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Old 11-20-2020, 06:50 PM   #1
JDDilly
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Camping World

I have read numerous posts about the issues people have had with Camping World and wanted to give them a positive review.

A few years ago, as we were going to Disney World, we broke a leaf spring near Mobile, AL. It was late at so we went to the Camping World in Robertsdale, AL and spent the night in the parking lot. When they opened at 8 the next morning, I spoke to the service manager and explained we were meeting family at Disney World for Christmas the next afternoon. He got us in around 9 and had to techs working on or 5th wheel. Around 2 that afternoon they completed installing 4 new leaf springs with all the needed hardware and 2 new tires. We were on the road at 3 PM. They provided the best service I could have expected at a reasonable price.

In the fall of 2019, we purchased a new Montana HC 381TH at the Camping World in Monticello, MN. We got a great deal, and the purchase was good along with the PDI and a couple of issues we found. They fixed the 2 items as we waited so we could take delivery as planned. That winter we again went to Disney World and found a few more repairs. When we returned home in January, I took it in and had it back with all items addressed in about 5 days. After using the rig this past year, I had a list of about 10 items we needed addressed. I took it in this fall, and again, all items were repaired and I had the camper back in 2 weeks.

I think the experience people have with Camping World has a lot to due with the management of the location and not as much with Camping World as a whole.
 
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Old 11-20-2020, 07:09 PM   #2
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You are right. Management can make a difference in some occasions. I’m not a CW fan. Used to be until they got a little too big for their britches. Kind of like shopping at Walmart’s, and the big box stores. Every camper bought thru CW, just puts another struggling independent dealer out on the street. Sad. But you are correct. They are CW’s that do better than others.
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Old 11-20-2020, 07:48 PM   #3
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Years ago when we first went full time I began to keep a spreadsheet of good and bad reports on dealers rated by state and then city. I got the info from this and other forums I belong too. The interesting thing I found is that there were about a quarter of the Camping Worlds that were recommended and three quarters that got bad reviews. The thing was that those that got bad reviews sometimes were really bad.
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Old 11-20-2020, 07:56 PM   #4
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We bought our HC381TH from Camping World in Little Rock, AR. We had them fix the issues we found on the pre inspection and they did so promptly (because we would not accept it till they did). We have not taken our camper back to them since because I don't think the 20 something year old RV "techs" are really qualified to do quality work at the location.


We bought from CW simply because they are a very large volume dealer and it is hard for anyone else to beat their pricing. We worked pricing between about 8 different vendors and no one else could come close to the CW price on a new unit. With the thousands we saved paying for a few minor repairs is no big deal.


IF I have a major repair in the future that I can't do myself, I will take it to a SERVICE ONLY business for same. Their business model is fixing it right the first time and quickly. That usually means older more experienced technicians that actually know what they are doing. Not some kid simply patching things together to get it sold and off the lot.


Be smart with your money. They make thousands of each floor model camper, its a commodity. Do a commodity bid between dealers to get the best deal on the purchase then take the unit to someone who will do quality repairs (NOT A SALES DEALER) when you need work done on it!! Above all always remember that an RV salesman is NOT YOUR FRIEND! Its a business deal, treat it as such!
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Old 11-21-2020, 08:16 AM   #5
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We have been using CW for years when they have what we need at a competitive price. We have never had a issue with CW in any way.
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Old 11-21-2020, 09:56 AM   #6
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We used to take our RV's to a service center only repair shop. They did great work until they, too, got way to big for the volume. They became sloppy, we had to follow-up on absolutely everything they did. It began to require multiple trips to get things fixed correctly so we started going to camping world with the new HC. So far we have been very pleased with what they have done. They have kept us informed of any delays, completed work in a timely manner and made sure we were happy campers. Some of the problems CW has is with their vendors too; if they can't get the parts they can't do the service. Are they perfect, no; is any service department, no.
By the way, we saw a service van from Camping World at our last campground that indicated it was a mobile service. Interesting.
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Old 11-21-2020, 02:37 PM   #7
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We travel a lot so we can be most anywhere. We have two local dealers nearby that we use when we need them and they have provided excellent service over the years.

