Customer Service

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by Rosey

As much as I hate to say this, maybe it’s time for some competition from the Far East in the RV industry, similar to what happened to the auto industry in the ‘70’s resulting in superior quality in American autos/trucks.

Not so sure that would solve the issue either! Seems every week there's an auto recall for one thing or another & mostly on the foreign models. Most all the automotive industry is robotic, it's usually some parts supplier that's causing the recalls. I would guess the same is true for the rv industry, 50% of the issues are with an outside supplier product & the other 50% is that the folks on line are in too big a hurry to meet today's quota so they can leave & don't give a rat's a## what kind of shape they go out in.

[mromaner]

I have a 2018 3401 RL. Mine got called in for the gas manifold recall. I didn't bring it back to the dealer I bought it from because its 3 hours away from home. So I brought it to a Keystone authorized dealer nearby for the recall item and several other problems we had uncovered since buying the rig in June.

Though a very good dealership, they had the RV for 5 weeks. First they had to get authorization from Keystone to fix the warranty issues. Then they had to order parts. Both took quite a while. Then they had to do the work, which included fixing a leaking hydraulic system and replacing both awnings.

I retire in one week. We leave for our full-time travels in 3 weeks. I am quite concerned about all the problems and time to repair. When my truck breaks, I get it back in a day, not 5 weeks.

What do we do on the road when things break. One thing I've learned is that you can't be passive. You have to take an active roll in getting your repairs done. Sitting around and waiting is just sitting around and waiting. BTW, Keystone refused to authorize all the work, though the rig is just a few months old. I am out $350.

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by mromaner

I have a 2018 3401 RL. Mine got called in for the gas manifold recall. I didn't bring it back to the dealer I bought it from because its 3 hours away from home. So I brought it to a Keystone authorized dealer nearby for the recall item and several other problems we had uncovered since buying the rig in June.

Though a very good dealership, they had the RV for 5 weeks. First they had to get authorization from Keystone to fix the warranty issues. Then they had to order parts. Both took quite a while. Then they had to do the work, which included fixing a leaking hydraulic system and replacing both awnings.

I retire in one week. We leave for our full-time travels in 3 weeks. I am quite concerned about all the problems and time to repair. When my truck breaks, I get it back in a day, not 5 weeks.

What do we do on the road when things break. One thing I've learned is that you can't be passive. You have to take an active roll in getting your repairs done. Sitting around and waiting is just sitting around and waiting. BTW, Keystone refused to authorize all the work, though the rig is just a few months old. I am out $350.

Best plan for us fulltimers is to fix it oursrlves if possible, if not have them authorize a mobil tech, which usually does a better job.
As someone on here said the best day of owning a RW is the day the warranty ran out, now you can Do what you want.

[NewRW Owner]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

Best plan for us fulltimers is to fix it oursrlves if possible, if not have them authorize a mobil tech, which usually does a better job.
As someone on here said the best day of owning a RW is the day the warranty ran out, now you can Do what you want.

I was told by Keystone that the only way a mobile tech would be authorized is if we were on the read and if it was an emergency. Don't know if that's a new policy but I was also told that by Redwood before just before the changeover to Keystone. So it seems that unless we want to pay for repairs, we have to follow Keystone's policy.

[travelin' texans]

In my opinion, it I'm fulltime & my rv has to go to a dealer to sit for 5-6 weeks while they piddle fart around "authorizing" & "ordering" parts that would constitute an emergency to me & from there the fight would start.
I'm not too happy with whichever company we are with, not sure anybody there knows either, right now either! Had some body damage & it took almost 3 weeks for the body shop to locate parts. Crossroads says they "no longer have parts for RWs", Keystone says "contact Crossroads", I don't know how/where/who he got the parts from, it's finally being repaired.

[NewRW Owner]

Not a good situation. Taking weeks to get approvals for repair of items that are supposed to be covered is rediculus. And that was with my husband following the mechanic around at the dealership to at least get things looked at and photos taken. When we left it, it was weeks to even get things looked at, even though we had an appointment that the dealer set. After looking at 5ers for a couple of years, our 2 favorites were a new Lifestyle and our new RW. Lifestyle had gone belly up so the only warranty would've been an aftermarket warranty. It was a beautiful RV. The decider for us was the manufacturer's warranty that came with our new RW. Little things we could take care of ourselves but things like slides and other, what would have been costly to us after such a big financial investment kept us from buying the other brand. After all of that though, we love our RW. Just don't like the treatment we and others get from whoever the RW owner is. I guess the real owner is Thor.

[Ford truck guy]

I still think a lot has to do with the dealer..

