Help Please! Warranty service taking forever!

[gypsmjim]

I have a lot more experience with Marine Service Departments than RV dealers. In the case of a boat facility they never have enough techs in July and August because its the high season and everybody's boat is broken down. When all winterizations are done in October, they have little work left until May. Many dealerships lay off half of the service department because they don't want to pay a bunch of people when all they would do is sit around.

Could that be part of the problem why RV dealers can't get good help?

[Puddle Pirate]

Originally Posted by Fmaylett

I could use some guidance from the sage readers of this forum. How do I move my local Camping World location forward in getting my unit repaired and returned under warranty? 7 weeks in their service bay, 7 weeks!

Here's the story. In April we purchased a new 2018 29ME from Camping World in SLC Utah. The purchase process was as painful as expected but it all came together in the end. We took the unit on a shakeout run down to Las Vegas and found a rather serious list of issues:

1. Rear A/C not blowing cold air
2. Garmin unit wouldn't come on half the time and when on wouldn't hold the Bluetooth connection
3. Water heater stopped working on the last day
4. Staple popping up under the flooring in the main dining area
5. CO2 alarm going off and wouldn't reset
6. Misc. other items

I did the following to ensure I fixed what I could:

1. Checked all A/C fuses etc and no cold air on shore power or generator. Diagnosed by CW as a bad compressor and needed to be replaced. They would have to contact Jayco for permission.
2. Spent way too much time downloading Garmin firmware updates for both the head unit and base unit. CW said they encountered the same issues and would need Garmin to replace it.
3. Checked water heater breakers etc. no good. CW said a wire came loose in the panel and fixed.
4. Contacted Jayco and got permission to replace the flooring.
5. Disconnected sensor and let it rest then reassembled. Didn't go off again. Good luck on the CO2 sensor.
6. Much of the other stuff was fixed.

I took it into CW on May 3. Today is June 18. Still awaiting flooring, A/C, and Garmin unit. The numerous calls into CW were answered with "waiting on Jayco" and the call into Jayco was "waiting on CW". Finally, I have a date for the flooring to arrive but no update on the other stuff.

What should I be doing to get this resolved? Any suggestions???

Find a different service provider for your warranty repair, u have that right, I have done that, it does not have to be a jayco dealer, I found a mom and pop place and they did my work, and had jayco approvalS in a day, and the work done in a few days, as long as they were not waiting for the parts, saved me mths of waiting

[JaycoBud]

How do you get Jayco to approve getting the work done by a non-Jayco repair facility rather than the local dealer from whom you purchase the RV?

[Bridgeengrjim]

I had a problem with my toilet when I was in Florida in February. CW said I needed a new black water tank and they didn't know when they could get the tank. I drove home to Maine without a toilet. My local JAYCO dealer (Call of the Wild) had everything fixed inn two hours and didn't need a new tank, just a flange for the toilet. CW is fine for buying supplies but I will never trust them with service again.

[OldSarge]

I had same/similar problems with our 2018 Jayco Seneca 37RB. You would think after spending the kind of money we spend on RV's they would be better quality control. Ha ha ha. I am afraid your troubles have just begun. As I said in a previous post, I believe I have a lemon, but that is for another conversation. Here is what I did:

I wrote a letter to the Jayco Warranty Department, mailed it certified return receipt. I put all of the work orders, email communications, etc in the letter. I also sent receipts for storage, payments, insurance, and fuel to take back and forth to CW and demanded payment for lost usage. To my surprise I received a check from Jayco in the amount I could substantiate. It didn't give me back the time I lost in the RV and didn't remove the sour taste I have for Jayco.....but they did write the check. I still have problems and still will ride Jayco's rear end every chance I get. You might try it and see if you get some monetary satisfaction.

The OldSarge says...…

Good Luck!

[Dave A]

You can't use the word "Service" and Camping World in the same sentence. They are absolutely the worst company I have every dealt with. Jayco needs to do something about them!

[Dancingqueen]

And it
‘S not just one CW, its all of them. Omg, the’re breeding!

[GL243]

I've similarly experienced strangely long warranty service delays with the CW from which I bought our Jay Flight 267BHSW, and suspected they were not sending in the approval request to Jayco in a timely manner. Overall, the dealership has treated me fairly well and resolved a missing enclosed underbelly and thermal package (my failure to notice during PDI) by swapping a different trailer for the first one, which had some additional options I didn't have to pay for. But to take 2 weeks just to get approval to fix a noisy slide, and having to take the trailer in 3 times now to get the stupid little cheap radio fixed (would not get AM stations; due to other issues also needing repair, the radio became a minor side issue). This thread certainly supports my suspicion. Looks like I will need to start making contact directly with Jayco, as well as check into mobile RV services around here.

[GrayHawk]

Originally Posted by Fmaylett

I could use some guidance from the sage readers of this forum. How do I move my local Camping World location forward in getting my unit repaired and returned under warranty? 7 weeks in their service bay, 7 weeks!