We use CW when on the road as they are most everywhere. We have to say that we have been Rv ing for 25 years and have been through 7 rv's two of them Montana 5th wheels and have never had a really serious problem. We had a kitchen slide problem 2 years ago were we destroyed two gears . We called Keystone customer service and they recommended a excellent repair facility that was 50 miles from our S&B that corrected the issue in a timely manner .We also had a extended service plan that paid all but the deductible. That has been IMO the worst problem we ever had.
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Old 11-21-2020, 05:56 PM   #8
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As has been mentioned, the management of a dealership can make all the difference in the world. With CW the even better part of it is that the local dealership management is not the end of the chain. Marcus Lemonis runs a tight ship (we aren't tuned politically but we're talking RVs) and is very responsive in my experience (quite a bit). If a local dealership is just a failure (not talking about minor gripes as an owner) steps will be taken to correct it...btdt.

One of the neatest things IMO is their policy of honoring warranty work for any unit bought from them at any CW facility across the country. It's what sold me on this current trailer. Just had a visit with a SM yesterday and he said all of the service centers had been advised by upper management that all locations would honor any warranty issue on any trailer purchased from CW. I posed this question to Marcus when I bought this trailer, a VP called me and assured me they would and now it seems they are addressing it across the corporation. I'm good with that.
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Old 11-22-2020, 02:18 PM   #9
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I do my own work. But, I don't care if its Joe Blows hammock and screen door repair shop or RV Repair Shop of the Galaxy, my concern is the quality of work of the mechanic. Good and bad mechanics can be found anywhere but generally better ones are at RV repair only (no sales) shops.
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Old 11-29-2020, 01:39 PM   #10
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In my opinion, an educated consumer is the best customer. CW certainly gets its share of bad press, some deserved. I don't think being a big dealer is negative any more than buying from Costco.

If I buy an RV from CW and fall for all the extra stuff they offer in the finance office, question my decision. Shame on me. Same applies to a car dealer.

