Torn - HELP!
- Thread starter TxPatriot
- Start date
Chippendale
Well-known member
I have a question and this is not slamming any dealer or Heartland because from what I read on different forums, this appears to be industry wide. Why is it that you can burn up the engine on your diesel ruck while 300 miles from home, have it towed to the nearest dealer and they will order and install a new or rebuilt engine and have you back on the road in about 2 weeks max.
But you take delivery of a new 5th wheel on Monday, October 27th. Take it to an RV rally that weekend and being dumb, screw up a drawer and fascia board when opening a slide. Plus you find that when draining your black tank, you are almost reliving Robin Williams' black tank draining experience in the movie RV because someone at the factory forgot to properly glue some pipe fittings together.
You take it back to the dealer on Monday, Nov. 3 and tell them about your screw up with the drawer and ask them if they can rush and fix the sewer because you have an Escapees Boot Camp to attend the following weekend but that you can live with the drawer problem and a few other small problems like a defective latch on the closest door. They fixed the sewer problem for me so I could use it that weekend, and I was/am a happy camper.
Told them that I wanted to use the trailer for two more trips, and would bring it back to them on December 15th for them to install the new drawer and fascia board plus the few other small nitpick items I might fine. I figured they would order the drawer, closest latch, etc at that time and would have it there waiting for me on the 15th when I took it in. When I get there, there is a big sign stating that any trailer left there the week of December 15th will be ready for pickup the week of January 26th. My work order has "Time promised, week of Jan 26th" on it. I understand the Christmas holidays etc, and I was not going to use it until after January, so it was no problem to me, but my gut feeling is that nothing was ordered until after December 15th, probably way after. They had about a month and a half to order the parts so as to have them there when I took the rig back in.
I can understand major repairs taking longer, but it seems the standard procedure in RV service departments is that no matter the repair, it is probably going to take a couple of months. If I was the owner, I would want to have the reputation of having the fastest turn around service department in the state. On my particular rig, I would think everything that needs to be done could not be over 2 hours labor. The last two Monday's I have received emails that the parts are still on order, and as soon as they get them, they will jump on the job. Will be interesting to see if I get the same message tomorrow. I get stuff I order from Amazon and other places in 2 or 3 days. I would think they would want to get the small jobs in and out and in my case, I told them a couple of months before I took it in what needed to be ordered. I guess it is just the way it is, but if I owned the place, I sure would try and do it differently.
danemayer
Well-known member
We'd all like to see RV dealers get more interested in providing high quality and fast service.
In the auto industry, the relationship between dealer and manufacturer is much stronger and the manufacturer has quite a bit of control. Not so in the RV industry where dealers are independent, and sell multiple brands. The RV manufacturer has much less control. So even if a manufacturer wanted to insist on fast service turnaround, there's no way to force the dealers down that path.
My best guess is that the seasonal nature of the RV business creates uneven service demand through the year. The obvious way to manage staffing cost is to staff to off-season levels and make customers wait. The alternative would result in service staff having nothing to do in the off-season.
Many of us either do most of the work ourselves, or use independent service shops who have to live off their reputation.
Chippendale
Well-known member
Dan, don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a manufacturer's problem. It just seems that it is universal among dealer service departments that your rig comes in and no matter what the problem is, it goes to the back of the line. I would think it would be to their advantage to be more flexible. There was a couple in the service dept when I took mine in who are full timing and she said they were going to have to stay in a hotel. For sure their unit needs to be bumped in front of mine. They accommodated me with my sewer problem. I highly recommend my dealer, I just wonder why you always hear about people leaving their rigs and it taking months to fix when both franchise and independent auto repair shops work so much faster, and on so many more units a month I would guess.
TxPatriot
Texas Nomads
One dealer that we were going to buy from told me this while we were talking to them about getting ready to be full timers, "If you buy from us and have an issue, you will go to the front of the line. The pecking order around here is our customers that give us their business first, then Route 66 members, then everyone else."
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
That is what they will tell you to get you to buy the trailer . . .
Once you've signed on the dotted line . . . all bets are off as to how long you'll have to wait to get warranty repairs once they've got your money.
caissiel
Senior Member
We had 2 bad cupboard doors. On our only visit to the dealer the supervisor put in a report. A while later I received a call that the doors were in. I removed the bad doors and while traveling through with the car I traded doors and the shop installed the hinges on the new doors to match. I then installed them in the trailer at home. Perfect fit in existing holes. If one tries to cooperate I'm sure the service department will bend to accommodate.
