Community Forums

spectrum581 · 03-02-2018, 03:53 PM

I am thinking about getting some work done at General RV. The residential refridgerator doors fly open going down the road, as well as a drawer under th front of the dinnete. The wind seems to have gotten ahold of the tv antenna and bent it.The right front tire is wearing more on the outside and has flatspots. There are some other items as well. Just wondering if there are any opinions on General RV Thanks in advance.

BFlinn181 · 03-02-2018, 05:02 PM

Many sources of latches that can hold your fridge shut that don't require shop rates and full retail + markup. Same for the drawer. The antenna may need replacing, so that would be a job for the RV service department.

Google reviews of General RV in Huntley, Il.

Wheel alignment I think would be better done by a truck shop. You don't have your RV identified in your signature, but I'd start with a search for a shop that deals with your chassis make, or you could check for good truck repair shops in your area.

poorboy1942 · 03-02-2018, 05:12 PM

Most of the things mentioned can be done by you. Ninety dollars an hour is a little steep to change a latch. I agree the antenna may require shop attention.
You can have the alignment done at a truck repair shop.
My alignment and Ballance of all six wheels ran just short of two hundred dollars.

MJoyce · 03-02-2018, 05:23 PM

I use Barrington RV in Bartlett. Their service staff have been great. A little closer to you as well.

RaynMary · 03-02-2018, 06:20 PM

We took our last motorhome to General in Huntley for our steps. They started working on it the day of our appointment, finished the same day.

We took our present motorhome to them to get a new windshield, under warranty. They sent it to Marengo auto body shop because the windshield is so big. They did a great job.

General did some electric work on our present motorhome last year, we're very happy with it. In fact, they told us at the time, that the beginning of March was a good time because they had an opening. (before the snowbirds were back, and before the summer campers came in)

I don't if you should do it yourself or not, but we're happy with General and would go back to them.

A Traveler · 03-02-2018, 09:31 PM

I would not let General RV work on an old bicycle, let alone my motor home.

It cost me a lot of money to undo some shoddy and potentially dangerous work they did on my coach.

Never again.

BFlinn181 · 03-02-2018, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Traveler

I would not let General RV work on an old bicycle, let alone my motor home.

It cost me a lot of money to undo some shoddy and potentially dangerous work they did on my coach.

Never again.

If you're going to condemn them, how about some details on the "shoddy and potentially dangerous work." So far it's been one vote for, and your vote against.

sbleiweiss · 03-03-2018, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Traveler

I would not let General RV work on an old bicycle, let alone my motor home.

It cost me a lot of money to undo some shoddy and potentially dangerous work they did on my coach.

Never again.

My experience is similar. They tightened the driver's side mirror on a new MH and it lasted all of an hour. Luckily Thor in Elkhart took us in and fixed it. That fix has lasted four years.

TarasParents · 03-03-2018, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbleiweiss

My experience is similar. They tightened the driver's side mirror on a new MH and it lasted all of an hour. Luckily Thor in Elkhart took us in and fixed it. That fix has lasted four years.

As we need to "tuck in" our mirrors when in the warehouse for winter storage when pulled back out the pivot bolt tends to loosen and the wind blowing against it driving down the road blows it inward.

There is a round plug under the mirror head you pop out and the 9/16" bolt is there to be tightened. You should be carrying a basic set of tools with you. A simple tightening with a 3/8" drive socket on the ratchet handle and you're done. Mirror pivots do tend to loosen from the constant air pressure against them.

Even if that's above your ability it's a good idea to carry basic tools so someone else has them to assist. This isn't a dig, it's good to be prepared.

BFlinn181 · 03-03-2018, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TarasParents

As we need to "tuck in" our mirrors when in the warehouse for winter storage when pulled back out the pivot bolt tends to loosen and the wind blowing against it driving down the road blows it inward.

There is a round plug under the mirror head you pop out and the 9/16" bolt is there to be tightened. You should be carrying a basic set of tools with you. A simple tightening with a 3/8" drive socket on the ratchet handle and you're done. Mirror pivots do tend to loosen from the constant air pressure against them.

Even if that's above your ability it's a good idea to carry basic tools so someone else has them to assist. This isn't a dig, it's good to be prepared.

I agree. To pay an RV shop to tighten a mirror seems silly to me, but then I earned big pocket money as a teen in a marina doing just such simple 'repairs.'

A Traveler · 03-03-2018, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

If you're going to condemn them, how about some details on the "shoddy and potentially dangerous work." So far it's been one vote for, and your vote against.

Fair enough.

I was having a problem with the hydraulic pump on my HWH jacks and slide system. The pump would not run consistently. I took it to General RV to be repaired. After a few days they called, told me everything was fixed and working fine.

When I went to pick it up, the hydraulic pump did run consistently. However, I thought it was odd that whenever the hydraulic pump ran, the blower motor in the dash also ran. Then, on the second trip after this repair everything quit. When I inspected my hydraulic bay, I was stunned! They had run a couple of extra wires between a couple of points in the hydraulic bay. All of the protective boots on the plugs going into the HWH control panel had been pulled back, leaving the wires and plugs exposed. Worst of all, a portion of one of the wires they had put in had melted!

I decided to have the HWH factory take a look at this. I took the coach to their facility in Moscow, Iowa. When their tech began his inspection, he was astounded! The lead man on the crew called all of the HWH techs together to show them what had been done to my coach. After a little more troubleshooting, the lead tech turned to me and said, “I’m amazed you didn’t have a fire.” A new pump solenoid fixed the problem.

Instead of actually fixing the problem, the General RV tech simply jumpered power from one place to another in the hydraulic bay, in order to make the hydraulic pump run. They treated the symptom, not the disease. And their “treatment” could have caused a fire and damaged my hydraulic system! When I brought this to their attention, their reaction was essentially, it’s no big deal.

I guess it’s also no big deal to for them lose a customer, either. I’ll never go back to them for anything.

Sue46 · 03-04-2018, 07:32 AM

OP. Dealers hourly rate is extremely high. I would only go to a dealer if there is no other recourse. There are plenty of 3rd party repair shops to do the work correctly and promptly. I am not saying General is not good but you can save some money by going other places.

Truck shop for an alignment and probably a new tire.

You can buy something for the refrigerator doors. Dealer isn't going to help that problem. We ended up using bungee cords.

TV antenna if you are handy you can do yourself. You will need to decided if you want a batwing or the omni directional ant. I am surprised it bent due to wind, never heard of that before.

Drawer latch probably needs some adjustment that you can do yourself. If that doesn't work get a kiddie lock at Home Depot.

JohnH12 · 03-04-2018, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Traveler

I would not let General RV work on an old bicycle, let alone my motor home.

It cost me a lot of money to undo some shoddy and potentially dangerous work they did on my coach.

Never again.

Same for us in Florida.
The list is too long to post here.
Just say we took delivery in April and they have had it for 5 months either waiting to work on it, or fixing things they screwed up. Several repairs by them required a rework by me after we got it home.
We just LOVE making bank payments for an empty driveway.