|
|
06-25-2018, 07:52 PM
|
#1
|
Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 51
|
Gas Coach (Ford) Buyer Beware!
There is no teacher like experience. I researched for a couple years before making the decision to buy a gas coach. Ultimately, there were many reasons that swayed my decision. However, one of those factors was the alleged ease of service. However, come to find out most Ford dealers refuse to work on a motorhome. My parents are bringing my coach up and the coach will not go more than 40-50 MPH and the check engine light came on. It is still under warranty...however, no Ford dealer we have called so far will work on a motorhome. They are limping it along and should be in Oklahoma City tonight. Any recommendations on repair centers in the Oklahoma City area? Thanks in advance for your sage advice and recommendations.
__________________
37.5 ft 2018 Nexus Maybach, 2018 Jeep Cherokee Toad, TPMS
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
06-25-2018, 08:02 PM
|
#2
|
Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Illinois
Posts: 61
|
We traded our Ford mh for a diesel over 3 years ago. But I have a phone number in my contacts that I think was to locate mh friendly service dealers. If your willing to try it it is 800-444-3311. I think it's worth trying. Good luck
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:12 PM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 1,522
|
Most Ford dealers aren’t equipped to handle anything other than cars and light trucks. My local dealer in NC couldn’t even do a “quick lube” oil change on my F-350 V-10. You need to find a Ford commercial truck dealer or repair shop. In Atlanta, there is a Freightliner dealer that did my F-53 oil changes. Look for something like that in OK.
Good luck.
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:25 PM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 1,715
|
I've owned three motorhomes on the Ford chassis. Seems everyone one of them had a sticker on the window with a toll free number to call...that and the Chassis Manual also had the number to call for assistance. Ford should be able to direct you to the nearest service center that can work on it.
I hear what you're saying though. Don't expect to drive to just any Ford dealer and have these things worked on. I was lucky that I had a shop about 50 miles away. I did my own normal maintenance, but did have to use them for a recall once.
__________________
"Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning"
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:30 PM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 961
|
Gas Coach (Ford) Buyer Beware!
Never ran into a problem with my Ford V10 powered motorhome as I never had to go back to a dealer in 5 years. I did go to the regular Ford dealer in Casa Grande for an oil change. Obviously the dealers you have encountered are not the norm. Any one of them should be able to diagnose it as v10’s were available on HD pickups until a few years ago. I’d be calling Ford customer hotline.
__________________
2013 Tiffin Allegro 36LA OPEN ROAD
2012 Honda CRV AWD toad
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:31 PM
|
#7
|
Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 51
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by NCC-1701A
I've owned three motorhomes on the Ford chassis. Seems everyone one of them had a sticker on the window with a toll free number to call...that and the Chassis Manual also had the number to call for assistance. Ford should be able to direct you to the nearest service center that can work on it.
I hear what you're saying though. Don't expect to drive to just any Ford dealer and have these things worked on. I was lucky that I had a shop about 50 miles away. I did my own normal maintenance, but did have to use them for a recall once.
|
We called the Ford warranty number that came with the RV for roadside assistance. However, I just got bounced from office to office and by the time I got to a service number the office was closed. However, someone provided the specific number for Ford Motorhome roadside assistance in an earlier post. Hopefully, that will help.
__________________
37.5 ft 2018 Nexus Maybach, 2018 Jeep Cherokee Toad, TPMS
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:32 PM
|
#8
|
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 15
|
Everyone in my opinion should carry an OBDII code reader to read codes and reset them. Have one with me for my tow vehicle at all times and it has saved my bacon a couple fo times.
Good luck!
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:34 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ringgold, GA.
Posts: 384
|
A Ford CAR dealership will not have a lift big enough to pick up your RV. Also some of their bay doors are not wide enough to even get it into the building! They are also not trained to work on Commercial Vehicles.
Your RV is on a Ford COMMERCIAL chassis so you will need to find a Ford Commercial Truck dealer to work on it. I've been selling Commercial Chassis for 25 years now. Trust me, the LAST thing you want is for a CAR dealership to mess with your new RV.
__________________
Curtis "EZ" Smith
40' 2006 Holiday Rambler Ambassador
2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Hemi Toad
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:40 PM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 14,498
|
Good Luck, my recommendation is to be relentless with warranty issues, do not take no for an answer.
I had a 350 with multiple warranty issues, some were fixed locally, the others ignored.
