Community Forums

MoHoGo · 08-28-2018, 07:05 AM

Called today to get an appointment for an oil / filter change at Spartan. Was told 3 months before they could schedule. It is a bit of a shame since they did such a good job last year. Guess this is the price of success. Yes I know I can take it to other places for the same service, but at last years inspection they found so many major defects in their chassis (which were corrected ) that I wanted to get them to look at it again. Service seems to be one area that Freightliner has Spartan beat hands down with their extensive service network. :-(

So my question is does anyone know of a decent Spartan level service center around Entegra in Middlebury or Traverse City. Maybe a Cummings Coach Care site. Something in the Tampa area could work as well. I know I can go to their location finder, but was looking for some personal recommendations.

Twomed · 08-28-2018, 07:13 AM

Cummins Ocala...great techs, overnight hookups if needed. EZ on/off I-75.

Get in before the snowbirds show up.

brobox · 08-28-2018, 07:51 AM

It is sad for any service up north during the summer time, then in reverse in the south during snowbird season. If I want service on my MH in the Ft Myers area, book 5 months in advance, or go to a truck repair shop.

Last year I used Just Trucks/Cherry Capitol RV in Traverse City for an A/C compressor replacement and AC rebuild. They did an outstanding job. https://www.justtrucksrepair.com/

Also second Cummins Ocala if on your way to Tampa. Outstanding service and nice overnight facility, water and electric on nice grass pads with shaded oak trees. That is my go to shop for warranty work

AlKat · 08-28-2018, 09:02 AM

Cummins Sales & Service in Grand Rapids, MI. (616-538-2250)
They have a separate service area for RV’s and do outstanding work, go online and read there reviews!

Ready2Travel · 08-28-2018, 09:21 AM

Had a good experience (bad tag axle air bag) at Cummins in Des Moines Iowa 8 days ago.

They are a level 1W Spartan authorized (Full chassis repairs/complete engine warranty repairs)

Fattman-Litlboy · 08-28-2018, 09:40 AM

Don't blame Spartan. They have bigger issues to deal with other than oil changes, which is not a Spartan issue. Cummins or any other authorized service center can do this easily. If I want real Spartan Service, I truly don't want to wait in line behind some owner wanting an oil change.

MoHoGo · 08-28-2018, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fattman-Litlboy

Don't blame Spartan. They have bigger issues to deal with other than oil changes, which is not a Spartan issue. Cummins or any other authorized service center can do this easily. If I want real Spartan Service, I truly don't want to wait in line behind some owner wanting an oil change.

It was a bit more that an oil change. What I wanted them to do was a full annual service. Basically this was because during my last visit there they found a bad steering box, a missing 8" bolt that holds the tag axle on (there are only two bolts on each side for this). The fuel tank bung was leaking so anything over a half tank would leak out. The inside front axle seal was leaking as well. They did a great job of taking care of all of these issues and the tech was great.

Since they were able to resolve these issues I would have liked them to look at it again. But 3 months for an appointment just didn't work for me. I would guess if you had a serious problem they would work you in, but who knows. They said they were fully booked for the next 3 months before they knew the full extent of what service I wanted.

Will probably try some of the suggestions above like Cummings Coach Care. This is not my first rodeo with Spartan Charlotte. When the radiator was leaking they wanted to send me to Camping World of all places. Thankfully we purchased from NIRVC and they took care of that issue. If we were in the Atlanta area I would probably use them for the annual service and still may, but just thought that since I would be in Middlebury for the AIR Spartan would be my first choice. Yes I know that the engine is Cummings, but the chassis is Spartan so for all of the other things I wanted done they seemed like a good choice.

docj · 08-28-2018, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

Last year I used Just Trucks/Cherry Capitol RV in Traverse City for an A/C compressor replacement and AC rebuild. They did an outstanding job. https://www.justtrucksrepair.com/

Thanks for this recommendation. More MH owners need to understand that they don't have to go to their dealers or their chassis manufacturer or engine manufacturer's service centers to get excellent service. DP's are "heavy trucks" and any good truck service center should be able to do repairs as well as provide routine service.

