So I take the coach in for Engine and Generator oil change. Tell service writer DON'T LEAVE COACH OUT IF WEATHER IS GOING TO FREEZE!!! as it's not winterized. Coach will be in heated storage all winter. Call them again this morning to remind them. They say it will be ready today and will call with the total. They call later and I pay bill over the phone and say that I will pick up this evening at 6pm - leave it outside where I can get it - and they say OK no problem. Arrive at Camping World lot and there it is parked outside in the locked lot behind the fence! Temperature will be 25 deg tonight. Felt like removing lock and driving over to the storage.
I shall be having a nice conversation about fixing anything that is damaged by their inaction in the morning.
BTW as the house battery was low I could not leave the rear furnace on for 4 days.
Keith
Reminds me of some former neighbors who purchased a new SOB from Camping World... they had so many problems with the coach after delivery, and multiple trips back to CW for service to "fix the fixes." They now refer to Camping World as "Clown World" since, as our neighbor explained, "they're nothing but a bunch of clowns working there!" ::)
I've no personal experience with their service, but having to repeatedly make attempts to stop the crap they kept sending after I bought something there once left me with a distate for their organization. The latest is a DVD I didn't ask for - just send money. I don't think so.
The competency of any organization is dependant on the level of communication, both with the customer and within themselves. And places where they pay nothing usually are staffed by unhappy people. There is an old east Indian saying - you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
I hope they make good on any damages, which may not be immediately apparent. I'd be all over these people, perhaps mentioning "referring the matter to my attorney". Feeling your pain.
Steve
Well, I can give you first hand experience with CW and Zip Dee Awnings. They won't even touch them. Which, after the fact, I feel is the best thing! This was at the Nashville CW. Will never have any store do "Service" nor will I buy much from them.
I had one experience with CW when they installed ( attempted ) a refrigerator. After six hours of screwing around and refusing to allow me in service bay I went in anyway. I was appalled to find two jerks trying to force the refrigerator into a space that was obviously to narrow. I had to show them how to remedy the problem and in disgust I left with installation unfinished and redid it myself.
Never again, I even avoid buying parts or anything if I can find it anywhere else. How they survive is beyond me. :thumbsdown:
Gary B
I have reluctantly bought a couple of things at CW, but have never had a repair or installation done there. It is a shame that we have had bad experiences. They seem to be the big player in a huge market. With the prices of camping and rv-related stuff, they should be greeting us at the door with coffee, answering our questions accurately, having virtually everything we need, and getting the repairs right the first time. I think we are paying for that level of service.
I went into a little shop on our last trip, probably about 1/5 the size of CW. They were friendly, helpful, and had everything I needed, including odd light bulbs, mini bungee cords, and a breakaway switch for our car. I have had excellent purchasing experiences with PPL, and some of the internet companies. It would be such a gift to us RVers to regard CW as an oasis, not a punishment. Imagine a Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops for RVs. Or better...
oldMattB
I price with Adventure RV prior to any large ($50.00) purchase.
On the other hand ... I have bought lots of stuff from Camping World, both inshore and online ... and been very happy. We only had service one time, when we needed a leaky water pump replaced under warranty from the manufacturer. This was at a CW just outside of Las Vegas, and we even spent the night in their parking lot until they could get to us. They will don't usually work on Zip Dee awnings, even if you have the part with you, but that depends on the actual Service Dept at that particular store, according to my information. What I do like about getting something minor done at CW is that it is guaranteed and you can follow it up at any other location. With an independent place, you are on your own. Just MHO. Hope it all turns out OK, Keith!!
For example...the CW outfit located inside the Tennessee RV dealer (run by former Foretravel GM Roger Sellers) has it's RV service work performed by the techs from TN RV.
They have a HUGE advertising budget so customers have to pay for that. When you are not satisfied, why not go to Yelp | Search Businesses In San Francisco (http://www.yelp.com/search?) and give them a review. Before we go to a new restaurant for dinner, we always check the Yelp reviews. Especially true while on the road. Even with our RV, we eat dinner out about one third of the time so we check out what experience others have had before we step through the door.
My pet peeve is going to to a Nevada hotel/casino for a night (don't gamble) and getting stuck with a $10 "resort" fee. Some of the internet review sites allow the establishment to comment on your review after you post it. Not Yelp. Just tell the tale in any kind of language you like. If more customers did this, perhaps Camping World would tighten up the ship where necessary to minimize customers experiencing the high prices and poor service mentioned in several posts above.
I too have had good luck with Camping World here in OKC. If you watch for good sales, they sometimes have the lowest price. As for service, the only thing I have had done there is service on the propane Furnace. They did very well with that.
