I for one am seriously hoping the RV industry is back in business soon. There are too many people currently out of a job, including myself. I worked as a customer service rep for one of the major players who is technically still in business, but not doing any production for the moment and are running completely on a skeleton crew. I thought it would be a great opportunity though, for me to go over some vital tips for buying an rv based on the experience I had talking to customers every day. It seems that overall, there is a decided lack of education on what new owners need to know in order to operate their motor home. The dealers themselves don’t seem to be taking enough time to do a proper walk-through of the coach, which can cause many problems for a first-timer. And of course, unfortunately, the first-timers don’t know which questions to ask many times, in order to get the information they need. I am hoping that I will be able to stop some of the confusion, and make the buying and camping experience a much better one for those potential customers who would call in with problems.
First of all, when you purchase a new coach, you are entitled to a walk-through. This would consist of a representative of your purchasing dealer instructing you on all of the functions of your coach, as well as where all of the fuses boxes and power centers would be located. You are going to need to know where your low point drains are ( for draining your holding tanks), what all of your switches are for throughout the unit, how to turn on your hot water heater ( making sure you always have water in it first), and any of the other functions that are listed on your msrp. I can’t tell you how many times we get calls from people on a first time camping trip who do not know how to operate the coach and then have a world of trouble trying to figure it out. And to make matters worse, many times you will either have to wait on hold forever for a customer service representative, or leave a message and wait for them to call you back. This can be rather frustrating, not to mention it can ruin a very nice vacation if you are not able to get your answers in a timely manner. That is why I can’t stress enough that you make sure you are getting a very thorough walk-through. You are paying for it after all. Make sure before you sign on the dotted line that you know exactly what the charge will be for the walk-through, and then don’t let the dealer short change you when it comes to knowing all that can be known about the functionality of your motor home. It can save you hundreds of dollars in damages as well. For instance, if you don’t know the proper way to use your water heater, you can damage the anode rod, which will have to be replaced and is not cheap. Again, we had many people call in who had damaged their coach due to lack of knowledge, who wanted the damage covered under warranty. It is not the fault of the manufacturer if anything is broken or destroyed due to lack of knowledge on the customer’s part, so I urge you to be responsible in this regard and make sure you are getting your money’s worth when it comes to your walk-through.
There is so much to be said about this subject that I will have to write many more times in order to cover it all. It is my fondest wish that I will help at least a few people out there have a much better experience with their RV, as well as help the owner get all of the information he needs in order to keep from doing any inadvertent damage to the rv that will cost more money out of his pocket. Times are tough right now and we need to take enjoyment from life wherever we can find it.
Ciao for now.