Fleetwood/REV service written

[Ritchieg]

I'm thinking about purchasing a FW Storm 32a. We really like the floor plan but since we are new to MHs and this is our first coach we were talking to several people at a show and several told us to think about it. Their take was vet Fleetwood was great back before they went bankrupt and turned into Rev. Since then they said if you have trouble with your coach getting service can be an issue at other places besides where you buy it.
1. If you can get service at another service center you will have to pay for it upfront and then get reimbursed by Fleetwood /Rev
2. Several also voice the concern that rev is a corporation that buys companies rebuild them and then sells them all for profit.

Can any new owners shed any light on this information? Since it's our first motorhome I'm a little leery of buying a motorhome and the company gets sold off to several smaller corporations.

Thanks for your time

[z3406]

Whoever told you that has an agenda. Fleetwood pretty much mirrors the rest of the RV industry in service. What I can tell you about Fleeetwood is that they recognize that dealer service departments can vary greatly. Fleetwood has factory service centers in IN, TX, OR and a new one opening in NV. No other manufacturer of RV's is close to that.

[AFfiredawg]

Only thing I would add is go to the factory device center rather than a dealership for warranty work if at all possible! They have great service at their centers!

[chuckster52]

Originally Posted by Ritchieg

I'm thinking about purchasing a FW Storm 32a. We really like the floor plan but since we are new to MHs and this is our first coach we were talking to several people at a show and several told us to think about it. Their take was vet Fleetwood was great back before they went bankrupt and turned into Rev. Since then they said if you have trouble with your coach getting service can be an issue at other places besides where you buy it.
1. If you can get service at another service center you will have to pay for it upfront and then get reimbursed by Fleetwood /Rev
2. Several also voice the concern that rev is a corporation that buys companies rebuild them and then sells them all for profit.

Can any new owners shed any light on this information? Since it's our first motorhome I'm a little leery of buying a motorhome and the company gets sold off to several smaller corporations.

Thanks for your time

some of that has some merit...4 of the largest dealers have dropped the Fleetwood/American line.....Tom Johnson:Transwest:Southhaven and North Trails all stopped carrying the lines for whatever their reasons where
Now, the Service Center in Decatur is probably Rev Groups strongest point...they do a super job...of coarse ,they get a lot of practice as the Quality in the lines is almost non-exsistent....IMHO
and the OP is correct about the addional Service Centers....problem there is, all the parts are in Decatur....so the expertise and parts are there...Now this is MHO.....C

[Ritchieg]

Looks like Decatur is right at 2 hours from where we live so I guess that's doable. The nearest dealer is about 1 1/2 hours in the opposite direction though.

[Ritchieg]

Guess u sound just buy it from Decatur if that's an option

[pointrow]

Buy where ever you get the best price and go to Decatur for service. I have never been back to my dealer and Decatur is 5 hrs from me.
I have been back several times and usually leave it. Longest they ever kept it was 3 weeeks and that was for self induced body work.
Good luck
Pointrow

[THenman]

Originally Posted by Ritchieg

Guess u sound just buy it from Decatur if that's an option

Not an option.

To the op.

Heard a lot of problems with dealers on warranty work for other brands as well. REV seems to be only one doing something about it with company service centers.

Tom

[Gary RVRoamer]

Whether a dealer will do warranty work is up to them, not Fleetwood. Unlike car dealer, RV dealers are only required to service what they sold. Many will do all any & all, but it's their policy that dictates, not Fleetwood's. Larger dealers usually handle anybody, but the mom & pop places may try to avoid doing any more service work than they have to.
As somebody already said, Fleetwood (and all the other REV Group brands) mirror the rest of the RV industry on both sales and service. They do, however, provide factory service centers in multiple regions and that's a plus. Since you are near Decatur, I would definitely plan on getting most all repairs there. For chassis service, find an authorized shop for the Storm's chassis (Ford F53?).

The old Fleetwood had its pros and cons, and so does the new one.

[old iron]

Rev has a new policy of not sending out warranty parts directly to the rv owner so they can perform their own warranty repair, they now require it to be run thru a dealer which would require an appointment so the dealer can do a repair diagnosis and authorization from Rev, then another appointment for the rv owner to turn in the old part in order to receive the new one. I'm not sure what the industry standard is on sending warranty part's to owner's, but this make's it pretty inconvenient for me and doubt I'll buy another Rev product, they seem to be focused on their bottom line more than the satisfaction of the customer.

[biggcrisp]

True that you can't just call and ask for them to send you a part. However, they will also let you get a diagnosis at the service centers and then send the parts to your house.

Not true that the service center has parts on hand. Some part suppliers are nearby though.

An rv is assembled from parts supplied by many different manufacturers. Dealers have to go through REV -- who has to reach out to their suppliers to secure repair parts. As a REV owner, I have learned to bypass the dealers and therefore hopefully should never have to experience my rv sitting, waiting for service or repairs.

[old iron]

I was told they would no longer send part's directly to owner, old part's must be turned into dealer in order to receive new part's, not sure about service center's, I'm too far from one to make it feasible, previously they did send me part's directly so I could do my own warranty work.

[Cat320]

I was at one of the remote service centers and needed a part. REV was going to put it on, but it took so long, I left and when the part came in they sent it to me. I installed the new part and returned to old one to them as requested.

[old iron]

New policy, all of this must now be done thru dealer, no more shipping direct to customer.