Right now, dealing with service centers and factory warranty issues, I'm glad I'm out of factory warranty and the headaches of going back and forth between dealer's shop and manufacturer. I'd rather pay out of pocket and choose my own repair shop.
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Old 11-29-2020, 04:04 PM   #11
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I have always received good help from our local Camping World. I did not buy my rig there but they were happy to do the warranty work.
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Old 11-29-2020, 04:40 PM   #12
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I have only had positive experience with Camping World too.
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Old 11-29-2020, 04:41 PM   #13
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CW used to be my go to place. I've been a Good Sam member 14 years & have had great success with their road service.
But, the sales/ parts/service depts at the stores are different.
A friend had a roof replaced & it blew off on the interstate. It was a fight to get them to replace what the did.
I went in to buy a 5th from them for cash & the salesman was insistent on my filling out a credit app instead & financing it. He wouldn't listen to me. I paid cash elsewhere.
Recently, I had a sweep seal on the top of a slide come off.
I went to CW to buy an adhesive if they had something suitable The parts counter person wouldn't ask a tech for a recommendation & I was told that I would have to call a national CW phone number & I could talk to a tech since I had a membership there He could make a recommendation.
I called there & was told the only way I could talk to a tech was to have a Premier Membership which cost about triple the price of a regular membership that I have had 14 years. I didn't even know there was a Premier membership.
I went to a local Mom & Pop & the owner took me back into the shop & he showed me the tube of adhesive he used. He didn't sell it, but told me where to buy it locally. I should have gone there in the first place.
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Old 11-29-2020, 04:44 PM   #14
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You mist of stumbled into on of the better Campong World locations. We purchased a new 2019 3721RL from CW in Oct 2019. We also felt that we got a good deal but thats where it ended. Our walk thru was half as at best . None of our questions were answered to our satification. Numerous were found mostly due to poor prep work. In the 11 months we've owned it it's been in for repairs for 5 months. We brought it in the last time Oct 1 for 10 warranty items and its still there. I call every week and am told there their not sure of the repair and are waiting for instructions from zKeystone. When I call Keystone they say they have had no communication with the dealer. I will never bring it back to them again.
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Old 11-29-2020, 07:58 PM   #15
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We bought a fiver at CW in Grain Valley, MO a few years back. Price was untouchable by any other dealer within 250 miles ... warranty service turned out to be insanely terrible. The techs tore up more than what they kinda sorta fixed on my punch list. I will never darken their doorstep again. Flash forward to CW in Wichita, KS. Service department may be able to dependably winterize an RV on one of their good days ... above that, all bets are off. My neighbor with a motorhome had a roof mount satellite dish installed ... actually more like lagged to the roof and the coax stuffed into the roof cavity. Two trips back to CW and still no satellite TV plus no longer did the OTA antenna work. Kept saying they needed to get another part. I ended up finding that the coax was never hooked to anything but thin air. I correctly ran a dedicated coax the whole 4 feet from dome to Walley and "presto" he had satellite TV. After 2+ months CW called him up before Turkey Day and said they finally got the part in ????? I will acknowledge that there should be a few reputable CW service centers out there, but for every 1 good one, I'd venture to guess there are 10 bad ones just from word of mouth in our travels.
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Old 11-29-2020, 08:32 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roammer View Post
You mist of stumbled into on of the better Campong World locations. We purchased a new 2019 3721RL from CW in Oct 2019. We also felt that we got a good deal but thats where it ended. Our walk thru was half as at best . None of our questions were answered to our satification. Numerous were found mostly due to poor prep work. In the 11 months we've owned it it's been in for repairs for 5 months. We brought it in the last time Oct 1 for 10 warranty items and its still there. I call every week and am told there their not sure of the repair and are waiting for instructions from zKeystone. When I call Keystone they say they have had no communication with the dealer. I will never bring it back to them again.
Get a lawyer. Its amazing what just a letter threating a lawsuit will do to get them in gear! And if you go back for any other work it won't take them long to get it done!!
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Old 11-29-2020, 08:36 PM   #17
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Get a lawyer. Its amazing what just a letter threating a lawsuit will do to get them in gear! And if you go back for any other work it won't take them long to get it done!!
Since that time Camping World has a 100% customer satisfaction policy. They have a phone number to call if your unhappy and someone calls the store and tells them to make you happy.
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Old 11-30-2020, 06:25 AM   #18
Gunny B
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We love shopping at Camping World and drive 160 miles round trip to our nearest location. Was a bit shocked to see not many salesperson wearing masks while whole families are sitting in small plexiglass cubicles with their families. That's what I call a leadership problem at that store.
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Old 11-30-2020, 06:33 AM   #19
GreG L.
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My "LAST" experience with Camping World was when I brought my 2020 Montana in for a leaking jack, I was told that since I didn't buy it there they would not honer the warranty, they were too busy.
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Old 11-30-2020, 09:43 AM   #20
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Originally Posted by Roammer View Post
You mist of stumbled into on of the better Campong World locations. We purchased a new 2019 3721RL from CW in Oct 2019. We also felt that we got a good deal but thats where it ended. Our walk thru was half as at best . None of our questions were answered to our satification. Numerous were found mostly due to poor prep work. In the 11 months we've owned it it's been in for repairs for 5 months. We brought it in the last time Oct 1 for 10 warranty items and its still there. I call every week and am told there their not sure of the repair and are waiting for instructions from zKeystone. When I call Keystone they say they have had no communication with the dealer. I will never bring it back to them again.
Roammer, talk to service manager, then the GM, then call CW corporate. Explain your issues and experience. I had to do this myself. I did get some action once I called corporate.
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