Military and Purchasing a TT?

[Eddie A.]

My question relates to getting a TT serviced as we move around the country due to military service.

I'm a combat veteran and my wife is currently active duty Army. We are considering buying a Keystone Cougar here in WA, but are concerned about getting our unit serviced once we change duty stations and have to move away from the local dealer where we buy our unit. I've heard the horror stories about only being able to get service from the dealer where the unit was purchased and was wondering if there are any military folks here who have bought a unit and tried to get service at a new duty station?

Do dealers take mandatory military moves into consideration when deciding who's being out on the back burner for service?

Thanks in advance for any insight or advice.


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[Ken / Claudia]

Interesting question. I do not have information if any dealers would put you before others or not. But, think about the vehicle, a travel trailer, really any RV. They are used by people who travel. Many will break while away from the purchased location and dealer. Do what you can to find out about the dealer before you visit it. Some are great, some are likely lousy. My advice learn to fix and repair as much as you can and save yourself from going to the repair shop. Go on here and get advice when things are not working or you have questions. My life as a cop. I arrested many who had jobs working in different trades. I told myself if these guys who are drunks and drug addicts can work on plumbing, roofing, sheet rock, painting etc. I can learn and do it and do it better. And I have. I built a whole garage and many more projects. I service any RV I have owned. Heck with the web available repairing everything is on u tube to show you how. Yes it takes time and some do not have the time. But, most stuff is easy to repair or service on a RV.

[Eddie A.]

Interesting question. I do not have information if any dealers would put you before others or not. But, think about the vehicle, a travel trailer, really any RV. They are used by people who travel. Many will break while away from the purchased location and dealer. Do what you can to find out about the dealer before you visit it. Some are great, some are likely lousy. My advice learn to fix and repair as much as you can and save yourself from going to the repair shop. Go on here and get advice when things are not working or you have questions. My life as a cop. I arrested many who had jobs working in different trades. I told myself if these guys who are drunks and drug addicts can work on plumbing, roofing, sheet rock, painting etc. I can learn and do it and do it better. And I have. I built a whole garage and many more projects. I service any RV I have owned. Heck with the web available repairing everything is on u tube to show you how. Yes it takes time and some do not have the time. But, most stuff is easy to repair or service on a RV.



Thanks for your input. I like to think I'm pretty handy and am constantly on forums and YouTube. That said, I was was wondering because of the stories I've heard about folks waiting months to have work done at dealers. It does seem like fixing things one's self would be more cost effective and timely.


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[Ken / Claudia]

Reading on here most of that is regarding warranty work and it would suck being told it would take weeks or months. Spend hours going over everything on the trailer before you leave the lot will help prevent some of that. If you can stay in the unit for several nights at home or near the dealer will also prevent other problems that may pop up. I think to many new RV buyers look at the colors of the furniture or tv s in the unit if you know what I mean And do not really look at each cabinet, test the stove etc. and than find problems the dealer did not fix and should have before it was sold.

[sourdough]

I don't think you're going to get a break so to speak. Maybe in the dialogue with the service department but not in real life. When traveling for us it's been pretty good but we use CW pretty much exclusively and that's where we bought and we do a lot of business there. I think lots of places will try to take care of you....if they can, but not necessarily all of the time. The tales about waiting weeks to get in are very real.

[Eddie A.]

Reading on here most of that is regarding warranty work and it would suck being told it would take weeks or months. Spend hours going over everything on the trailer before you leave the lot will help prevent some of that. If you can stay in the unit for several nights at home or near the dealer will also prevent other problems that may pop up. I think to many new RV buyers look at the colors of the furniture or tv s in the unit if you know what I mean And do not really look at each cabinet, test the stove etc. and than find problems the dealer did not fix and should have before it was sold.



Luck for us even though we live in an HOA neighborhood and can't camp at home our local military post has a full service RV campground on a lake and is only about 20 miles from the dealer we intend to purchase from. We'll do a meticulous walkthrough, a proper shakedown trip and hopefully have most of the warranty issues worked out before we have to move.



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[JRTJH]

I am retired military and had an RV during most of my stateside assignments. Dealers around military installations are very familiar with the PCS moves that are far too frequent with the military. Most will take that into consideration and help where they can. Realize that the warranty is only 12 months, so it'll be "long gone" possibly before your first move, so take that into consideration.

As stated, Camping World tends to have an "open door policy" when it comes to service. From my few interactions with CW and from what others have said on this and other forums, most CW centers will work with you where they can, so that might be one of your first places to look for service away from your selling dealership.

[Eddie A.]

I am retired military and had an RV during most of my stateside assignments. Dealers around military installations are very familiar with the PCS moves that are far too frequent with the military. Most will take that into consideration and help where they can. Realize that the warranty is only 12 months, so it'll be "long gone" possibly before your first move, so take that into consideration.



As stated, Camping World tends to have an "open door policy" when it comes to service. From my few interactions with CW and from what others have said on this and other forums, most CW centers will work with you where they can, so that might be one of your first places to look for service away from your selling dealership.



Thanks for the tip!


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[bsmith0404]

We never had an issue getting service from dealers around the bases. They never even asked where we purchased our RVs. When we retired and moved away from a base, we started having issues with dealerships putting us off 2-3 months in favor of their customers who purchased from them. We quickly discovered Camping World was the way to go. We've had our 5er into the local CW twice over the past 2 years, both times it was taken care of within a week of calling for an appointment.

[Grawe]

Eddie, we are active duty Air Force and had the same concern. A simple conversation explaining the circumstances put us on a good level with our new warranty dealer. They clearly understood and don't categorize us with someone who bought from their competition or online dealers. We have had a blast being AD and full timers. Make sure your read reviews before making your purchase. Good luck and enjoy the lifestyle.



2015 Jayco Pinnacle FLSA & 2008 Chevy Duramax

Anxiously awaiting retirement where I have been told everyday is a Saturday

[PARAPTOR]

Similar to issues associated with original Warranties being accepted by all authorized dealers, the same seems to apply to extended warranties. Just because you purchased an extended warranty do not assume you can take it any where to have it worked on. Seems like many repair shops/dealers have had bad experiences with some of these extended warranty companies. I would assume rates and getting paid. In the case of the OP having to travel around just makes this worse.

Although I have had friends who have had bad experiences with CW, if I were traveling around I think I would hold my breath and seriously think of buying a Good Sam Extended Warranty and have work done at CW. Since CW and Good Sam are associated and seems like CW is in many states, I would think getting issues addressed should go smoother. May even consider a purchase at CW and have the original warranty work done there. Full Timers are in same situation.

[bsmith0404]

Anxiously awaiting retirement where I have been told everyday is a Saturday

Sorry to say Grawe, but you've been told wrong. There are only 6 Saturdays in the week, then there is Sunday.

[Eddie A.]

Sorry to say Eddie, but you've been told wrong. There are only 6 Saturdays in the week, then there is Sunday.



bsmith0404 that quote is actually grawe's signature I believe. I'm a LONG way off from retirement [emoji57]


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[bsmith0404]

bsmith0404 that quote is actually grawe's signature I believe. I'm a LONG way off from retirement [emoji57]


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Ooops, fixed it.