Service while traveling

[FletcherSw]

I wonder if we couldn't develop a list of good dealers who provide service for Newmar owners who actually purchased their units to travel with. Those who service travelers should then be given some preference when considering the purchase of an RV to see the country. Two examples, one good, one bad:

Good: I was traveling thru Holt, FL during the summer, and my front A/C started giving me problems. I called Leisure Tyme in Pensacola - the service rep told me that they maintain one service line for vacationers. Its whole purpose is to provide travelers access to emergency help. They will only do one item, because its intent is to resolve emergencies. I called at 4:30PM, and was told to be there THE NEXT MORNING at 7:30. I arrived as directed, and my coach was taken in immediately - I was out before noon. Because of their attitude, they are at the top of my list when I decide to trade.

BAD - We were in Spearfish on 6/16 for the Florida Manatee/Sea Turtle 'pre-rally' prior to Gillette. As some of you know, we had a small tornado hit near the park, and there were 23 coaches damaged out of the 25 rigs parked. One of the worst was scheduled to leave Spearfish on the 23rd and travel to meet their pre-paid
Alaskan caravan
They called Midway in Bismark, ND asking if they could be worked in to leakprook the top wall of the main slide and realign one bedroom slide for leaks. They also explained that they were on the road for the caravan - the FIRST words outof the service rep was, "did you buy yor coach from us?" When told no, his next response was, "it'll be at least two weeks before we can help you." Because they won't work to help travelers, I would never consider Bismark for purchase.

Do you think we can get a list established of those dealers who endeavor to provide service to travelers????

Fletcher
2000 Dutch Star w/ 105K

[rebelsbeach]

Fletcher, I will do whatever I can to support your request for a "Service while Traveling" list.
What we may need to do is start a topic whereby the comments are kept brief, in order to facilitate a more simpler search without reading large posts....Let me know your pleasure.

While I applaud Leisure Time's ability to dedicate one service line to transients, the simple realization might be that for many reason such an action may not be possible.
My experience with the dealers I've dealt with is such a policy whereby they deal with "their" customers first, then "transient" customers and then anyone else....Bismarck apparently doesn't honor such a policy.

[heybc]

I have found that it is rare to find a dealer that has a service dept large enough to service ther own customers, es[ecially in Florida during peak season.

[Gary Krieg]

You might want to take a look at http://RVServiceReviews.com. This is the only place on the internet where RV owners can document their RV service experiences. There are almost 2000 searchable reviews available nationwide and in Canada.

[rebelsbeach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">This is the only place on the internet where RV owners can document their RV service experiences. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well....not really.

[Ken Roberts]

The best RV service I have found anywhere has been via Coach Care which is part of the Cummins operation. There are somewhere around 40-45 Cummins facilities throughout the U.S. that have a Coach Care operation in place. Those that do have dedicated bay(s) for RVs, dedicated technicians, dedicated waiting rooms, etc. They do not care whether it is a Cummins engine or even if it is diesel. They do any type of repair and it does not have to be engine related. The dedicated RV techs. are generally RVIA certified-which we do not always find at RV dealereships.

I personally have used Cummins Coach Care at Harrisburg, PA; El Paso, TX; and Fargo, ND. In the case of Fargo my issue was a front roof A/C and they found out it was a warrany issue and handled with the A/C manufacturer. I had agreed to pay for overnight shipping. The next day the wrong part came in and it was reordered with the promise that it would be installed as soon as it was delivered. The correct part came in just before 10 A.M. and they had me ready to go on the road by 11- when I went to settle up, as I had them do a generator oil change while I was there, their was no charge for the overnight air service. I questioned this and they said we had been inconvenienced another day by the A/C manufacturers screw up in sending the wrong part and that they would deal with them relative to the ovenight air charges.

Most times they provide overnight parking with 30/50 amp electric service. They also tend to have much more amiable hours of operation than RV dealerships.

I do not work for Cummins nor do I have any financial connection with them and am only offering the above as a satisfied customer, Ken,'04 DSDP...

[rebelsbeach]

Ken, I had much the same experience with Cummins Power South in Atlanta. Bill Thomas runs that shop and with the confidence I had in him, if he called and said the sky was falling I'd duck!

A great experience....

[smlranger]

Our local Cummins shop is in the process of becomming a full Coach Care facility (Cummins Southeast in Cloverdale just outside of Roanoke). Staff at that location told me it takes up to 5 years for all the staff training/certifications and physical plant changes. I am pleased to hear good things about them since it is likely I may need them at some time.

[soricobob]

Good:
1.North Trail-Home Dealer-They did a list of 20+ items in two days, and did them right(except TV).
2. Rick's Mobile RV Repair, Sevierville,TN- He solved the TV problem (North Trail did not)which had been troubling us for 10 months.
3. Massey's Diesel, Phoenix: Found him for "final" fan hub fix, and have gone back ever since. A true professional, who finds things wrong (fixes them) BEFORE you know they're a problem (and he's reasonably priced).
Poor:
1. Beaudry, Mesa: when they were Newmar dealers they could not even adjust the front door on my Essex (I was told by them it was not adjustable), nor anything alse on the list I brought them.
2. Beaudry , Mesa: same list as above, fixed two items!

[Jetsmania]

Hi! 1. www.tomschaeffers.com Home dealer for us. Authorized Spartan Service Center, great service.
2. http://www.northtrailrv.com/ On the road i don't think it could be any better then this. Newmar had them send their mobile truck to us a few times. We stopped twice for work at their location. The second time with one hours notice. They had us back on the road, with a change of R6 Sat, within 2 hours. Great service. Paul

[edgray]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">quote:
This is the only place on the internet where RV owners can document their RV service experiences.


Well....not really. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
BOB: you are most correct, Sir! HERE is a link to a thread (almost a year old)right here on iRV2.com, which contains the following:

Other awards included:

"¢ Independence RV Sales and Service Inc., Winter Garden, Fla., North Trail RV Center, Fort Myers, Fla. and World Wide RV, Mesa, Ariz., received the Transient Customer Service award, recognizing retailers that provided excellent service to customers who did not buy the Newmar product from their dealership.


Since Newmar actually gives its dealers special recognition for "transient service", you would think they would make the information readily available to the owners, but apparently not. ED

[park_ridge_dave]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by edgray:

Since Newmar actually gives its dealers special recognition for "transient service", you would think they would make the information readily available to the owners, but apparently not. ED </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

IMHO Newmar seems reluctant to release a lot of info. They will answer questions if you know what to ask, but they don't volunteer a lot.

An example is the generic info that I got with my rig. No detailed drawings of system installations etc. I can call and get a tech to answer questions but I would really like to be able to get detailed drawings (I would gladly pay for them at a reasonable cost). Minor point, but, it bugs me to have to play 20 questions everytime I need an answer. Am I the only one?

[edgray]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">but they don't volunteer a lot. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I find that true with a lot of OEM folks. I suspect they have learned it usually results in more questions and more work for them. ED

[soricobob]

Good- Master Mobile, Las Vegas, NV- analyzed a/c problem over 4th of July (116 degrees) and replaced defective part(in 15 minutes), and billed Dometic.