Here's the story. In April we purchased a new 2018 29ME from Camping World in SLC Utah. The purchase process was as painful as expected but it all came together in the end. We took the unit on a shakeout run down to Las Vegas and found a rather serious list of issues:

1. Rear A/C not blowing cold air
2. Garmin unit wouldn't come on half the time and when on wouldn't hold the Bluetooth connection
3. Water heater stopped working on the last day
4. Staple popping up under the flooring in the main dining area
5. CO2 alarm going off and wouldn't reset
6. Misc. other items

I did the following to ensure I fixed what I could:

1. Checked all A/C fuses etc and no cold air on shore power or generator. Diagnosed by CW as a bad compressor and needed to be replaced. They would have to contact Jayco for permission.
2. Spent way too much time downloading Garmin firmware updates for both the head unit and base unit. CW said they encountered the same issues and would need Garmin to replace it.
3. Checked water heater breakers etc. no good. CW said a wire came loose in the panel and fixed.
4. Contacted Jayco and got permission to replace the flooring.
5. Disconnected sensor and let it rest then reassembled. Didn't go off again. Good luck on the CO2 sensor.
6. Much of the other stuff was fixed.

I took it into CW on May 3. Today is June 18. Still awaiting flooring, A/C, and Garmin unit. The numerous calls into CW were answered with "waiting on Jayco" and the call into Jayco was "waiting on CW". Finally, I have a date for the flooring to arrive but no update on the other stuff.

What should I be doing to get this resolved? Any suggestions???

Call Jayco yourself and see if Camping World even called them...… I had the same problem and called Jayco, They said that Camping World had not even called them as of yet for Warranty Work and the Person I spoke to Authorized all the Work right then and said he would Call Camping World, which he did and my Rig got in ASAP...…………. I actually no longer shop at Camping World unless it is absolutely necessary, I go to other Dealers and buy what I need and or fix the problem myself...………

[Idaho Joe]

Originally Posted by RAurand

When I had some warranty work that needed done, I took my trailer to CW as they are only 6 minutes from mu house.
After a week and they confirmed looking at the issue and needing parts. I waited a week. Then I called and asked when they were expecting parts? They said they were waiting on Jayco. I called Jayco and gave them my VIN number and told them my trailer was at the Harrisburg CW and did they get the parts request. Jayco said no. I then drove over to CW and asked if I could see the order request for my parts that was sent to Jayco. AMAZING..... They couldn't seem to locate it. I then spoke with the manager and asked to see the service order for the parts. He talked to a couple people and it seemed no one could find it. (No wonder Jayco didn't have it). Manager said he would have another request sent to Jayco (yeah, sure)
3 days later, I called Jayco and they confirmed they did have it and told me the parts would be sent out the next day. CW had it 2 days later.
Then CW seemed to have trouble finding time to get my trailer back into the schedule to fix the issues. All in All.... It took 3 weeks.
So.... It wasn't Jayco. It was CW that dropped the ball. So as far as CW..... SNAFU!

I was told that my broken pendant light was a common problem and the part came from France, not directly from Jayco so it would take a while. The service director for cw said he had several on order that he was waiting for. I called Jayco and gave them my vin #. They looked up my pendant light part number, said they had 18 in stock and could have it to the dealer in 2 days. Incompetence or an outright lie?

[GL243]

At the risk of coming across here as just having an incredible grasp of the obvious, this all makes one wonder if certain (most? all?) CW service centers are purposefully delaying the contact with Jayco so they can have the excuse that they're "waiting on Jayco" to approve warranty work so they have less "blame" for inordinate delays in getting the work done. If all Jayco owners would contact Jayco directly every time they go in for warranty service, and show that we're "on to them", if you will, then maybe they'd change this practice. Or maybe I have this wrong and there's something else going on.


I'm getting to the point of concluding that warranty is not all it's cracked up to be under these circumstances, and that maybe it's better to seek out good condition used TT and 5'er rigs (less complicated to fix than motor homes?), pay a few hundred bucks for a good credible pre-purchase inspection (assuming one can find a reliable and timely service provider for that), and then set aside the savings in cash outlay to go toward repairs, and then go to whichever service center or mobile RV repair service can do the repairs first. Or maybe that would be a worse crap shoot than just dealing with CW warranty service . . .

[bdreinv]

Have to remember Jayco and quality have nothing in common! Second once you left the lot with your new camper RV dealer or Jayco hope they never hear from you again! Finally we are still waiting on our final warranty list to be completed from August 2017!Can not wait on warranty, there is a long line in front of you!You have 2 years and 6 months to resolve warranty according to the attorney. Thanks

[Puddle Pirate]

Originally Posted by JaycoBud

How do you get Jayco to approve getting the work done by a non-Jayco repair facility rather than the local dealer from whom you purchase the RV?

