Jayco, your warranty, and your dealer...

KachFam · 03-24-2013, 01:48 PM

How nit-picky does everyone get with their trailer warranty? We have about a year left and so far I haven't really laid a finger on my trailer for repairs. I made the dealer fix several loose trim pieces, a floor soft spot (found that on the initial inspection - must have forgot a piece of bracing), the door wouldn't shut tight and seal, and several other smaller things. The dealer has fixed everything no problem, but they don't make any effort to find anything needing repair other than exactly what I point out.

I'm a bit disappointed by this - my father-in-law has a new Springdale trailer and when he brought it in for a few warranty adjustments, the tech climbed all over the thing in and out and made a list of every little nit-picky thing they could find. I was impressed to hear this, and that dealer (doesn't carry Jayco, but sold us our first one used) will be the first I check for any future RV's.

Just curious on what everyone's take on this is and how your dealer treats your warranty. I don't mind that I have to come up with the list of repairs, but I wish they were a bit more pro-active considering I have to drop my trailer off for 1-2 months for this stuff (we do it in the off-season).

I also have to say that the fit and finish of our trailer was pretty sad overall, just sloppy stuff like the pieces of trim that needed another staple or two to stay flush. Maybe it's just a bad unit? I'm confident it is the best trailer in its class structurally, but a 15-20 minute "quality control" once-over would have nearly eliminated our issues.

mwebber78 · 03-24-2013, 02:42 PM

Pretty common. A good dealer is more business specific then brand specific. There is plenty of argument that the best warranty is the one you never use; I'd rather have a dealer like the Springdale dealer in your case with a one year warranty then a bum for a dealer who does nothing to support the two year warranty!

I will say this, the Jayco dealer coverage up here in Maine has gone from robust to non-existent. I plan on performing a very robust PDI on mine at RVDirect knowing I'll be on my own from there forward.

tlhdoc · 03-24-2013, 02:56 PM

I think it would be a lot of time if a dealership went over every unit every time it came into the shop. If they see something wrong I would certainly hope they would fix it, but I would not expect them to go over the unit each time it was in the shop. If you are using your RV and you don't notice something wrong with it, why would you expect the repair tech to do so?

mohok1 · 03-28-2013, 06:04 PM

I am one year out of warranty with my 2009 32BHDS (purchased new in Feb 10). I have discovered major structural water damage on the left front corner. In my opinion, the water damage has been on going since the day the unit left the factory. This is the 2nd water damage problem I have discovered with this unit. The 1st I was able to repair by removing the sleeper couch in the front slide out. I had to cut out a section of the interior wall, cut the carpet and remove a 14X16" section of the floor. I replaced the studs that were rotted and resealed everything. The only way I found the damage was that some minor imperfections began to show on the exterior metal. I didn't go to Jayco because I could make the repair myself. I was 9 months past warranty. Here again, the damage was on going since the unit was built. I have caulked where I thought necessary since I bought the trailer. This my 2nd Trailer and I have been RV'n for 13 years. I don't consider myself a rookie. At this point I have been to Jayco via the dealer and have been told that I'm out of warranty by one year (which I knew) and Jayco has refused to offer any assistance in the form of good will or any support. It aint over till the fat lady sings. My advice while under warranty is to take a hammer and test all interior walls near the seams to try and detect any soft spots. You can't really tell from the out side until you see imperfection forming from the inside causing imperfection on the exterior. After receiving a call from Jayco customer service rep (Tony - The Closer) informing me that I would not receive any consideration in this matter I asked an am waiting for a response in writing so I will know how to proceed. Ain't going away with out a fuss.

usmc616 · 03-29-2013, 10:02 AM

We bought our TT from RVDirect. During the PDI with a salesman we noted a few minor issues. When we went to pick it up the issues were resolved. We did have a shade string break a couple months after our warranty ran out, I called Jayco and they told me to call the dealer. I called RVDirect and they called Jayco, Jayco called me and then shipped me a new shade. I believe you need lots of time during your PDI to ensure all areas are inspected and issues noted as well as good communication with the dealer.

29BHS ECO · 03-30-2013, 07:06 AM

I would think any good dealer would go over a unit with a fine tooth comb . Number one, they would look good in the eyes of the customer, number 2 they would bring in work for their service dept. & getting paid from Jayco. Larry

Lsuduke · 03-30-2013, 07:08 AM

The reason I went with Jayco was the warranty. We looked at a Palamino that had the same layout, for the same cost, and tons more local exposure ( Rv shows and sales) than Jayco. We went to one more show ( Jayco dealer) and looked and saw the warranty info and the difference in quality in the Jayco. They did not have our trailer at the show, but we researched and found our 228 had that same layout, went to dealership and looked at it in their yard and the rest is history.

Our tech was great for our PDI and walkthrough and he had a punchlist of all the issues they found and the fixes they made.

Doc these techs are the "pros" they are supposed to be trained to find these things, they get the updates from manufacturers and climb through more campers on a daily basis, they should be able to find issues before I notice it....IMHO

I agree that the best warranty is one you never use, this year will be the test, most of summer is booked for camping and the miles will be adding up. Hopefully, the quality we saw when we purchased will shine thru in our first full season of use.

joe in calif · 03-30-2013, 09:38 AM

I had my new 29RLDS back to the dealer after the first 3 times I took it out. Each time for a different thing. I paid them for a thing called SET-UP, well they should have at least looked at everything before
they took my money and said it was ready for delivery. The shower leaked from under the door, the drawer on the bottom of the couch would not stay closed, the rubber around the front door came out od the channel and a few other minor things.

KachFam · 04-02-2013, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe in calif

I had my new 29RLDS back to the dealer after the first 3 times I took it out. Each time for a different thing. I paid them for a thing called SET-UP, well they should have at least looked at everything before
they took my money and said it was ready for delivery. The shower leaked from under the door, the drawer on the bottom of the couch would not stay closed, the rubber around the front door came out od the channel and a few other minor things.

I agree - on top of the warranty repairs, there were a lot of things such as pipes needing tightening up and such that I did myself. Kind of sad for what we're paying for these things. I'm pretty handy, but new should be new and not needing any work to be ready to go.

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