More newbie problems

[Walter M]

The day after picking up 2016 Voltage 3005 we started on a trip from Tucson to Show Low AZ........100 miles into trip, stopped to check rig and contents.......front side door lock frozen......rear side door barely opened.......called dealership and instead of immediately taking care of problem, I was given warranty phone numbe.......of course this was a recorded message to call back Monday.....called dealership several more times and was given number for authorized dealer in Phoenix area...over 100 miles away.......so basically, 24 hrs after taking delivery, I'm driving down the road in a brand new $50,000 trailer with no functioning doors and the dealer wants me to go through the warranty process and drive 100 miles to replace a standard locket that could be done at any RV repair shop......it gets worse.....finally received permission to drop off unit at local RV repair shop.....they were very nice and helped me unhitch for first time.......however, this morning I drove by the repair shop and saw that they moved the Voltage......I have a super glide hitch system that requires a specific adapter to tow the unit or, according to the manual damage will occur to the kingpin......shop closed today, so I'll have to sweat it out until Monday to see if this is going to get really expensive.....maybe I'm not cut out for this type of recreation.......

 

[sundancer 87]

It's rough, it's tough, to experience these problems even before you get your RV home.


It's a mystery what happens to your RV at the dealership but things get repaired and sometimes correctly. They probably moved your RV to the shop or yard with a forklift with a fifth wheel attached to it. Your RV has been moved from spot to spot by various methods long before you signed the papers and had the super slider installed.


If you decide to stay the course in this mind bending recreation you'll soon learn to not sweat the small stuff. Enjoy what works properly in the moment and get the problems taken care of later.


If I lived in Show Low I'd learn right off about winterization methods. You'll need to know how or pay to have it done.


Peruse this forum every morning and you'll learn more than most dealers know. We take care of our problems if they are within our scope of repair. Give me five or six members here, six months set up time, resources and we'll build the best thing on wheels.


**** happens, it's an expectation but don't let the problems get in your way of enjoying your 50k RV.

 

[Mole]

Three step process:
1) Take a deep breath.
2) Say "It will be okay!" out loud
3) Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you become calm again.


I work in Industrial Maintenance also known as Maintenance Engineering. There are very few things that an average person can't work on in an RV with proper training and normal hand tools. The biggest drawbacks are knowledge and the confidence in doing a good job. And like Sundancer 87 stated, if five or six members were close enough to open a shop, you'd have the best service center or manufacturing center ever. It might even be as fast as a manufacturers shop.

 

[ranbud]

Fully Understand

Having had a couple RV's before, we were buying a new Voltage 3818 as a full time travel model. But what I did was to park it in a local rv park for a couple months near the place I bought it. Moved everything in and just started learning what was what, found some problems and had to have them come out, but they hate to do any type of warranty work as they do not get paid that much to do it, so it will always be a fight, RV dealers live on sales and repair work, warranty work is an evil necessity to them. What I have come to do is pay a fe wbucks out of pocket to mobile RV repair guys after getting approval from warranty. Cost me out of pocket a little more, but worth not having to take everyone to a hotel for a day when you have animals to deal with. Best thing to do is watch the repair guys, learn, learn, learn to do things yourself as much as possible and save those nerves!

 

[lcv800]

How does that work? Do you call Dutchmen for approval and then call the repair guy or what? I'm not a real handy guy but like everyone else, I don't want my unit tied up for days or weeks. I'd rather drop a few extra bucks and get it done right away (or park next to a Cale or Pirate, LOL).
Rusty

 

[ranbud]

Depends on your warranty, regular or extended, I have extended and I am just required to get approval from them prior to the work. The deductible is higher but for me when I use a mobile guy, worth having the guy come out to me vs me packing up and take it in for extended time. Also, on some minor items, it is worth just paying out of pocket vs all the trouble of trying to take the unit in when you are a full timer. Then when the guy works on it, I stand there and observe so I can learn the ins and outs and learn some of things I can then do in the future myself.

 

[lcv800]

I'm guessing that is not going to work on a regular 12 month warranty would it?

 

[ranbud]

It might, have to ask them but these mobile guys do warranty work, just cost you a bit more

 

[ewacowboy]

IMHO....the best way to tackle the 12-month warranty is to get the coach to a dealer that you trust and is authorized to do the warranty work (mine is not a Voltage dealer but Keystone...so they are able to take care of the warranty issues). Show them the issues you have and have them take pictures and notes. Usually this doesn't require an overnight stay. The dealer then needs to email Voltage/Keystone for approval on the required repairs. Tell the dealer once they get ALL approvals and ALL parts in stock you will make another appointment to have the work completed. That way you're not at the dealer for days/weeks at a time.

 

[Pirate-DUTCH]

Rusty,

Thanks for the compliment!!

Walter,

Things will come together. As Sundancer and Mole comment, take a deep breath and begin working through the issues.

Not sure exactly what you meant, but did both of the door locks fail? Meaning the key wouldn't turn or it would, but the door wouldn't open? I had to adjust the size of the hole in the door frame plate and remove some wood from behind the plate to get my door locks working smoothly. Then wife, er BOSS, snapped a key off in the garage side door...so found that I could get a complete replacement lock with a key to match the front door...for less than $50. So I did that and things work fine now.

I guess the thing to think about...you purchased a $50,000 RV. Fine, but think of it like buying a house, not a new car. Yes, I've had new cars/trucks that needed nothing the entire warranty period. But I've yet, in seven tries, to buy a house that didn't give me headaches within a day. Even the last one, and I designed it, specified everything, and did my best to oversee construction as best I could...still got items that have to be taken care of.

Such is life. You may not be the most handy guy in the world. But what's nice is we now have the internet and this forum as a place to go and ask for help. And just like school, work, etc. "the only dumb question is the one that doesn't get asked."

There are lots of us here to help!!!

Pirate

 

[DonZinger]

My door locks will end up being replaced as well. Over the winter, the started acting weird. Like one of them would not let go of the key! Had to leave it in the lock for about a week. Each day, I went out and spent a few minutes wiggling and twisting (up until I got so pissed that I was afraid I was going to break it off). Finally, one day it came out. But I am worried now about locking it and not getting back in.