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Old 06-23-2015, 08:59 PM   #1
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Newbie Question about Warranty Work

We recently purchased an Itasca Suncruiser 37F from Camping World in Raleigh, NC and absolutely love it--no buyer's remorse. They were extremely responsive and handled the sale very smoothly. On our first outing to SC, the dash A/C blows air but not COLD air. Plus there are a couple little minor things. We called CW and they referred us to CW in Fayettesville, NC (About 200 miles from home) who were too busy to help without an appt several weeks out. DH called the local independent Winnebago dealership and got the cold shoulder. "They were busy helping their customers..." Does the local dealership have to treat us that way because they could not put the sale together??? Don't they realize that service is a profitable venue? We will be spending $$$ for a satellite system, surge protector, tire gauge system, etc. Plus we do have friends that might buy an RV. What is the typical attitude/scenario for a dealership when the RV was bought 150 miles away? One of the reasons we bought Itasca (Winnebago) was thinking the network of dealers across the country was an advantage if we needed them while traveling. Is my thinking naive? I'd appreciate any insight.
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Old 06-23-2015, 09:08 PM   #2
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Unluckily, most dealers feel that if you didn't buy it here, you are last on our service list. We have too many "real" customers to keep happy. Sad but true. Here in Colorado, our Winnie warranty choices are limited within 500 miles to 3 dealers.
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Old 06-23-2015, 09:15 PM   #3
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I don't know that this is untypical in peak RV season. CW probably gets it's own thread. I'd rather have an appointment put off for several weeks that "bring it in" and have it sit for several weeks.

When buying our toy hauler, I asked this question.. Dealer wanted me to option extended warranties, not pay off the initial loan for 90 days, etc. I said that I wanted "priority service" for a trip upcoming in 30 days. They said that they couldn't guarantee service at all - and this was prior to finishing the sale...

They don't get paid at the same rate (warranty) as they do for general service ($100+/hr). Post sale, they've made their money. You might get better results at other dealers, but what you're experiencing isn't completely atypical.

Note, dash AC *may* be a Ford thing, depending on Chassis.. might want to ask that. IE - not a CW service.
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Old 06-25-2015, 11:53 AM   #4
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Unfortunately that was also my experience on the road in Texas with my new RV. The Winnebago dealer was not interested in helping. He did say if I would bring it in he would get to it in 3 to 4 weeks.
The air conditioning on the dash is Ford. You may try your local Ford deal. I believe that is covered under the Ford warranty he may be more responsive.
We are very fortunate in Kansas City we have two great dealers that service anything that comes in. Transwest RV in Belton MO and Olathe Ford RV in Gardner KS.
I bought my Bounder from Transwest but have the service done with Olathe RV because it is 5 miles closer.
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Old 06-25-2015, 09:16 PM   #5
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I live in Omaha, NE but purchased my new Winnebago ERA from a dealer in Delta, Ohio. That dealer did a horrible prep of the vehicle and on the way to Niagara Falls I experienced several warranty issues including a water leak which prevented the use of the shower and toilet. I called 3 different dealers along my route thinking that they would help me out, not a chance! When I got back home I took it to the local Winnebago dealer, who did the warranty work, BUT I had to pay the bill directly, THEN contact Winnebago directly to be reimbursed. Needless to say, Winnebago has no control on how their dealers treat customers after the sale.
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Old 06-26-2015, 07:39 AM   #6
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dogs162910 sorry to hear about your ERA problems. What model did you get? I just saw the ERA 170C with the drivers side slide. Looks like a good idea.
Start another page and lets us know how you like it. I think that it is a great coach.
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Old 06-26-2015, 10:41 AM   #7
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Even if you buy at camping world, it doesn't mean you get priority service. My coach has been at camping world for 2 months and I am sure if I didn't follow up every week, they would not have looked at it yet
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Old 06-27-2015, 07:03 AM   #8
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Thank you for your insight in how the after sale Warranty work happens (or doesn't). Your comments are VERY insightful. We are still actively trying to get the A/C fixed. Hopefully it is something minor. The Manual says the A/C is made by Evans. We'll contact them on Monday. Jimmy and I decided to go to the Winnebago Rally next month. (The iRV2 Rally is at the same time as our retriever club's Fall Hunt Test. Since I'm the Club Secretary and the Hunt Test Secretary, we can't attend.) We figure the WIN Rally is great opportunity to learn about our MH and its systems. We will continue to pursue getting the A/C fixed BEFORE driving to Iowa in July! I've read a fair amount of RV related material in the 4 years before recently purchasing our Suncruiser, mostly about the differences and features in the various MHs. It's interesting how what I read now takes on a whole new meaning. I'm currently trying to learn and wrap my head around how an inverter works!
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Old 06-27-2015, 07:43 AM   #9
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Artcie,
For your chassis issues, I wholeheartedly recommend Crown Ford in Fayetteville NC.
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Old 06-28-2015, 08:42 PM   #10
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This is PEAK season for RV service and appointments are standard in PEAK season. You weren't treated poorly. It's a fact they are probably real busy and you need to have patience. I would much have an appointment. People buy all the time by flying and buying to get the best price. People move and take their RVs with them to a new area.
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Old 06-29-2015, 07:45 AM   #11
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Jimmy called Evans (who didn't offer much help) and the local Ford dealership and they agreed to look at the A/C. That's a start. Hopefully it is something simple. It would be a much more comfortable drive to Forest City, Iowa in July with A/C!!! We don't mind waiting for an appointment. I'm a very patient person...as long as everything is on the up and up and fair. We WILL get this resolved in due time. I guess never having a MH before, I didn't realize how slammed the service departments are at this time of year. I'm learning.... Thanks for the information. It helps me better understand.
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Old 06-29-2015, 09:21 AM   #12
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Running the house AC by generator is another option. Maybe more efficient.
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Old 06-29-2015, 09:36 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Artcie View Post
Jimmy called Evans (who didn't offer much help) and the local Ford dealership and they agreed to look at the A/C. That's a start. Hopefully it is something simple. It would be a much more comfortable drive to Forest City, Iowa in July with A/C!!! We don't mind waiting for an appointment. I'm a very patient person...as long as everything is on the up and up and fair. We WILL get this resolved in due time. I guess never having a MH before, I didn't realize how slammed the service departments are at this time of year. I'm learning.... Thanks for the information. It helps me better understand.
Dash AC is a bit of a gray area as to whose responsibility it is under warranty. Ford supplies some of the parts like the compressor, condenser and all the typical hardware that's "under the hood" of a typical motorhome. The house manufacturer(in this case Winnebago) supplies the parts (other than the dash control system) inside the motorhome.