Just call around, some will not do it, if you did not buy from them, but there is a surprising amount that will, I bought mine from rv1 in Tampa, and there service , well there isn't any, there service dept is a total joke, I have talked to the mech, there and they know what to do, but are held back by the service dept and the mgrs. My eagle 2017 has had a butt load of problems, so I fixed all the electrical problems, some of which would have started fires, and had service,done to fix others, any ways I got fed up with RV1 in Tampa, after waiting for 10 weeks for my slide to be fixed, and took it out from under them to Lazydays, they found the problem and more and fixed them, of course they RV1 were not happy but at that point I didn't care, the second set of problems have been taken care of by HARBERSON Rv. Clearwater Fl... have been top notch on my rv repairs, they have done stuff in days not weeks.....i found them by walking in to buy sealant, and talked to one of there parts people and just asked if they did warranty work on Jayco, and that was it

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by GL243

I'm getting to the point of concluding that warranty is not all it's cracked up to be under these circumstances, and that maybe it's better to seek out good condition used TT and 5'er rigs (less complicated to fix than motor homes?), pay a few hundred bucks for a good credible pre-purchase inspection (assuming one can find a reliable and timely service provider for that), and then set aside the savings in cash outlay to go toward repairs, and then go to whichever service center or mobile RV repair service can do the repairs first. Or maybe that would be a worse crap shoot than just dealing with CW warranty service . . .

I have to agree... Especially in the area of a CW Extended Warranty!

We should have set aside the amount that we paid for the Extended Warranty and used it to fix these issues we encountered. Lesson Learned!!!

[Packerbacker_TX]

Unfortunately, it's nature of the beast really. You're going to Camping World which is just a reseller for the Vendors (THOR). So even if your camper is in warranty, and the vendor keeps their end of the deal and replaces broken parts, you still have CW coordinating the whole thing, storing it, fixing it on a schedule, etc.

We took our new 2018 5th wheel in for touch ups in mid October. We didn't get it back until January. CW's excuse - people quit, not enough workers, vacations/holidays, sick time, my dog at my homework.. you name it. Just came back to poor management at CW. Best thing to do is A) don't take delivery on a new camper w/o checking it head to toe and making note of anything broken before it leaves the lot (they might say you did it) or B) have it fixed in the off season when you're not going to use it for a couple months. Good Luck

[sobuck1]

PLEASE TELL EVERYONE DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM CAMPING WORLD!!! Glad I didn't

[TNNOMAD]

We had an similar issue. Stephanie @ Jayco was gracious, and called the repair facility for us. They had a misunderstanding on how things should be handled. Since she called them, they have become a Jayco Autherized Repair Center, and things seem to be moving forward.

[201822j]

Just took my new 22j in for issues found on our first and only trip last night. First appt was 3+ weeks out from where I bought it, an independent, authorized Jayco dealer. I guess I'll see how it gets handled. I probably could have fixed the main issue but why do I have to.
Big item was auto stairs not retracting
I also put on the list the fresh water siphoning while driving. It will be interesting how that gets handled
I also have a couple cabinet door hitting ceiling lights

Rubber meets the Road time

[gypsmjim]

Originally Posted by 201822j

I also have a couple cabinet door hitting ceiling lights

Rubber meets the Road time

I have one of those as well. That's a design flaw for sure. But to fix it either the light has to be moved (probably leaving exposed holes), or cut off the corner of the door. Maybe either way would make something look bad.

Ours opens more than half way, leaving the entire cabinet accessible, so we never bothered with it.

[Fmaylett]

We got our rig back on Friday! 2 days short of 2 months in service.

Here is what I learned and would share with the forum.

First, make sure you document all of the items that you'll be having serviced and make sure you keep good notes on the dates, people, and processes.

Second, build a relationship with the service writer at the dealership. Make sure that they understand that you'll work with them to create a healthy relationship and you need their focus and attention on your service. Don't try and berate them, yell at them or any behavior that may alienate them for future service. You'll be dealing with them for a while unless you have multiple warranty dealerships close by. Be human first and recognize that they're humans as well.

Third, question everything. When they tell you that they're waiting on Jayco, call Jayco. Once I caught the dealership in a "lie" about waiting on Jayco, things moved along. They understood that I wasn't going to just "trust".

Fourth, involve the salesperson at the dealership that sold you the unit. They want to maintain a good relationship in this age of social media. They will step in and assist as much as possible. If that doesn't help, get the sales manager involved. And if that doesn't help, get the general manager involved.

Fifth, understand that the warranty process isn't entirely owned by the dealer and Jayco. I had a bad A/C unit and Garmin dash unit and the dealer had to wrestle with both of those suppliers independently of Jayco. It really is a messed up system in my opinion and as soon as I have a couple of extra billion dollars, I'm going to set up a system that more closely emulates the car dealership model. Please don't hold your breath on that one. When I spoke with Jayco they told me directly that those items were between the dealer and the supplier. Crazy...

Sixth, understand that you purchased a vehicle that is incredibly underpriced for what you're getting. Our Greyhawk cost less than a couple of our cars but the RV came with a toilet. If we expect Lexus quality in an RV, we're crazy. Take a deep breath and roll with the punches.

Seventh and last, be active and plan your service appropriately. If you have a good relationship with the dealer they'll work with you. Take the rig in for the initial service of the easy things, then take the unit if possible and enjoy what you can while they await parts, approvals, etc. Then, bring it back for them to do the other work once they're ready to make it happen. Don't do the crazy thing I did which was to leave it at the dealer for way too long and then complain about it. Yes, it's tough to enjoy the RV without a second A/C, but doable.

I hope this helps someone out there in Happy RV Land!