Take in for warranty work?

[vampress_me]

Probably a stupid question, but here goes. Do I have to take our new 5er in for the warranty work, or can I just get the parts and do it myself? Anyone had experience with this?

The only reason I ask is because the things we've found so far are easy and not necessarily worth a trip to the dealer with the camper. A stereo remote that doesn't work (even with new batteries), a cracked a/c housing on the ceiling (just remove 4 screws and replace plastic trim), and a missing grey water tank handle. That ones about the funniest. Hubby went to empty tanks today and came in and told me the plastic handle and the 6-8" threaded rod extension is just gone. It was there 2 weeks ago camping for our first trip, but not this trip. Now it's just a threaded stub sticking out from underneath. BTW- why would they have a threaded extension under a camper where it can vibrate loose while driving? Doesn't seem like the smartest, but seems like a good place for Locktight on the new one.

So, just wondering if anyone else has done this or if there's a good reason I shouldn't ask the dealer the question. Thank you!

[Festus2]

There is no requirement to take your RV into the dealer for warranty work. In fact, if I can do the job myself, I'd much rather. That way, at least I know that it is done properly, to my satisfaction and completed without having to wait 2 weeks for them to get around to fixing it.

If you can do the repair yourself and leave your RV at home, why bother driving it to the dealership?

Sure, I've lost a plastic pull handle. Bought a new metal one, applied some Loctite and screwed it back on. It just wouldn't make any sense to take to the dealer to do this or ask him why Keystone doesn't use Loctite. I would expect that he would just shrug his shoulders and say, "I dunno".

[vampress_me]

Thank you, Festus2. I was really hoping Keystone didn't have a requirement to bring it in. I also prefer to do my own work if possible, and these are so easy I'd feel like an idiot taking it in.

[Festus2]

I should have pointed out that if you choose to undertake a repair yourself while the RV is still under warranty and you foul it up, don't expect Keystone to authorize a dealer to fix your error at no cost. Before you tackle your own repair, just make sure it is within your expertise and you are certain you can carry it out successfully. Obviously, there are some repairs that are beyond the scope of the average RV owner and require the skill and expertise of someone who knows what they are doing.

The example you gave about replacing a broken or lost pull handle doesn't require a certified RV technician.

[x96mnn]

The dealer where I bought even supplied me with the parts to do some jobs myself.

[Pmedic4]

Just mentioned this somewhere else, but I had several issues on a TT we bought, and it would have been about a 350 mile round trip to take it to a 'authorized' warranty repair center. None of the problems were significant, and should have been easy warranty work, but it didn't make sense to pull the RV that far and spend that much money on fuel just to fix some trim and the seat back. One thing that would have cost some money, was the bathroom fan died, so I spoke with the manufacturer, and they sent me a new fan motor. Probably cost them about $7-8 for the motor, but would have cost me $120 in gas. That didn't seem to be a good trade off.