Service Nightmares

Topic: Service Nightmares (Read 1997 times) previous topic - next topic

Service Nightmares

June 20, 2018, 12:03:10 am

I was just going to add this to an existing thread but figured it deserves a home of its own.
My 1981 Foretravel had a 3208 Cat and one of the belt tensioners went bad. There were 2 tensioners in that coach so I decided to redo both of them. I had 2 options:
1. Order 2 complete new tensioners for $189 each or
2. Order 2 bearings for $39 each and get the old bearings pressed out and the new bearings pressed in.
I was at the Cat dealer in Pasco, WA and was told they had a press and the charge "shouldn't" be more than their minimum shop charge which I believe was $100 an hour so it was an easy decision. I ordered the bearings.
The bearings came in and I brought the tensioners to the shop.
The foreman called in a young worker and gave him the tensioners and bearings. The worker proceeded to sit down at a computer for what seemed like an hour and then he walked out and started working on them at a bench. Soon he had them in a vise and was pounding on them with a hammer. THEN he got out the torch. At that point I went over to the shop manager and told him that I had a vise and a torch but came there because they had a PRESS.
Long story short, the manager led the shop worker to the press room and they were done in 5 minutes but they charged me 200 for labor.
I have a couple worse nightmares that I will add when I have more time but I think you get the point. What was your worst service experience?

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #1 – June 20, 2018, 06:50:54 am

At least you were still $100.00 ahead. Unless you figure your time sitting waiting for them get the bearing replaced.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #2 – June 20, 2018, 09:19:49 am

That sounded kinda easy.. I would tell you about my Camping World ordeal and another Rv repair facility ( not really repair facilities, more like Hack Job Rigging).. but I dont want you to feel bad for me

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #3 – June 20, 2018, 10:16:54 am

Crapping World let us sit for a hour and a half waiting for a appointment. I had it, finally, and walked into the shop to see what the hold up was. The tech told me they had a electrical problem that they could not figure out on a fresh coach. I watched him with his Fluke Multi-meter (same unit I owned) trying to check the connections. I realized HE HAD IT ON THE WRONG SETTING! I told him to find someone who knew what was what......walked out.......drove away....never returned.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #4 – June 20, 2018, 10:36:37 am

Quote from: mike leary – June 20, 2018, 10:16:54 am

Crapping World let us sit for a hour and a half waiting for a appointment. I had it, finally, and walked into the shop to see what the hold up was. The tech told me they had a electrical problem that they could not figure out on a fresh coach. I watched him with his Fluke Multi-meter (same unit I owned) trying to check the connections. I realized HE HAD IT ON THE WRONG SETTING! I told him to find someone who knew what was what......walked out.......drove away....never returned.

For some odd reason I have found that someone with a fluke multimeter thinks they are an "electronics or electrical tech"
even though they may not know where to set the dial for what they are checking!!!
Chris

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #5 – June 20, 2018, 10:48:59 am

Quote from: Chris m lang – June 20, 2018, 10:36:37 am

For some odd reason I have found that someone with a fluke multimeter thinks they are an "electronics or electrical tech"
even though they may not know where to set the dial for what they are checking!!!
Chris

For certain people, the little Radio Shack $19.95 VOM is better than a Fluke; less options to screw up!

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #6 – June 20, 2018, 10:58:46 am

I am a moron and I do all my own work. I refuse to pay 110 an hr to a different moron who can't do as good a job as the original moron.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #7 – June 20, 2018, 11:46:20 am

I don't mind paying shop labor rate for a qualified experienced Tech that gets right on the problem, and the shop doesn't inflate the time. As old retired full timers, generally you can't in reality do heavy repairs in the middle of nowhere. So at some point you have to find you a good shop.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #8 – June 20, 2018, 11:56:36 am

Quote from: mike leary – June 20, 2018, 10:16:54 am

Crapping World let us sit for a hour and a half waiting for a appointment. I had it, finally, and walked into the shop to see what the hold up was. The tech told me they had a electrical problem that they could not figure out on a fresh coach. I watched him with his Fluke Multi-meter (same unit I owned) trying to check the connections. I realized HE HAD IT ON THE WRONG SETTING! I told him to find someone who knew what was what......walked out.......drove away....never returned.

