Community Forums

johnhicks · 08-09-2016, 08:58 PM

The words "we'll be living in your parking lot for the duration" seems to put the fear of God in 'em.

A few shops have demurred but the majority have tried to make it as painless as possible.

SpaceNorman · 08-09-2016, 09:30 PM

I've stayed in ours during a couple of maintenance trips - and it worked out great. I scheduled the work well in advance ... arrived late in the evening the night before, pulled into a "guest spot" and hooked up to shore power. Around 8:00 am, I'd get a knock on the door - and given a "15 minute warning" - which was my signal to unplug and close up the slides. A service tech would come by shortly after and drive the coach into the shop. I literally stayed inside the coach - working my day job while it was in the work bay as they worked on it. It was great!

We've been having issues with our air leveling system lately. It acted up again last week while we were on the west side of the state. I called our dealership and asked if I could drop it off. They gave me the OK but advised that they were booked with appointments until August 18th - but that they'd fit me in sooner if possible. Being that we're planning to leave on a two month, 5K+ mile trip in early September - I told 'em as long as I get it back before the end of the month - I'll be ok. We dropped it off last Wednesday (8/3) with a laundry list of things to be addressed.

At 9 am this morning (8/9) - they called me!!!! Everything on my laundry list of service tasks has been addressed (annual services on the engine, generator and aquahot and a switch issue with new entry steps that I installed.) The problem with the air leveling system has been identified and the necessary parts ordered - with approval of our extended service contract provider (which means the fix for that will be the $50 deductible). They also discovered that the inner tire on the road side dually was flat - so they fixed that for me as well. They expect the parts to arrive early next week - and expect to have everything done by the end of next week.

I couldn't be happier! None of the other places I've taken my coach to for service have EVER called me - much less called me to give me a status update in which my repairs were being completed way ahead of the time frame they initially projected!

Cat320 · 08-11-2016, 05:42 PM

Staying in your coach for an extended period is lots of wear and tear on the coach and a PITA for you. Every AM, you have to get up, tear everything down for travel, unplug water, sewer, cable and power, bring the slides in, fire it up and drive a couple of hundred yards (not good for a big diesel). Then you have to go somewhere for the day (unless lucky enough to be having work done that would allow you to stay in the coach...which would get old), then at quitting time, reverse the AM procedure. I've dropped my coach off twice. Once I had a 750 mile trip home, the second time only 300.

SpaceNorman · 08-11-2016, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cat320

Staying in your coach for an extended period is lots of wear and tear on the coach and a PITA for you.......

I guess I'm not understanding your logic. Staying in my coach for extended periods is exactly why I purchased the thing. Now I'll grant you that I didn't purchase it to live on the dealer lot ... but a living in it for a couple of days while having work performed on it doesn't strike me as a big deal. In my case, I'm usually killing to birds with one single stone ... I'm typically working my day gig and having my coach serviced under my own watchful eye.