Challenger purchase
 

When we purchased our Challenger, I contacted Thor and asked for a list of recommended dealers within a 100 mile radius, other than CW. That has worked well to date.

Thank you Sanford...are you saying you intentionally avoided CW? Was that based on personal experience or just by reputation?

I'm not Sanford, but I will weigh in, hope you don't mind.

We intentionally stay away from CW service. We purchased at CW, and that went fine, but our personal experiences with the service department left us dissatisfied and looking for options. Fortunately, we found a mobile RV tech who does great work, for a fair price, and in most cases we make an appointment for him to come within the week, and he completes the job on the spot. I don't have to take it to CW and call 2 weeks later to learn they "don't have authorization from Thor yet." Then call Thor and learn they just received the request that day, shortly after I called CW. Then call again for 2 weeks to push them to actually do the work. Then go to pick up the coach and discover they did the wrong work, or only part of the work, or ordered the wrong part, or lost the part they received, or.... you get the picture.

However, I think it's important to note that people in this and other forums give very mixed reviews on CW service and I believe it's a case by case thing. Some are well run, some are not, and everything in between. So if I were buying a coach and had a CW nearby, I think I would at least give them a shot.

Thank you both for the feedback. Are you saying that you used a mobile RV tech to perform routine repairs during your warranty period? I was under the impression that those services were only used when you couldn't travel to a dealership. Perhaps it would be worthwhile for others to share how they get work done during their warranty outside of the dealership...and how they find a trustworthy mobile RV tech?

Yes, because of personal experience.

There is no restriction by Thor on who does the work, as long as they have the appropriate license. The process is different, though. With the dealer, you can take the coach in and leave it, they contact Thor and get the authorization to do the work, and Thor pays them direct. There are non-dealer service shops that also have an agreement with Thor and can do the same.

With a mobile service or a shop that does not have a service agreement in place with Thor, in my experience, I had to contact Thor, tell them what the issue was and get their pre-approval to have the mobile tech do the work. I sent them the business card of the mobile tech. With both of the mobile technicians I have used, Thor granted approval within a day.

The tech does the work, I pay the direct myself. I send the paperwork to Thor, along with whatever else they require (for example, recently a hydraulic line had a leak caused by a sharp piece of metal on the frame, and Thor had me send the bad piece of hose to them). Thor then reimburses me, and it can take a while. First time, it took about 2 weeks. This time, I'm at two months and waiting.

For me, it's been much better having the mobile repair service. He comes within a few days of my calling him, and gets the work done on site in a minimal amount of time (same day, for me so far) and my coach is ready to go. If it takes time to get the money back, at least I know it's coming and I have the use of my RV.

Hope that's helpful. Regarding finding a good tech, I was fortunate to get a referral from my sister in law and her husband, and the guy was gold. But for the hydraulic line, he was on vacation for two weeks. I went on a local Facebook group page for Arizona RV owners and asked there, and got several referrals. I checked each one's ratings on Google, Yelp, etc and picked one, and he's a gem.

Mike

Screen door slide
 

Our 2015 KT screen door slider is badly cracked from sun damage and I expect it will fall apart any day. The mfg - Dexter is out of business and I can not find a single left hand slider anywhere. Does anyone know of a source? I think I will paint it white in the hope paint will prevent further sun damage. Recommend everyone with same problem do something to minimize sun damage.

Chuck, what are you calling the slider? Maybe its too early in the morning, but we don't have anything on our screen door that slides as far as I can remember.

Mike, I am not a Facebook user, but can you tell us who this gem is and where in AZ he is? Thanks. Maybe the name of the one from your SIL too please?

When did Dexter go under? We have a Dexter door on a 3 month old 2018...

Pic attached - sidewise. I don't expect it to last much longer. Painting it - waited to long. Now thinking about some kind of sticky back material that I can cut to fit. Might hold it together another season. BTW folks - it is not an easy project to take the slider out. Normally would just lift it up till bottom clears track. Can't lift high enough. Looks like it will be necessary to remove edge screws on one end to get enough space - and that will create a problem with the screens.

Could you try coating it in an epoxy or resin? You’d still have to paint it because they’re non-UV stable But you might get a few more years out of it.

We have the exact same plastic cover on the screen door of our 2017 Challenger. I would contact Thor and ask them for the contact information for the distributor of the screen door, or how you might acquire that part.

Or try this?

https://www.prvparts.com/product-p/4701-00.htm