Just to give an idea, they had my coach for 3weeks to rewire the step pneumatic valve.. when I picked it up it was rigged up and I was a 1/4 tank of diesel lower as they didnt plug it in and the auto start was engaged .. that is just for starters.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #9 – June 20, 2018, 12:00:14 pm

We are heading up to June Lake in about a week with our friends joining us in their 5th wheel. Their trailer lights didn't work so she took it in to CW (without asking us, not that she had to) and after she paid the very expensive bill, drove home. Only after getting home did she realize the lights still didn't work. Why do people go there and get ripped off? Just read the online reviews first. Retirees don't seem to be honored but seen as targets by many shops and RV locations. At least Walmart does not rip you off when you go in the store in the morning after staying in their parking lot overnight.

I remember when our auto trailer hitch started to come apart while towing a horse trailer full of furniture in Ohio. We stopped in a small town and went to the local welder. He stopped what he was doing and welded up our hitch. $15 was the bill. Nice folks are still out there. Getting tougher to find them though.

Pierce

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #10 – June 20, 2018, 12:11:34 pm

X2 Pierce, Qulified folks doing a good job at a fair price are getting hard to find. You hit the nail on the head, folks on the road with an RV with a problem usually = CA-CHING.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #11 – June 20, 2018, 12:39:16 pm

Quote from: Twig – June 20, 2018, 10:58:46 am

I am a moron and I do all my own work. I refuse to pay 110 an hr to a different moron who can't do as good a job as the original moron.

I second that. I would rather spend twice the amount buying the tools to do the job, taking twice as long or longer and in the end have the job done, my tool bag fatter, my knowledge base broadened, and me happier for a job done well, than have some dumbass work on anything and do a crap job.
Doesn't matter if its my coach, my car, my home, or my body. However I as always, reserve the right to change my mind if I feel like it....
Bob

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #12 – June 20, 2018, 01:29:38 pm

In many states and California is one of them, you only have to put the $$ down for an RV and off you go without a clue of how the many systems in the coach work. You can get away with that in a car with AAA a quick call away but for an RV, it can be a time consuming and costly learning curve.

If we in the RV community, had to learn all the ins and outs of RV operation, perhaps these companies would not be able to pick our pockets so easily. Yes, a fine line here. Who wants to spend hours watching videos on wet tanks, electrical theory, turbo charger operation, etc when it never may be needed?

On our last west to east and back trip, we met two Foretravels in rest stops within one hundred miles. One was president of a Foretravel club and the other just an owner/operator. Neither one was a forum member nor had any interest in becoming one. (who would after meeting me?)

For newbies here as well as old hats, this forum has the potential to get you going in the right direction when you have a problem or even think you have one. Several members are active or retired truckers with a sixth sense for potential trouble and the best way and usually the least expensive way to get out of it.

Since I became a member years ago, the forum has grown and grown. While I know I don't always agree politically or over coach operating choices, I see many points of view and a shared love of travel. I sure don't know it all and don't hesitate to call or PM another member to pick his or her brain. We would not be reading and posting otherwise, right?

Hats off to a recent member with a new to them coach that before starting a lengthy coast to coast trip, starting asking lots of questions, both on coach systems operation as well as driving technique. Their trip has been great and with less uncertainties, less stress from knowledge gleaned here. New members may be reticent to ask questions as they may seem stupid or show a lack of confidence. Never true as all of us started at that point once and realize that you will never come close to knowing everything as traveling is a constant learning experience.

So, new members or others with problems or just questions, just ask or PM and someone will be glad to help or relate an experience.

Nice group of people here to ask first before putting yourself at the mercy of big profit motivated shops. Everyone has to make a living but...

Pierce

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #13 – June 20, 2018, 01:32:16 pm

Quote from: bbeane – June 20, 2018, 11:46:20 am

I don't mind paying shop labor rate for a qualified experienced Tech that gets right on the problem, and the shop doesn't inflate the time. As old retired full timers, generally you can't in reality do heavy repairs in the middle of nowhere. So at some point you have to find you a good shop.

