Alternatives to Camping World for warranty work?

[Already Gone]

I am a new owner and having trouble with service levels at Camping World. Are there any alternatives to using Camping World?

[LBL 1206]

depends on what your needs are. service, parts, etc. check your dealer for brand specific or any dealer for parts and service. check independent rv service providers. for nice too have/want items you can even check and use amazon for many.

[Levinehikeski]

I think your question should be towards people in your area, not a fifth wheel only forum subcategory. I am sure there are plenty of other (mom & pop style) rv service shops around, that would be happy to take business from any large national chain.

[Seann45]

Are you looking for warranty or just other service?

[BuddyRay]

Use the Jayco website dealer locator to search for dealers close to your neighborhood. Find an independent (non-chain) dealer and then search Google for that dealer's name and "reviews".
Just remember that people who are upset post reviews - people who are happy rarely do. So don't look for a dealer with NO negative reviews. Look for a dealer with less negative reviews than other dealers. Also dealers that take the time to answer a bad review in a positive way is a good sign.
Then call the dealer and talk with the service manager - good ones will be up-front with you about how busy they are, their priorities (some quite openly give a priority to their own customers), etc.
Just know that there is (and has been for years) a critical shortage in qualified, trained and experienced RV mechanics. I don't think I've passed an RV Dealer in years that doesn't have a "Mechanic wanted" sign out front. Most of them have just installed permanent signs :-(. They are all backed up with wait lists.
Two important thing to me are:
1) are they up front about their real schedules and when can they get to your work.
2) do they "work smart" and try to keep you camping while they order parts. Working smart includes assessing the situation, ordering parts immediately, trying to find a workaround to get you to a usable state, giving you an appointment to bring the rig back once the parts are in and you're next in the queue and then honoring that appointment.

Dealers who make you leave the rig on the lot - wait until they are ready to work on it to order parts - and then put you back at the bottom of the queue while waiting on the parts - or bump your queue position for any number of reasons are not, in my opinion, reputable.

I had a bumper (with spare tire bolted on it) just fall off the back of the TT near Ft. Worth Texas on a long trip (I'm from Atlanta and was headed home). It was still barely welded on one side and dragging the ground. I roped it up enough to limp to Camping World of Ft. Worth who told me to bring it back in 6 weeks. Seriously?

We stayed in a Yogi Bear resort south of Ft. Worth. The manager told me about a tiny RV dealer with just one mechanic down the road. I took it down there - he stopped what he was working on, fired up his welder and he and a salesman used a sledge hammer to pound the bracket back in shape then weld the bumper back on. It wasn't pretty but it was still attached when I traded the rig earlier this year. When I asked how much, they said it only took them 15 minutes and their minimum ticket was 30 minutes - so no charge. True Texas hospitality!
I went online - found every review point I could find - trashed the Camping World and wrote glowing reviews of the little guy.

[Edd505]

The post says new owner, are we to assume it's a new unit that needs warranty work?
As above I use a small (one man) shop for items I don't want to tackle and he's always been good about telling me how to and getting parts I need as most are not Jayco specific.

[skijlw]

I purchased my 5er at a Camping World. ninety percent of my warranty work has been done by other Jayco dealers. Jayco doesn't care which dealer does the work.

[TWP723]

Any dealer that has a shop and sells new Jaycos should be eligible for doing warranty repairs and should be a Jayco certified repair center. The warranty follows the product, not the dealer. UNLESS, you bought a "dealer specific" warranty. This usually is not the case. But, I have heard of dealers that offer "beyond factory" warranties.

[Jopopsy]

Originally Posted by BuddyRay

Then call the dealer and talk with the service manager - good ones will be up-front with you about how busy they are, their priorities (some quite openly give a priority to their own customers), etc.

I've found this to be the case at my local/selling Jayco dealer.

[norty1]

I would not let my rig out of my sight in a CW maintenance facility! Just saying.

[Jopopsy]

I too am not a fan of Camping World. I got a $15 gift card in the mail from them last month; I wouldn't even go to the store to spend it b/c its Camping World !!

[Larry G.]

So ALL CW stores are bad??

Please.......

[The Logans]

Originally Posted by Larry G.

So ALL CW stores are bad??

Please.......

Of course not... there MAY be a good one out there, but it's not worth the time (to us) to try and find one. We've been to four, when we needed emergency repairs on the road, and none would help... all had a wait time of at least a week, and one even said it would be three weeks (to replace the fresh water pump)... REALLY? Went to a small local shop and had the work done within an hour.

