Opinion Please
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Warranty, Service and Recall Bulletins
Forum Discription: Have a warranty or service experience to share?
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11090
Printed Date: 27 Apr 2024 at 5:08pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Opinion Please
Posted By: MDPaddlersPod
Subject: Opinion Please
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 11:06am
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I would really appreciate peoples experience with dealer warranty service. I have a 179 and am on my second year with the extended factory warranty. At the end of season (October) I told my dealer I would like to schedule some warranty work; water leak behind bathroom sink, water heater not working on propane, and a leaking outside shower assy. I was told they would get back with me in a week to make an appointment, didn't happen. I went to the dealer and was told there were 10 customers ahead of me and they would get to me in order. They said they would make sure I was ready to go before the season begins. Well here we are in January and no word. My warranty expires in June, I am concerned. I am not sure what the norm is for wait time for camper repairs but, this seems excessive. I can get my car repaired in a couple of days, I would not expect to wait months to get my camper repaired. I would really appreciate advise and how long these things should take. I don't want to attack my dealer and establish a bad raport. Help. ------------- MDPaddlersPod 2017 RPod 179 2002 Silverado1500 |
Replies:
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 11:25am
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------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 11:28am
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We have had warranty work done in the past, usually had an appointment within a week or two and work was done quickly. usually on the day we dropped it, only had to leave it overnight once. We have a pretty good rapport with the service manager. ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 12:26pm
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I won't get deep into how RV repair works at the dealer level. But, a quick note on how the business works. From April until September, a dealer can't have enough people. From October until March, he can't have enough work. So, in the off season, techs get let go. Staff is reduced. It takes longer to get anything done. The worst part is, it's hard to keep GOOD techs, because they need to work all year.. just like anyone else. As far as when your warranty runs out. If the issue is logged, as yours is, before the warranty runs out, it will be covered. Having people "ahead of you" for service is normal. The reason a car dealer can always turn you around faster is, their service staff stays busy all year. ------------- |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 12:55pm
Charlie's second law of Charlie's first law? "There's no such thing as too much garlic". ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: TheBum
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 1:48pm
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I would think that any work for which an appointment is made before the end of the warranty would still be covered under warranty even if the work wasn't done until after expiration. You should be able to get something in writing from the dealership for evidence.
We are very fortunate to have the service manager that we do. Even if there are RVs ahead of us, he will make the best use of the time when work on those RVs is paused for whatever reason to deal with other RVs. ------------- Alan 2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod" 2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4 Three cats |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 1:48pm
------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: MDPaddlersPod
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 2:29pm
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Thanks guys, I will try to remain patient but, check in more often. I really don't want to piss them off, that wouldn't be a fun relationship. ------------- MDPaddlersPod 2017 RPod 179 2002 Silverado1500 |
Posted By: ParPod
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 4:27pm
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Don't be too patient. We went through almost the same thing. Unit went in for warranty work as we were coming to the end of the warranty period. Nothing really serious....just a bunch of little stuff. We phoned and phoned and phoned some more. There was always at least 3 units ahead of us, or the Techs had an off site repair to do....more units ahead of us. We thought this was one of the better dealers in town but I suspect that warranty work hits the bottom of every pile. Units that customers are paying for automatically go to the front of the line. Once the warranty expires then good luck trying to get anything done then.....the conversation with the Service Dept was almost like a session of "Who's on first" k You have lots of time but I wouldn't give them too much slack. ------------- Bob&Margaret 2017 179 2016 Toyota 4Runner 2 sets of Golf Clubs |
Posted By: Richand Cindy
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 5:12pm
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With RV's (especially Forest River) the dealer is like the final assembly line worker. So whenever new RV's arrive they need to be gone over and require several hours of repair work. And they take priority. Then the larger units Motorhomes (over six figures) go next. The lowly sub $20,000 RPOD is dead last on the list. Lastly the walk throughs are usually done by the same people doing the repairs so that also takes priority. So that is why it can take weeks (our dealer is 3 week wait), a dealer where we did not buy takes forever. So be patient try to get a appointment in writing through email then you can document when it was promised and more importantly prove to FR the problem was reported BEFORE warranty expired ------------- OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 25 Jan 2018 at 8:45pm
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I wouldn't be too patient. Instead of waiting for them to call, I would be pressing for a service appointment.