Spot on! I did most of the work when I had my own shop and tools. But, being full-time, most of us don't want carry all sorts of tools anymore and B) don't get a kick out of doing the job anymore! I had a shop up in Sequim, WA that serviced my coaches for 20 years, fair, honest, would let me stand-by in the shop watching. I'm afraid that type are fewer and fewer! Sad.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #14 – June 20, 2018, 01:32:36 pm

When I first bought my 1981 Foretravel in 2004, I brought it to a truck/RV service place in Rochester, MN for their "A list" of fleet services which was supposed to include belts, hoses, filters, etc. etc. I also requested they fix the odometer and service the generator.
The first warning sign was they had never heard of Foretravel. The second was that they were moving from one shop to another.
Long story short, my coach was in their shop for 3 weeks and it cost me $3700 and change. The speedometer quit within 100 miles of the place and I blew a radiator hose a couple days later when I was 800 miles away. Overheating caused a blown head gasket, 3 scored pistons and warped heads. I kept the blown radiator hose for evidence and sued the shop for the amount of the overhaul. It went to a mediator with me, the shop owner and their insurance agent. When I produced the "A list" which included new hoses and the blown section of the hose -- which proved they didn't replace it -- their insurance agent got out his checkbook.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #15 – June 20, 2018, 01:39:12 pm

Quote from: DavidS – June 20, 2018, 09:19:49 am

That sounded kinda easy.. I would tell you about my Camping World ordeal and another Rv repair facility ( not really repair facilities, more like Hack Job Rigging).. but I dont want you to feel bad for me

Lay it on us. We can handle it and may learn something from it.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #16 – June 20, 2018, 01:42:36 pm

Quote from: turbojack – June 20, 2018, 06:50:54 am

At least you were still $100.00 ahead. Unless you figure your time sitting waiting for them get the bearing replaced.

The point was, they were charging me $100 an hour for a hammer mechanic who had no business even touching my stuff.

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #17 – June 20, 2018, 06:20:38 pm

Quote from: Dakota Slim – June 20, 2018, 01:42:36 pm

The point was, they were charging me $100 an hour for a hammer mechanic who had no business even touching my stuff.

Yup, after a while, you'll get to 'read' mechanics and decide then and there to either call for someone else, or bail. A lot of shops will not let you stand-by while the work is being done. I tell them, "this is my home, and I want to know what's going on. If I have to sign a waiver for your insurance company, so be it!"

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #18 – June 20, 2018, 06:52:05 pm

Many thanks Pierce for your recent post! You summed up my experience of the forum perfectly. As a newbie this group is invaluable to me. I read as many of the threads as I can. The advice/suggestions may not always be in alignment because everyone is giving of their specific experiences. I value it all. Sometimes I think I know something about a coach system and then discover there is more to learn. Even when a thread veers off topic there can be one word or a sentence about a coach system that gets me to look deeper into something I wasn't aware of. Those tiny bits of info become very important.

Recently, a service foreman at an authorized FT service center told me he didn't believe there was any desiccant to be serviced on our aux compressor. This was his own FT "newbie" moment. A moment not unlike the many I have had since owning our U270. I don't fault him, FTs are complex and there are differences between coach builds. Thanks to this forum I knew what to look for, why, and how it functioned, plus a photo of the unit. Thankfully he was open to learning more, (a good thing in a service tech). I was able to share my knowledge with him and build a successful relationship working together on our coach. He is now trusting me to provide the parts and assembly procedure for some modifications we will be doing in the future. In servicing our coach I'm not able to physically turn the wrenches but I will be informed on what is to be done.

Knowledge is the cornerstone for good decisions. Appreciate this forum and the members!