Camping World was really great BEFORE they started selling RV's. and now it's all about sales. Good deals can be had in the store, but I would never trust them to do any work on our unit.

JMHO

[norty1]

I am a life member and do make retail purchases. Just shy away from the sales/ repair side.


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[TWP723]

For parts and accessories, they're fine. As far as service, I'd trust my TT with Fisher-Price before I'd trust them.

[House of Harview]

Originally Posted by norty1

I would not let my rig out of my sight in a CW maintenance facility! Just saying.

Yes, with myself being a, going on 18 year owner of an auto dealer and full service repair facility exclusively specializing in VW TDI diesel motor cars, I and many of my customers avoid the franchised VW dealers like the plague due to the very high percentage being totally incompetent and unconscionably expensive.

Originally Posted by Larry G.

So ALL CW stores are bad??

Please.......

In your defense, of course not all CW stores are terrible and the same goes with my comment specified above regarding franchised VW dealers. Trust me when I specify that good, caring, experienced, and competent technicians are extremely hard to come by these days and on top of that, the very high overhead of operating such facilities makes it nearly impossible to keep prices reasonable as compared to some of the smaller and much lower overhead independent facilities of which, by the way, seem to be disappearing progressively through the years for a number of reasons to which is beyond the scope of this topic.

This would be one of the many reasons that such a venue as this is so, so priceless because many here have been there and done that and with both this venue and the power of internet searching, both could be one's saving grace.

[rsday75]

The local dealer said anyone who had purchased from them would move ahead of me in line at any point in a repair.

I called Jayco Corp, and they authorized me to go to a local independent shop. Didn't give me a hard time at all. Just said the shop needs to send in the invoice, and if they want money upfront, I would have to pay, and then they would cut me a check. Lucky me, the independent has done warranty work with them before and will just bill Jayco.

[skijlw]

Originally Posted by Larry G.

So ALL CW stores are bad??

Please.......

Not ALL CW dealers are bad nor are they incapable of giving good deals on their products. I purchased a new fifth wheel from a CW dealer in Tucson. I shopped hard and they had the best price on what I wanted. I made the deal. Before I picked up the unit the area manager told the dealer to discount some of the inventory to make some room for some new models. They gave me a new price 5K less than the original price. Now that is the making of a good dealer. I had only a few minor warranty issues with the unit when I was in the area and they repaired them quickly. That is the only CW dealer I have dealt with but I would not hesitate to give them a shot on my next purchase.

[The Logans]

Originally Posted by skijlw

Not ALL CW dealers are bad nor are they incapable of giving good deals on their products. I purchased a new fifth wheel from a CW dealer in Tucson. I shopped hard and they had the best price on what I wanted. I made the deal. Before I picked up the unit the area manager told the dealer to discount some of the inventory to make some room for some new models. They gave me a new price 5K less than the original price. Now that is the making of a good dealer. I had only a few minor warranty issues with the unit when I was in the area and they repaired them quickly. That is the only CW dealer I have dealt with but I would not hesitate to give them a shot on my next purchase.

Thanks, I think that you added to the point that these folks were talking about... Great prices on the RV's because of the high volume, and enormous inventory. However, in most cases very poor service, especially in the case of folks who are traveling and need service on the road. The service at CW was very good before they started selling RV's, now, not so much.

I can't speak to what the service is like when you purchased a unit there, just how poor it's been in the 4 instances that we've needed help on the road.

[Larry G.]

Originally Posted by The Logans

Thanks, I think that you added to the point that these folks were talking about... Great prices on the RV's because of the high volume, and enormous inventory. However, in most cases very poor service, especially in the case of folks who are traveling and need service on the road. The service at CW was very good before they started selling RV's, now, not so much.

I can't speak to what the service is like when you purchased a unit there, just how poor it's been in the 4 instances that we've needed help on the road.

Yes he did add to the discussion...with good comments on service and the buying experience;

I had only a few minor warranty issues with the unit when I was in the area and they repaired them quickly. That is the only CW dealer I have dealt with but I would not hesitate to give them a shot on my next purchase.

and he would give them a shot on his next purchase. That's a good review not one of the bad ones that don't mention what CW location they had their experience at. Instead some just say "Camping World" but do you know how many Camping Worlds there are in the U.S.?

Wish people could be more specific.