The Gal that runs the Camping World here in OKC is tough as nails. She runs a very tight ship.
Sorry to add one more similar comment but I have always thought that CW is a store for people who know not the first thing about an RV or cannot do any repairs because of a handicap and, or, have too much money to worry about things.
Problem is that too many RV outlets are like this and when you find a really honest, fair cost for work done, and know what the heck they are doing store then stick to them like glue. I, like a lot of us on this Board are lucky that we can fix most things ourselves as that makes this "hobby of RVing" more manageable on the wallet.
John
Quite a few of the techs at Tennessee RV have a lot of experience. That location was an authorized Foretravel location.
We have a few minor things done at CW. Water pump under warrenty, inverter replaced. Ok, but I ALWAYS watch the tech, even if they don't like it.
We usually don't do much on our own for a few reasons...mainly my back and don't have the knowledge. We usually drove from PA to NAC for service. Was always worth the cost of fuel. FWIW
I had intermittent electricity (one leg, then two, then none) when using the generator while on a mid-west trip. Stopped at the CW in Minneapolis, MN. Without trouble shooting they replaced the automatic transfer switch (ATS) with a Parallax unit and sent me on my way. Within an hour the same issue surfaced. We continued on to Wisconsin and a Cummins/Onan dealer. They found a 35 amp relay post in the generator burned rught off. After fixing that, the new Parallax that CW had installed 4 days earlier died. We stopped at a Tiffin dealership nearby; they installed a Lyght ATS, that has worked perfectly. We returned the Parallax ATS to the nearest CW and they wouldn't reimburse us for the labor, just the ATS.
I will never have mechanical work done by CW again. There may be some competent mechanics employed by CW somewhere, but I haven't met them yet.
About 20 years ago I owned a Winnebago Elandon with a 454 Chevy engine. While driving to California from Illinois the exhaust manifold developed a leak. The ticking noise from the leak was driving me crazy. I decided we would leave the Motorhome at Camping World in Anaheim and have a Banks exhaust system installed while we stayed at a Motel and visited Disneyland.
A couple days latter I went to pick up the Motorhome. I drove it back to the Motel, but noticed a engine misfire. I crawled up under the wheel well to check the spark plug wires and put my hand on the plug boot. What I got was a handful of silicone. They had torn the plug wire boots off some of the wires when they installed the new headers and instead of replacing the wires they tried to silicone the wire ends to the spark plugs.
I went right back to Camping World and had a melt down. The Manager could not understand what I was so outraged about. They replaced the broken wires. I then went to a auto parts store and bought new plugs and new wires and installed them.
I sent a letter to the then owner of Camping World after I returned to Chicago, describing my ordeal. He sent me a check for $300 to cover my time and parts.
A few weeks ago I called a Camping World in the Chicago area to get a estimate on what they would charge to inspect my brakes on the 95 U320. The girl in the service dept didn't know what a Foretravel was or anything about the 4 wheel Disc air brakes, so she said she would check with the service dept and call back. She returned my call about 1 hour later and said that the service dept could inspect my brakes for about $500 to $800. If they needed anything it would be more.
I guess I can cross them off the list of local repair options.
We've found Camping World useful for things like hoses, potty chem, Everpure filter cartridges, and winterizing antifreeze and diesel stabilizer. Some coach parts (like hose reels, Gustafson light fixtures, and such) are also competitively priced.
They did mess up our Splendide 2100 upgrade by partially slicing into the supply hoses with the utility knife they used to cut open the bag. Found that issue months later at a campground with decent water pressure >:D
We wouldn't use them for chassis services of any kind. If not a place like FOT or MOT that's familiar with Foretravel, many truck service places are a better bet. We have used a mobile lube service for fluids and filters and Inland Truck Parts for the same, when FOT and MOT couldn't fit us in before a trip.
Even then, the Meritor brakes on our coaches require familiarity with the clay-based lubricant that not all truck service facilities are going to have, and I sure as heck wouldn't let CW touch those; the wrong lubricant can lead to costly repair. Perhaps GregoryS has a suggestion for brakes (since I believe he's in the Chicago area as well).
Michelle
I bought some Gustafson lamps at CW. I compared them with the lamps in our 1997 coach. The lamps from CW looked similar to lamps in our coach, but I was disappointed with the quality. I returned them. I cleaned up and tightened up the OEM lamps. "Mama" is satisfied with the OEM lamps since the tweaks.
I attached this to the original post but, at the suggestion of Jeff S., I am adding here to bring it to the top as a warning to all fellow Chicago area people who are considering Island Lake Camping World.
OK here is the latest in this comedy of errors.
