Warranty VS. Price

[el_vaquero]

My wife and I are in the maket for our first PU.  So far we are considering the Fleetwood Niagara, Jayco Select, Starcraft 3606 or Rockwood 256G.  All four are high wall trailers just about fully loaded.  We have a Toyota Tundra V8 so our TV is not a concern.  

My dilema is should I be more concerned about the warranty or the price.  The Rockwood is the least expensive with the least warranty coverage.  The next is the Fleetwood in price and warranty.  Then comes the Jayco with a much better warranty and the Starcraft with the best warranty.  The Starcraft is roughly $2000 more than the Rockwood but has a limited lifetime warranty on the roof, lift system and frame.  The Rockwood has basically a five year warranty on all the above.

Any thoughts (or suggestions for similar trailers) would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tim

[Billy Bob]

More times than not I have been disappointed with warranties. Go price shopping not warranty shopping. Besides there are not that many things that can go wrong with a PU. Not to mention the stove and frig etc... have their own manufacture warranty.

I have a 2006 Fleetwood and had two warranty issues already, leaky sink drain and a back marker light out. I repaired both problems myself because it took less time than going back to the dealer. AND I know it was done right and I didn't have to have it done again.

[pershingd]

I agree with Billy Bob. I've taken my Jayco in for warranty issues once and swore that would be the last unless the problem was outside of my ability to fix. I purchased an extended warranty simply for assurance that if something went terribly wrong while we were on the road it would be covered.

I've had problems that I've chosen to fix myself rather than dealing with the dealer. For example, right after we got it, the table top cracked while in transit. The dealer was great - ordered a new one right away and said he would call me when it was in. That call came about two or three months after he ordered it. The following year, the replacement table had the same problem - so rather than wait forever, I just made new ones myself. Only took a weekend and I am pleased with the results. If the problem were in the lift system, than we'd be going to see a dealer for warranty work.

Don't be fooled into buying a more expensive product just because the warranty appears better. In all honesty, if something is going to go wrong, it will do it in the first year of ownership. Every manufacturer has units leave the factory that will have problems right off the bat so it is inevitable that someone will buy one that needs things fixed before it goes off the lot.

What to look for is a dealer that prides itself on customer service and support. Our dealer called us the morning we were set to take delivery to reschedule pick up because they found something that needed fixing as they were installing the AC and prepping it (trim was messed up on the gaucho). When we picked it up, they wanted us to report anything we thought was out of place so they could take care of it right then - we didn't because the dealer paid attention before we got there.

Hope this helps,
David

[el_vaquero]

I appreciate the advice.  I wasn't too concerned about the little stuff.  My two major concerns are the roof and the lift system.  I think pretty much everything else I would handle myself since every dealer is at least an hour drive from me....

[d.moonen]

The warrenty vs price delema seems to happen allot The better the warrenty coverage the better you are. Whan dealing with a pu camper your number 1 should be the tent fabric. This what keeps you dry rember, also remember to check the roof and appl. I think that a warrenty is only as good as the camper its self as well as the dealership dealing with the warrenty claim. I work for pleasure land Rv in St Cloud MN and we have a department to deal with the warrenty claim and the customer. We are a starcraft Dealer and for the most part warrenty claims are smooth and painless the way they should be with any problems that happen in the warrenty period.

[wynot]

One of the happiest days of my life occurred when our camper went out of warranty and I could ignore the dealer.

Our dealer often created at least one if not two additional problems every time they dealt with a warrranty repair.  I think it was because they treat popup owners as the bottom feeders, so having to pop the camper, then repair something, etc. just annoyed them and they rushed through it, damaging something else in the process.  They also forgot to do things that I would be charged for - I always looked over the camper before I went into the service dept to pickup.

I liked our salesman until he got our money, because his attentiveness disappeared once he had the commitment.  In all fairness, he spent a lot of time with us prior to that commitment - but once we signed, he was on the next customer.

This place's service dept handled the big rigs as well, and I can state for a fact that they got far preferential treatment over us.  I'd get a line of c*** as a response or resolution, but they'd bend over backwards for the big rigs.
 
Even though I did work for an RV dealer (not the same one) later on - if I felt like I knew the quality of the rig and was comfortable doing my own repairs, I'd recommend shopping that way.  I will note that Forest River products are not top of the line when it comes to popups, nor are they priced like it either.  Depends what you like, want, (or expect).

[tlhdoc]

My dealer, Rhone's Travel Trailers in Cogan Station, PA, doesn't treat me or my PU like a low life.  I am very glad that I have the life time warranty on my roof (replacement roof is on the trailer) and the lift system.  I have had problems with both.  If you plan on keeping the PU for a long time, then the life time warranty becomes more important.  If you think that you will switch trailers in a few years, then the life time warranty is not important.

[chasd60]

has a limited lifetime warranty on the roof, lift system and frame.

Find out all of the details of the "limited" part. The Colemans that had roof problems were covered but you had to pay for shipping. The figure I heard most for shipping was $900:yikes: .

[el_vaquero]

We decided on a Flagstaff High Wall PU.  Got a pretty good deal on it and it was the one that we both liked the most of all the trailers we looked at.  The dealer seemed to be very knowledgeable and helpfull too (not to mention he is about the closest dealer of any PU maker to us).  We should be picking it up on Monday.  

Happy Father's Day!!

[wynot]

We decided on a Flagstaff High Wall PU. Got a pretty good deal on it and it was the one that we both liked the most of all the trailers we looked at. The dealer seemed to be very knowledgeable and helpfull too (not to mention he is about the closest dealer of any PU maker to us). We should be picking it up on Monday.
 
Happy Father's Day!!

Have a great time in your new purchase.  A small suggestion - try to visit the service dept THIS weekend and just observe how they handle people, since most of your dealings with them will be in the next few months.