------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: Gregm
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2018 at 1:45pm
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When we had a service issue that was not resolved to our satisfaction, I got the General Manager involved. Since the GM is concerned about repeat customers, she helped us out rather quickly. ------------- Gregm 2014 171 2015 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner |
Posted By: Sea pod
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2018 at 6:57pm
Has anybody tried to have their refer repaired under an extended warranty? If you read the fine print it is almost impossible. ------------- TV..ford 350 Co pilot....Noreen Navigator...rosie |
Posted By: Old & out-to-play
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2018 at 10:51pm
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RV dealers, warranty service or lack there of, fear that service techs or dealerships will do shoddy work if you lean on them to do what’s expected, what century and planet does this industry live in and on? We purchased the pod from Camping Worlds Flagstaff dealership after working them hard for a price I was willing to pay as the deal was all cash...our cash that we had worked for and I wasn’t about to leave anything extra on the table. Sometime later we purchased a Honda generator...they where appreciative for our business. About a month later we were camping in the Flagstaff area and stopped by with a minor warranty issue as two interior batts had come loose at floor level. The service manager informed us that it would be about two months before they could get to it, call back later to set up an appointment. I thanked them very much, “message received loud and clear”. When we got home Reta emptied the trailer, I pulled out the pinning gun, loaded it with 3/4 inch pins, ran two pins into the lower end of the loose batts, spent maybe 10 minutes. About mid year Mr. Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World announced publicly, while having a political hissy fit, that people like me should not shop at his stores. I sent him a nice, non confrontational, letter and returned their membership cards...we are done here, no more, thank you. Short of an appliance failure under warranty the probability of our pod visiting a dealership is very low. I’m confident that the dealerships will do well, doing what they do, until the next economic downturn, but they wouldn’t be doing it to us...the economic principle of substitution applies here. Bert ------------- Old and in the way so now it's time to play |
Posted By: sean p
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2018 at 7:03am
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This is my first RV. I have been waiting since August to get the micro/conv oven replaced under my Good Sam warrenty. Ive called Camping World 5 times to check on the status.Always told its in another departments hands to order. After reading service horror stories about length of time to get any kind of repairs done makes me queation weather RVing is worth it. This RPOD has had lots of small issues i'm taking care of myself. Was going to replace it this summer for a LANCE. But need to wait 1 more year for a larger truck.Hope this season has no breakdowns, or its on the chopping block. Any advice on how to deal with camping world Service department. Thanks ------------- 2016 179pod--BETTY 2010 nissan frontier Sean and Doug Butchie the morkie touring the west |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2018 at 7:50am
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Sean P - Camping world seems to have a lot of unhappy customers. I have no personal complaints against them, but I read many. As far as the pod goes, There will be minor issues with any R.V. As it's been stated before, everytime you move your pod, your exposing it to an earthquake, literally. It get shaken, bounced, and banged around. It's amazing that I have had such good luck. I took my pod out on atleast 12 or 13 different trips last summer. Plus I hooked up several times to go get tires, or dump the septic tank, Etc.. Maybe your REAL issue is the crappy service from your dealer. I have had excellent dealer service, and even tho i've had a few problems, i have no remorse what so ever. I had 2 possible dealers I could have bought from, I got a bad vibe from 1, and purchased at the other. If I had bought at the "bad vibe" dealer, I would probably be like you and unhappy overall
------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2018 at 8:34am
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+1 ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2018 at 9:43am
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Every time I read about all the warranty problems people have, Pods malfunctioning, uncooperative dealers, etc., it makes me glad I bought an older pod. We have had very few issues, once the recall on the clearance lights problem was fixed. Most of the work I now do myself and what I can't or don't feel like doing is done by a local RV dealer or the garage where I take our car and truck. I just had the bearings repacked and brakes checked and am ready to head off as soon as the weather permits. Thankfully, the Pod dealer where we had the recall work done was honest and, though they didn't do a very good job with the wiring of the lights, reimbursed us in full for the cost of the local shop fixing the problem. ------------- Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2018 at 9:54am
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It is all in the dealer. I think it is worth paying a few bucks more and buy from a good one.
------------- Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150 |
Posted By: Olddawgsrule
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2018 at 4:12pm
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[/QUOTE] Charlie's first law? "There's no such thing as too much garlic". [/QUOTE] You need to start a thread on this! I love it! ------------- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJduGeZNFgtptH67leItRFQ - Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=72408 - Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2018 at 5:10pm
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------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: olguy
Date Posted: 12 May 2018 at 10:28am
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When all else fails ... call the Facility Manager. that failing, then call the Forest River Customer Service Department. Tell all you talk to that you are a member of the Owners Forum and will be posting an account of their response. Document all of your attempts to get service etc. Most warranties will be honored by any Rpod dealer. May be time to locate another.
Good luck |