Rv maintanence/repairs - why so long?

[trailrydr]

I would agree that there are definitely better dealerships and service departments than others. But on the same note, the number of those dealership service departments available and willing to work on a particular brand of RV does not compare to the auto industry which also BTW suffers the same good/bad service issues by brand as well. Its also true that certain parts supplies for RVs is also more limited too. But again, this has also plagued automakers over the years as well.

IMO the bottom line is, regardless of the recent COVID rush of new RV owners, the good dealer service departments have always been plagued with scheduling due to many reasons, i.e. reputation, part availability, storage and work space for service related RVs, available service employees, prime camping season, etc...

All of these have caused delays in scheduling maintenance and repairs IMO, and have just been exasperated during the COVID rush. Not to mention employee COVID health related issues as well, including the parts, distribution, and shipping industries.

So yes, I would highly recommend mobile RV repair services if one needs to get their RV fixed ASAP. Otherwise, be prepared to get on the list or attempt to fix it yourself.

[Steven@147]

The OP has by now got an ear full from us other owners. Yes, dealership service is a real sore point in the RV arena. And the "Did You Buy It Hear" mentality doesn't help!

It is different I think from the auto service arena, but they have their problems as well. The past electric/hydraulic power steering pump issues with Mopar's and the fuel injector pump fiasco that affects all three truck manufacturers are examples. However I think the automotive service industry is better streamlined/better process than the RV service industry. Also usually when an auto goes in for service it has one problem, RV's go in for service usually with a multitude of problems and maybe across multiple systems, water, power, fridge, water heater, hydraulic leveling, delamination, slides, AC you name it, let alone just general maintenance like repacking bearings.

But Hey, look on the bright side,,,,,,Gosh I hope RV's never get fiber optic wiring and multiple body modules all networked together through a CAN bus like autos have. Each switch has a CAN bus network ID! But I know eventually its coming real soon to an RV dealer near you! It's already started! Heck some RV techs can't do simple things like repack bearings properly, let alone TS a CAN bus problem.

Just a ray of sunshine? LOL's

[Jerryr]

We find most mobile techs are more responsive than the local GD dealer and they break fewer items in the process of repair. Makes me question the value of a GD warranty expect for major items?

Mobile RV service shops are getting busy also. I needed a recall done an first mobile RV Shop said they don't do recalls. After called 2 other shops I finally found a one man mobile shop who was willing to come out and do the recall. I had to pay the RV guy and send bill to Grand Design. It was a lot easier than dragging the trailer to a shop and having them keep it for a month.

I now have the wires rubbing on the fridge recall to do and will have a mobile guy do it if I can get GD to approve. I'm not in a rush since I inspected it and there is no wire rubbing, it just needs to have fridge slid out and wires secured.

[trailrydr]

......But Hey, look on the bright side,,,,,,Gosh I hope RV's never get fiber optic wiring and multiple body modules all networked together through a CAN bus like autos have. Each switch has a CAN bus network ID! But I know eventually its coming real soon to an RV dealer near you! It's already started! Heck some RV techs can't do simple things like repack bearings properly, let alone TS a CAN bus problem.

Just a ray of sunshine? LOL's

The good ole days of being a grease monkey as apposed to a computer tech.....

Of course those first printed circuit board dash displays really made things interesting in those early electronic days as well. Just throwaway and replace instead of repair. But then again my buddies '63 Riviera was loaded with all the bells and whistles - but they still worked 30yrs later! Don't quite have that confidence in my RV... LOL.

[Conguero]

Well, my Dodge had a check engine light on, and I took it to the dealership (I live in a city with 4 Dodge dealerships, so I’m not in the middle of nowhere). They told me it would take 6 weeks to even check for the problem. AND I couldn’t make an appointment for six weeks, I had to leave it there.

This worker shortage has totally screwed up a lot of businesses, and consumers have to deal with it.

RV’s will always lag behind car shops. Welcome to post Covid.

But at least I did have other options for my car repair.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sande005]

The service that I mentioned in my prior post here was minor - the regulator recall. A pain to haul it to the dealer for the 10:00 am appointment, but all closer places (independent as well as mobile) were booked far out, or had no idea when they would get regulators in to use.
Got to the service desk at 9:45. Being an RV owner, I asked for additional work we hadn't discussed - a full roof inspection, and to replace the suspect tongue jack. They let me watch from the outside of the service bay. One guy replaced the reg, and started the leak down test. At the same time, another guy crawled around the roof. And at the same time, a 3rd guy brought over and replaced the jack. Done at 10:30 am.
While paying, I commented on all the poor dealer comments I have read about over the years, and noted how pleased I was with their efficiency. One of the six service writers pipped up with "I used to work at a place like that, still the new guy here. It is SO much better working at a shop that knows how to get work done efficiently. We work on so many more units in a day than in my old job, and have so many fewer customer issues...."