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #19 – June 20, 2018, 11:31:47 pm

Last time I had to have my semi worked on, the tech must have used 2 full boxes of blue rubber gloves. $110.00 an hour and he changed his gloves about every 6 minutes it seemed. Took him forever to take out 4 bolts in the water pump. But I was under a load and had to have it fixed.
His sense if urgency was nowhere near my level of urgency! That's why I fix my stuff

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #20 – June 21, 2018, 05:13:33 pm

I have owned 2 motorhomes. I have had it serviced by others 3 times.
The first was a 1984 34' Winnabago Elandan with a 454 chevy.
We took it to from IL. to CA. As soon as we hit mountains the 454 cracked an exhaust manifold. Back then, before the internet, Camping World was it. It was not too bad back then as the original owner still owned Camping World. I looked through there catalogue and decided I would have the Banks system ( Headers,fresh air intake, ignition) installed when I reached there shop in Anaheim Ca. We got a motel room nearby and dropped the coach off. The next day it was done so I went by to pick it up. It started fine. By the time I got to the Motel the engine was misfiring and running very rough. I thought a plug wire or two might have pulled off so I stuck my hand up through the front wheel well to pull on the plug wires to see if any were loose. What I found was a handful of silicone!
OUTRAGED, I immediately drove right back to Camping World, My outrage only got worse when I got there because the manager could not understand my anger from there "mechanic" trying to glue the 5 plug wires that he broke the boots off of, onto the end of the spark plugs with silicone!
I said there was no reason for this shoddy work, I would have, and I'm sure anybody would have, gladly paid for new plug wires.
The manager agreed to replace ONLY the plug wires they broke.
I went to a PepBoys and bought a new set of wires and spark plugs and installed them at the campground. I wrote a letter to the owner of Camping World explaining the entire mess. He wrote back with a note expressing his sincere regret with the way his store had handled this, along with a check for $300 to cover the parts and labor.
I doubt the same end would occur today.

The second service nightmare happened with the Foretravel shortly after I bought it. I needed tires so I went to Baur Bilt out side of Chicago. The "mechanic" didn't know (This is a truck tire dealer) that the left side lug nuts were reverse threaded. It was taking a long time to Finnish the coach, even the service writer was wondering why it was not done. The "mechanic" came into the service area and announced the studs were frozen. This prompted me and the service manager to go out to the shop to see what the problem was. There were several studs broken off on the left rear , one nut was badly stripped, a group of 3 "mechanics" and a 1" drive air impact was laying next to the wheel. The "mechanics" had a vice grip pliers on the stripped nut thinking they could break it loose. I heard the service manager whisper, but I could hear him, say to the group," you know those are reversed threads don't you?"
I groaned, and he then knew I heard him and knew what they had done. He ordered one of them to the parts room to fetch a new aluminum wheel and told the others to cut the wheel off with a torch. All the other lug nuts on all the other wheels came off no problem after this.

My next service appointment was with a truck repair place in Belvidere IL. Marvs Truck repair. I took the coach there immediately after leaving Baur Bilt to have the broken studs replaced. They did a great job, the ONLY good experience I have had with service.

I since opened the wallet and bought every tool I could think of to service the coach myself. Money well spent!

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #21 – June 21, 2018, 05:24:49 pm

I've always claimed that whoever invents a belt-mounted, battery-powered "BS Detector" will make a fortune, and well-earned!

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #22 – June 21, 2018, 05:51:48 pm

I have a 12 VDC direct drive BS Detector. But it gets me in a lot of trouble.

OK complete non-sequitur: Anyone seen the current TV commercial with the Weimaraner looking over the fence? An ad for an insect collar I think.

But, I have gone into two pharmacies complaining of "musky toes" and asked for a remedy. The first looked like a deer caught in the headlights. The second (who had obviously seen the commercial) couldn't stop laughing.

Having written commercials for much of my automotive career, it is nice to see a catchy commercial!

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #23 – June 21, 2018, 06:00:54 pm

Maybe we should have small stickers made that say "left hand thread on this side of coach . "

Re: Service Nightmares

Reply #24 – June 21, 2018, 06:10:58 pm

Quote from: Protech Racing – June 21, 2018, 06:00:54 pm

Maybe we should have small stickers made that say "left hand thread on this side of coach . "

Would be surprised (it HAS happened) if there is not an "L" on the studs on the very outboard end of the left side of the coach with left hand threads.

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