Received a call from the Service Manager apologizing profusely. I told him I wanted the coach checked for freeze damage. He said he would. Another call from the service writer to say they had pressurized the water system and all was OK.
Got to the coach just as rush hour was starting so broke my #1 cardinal rule. Did not check the engine compartment. All gauges read OK walk around OK and off we go. Arrive at storage building and drive up steep ramp into building. Pull into space and shut down. Notice a small pool of oil under the extreme rear of coach and a trail of drops. Open engine compartment and there is oil all over rear doors (have Extreme's door conversion) and rear of engine. Further investigation reveals the rocker cover fill cap still lying loose on the rocker cover and the lower fill tube cap missing. Seems that as I pulled up ramp oil surged back in oil pan and ran out of lower fill tube. Fortunately it did not ignite on the hot exhaust!
Keith.
Island Lake Camping World previously known as Crystal Valley RV of the same address. Here is a link to reviews of them on RV Service Review: RV Service Review (http://www.rvservicereviews.com/ReviewDetails.asp?Submit=&FacilityID=1135&State=IL&Search=&CategoryID=). Doesn't sound like they have changed any from the Fair rating that Crystal Valley RV was able to pull out.
Keith, please submit a review of their service at: RV Service Review (http://www.rvservicereviews.com/ReviewAdd.asp?ReviewID=0&FacilityID=0), so that others do not fall into their clutches!
Thanks,
Pat
Edit: I have never used Camping World for any type of service. From what I've read about them, I prefer to avoid them at all cost. I do use their store and have been able to save some money there.
And you have all probably read about how their ERS stuck me over the weekend in Columbus, Oh suburb public parking lot. I finally got sick and tired of waiting on Sunday morning and hoofed it to a auto parts store several blocks away, got some parts and fixed it by myself. And on that same trip they .......oh, you don't want to hear that one!!!
Had written a long reply to all the posts about CW but decided it was too political so will keep it short. Competent workers are always educated workers whether in RV shops or laying carpet. When kids go from hanging out in Safeway parking lots to RV mechanics, something is going to be lost in the translation. Bet none of the workers in the negative posts had gone to a tech school like ITT.
So tired of hearing overused words like "vetted", "problematic" and the best for last, "factory trained".
Pierce
Don't get me started... our local community college was involved in the "retraining" of workers from over-occupied categories. I hired two. One had been a framing carpenter who had a habit of laying lighted cigarettes on cumbustible surfaces and the other whose resume went to ten pages of two-week jobs (but was the grandfather of a little girl I loved).
Both were disasters. The ex-carpenter went back to framing after I fired him for laying a lighted cigarette onto a cardboard box right outside our door. He hit the news for firing a nail from his nail gun into the chest of a co-worker about six months later so I assume he went back to his old job.
The second had a list of initials after his name: AA, CCNA, A+, MSCE, and, for all I know, more. He couldn't find straight up if he was laying flat on his back. He would spend hours trying to troubleshoot a network that, when he finally called me, I would fix in ten minutes. Customers get antsy about that sort of thing so several went to other firms. I finally fired him after his dog died and he left for 3 days of mourning (and a funeral) 200 miles away; without a phone call.
His granddaughter, however, is still a gem. She tells me that he doesn't like me much. :)
We live in a culture that is credentials-driven. No one seems to care that they can't do the job as long as they have the credentials. I'm guessing most of us were raised in a culture that was competence-driven; if you could do the job well you got to keep the job even if you didn't necessarily have all the credentials.
[/rant] <--- hope that doesn't do anything real :)
Craig
I wasn't going to get into this but-----In 2006 we did the Alaska trip thing . We just bought a new ford pick up truck and took it to CW at a northern Virginia location to have the base plates installed to match my Road master tow bar . The job looked good, and off we went . By the time we got to the northern reaches of BC , I noticed some loose chanking/ banging noise when braking or when moving on . I pulled over and had a look .What I found was very loose base plates ,with longated wear holes in the plates . All I could do was tighten the bolts and move on .By the time we arrived in Tok, Alaska , they were very loose again .I found a weld shop, they welded the holes in the plates back to about the size of the bolts . I got new bolts , lock tight , and locking nuts , pulled them very tight and on my way . It turned out the damage to the truck was done . That hitch would not stay tight .Phyllis drove the truck all the way to Pender NEB, at Blue -Ox to have a hitch made , which they did at no cost . Now this whole mess was caused by CW not having properly torqued the bolts and using Lock-Tight in the first place . I won't be going back to CW. ------PS , the Blue Ox design guy said that the Road master plates were poorly shaped as to fit metal to metal .
Sorry, BUT:
After many years of good to excellent service at TN RV, Knoxville (and the former FT Factory Sales and Service Store in Kodak), we had our third poor service in May of 2010..
