outdoor carpet, recliners, ladder, and countless other add on items? I believe many items are necessary for comfort, convenience and need but do you really need to have those extras before you even know how your RV works in the real world?

The accessory and “cool to have” items have been beaten to death by other authors so I will not re-hash it here but in a separate blog post here> Don’t scrimp, just do the math and buy before you go.

The bottom line here IMHO is for someone other than the industry itself needs to watchdog the manufacturers and dealerships. There is no excuse for a manufacturer to put shoddy workmanship or “seconds” and damaged appliances in a new RV. There is also no excuse for a dealership to represent the quality of said damaged item and try to charge a premium for it, only to tell you “it will be taken care of in warranty”.

Another example was the $80,000 fifth wheel that had a huge dent in the door of the fancy residential refrigerator. I had the salesman tell me directly that they would take care of it in warranty and when asked why not before delivery he said “in confidentiality” that there were no refrigerators available and that it would take a “long time” to get one in stock. This, of course was during the height of Covid. SMH.

Everyone points at the automotive industry for an example but they have watchdog groups nationwide, lemon laws and performance standards. The RV industry has a system where they set their own standards and each state refers to those standards in the laws that the industry must follow. This is much like the insurance industry where they regulate themselves and often the state insurance commissioner is also a practicing insurance agent. If you want current references, just look at Boeing and the FAA.

In closing folks, this sounds like a rant but is actually a call to arms. The industry, including manufacturers, dealerships and repair facilities must be held accountable.

In the meantime, I hope you are able to use a little of the advice in here to alleviate some of the pain involved with the system. Until next time readers,

BFD