Travel Trailer - Warranty Service Question

[Altazi]

Hello All,

I have not yet purchased a travel trailer, but I have questions regarding RV dealerships and warranty service.

Is it true that RV dealerships are not franchised, and as such, are not obligated to perform warranty service if the trailer was purchased from another dealership. If so, is warranty service available only from the dealership from which you purchased your trailer?

Please tell me about your warranty service and dealership experiences. Thank you!

 

[redbaron]

in short--yes what you stated is true. This is not limited to Travel trailers, but also to high end class A RV's.

For the Motorhome market, there is one dealer that is changing things. Unfortunately, they will not work on travel trailers.

Your best bet with a travel trailer is to test everything as thourghly as possible before you pay. Then find a good local mechanic / tech to do the rest of your work. Warranty work may never be done, so just plan on whatever fails, you will be dealing with directly.

You should get a reliable 3rd party service policy. See @Jireh Financial for products they offer. One that has a good track record for mobile rv service is your best option.

 

[Matt]

It depends on what you buy. In some cases, a dealer might honor the warranty if they sell the same brand as what you bought but it's entirely up to the dealer. If you buy an Air Stream I believe all dealers in the country will honor the warranty but they are in their own class, and your paying for that anyways. In most cases your warranty work will be done by the dealer you bought the rig from. And remember it's only a one year warranty, after that you are on your own. There are some individual components like the axel that might be covered for 3-5 years but typically those components won't fail.
Something else to remember is where you live and how long is your season to camp. In Illinois I only get about 7 months to camp and then we are in winter so really my warranty was only for 7 months because it's packed away the rest of the year and then the warranty is up.
Bottom line is that if you are going to get into RVing then be prepared for maintenance work, it just comes with the sport.

 

[Jireh Financial]

We had some warranty issues with our HR Vacationer and went back to our selling dealer. It was a hassle to drive there each time but seemed like the best way to keep the service level high.
Ken

 

[Altazi]

I thank you all for your responses, despite the fact that they are not overly encouraging .

My requirements for a travel trailer are somewhat restrictive:
- overall length may not exceed 25ft. (Storage space)
- standard-size queen bed, walk-around (not crawl-over)
- double axle

I have found only a handful of new travel trailers that meet these requirements, and no used units at all. I feel forced into buying new because of this. The unit that has made it to the top of our list is the Rockwood Mini-Lite 2205S.

I feel stuck…

 

[Jireh Financial]

Camping and being out is great. I think most people just want you to know that none of them are prefect. You are hauling something down the road and things do move around a bit.
Let us know if we can help with any financing needs. There are some great programs out there.
Thank you,
Ken

 

[Sapphire]

in short--yes what you stated is true. This is not limited to Travel trailers, but also to high end class A RV's.

For the Motorhome market, there is one dealer that is changing things. Unfortunately, they will not work on travel trailers.

Your best bet with a travel trailer is to test everything as thourghly as possible before you pay. Then find a good local mechanic / tech to do the rest of your work. Warranty work may never be done, so just plan on whatever fails, you will be dealing with directly.

You should get a reliable 3rd party service policy. See @Jireh Financial for products they offer. One that has a good track record for mobile rv service is your best option.

I just purchased a Thor Chateau RV and had my first service call with La Mesa RV. I very interesting experience to say the least. All the work is still not done but they are working it. Had my RV in for 3 weeks to get most of the initial warranty work done. Front tire still leaks and am waiting for some parts to come in and some warranty work to be approved. Had 3 service reps in the 3 weeks all very nice people but the issue was getting timely updates on the work done and when I picked it up it was very dirty. I had to call the LA Mesa service rep who did help get things moving. We will see how it all turns out in the end.

 

[redbaron]

I just purchased a Thor Chateau RV and had my first service call with La Mesa RV. I very interesting experience to say the least. All the work is still not done but they are working it. Had my RV in for 3 weeks to get most of the initial warranty work done. Front tire still leaks and am waiting for some parts to come in and some warranty work to be approved. Had 3 service reps in the 3 weeks all very nice people but the issue was getting timely updates on the work done and when I picked it up it was very dirty. I had to call the LA Mesa service rep who did help get things moving. We will see how it all turns out in the end.

La Mesa RV is one of the poorer performing dealerships. You need to be proactive and stay on them. Be the squeaky wheel so to speak.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

I've said it many times, "new guarantees new, ........but not necessarily good". Now with that said, most selling dealers of new products do provide some level of warranty service. Some are glad to take care of their customer's needs, while others are glad to simply take their customer's money. Big difference! Regarding buying a used product from a dealer, some dealers are better than others to support their customers, but other dealers, when you move it off of the lot.......it's yours. You bring it back, you pay, and wait for your turn in line. Our last two trailers were used, purchased from individuals. When the paper passed and documents were signed, it was ours. There is NO warranty regardless of how new or old. Fortunately, I am able to do all the maintenance, repairs, and the like.

Our present trailer, a 2016 model, supposedly has a 10-year roof warranty. Candidly, if we have an issue with the roof, I'd expect to pay the price for a new one. Maybe a tree limb fell on it and insurance would pay....... just sayin'.