How to arrange service when full-timing

[14f350]

Hello everyone,

I have a very basic question that seems difficult to answer. Hopefully someone can give us some good advice.

We are full timers and have been for only 2 months. I just realized that in all the planning for this lifestyle I had left out an important detail. What do you do when your rv is home and it needs to be serviced?

Does anyone have some experience with this?

We are in a BC 3650RL

Ron



Ron & Nancee
2014 F350 Lariat CC, SRW, 4x4, 6.7L Powerstroke
2015 Big Country 3650RL

 

[danemayer]

Hi Ron,

Congratulations on the new Big Country.

One option for service is to have a mobile service rep come to you. RV Parks often have the contact info for local service reps.

For warranty at non-Heartland dealer locations, or by independent shops or mobile servicers, you'll need to contact Heartland in advance to get authorization and you may have to pay the service rep and submit the invoice to Heartland for reimbursement.

In the case of mobile service, you'll generally have to pay for the travel charges yourself. Of course that may be a bargain compared to hitching up and towing to a dealer and back.

If you do need to take the rig to a dealer location, explain that you're full-time and ask them if you can set up an appointment at a specific time and have it serviced while you wait. Maybe they'll say yes.

 

[rxbristol]

I've been lucky...a mobile RV tech has been able to do the warranty work and I've been able to do the rest. I've even done jobs that I thought I would never be able to do such as, wheel bearing and tire changes (here's to YouTube). Plumbing and electrical repair is straight forward enough, especially with this forum's help with schematics, help guides and friendly advice.

 

[VKTalley]

Hello everyone,

I have a very basic question that seems difficult to answer. Hopefully someone can give us some good advice.

We are full timers and have been for only 2 months. I just realized that in all the planning for this lifestyle I had left out an important detail. What do you do when your rv is home and it needs to be serviced?

Does anyone have some experience with this?

We are in a BC 3650RL

Ron



Ron & Nancee
2014 F350 Lariat CC, SRW, 4x4, 6.7L Powerstroke
2015 Big Country 3650RL

The couple of times our rig has been in for service (minor work), we made sure to tell our service tech that we are full-time in our rig and they had it pulled around to the service area and plugged up. For us, that moved the work along more quickly.

 

[jassson007]

We go the mobile route. My guy I use at our home park did not charge travel time but he also know how much I put his name out so that may have some to do with it.


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[14f350]

Thanks for the quick replies. I was thinking that a mobile tech would make the most sense as long as it's a Heartland approved service provider.

The reason this came up is because I was sitting in the theater seat the other day and noticed that the counter top appeared to be un-level. I put a straight edge to it and couldn't believe it. It drops 1-3/4" from the high point to the edge of the counter. Not sure how that was missed in our walk through!

Anyway, I was thinking that the fit and finish repair will likely be fairly intrusive and take a day or 2.

I really appreciate all of the valuable topics and answers I've gleaned from this site both before our purchase and now. THANKS!

Ron



Ron & Nancee
2014 F350 Lariat CC, SRW, 4x4, 6.7L Powerstroke
2015 Big Country 3650RL

 

[jjriker]

We've had mobile service techs come several times. Harry has also done a lot of repair work himself. For other types of service that may take longer, we brought the rig to the shop and left it for the day, then came back at the end of the day to pick the rig back up. Last year we had to stop for about an hour a second day so that they could finish up.

We have not personally done this, but for bigger repairs I know of fulltimers who arranged with the service place to be able to stay in the rig at night. Many of the service places even have water and electric hookups for people who need to stay in their fiver while the repairs are being done.

 

[Wharton]

Many repair places have a place to plug in, if not, you can ask them if you can plug in and live in the trailer. We have found most very accommodating.

 

[BouseBill]

We take our new BH back to the dealership we bought it from even though it's a 200 mile drive. They know we're fulltimers and have spots available for overnight camping if needed. they even let us stay in the rig while it's being worked on in the service bay. But then we have purchased three 5th wheels from them over the years.
One truly fantastic dealership.

 

[pegmikef]

I'm not a full timer, but my Abilene,TX area dealer conveniently owns a full hookup RV Park adjacent to the dealership. In fact I just spent two nights there a couple of weeks ago and they came over and fixed my air conditioner. If you are in the Abilene area, this is a great dealership (Big Country RV) with a very competent maintenance staff and it is located on the west bound side of I-20 ten or twelve miles east of Abilene. They are usually pretty busy so it is best to call in advance to see if they can fit you in.

 

[TravelTiger]

I'm not a full timer, but my Abilene,TX area dealer conveniently owns a full hookup RV Park adjacent to the dealership. In fact I just spent two nights there a couple of weeks ago and they came over and fixed my air conditioner. If you are in the Abilene area, this is a great dealership (Big Country RV) with a very competent maintenance staff and it is located on the west bound side of I-20 ten or twelve miles east of Abilene. They are usually pretty busy so it is best to call in advance to see if they can fit you in.

Mike, good to hear this since they are the closest to us, out at Lake Leon. So far we haven't needed anything. (Knock on wood)


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[Birchwood]

We have been living is our Landmark for 5 years and have never had to rely on hotels or family to put us up.
We always use mobile RV repairs and if the RV has to go for shop repairs we make it very clear that we will
be waiting in the waiting room or out for lunch and plan on leaving with our RV the same day.
Just make sure parts are available and if not order them before you drop off the RV.
If the RV repair shop can't comply with your demands go elsewhere.Never had a problem and most RV shops
respect your lifestyle and can adjust their schedule to do your repairs.
Remember that probably 70% of Rv owners have homes and have no time schedule for their unit and can drop the
trailer off for 3 weeks with no problems.

 

[jmgratz]

You can check around for an rv park at a repair center. Ron Hoover RV in LaMarque TX has an RV park attached to the dealership. They will come right to your site to work on the RV. There is another park in Willis TX called Convenience RV Park that has a repair shop at the RV park. They work on the rig onsite.

 

[14f350]

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. I have a short list of fixes that need to be addressed, so I will call the local mobile RV Tech in the morning to see if he is approved by Heartland to come take care of things.

I will report back!!