In most cases the Ford dealer will work hand in hand with the body builder. We had a problem with the dash AC on our 2001 Winnebago Adventurer. Rather than take it to a Winnebago dealer we went to our local Ford truck dealer. They got in touch with Winnebago and decided who was going to cover what. They worked it our between themselves. There was no charge to us, but like most things it happens at the most inopportune time. We did have to wait a couple weeks, but it was well worth the time.
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Old 06-29-2015, 11:03 AM   #14
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As to your question reference dealers and their willingness to work on units they don't sell. I have experiences both ways. I have had dealers tell me when I was purchasing that their customers go to the top of the pile and units purchased elsewhere get lower priority. I have also dealt with dealers who treat all the same. I have a dealer that I have bought my last 4 units from that are spectacular in sales and service at their Cincinnati shop, but their outpost in New Carlise, Ohio (50 miles closer to me) is pitiful. They bought out the local to me shop several years ago and may have had some reasons for having to keep the current staff on the payroll. I called them to get service on the 2015 35F we bought and used for one 4 day trip 2 weeks after we bought it.

We noticed several things that should have been caught in prep and out walk thru but was missed. We didn't notice several of them until we hand washed it. I called the local office and they callously told me that the first appointment they had was 4 weeks out, ask if I wanted it and stated if I hesitiated someone else might get it. I called the Cincinnati, Office that we purchased it from and they could get to it in 3 weeks but I have to drive 100 miles round trip twice. I called another dealer in the area that sells Winneys and they got me in the same three weeks.

The one I used got it in, figured out what all parts they needed and told me that since none of the things were safety items and parts would be 3-4 weeks coming, that I could come get the unit and bring it back when the parts are in. I picked it up and they went ahead and got me on the schedule the 8th of July to put in the parts they ordered.

I know that this is no different that small engine service. If you want your mower worked on, summer time is too late, the opposite for snowblowers. My guy told me not only are they slammed with units this time of year, but parts are slow coming as well.

As a side note, for those that wonder, he said Winney is one of the best to work with to authorize repair work. They rarely question when they submit warrant approval requests.
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Old 06-29-2015, 12:44 PM   #15
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Artcie - as someone else mentioned, don't hesitate to run your generator and house air conditioner(s). Many of us do that. It provides much more even comfort throughout the coach. I've read several articles that say you'll actually save fuel by doing that. The generator doesn't use much fuel (~.5gal/hr) and the increased mpg more than makes for it...
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Old 06-30-2015, 10:16 AM   #16
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Wow. I was worried that the generator would use up too much fuel to run the A/C while going down the highway. The coach A/C units do a nice job of cooling things down when we are at the CG.

I do have one question... I'd like to keep our residential refrigerator on and keep the food cool on the way to Iowa next month. I was told when we did our walk-through that the refrigerator's power comes from the inverter. Isn't the inverter charging while driving? So if that is true, if we are driving down the highway, we wouldn't be draining the inverter by running the refrig, would we???

I'm going to be front and center during those seminars at the GNR next month! You don't know what you don't know! (One of my fav sayings.) This website has been so helpful. Not only have I learned so much from your comments, but gained some insight by browsing through other threads. Thanks for your help!

We do have an appointment with the Ford Dealership on Thursday morning. Jimmy has been looking at cars there (there is a Toad in our future) and that didn't hurt any. He said the dealership seemed very receptive and wanted to help. :-)
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Old 06-30-2015, 11:06 AM   #17
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Artcie - as someone else mentioned, don't hesitate to run your generator and house air conditioner(s). Many of us do that. It provides much more even comfort throughout the coach. I've read several articles that say you'll actually save fuel by doing that. The generator doesn't use much fuel (~.5gal/hr) and the increased mpg more than makes for it...
I seriously doubt you'll see a fuel savings by running the Onan generator. The typical dash AC unit requires between 2 and 5 HP depending on the heat and humidity. The 5500 watt air cooled HGJAB-J Onan generator uses a 12.9 horsepower engine. It uses .6 gallons per hour at 1/2 load and .9 gallons per hour at a full load.

The dash air is designed to keep only the cab area cool, while the house air conditioner(s) are designed to keep the entire coach cool.
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