Several techs were absent, (in a blue collar, "sick – out", someone said?). All of the FT techs that I knew from years past, I don't see any longer at TN RV. I used to ask for Techs by name when I set up appointments. None left now. Also, they have become very rigid about NO coach owners in the the shop. I should have kept on going "down the road".
I went in with seven, mostly routine (or so I thought), work items:
- Change oil and filters/engine
- Change oil and filters/gen set
- Change oil and filters/Allison
- Change hydraulic fluid and filters
- Determine Hydraulic Pump "Weep" problem and advise.
I left with six significant problems:
- Valve cover gasket not replaced (used old, crimped gasket) – lost more than a gallon of engine oil between Knoxville and NH
- Valve cover breather fitting o-ring damaged/not replaced – more oil lost out breather fitting.
- Hydraulic oil reservoir cover gasket not replaced and cover to barrel clamp installed backwards – fixed clamp first day but lost a quart of oil between Knoxville and NH due to the old/deteriorated gasket.
- Hydraulic oil reservoir cover/barrel joint loaded with dirt/rust/and badly pitted. Tech didn't bother to clean up the dirt and rust or mention the pitting/poor sealing surface.
- Analysis of Hydraulic pump "weep" = shaft seal/not an immediate issue or concern. Found, in NH, that two of the three hydraulic pump (bottom fittings) seals were gone. The fix was easy, but one more o-ring lost and all hydraulics would have been lost.
- One Allison filter stud was missing completely when I got to NH. I don't know if it wasn't installed or if it just wasn't torqued (didn't leak though).
It cost more to get the trailer, coach and engine cleaned up and the problems fixed (in NH), than the original service (in Knoxville, TN RV) cost. And, as I said before, that was the third consecutive poor service, from them, in a row.
I was so disgusted that I didn't even bother to argue when they objected to my list of complaints. They were not interested in making things right and they have had their last opportunity with us.
NEVER AGAIN!
Rant Over!
FWIW, again, with apologies, but people need to know.
Neal
While we agree that we would never go to Clown World.... er, Camping World... for service, we did have a very positive experience at Tenn RV back in early March of this year.
George posted about the experience back then (www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=12147 (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=12147)), and explained that after leaving Nac enroute to NC, we had this odd sound from the engine (400 ISL), sort of a "swish-swish-swish." By the time we reached eastern TN, the sound was a bit worse, so we stopped at Tenn RV, a FT service center.
The tech came out to the parking lot and diagnosed the problem as a bad belt tensioner. A mechanic actually replaced it in the parking lot, so we would not have to unhook to Honda! While replacing the tensioner, the mechanic noticed small pieces of metal in the belt and found another problem, one of the screws into belt pulley had been replaced without its washer, thus it had rubbed on the back of the pulley support. He also noticed the belt had a hole in it! He fixed all of these problems, still in the parking lot, and we were on our way in an hour and a half!
While Tenn RV is situated adjacent to a CW... I really don't think it should be painted with the same brush as all other CW service facilities. JMHO
I agree Patricia...Again, the work I had done this past June was done in the parking lot as well, and I watched him the whole time. He wanted me to go wait in the dealership waiting room...no way I was going to do that! These guys are trained to pad the bill if you're not there to confirm what they did.
Back when I purchased the coach from the Kodak location, I was handed a bill for $800 for work which I had understood to be all under the 6 month warranty. I walked off and basically told them to stick it. I had never planned to be back there but the breakdown forced me to go there. Then again, it is under different ownership.
Peter and Beth. Unless there has been a change in the last few months, the same fellows own TN RV that bought the residuals of Foretravel of Tennessee from Foretravel. Ray Fore still owned the land and until he sold it to some developer several years later. I forget the principle owner of TN RV, he is the man who got his foot all torn up when hit by a golf cart, the managing partner is Roger Sellers.
I was at TN RV for some minor issue (awning adjustment, I think) in September 2011. There were several of the old Foretravel techs on site, Brad and Jim especially. Jack Lebold is the mobile tech and Alan Stanifer is the service manager, that's 4 of the old Foretravel crew that I remember, right now.
I DID STAY WITH MY COACH then as well as when I was there in the spring (May, I think).
As I posted earlier, the 10% discount was figured after I asked in May but spontaneously in September.
Somehow, it seems, different results are happening to different folks.
Horace,
I meant that the new ownership was not Foretravel but the new owners with Roger as the GM/part-owner. I did chat with Brad, Jim and Alan back in June, as well as Roger who is always busy.
From what I understood Roger told me was that CW rents a portion of the dealership to "house" the CW store.