I take mine to a CAT service center only if there is a significant engine issue; they could also fix chassis problems but their labor rate is usually high and it's not their primary area of expertise.

For repairs and routine service I personally recommend Iron Horse RV in San Antonio. In my experience they can and are willing to repair just about anything. They don't sell any new or used RVs, so you don't have to worry about ranking behind their "sales customers."

Johnnypac · 08-28-2018, 02:15 PM

There is a large Cummins Coach Care service center near Elkhart. We took our generator auto start there to be reprogrammed while we were in Middlebury.

hobart22 · 08-29-2018, 08:22 PM

Even for major problems spartan can’t get you in, leaking radiator and they can’t get me in until the end of nov. I go to a Cummins shop and have no problems, in fact prefer a Cummins shop to Spartan.

**TonyDi** · 08-29-2018, 09:10 PM

I agree with Docj. There are many qualified truck mechanics that know MHs like the back of their hand. I use a mobile truck mechanic for all my chassis work and he is spot on and has never failed me. Plus his rate of $90/hr is more than reasonable.

Meredith410 · 09-03-2018, 07:28 AM

I had this discussion with Big Mike at the training class in May. About lack of qualified repair / service options. He gave me the name of 2 shops that were within my area that he knew personally. One of them I had already heard locally - they do mainly trucks but are very good with alignments, and other chassis related issues.

So I would recommend calling Big Mike at Spartan to get a no BS recommendation for your area.

Steve 716 · 06-20-2019, 03:59 PM

A few weeks ago I departed from Spartan after my final warranty visit. I kind of anticipated that Spartan would breeze through my issues, leave some items unresolved, then I am on my own, just as Entegra does. Entegra's attitude since my two year warranty ended has been "Steve who?". I was wrong about Spartan though.

I have had three warranty visits plus another for Spartan school. I also had them send a surge tank for replacement to one of their authorized service centers between visits 2 and 3.

Here is what Spartan has done. They took my list and made sure they found the cause of each listed item and fixed it. They found other issues I didn't know about that they also fixed. Examples 1: They found one of my tag shocks was leaking, so they replaced both of them. Example 2: They found multiple air leaks and fixed them. I had listed the two I knew about. Example 3: I listed two leaking wheel seals. They replaced all of them. Example 4: When I found rust in my surge tank I sent photos. They asked me where I was (Ohio), found a service center 20 minutes away, and overnighted the tank. I made an appointment, drove in, and the work was done without any money changing hands. Example 5: During my recently completed visit I listed a slow coolant leak. They found a clamp that was missing, replaced it, tested the system again, and replaced the radiator with the new style because it was leaking slowly when the coolant wasn't hot. Example 6: During the same final visit I listed another wheel leak. They found that some of the fluid had gotten on one of the front brake pads so they replaced both pads. When they tried to adjust the pads they found one of the calipers wouldn't adjust it, so they replaced it as well. They didn't have one in stock so they had the replacement overnighted in and I was gone the next afternoon. They were apologetic about it but I was thrilled they made the effort. There are other examples, but you get the idea.

My experiences with Spartan have always been good. I contact a specific person in customer service when I need help and always receive a quick reply. The service technician who works on my coach is Kyler and I trust his work and what he tells me.

As far as scheduling a service appointment I have scheduled about a year in advance. Two weeks before the last one I need to change it to a month later and it wasn't an issue.

Oh, and there is this. If I upgrade my coach the new one will be on a Spartan Chassis.

jrugarber · 06-20-2019, 05:05 PM

Steve,

Thanx for the comprehensive list of items that were identified and corrected, in addition to the overall feeling of professionalism that you describe and Spartan seems to provide.
We will be attending the Spartan/Entegra Class 9.16-20.2019 in Charlotte Mi. and are excited about the visit! Through reading various post such as yours I am building my list of items to be looked at so I can be somewhat prepared upon our arrival, and not be overwhelmed by information overload!

Thanx again...
Safe travels.