Community Forums

The Shadow · 08-23-2006, 02:55 AM

Are there any other Cummins engine owners on this forum located in Southern Ontario?

If you have a Cummins in your MH and you live in SO, where do you get the Cummins, Onan, Allison and chassis serviced?

Thanks

Don

The Shadow · 08-23-2006, 02:55 AM

Are there any other Cummins engine owners on this forum located in Southern Ontario?

If you have a Cummins in your MH and you live in SO, where do you get the Cummins, Onan, Allison and chassis serviced?

Thanks

Don

Novi · 08-23-2006, 04:55 AM

Hi Don, were you doing a survey or are you looking for a mechanic within a reasonable distance from Brantford?

The Shadow · 08-23-2006, 05:32 AM

Novi, what I've found since we got our first DP is that the factory truck/engine dealers are not really keen on servicing MHs. Our Journey had a CAT and the guys at Tormont told me that when a MH drove in the mechanics all jumped into a bunker hoping they would not be selected to work on it. A Freightliner dealer basically said the same thing.

I'm not nuts about having my RV dealer even touch the engine, gennie, transmission and chassis given they just took 3.5 months to do what should have been done in 2 weeks or less (all house items).

I've identified a Cummins dealer who does not dislike working on MHs but was interested in determining what other Cummins owners do for service.

With our Journey, we dropped into the Freightliner factory in Gaffney on the way back from FLA in April 2005. That was really good and the prices were reasonable. I've yet to see anything like that in Canada - but I'm hoping that the Cummins dealer we are going to next week for the Annual Service will turn out to be a gem.

Gary Krieg · 08-23-2006, 05:56 AM

I do not know if this will help but you might want to take a look at http://RVServiceReviews.com. This is the only place on the internet where RV owners can document their RV service experiences. There are over 1260 reviews in the US and Canada.

The Shadow · 08-23-2006, 06:10 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gary Krieg:
I do not know if this will help but you might want to take a look at http://RVServiceReviews.com. This is the only place on the internet where RV owners can document their RV service experiences. There are over 1260 reviews in the US and Canada. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sadly, it doesn't have any reports yet Class A service and it only has a handful of entries for Ontario.

Novi · 08-23-2006, 06:38 AM

Hi again Don: The mechanic I use here in St. Thomas specializes in diesels, transport trucks, and has the city contract for their diesel pusher buses, and routinely works on motor homes, gas and diesel. A second option is the Itasca dealer in London. They work on gas engines and diesel pushers and are an RV dealer. They are not a big dealer and are family run. They have treated us well over many years and there is not much they can't do on the motor homes. And I do not own a Winnebago product currently but they said no problem, we don't care what MH you have we'll look after it.

The Shadow · 08-23-2006, 09:51 AM

Thanks Novi. I'll keep the St. Thomas fellow in mind if the dealer I'm booked at doesn't work out. I'm going into the Cummins dealer in Aylmer. They don't do "on the road" trucks but they do service RVs (Cummins engines, Onan gennies, Allison transmission and Roadmaster and other chassis) and just about everything else that has a diesel engine.

I know the fellows at Forest City. If I were buying a Winnie/Itasca I sure would deal there. Wish we'd bought a Meridan there rather than the Journey from Sicard in 2004. Sicard just had our HR for 3.5 months to do 2 weeks worth of work. Same thing happened last summer with our Journey. They have so much business they just don't have the staff to handle it. They guys at Forest City don't want to get into that trap. I had the FC guys do my tow package and they were very good. They DO NOT however get into diesel engines. On the way to get our tow package installed a "check engine" light came on in our Journey. They had no equipment at FC to read the codes. Sicard was the same - which is why I would not let them do the work. When it comes to these expensive components I would like to have the pros do the work. In April 2005 we took the Journey to the Freightliner Factory at Gaffney for year one maintenance and a conversion to TranSynd from Dexron III in the Allison. They were very good and the price was very fair. In this case it was not out of our way as we were returning from FLA and wanted to visit friends in Virginia after the service.

If the dealer in Aylmer works out, I'm going to suggest to Cummins that he be given a special RV status since he "wants to do RV service" - which we all know is not the case with most CAT and Cummins truck dealers (the mechanics all jump in the bunker and hide when a MH arrives).

Novi · 08-23-2006, 10:09 AM

Don I certainly agree with you that I too would want someone who knows what they are doing when working on expensive equipment. Hope the guy in Alymer works out, I know who you mean they are the Onan dealer. I've never had any work done there so can't give you any opion. I too have been to Sicards, they didn't seem too interested since I was not buying new, although they had a lot of used machines there.

The Big Kid · 08-23-2006, 02:11 PM

your could inquire onthis site.

Its a collection of diesel freaks with Dodge pickups with the 5.9 liter Cummins. They might be able to help.

Bushman512003 · 08-31-2006, 04:47 AM

Its a collection of diesel freaks Wow not nice!Bushman..Eh

The Big Kid · 08-31-2006, 01:17 PM

aw well,

after awhile you can figure out who the crackpots are, but you can ask a question and get a million answers. Then someone will disagree, then people get cranky.

funny to watch.

The Shadow · 08-31-2006, 02:51 PM

Novi, the H. Broer guys were very good. Labour charge was reasonable - BUT filters and fluids REALLY added up big time. I've been checking their prices for individual filters (fuel, oil, air) and they don't seem to be too far off. One huge cost was the TranSynd (they used a Fleet equivalent approved by Allison) at $80 per gallon. That was a shafting - 2 gallons $160. I had the entire tranny of my previous MH (Journey) changed from Dexron to TranSynd at Freightliner Gaffney for that amount. I have a full gallon of TranSynd equivalent now.

I "may" go back next year since the amount will be a lot less - no tranny filters (they did change both this year rather than just the main) or tranny fluid. They were very thorough and seemed to know their biz. I was able to get the appointment quickly, whereas with Sicard in Smithville, it is an 8 week wait and their price for TranSynd is much higher.

Don

Novi · 08-31-2006, 03:05 PM

Hi Don, glad to hear they worked out okay for you. Finding someone you have confidence in is a big deal. Someone who knows what they are doing isn't cheap and it seems nothing you do to these rigs is cheap.