My warranty was up in July, I noticed that I had a wiper seal that was ripped and hanging down. Sent pics to my dealer, who sent them to Redwood. they also followed up with them, a day later I had authorization for the repair, the parts were sent, and the trailer is at the dealer today for the repair..

I give them a week... I make the appointment for a Monday, I drop the trailer off the Saturday before and tell them I will be back the next Saturday to claim it.

My dealer is fantastic, and so far Redwood has been also. NOW, I know it was only a wiper seal, but its something..

[Char & Steve]

Originally Posted by Ford truck guy

I still think a lot has to do with the dealer..

My warranty was up in July, I noticed that I had a wiper seal that was ripped and hanging down. Sent pics to my dealer, who sent them to Redwood. they also followed up with them, a day later I had authorization for the repair, the parts were sent, and the trailer is at the dealer today for the repair..

I give them a week... I make the appointment for a Monday, I drop the trailer off the Saturday before and tell them I will be back the next Saturday to claim it.

My dealer is fantastic, and so far Redwood has been also. NOW, I know it was only a wiper seal, but its something..

I have to agree 100% with Joe... The dealer is the main problem.
All through my warrantee time and having all my repairs done NOT once did I talk with a dealer. I talked directly with RW and arranged all my repairs.

Steve

[NewRW Owner]

Originally Posted by Char & Steve

I have to agree 100% with Joe... The dealer is the main problem.
All through my warrantee time and having all my repairs done NOT once did I talk with a dealer. I talked directly with RW and arranged all my repairs.

Steve

Agree with you on how important it is to have a good dealer. With our Arctic Fox our dealer was horrible. Thankfully the manufacturer, Northwood was wonderful. They ended up sending us the few parts that didn't work and authorized the repair person of our choice for installation and paid them for the repairs. Unfortunately RW warranty issues are dealt with now by Keystone who requires us to go through the dealer where we purchased our RW unless we're far away from home. Small repairs we can deal with ourself. For the expensive to fix problems we've had to do what it takes to get repairs under warranty.

[NewRW Owner]

Just when we thought our RW is road/trip worthy there's something else. My husband tried unsuccessfully to grease the shackles. Only about half would take grease. In doing this he found that a leaf spring is broken and has separated approx three eighths of an inch. I emailed a couple of photos to our dealer, asking them to foreword to whoever needs to approve the repair. They're open on Saturday but probably nothing will happen until Monday. Has anyone else had this problem?

[travelin' texans]

When you replace the spring/springs upgrade to the MorRyde heavy duty shackles w/wet bolts, the shackles are a 1/2" thick & comes with enough bronze bushings/wet bolts to do all on the suspension, well worth the $100+/- for the upgrade.
My original wet bolts were the same, only a couple would take grease even if I jacked it up with no weight on them, with the MR kit they all take grease with ease.
Sorry for your issues, welcome to wonderful world of rv ownership.

[NewRW Owner]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

When you replace the spring/springs upgrade to the MorRyde heavy duty shackles w/wet bolts, the shackles are a 1/2" thick & comes with enough bronze bushings/wet bolts to do all on the suspension, well worth the $100+/- for the upgrade.
My original wet bolts were the same, only a couple would take grease even if I jacked it up with no weight on them, with the MR kit they all take grease with ease.
Sorry for your issues, welcome to wonderful world of rv ownership.

Thanks for the info. After over 45 years of owning something like 15 RVs, this is the worst experience we've had. They've all had a few issues but our RW while beautiful and really comfortable, when we can use it, takes the cake!

[travelin' texans]

Originally Posted by NewRW Owner

Thanks for the info. After over 45 years of owning something like 15 RVs, this is the worst experience we've had. They've all had a few issues but our RW while beautiful and really comfortable, when we can use it, takes the cake!

I know the feeling! I will say mine had very minor issues, most of which I took care of & 1 visit to the factory. Unlike now with Keystone, Crossroads reimbursed me for some of the bigger repairs so I can't complain.
Unfortunately the rv industry is like every industry, store or fast food place nowadays, people don't want to work, they want paydays & quitting time plus any excuse to not show up. I would hate to have a business & rely on todays workforce to keep the doors open without having to be onsite at all times.

[NewRW Owner]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

I know the feeling! I will say mine had very minor issues, most of which I took care of & 1 visit to the factory. Unlike now with Keystone, Crossroads reimbursed me for some of the bigger repairs so I can't complain.
Unfortunately the rv industry is like every industry, store or fast food place nowadays, people don't want to work, they want paydays & quitting time plus any excuse to not show up. I would hate to have a business & rely on todays workforce to keep the doors open without having to be onsite at all times.

Agree with you 100%. This wonderful, always willing to help and share experiences group, is the very best part of owning a RW.