3 exhaust manifolds
3 tires that had tread separation, remember the Firestone fiasco?
Oil Pump pick up tube weld broke
Transmission seal, new part came with warning saying it was not for heavy duty applications
I send snail mail to the address in the Ford Chassis manual, no response. Finally go PO's and sent registered mail to Henry Clay Ford Jr (then CEO) and finally got a customer service rep's call. He first insinuated that I did not maintain the chasis. Guess What, I was over maintenance in a mining complex with 4 mines and 2 mills. I knew maintenance. He then insinuated that I didn't report. told him of my correspondence but he told me it was addressed to wrong address and they had no record. Finally said if I had notified them of the problems (duh) they could of helped. Finally told him that during my MBA schooling we read that a satisfied customer tells 1 person, a dissatisfied customer tells 10.
Guess what I've told +1000 about my Ford issues.
Can you tell I'm not a Ford Fan!
__________________
Jim J
2002 Monaco Windsor 38 PKD Cummins ISC 350 8.3L
2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee w/5.7 Hemi
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:40 PM
|
#11
|
Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 51
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drewd
Everyone in my opinion should carry an OBDII code reader to read codes and reset them. Have one with me for my tow vehicle at all times and it has saved my bacon a couple fo times.
Good luck!
|
Can it be as easy as just resetting the code? I honestly have never played with the code reader. But, I can learn. Can you give a couple examples of how it helped you?
__________________
37.5 ft 2018 Nexus Maybach, 2018 Jeep Cherokee Toad, TPMS
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:56 PM
|
#12
|
Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Ringgold, GA.
Posts: 384
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappiPappa
Can it be as easy as just resetting the code? I honestly have never played with the code reader. But, I can learn. Can you give a couple examples of how it helped you?
|
If your RV is in "Limp Home Mode" most likely there were several warnings ignored first. Normally, there will be a light that comes on on the dash. Then there will be a warning chime or bell. There will also be a gauge to look at for temperature or whatever. Ford or any other manufacturer will not just immediately send the vehicle into "Limp Home Mode" right away. They usually give you several warnings over several key cycles (turning the vehicle on and off) or a minimum number of miles driven before shutting off the power to prevent further damage. They are TRYING to keep you from driving the RV with the problem it has because continued use is going to damage a VERY EXPENSIVE part or component like the engine or transmission or turbo, etc.
My advice is to tell your Dad to quit driving it and get it fixed. I would NOT have him finish out a trip of several hundred miles at 35-45 MPH. Also, you realize that this vehicle has a computer on it that will tell Ford EXACTLY the first time the first warning was issued and how many times that warning was ignored and how far you drove the vehicle AFTER the warning was issued, right? If it looks excessive, Ford may deny the warranty claim even though your RV is under warranty.
Just a friendly warning. Ford looks for any reason not to cover a repair under warranty. I sold their F350 F450 F550 F650 F750 F850 LT8000 LT9000 trucks for 15 years. They suck when it comes to taking care of their customers. I'm glad I sell Ram trucks now.
Good luck!
__________________
Curtis "EZ" Smith
40' 2006 Holiday Rambler Ambassador
2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Hemi Toad
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 08:56 PM
|
#13
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,975
|
I have a Chevy chassis, it stalled out with a check engine light. Then it went into limp mode. I made it to autozone in my car and rented a $250 code reader with full functionality. Read the code, cleared it and it fired right up. Ended up that driving in the driving rain, water got where it didn’t belong. Never threw the code again. Had I not cleared the code it would have stayed in limp mode.
I had my rig worked on by a Chevy dealer when the caliper locked up. Big mistake, never again. Nothing against the dealer for a car or light truck. They are not set up to manage a big rig. They didn’t even have a tire pump that the psi went high enough.
I know a lot of motorhome repair centers are Chevy workhorse certified. I would imagine even more would be authorized to do warranty work on a ford since they are still being produced. If I had to I would even give camper world a shot.
__________________
2004 Winnebago Adventurer 38R
Proud Navy Mom
|
|
|
06-25-2018, 09:31 PM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 1,381
|
Any Ford heavy truck dealer should welcome you with open arms. Call the Ford truck customer support line and get them to find you a dealer nearby. Also get a ScanGauge so you determine what codes you have and whether or not you should be driving it anywhere.
__________________
Bob
09 Journey 39Z
Southern Ontario
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|