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Would never leave my trailer at a dealer for more than a few days let alone six weeks......
I think it's the reason so many 'seasoned' RV owners do their own maintenance.

[AustexGP]

A lot of that sounds like you should be asking your dealer why......

Right now, parts are the hold up for us. We get the unit in for whatever it was scheduled for, order parts, wait several weeks for the parts, then get the unit back in to replace parts.

All of the service should be done at the initial appointment.

I believe that Steve and Traveldawg are both correct. When I went to pick up the trailer this weekend I had a long discussion as to why the repairs took so long and why I was given different information. As I mentioned in the original post they inspected the roof and found that it needed repaired on the day I brought it in. Insurance approval was done by Monday of the next week and roof materials orders. The inspection was done the week after I had dropped it off. This included hooking up the 5th wheel to power and water and testing all systems. So at this point I'm about a week in and have the roof materials ordered and inspection done. After the roof materials were received there was a problem removing the old roof and installing the new.

Now here where it gets interesting. My dealership was a regional dealership but was sold out to a major RV company about 18 months ago and lost 90% of there staff and now have to hire many. The major RV company is in the process of training and rebuilding the work force with each center hiring and training a maintenance/repair staff. So my dealer has techs coming in from all over the country for weeks at a time to be trained then shipped back to their home base. My dealer hires staff and sends them out to others sites for training. From talking to the service writer they were waiting for the next batch of techs to get to the dealership and start repairs on units that needed brake/axle checks.

I'm not a fan of this but if it gets more qualified techs in the dealerships then we may be better for this in the long run.

Thanks for all of the responses. Seems like we all have issues with dealerships doing repairs. I'm hoping that the industry is trying to do something about it.

[Steven@147]

snip

I'm not a fan of this but if it gets more qualified techs in the dealerships then we may be better for this in the long run.

it.

There may come a time when there are more mobile techs and dealerships still lag behind getting enough trained techs. Most of the work on RVs is still just manual repair labor and parts swappers. Yeah as someone said, that's why a lot of RV owners learn to fix things themselves.

[Overtaxed]

There may come a time when there are more mobile techs and dealerships still lag behind getting enough trained techs. Most of the work on RVs is still just manual repair labor and parts swappers. Yeah as someone said, that's why a lot of RV owners learn to fix things themselves.

Whenever anybody asks me about buying an RV, I always say that if you can’t or don’t want to do your own repairs, you might find RV ownership too stressful. I grew up somewhat poor and have farmed much of my life, so repairing things myself has generally been the only option I had.

Yes and yes. I am blessed to have the better part of an auto shop in my barn, primarily for my farm equipment, but man.. If I didn't have the tools to do just about anything, the space to work on stuff, and cases of grease and oil laying around, RV ownership would be a painful experience. When my rig was under warranty, I took it in for minor repairs; a few doors didn't close right, a blemish on a wall panel, stuff like that. Was there for about 6 weeks, the one major issue (back door not closing right) they never fixed (couldn't get the door) and the small stuff, I think the broke more than they fixed.

If I couldn't do most of the fixes and maintenance myself I don't think I'd want to own an RV. There are just so many little quality of life fixes, sure, you can use it without fixing whatever it is, but eventually, it'll be junky and you won't want to. Calling the dealer for every thing I've fixed, I'd probably have more into the repairs than the RV. Most of it is pretty easy, some of it's messy, and some of it can be pretty hard/uncomfortable (here's looking at you suspension work!). But I take my time, and I do it right; if I don't have the right bolts/screw/part, I order it or get it. When I took it in for service, I found connectors that weren't wet rated on my fridge outdoor compartment. Cause that's what they had handy. Stripped out screws on doors, because.. Well, actually, IDK on that one, it's a #2 phillips screwdriver, you're telling me you didn't have one of them!?

The list goes on. I'm still battling an issue with my generator, and I dread taking it to Onan, but I simply cannot figure it out (I think it's the magneto, but I'm don't playing parts bingo at my expense on a generator that's under warranty).

All that said, I find warranty service for basically anything to be awful. It's always a fight. Maybe more so with an RV, but not dramatically more. I could tell you some Ford, Mercedes, SeaRay, John Deere... It's all bad, it's just degrees of awful.