As the motorhome turns series— Part one

As the Motorhome Turns — Troubles Mounting, Warranty Won’t Pay, Where Does it End?

Remaining Grateful Despite the Challenges

If you’ve been following me on social media, you know that this year we traded in our 2018 40-foot Fleetwood Discovery for a 2017 45-foot Entegra Anthem. Since escaping California and becoming full-timer RVers we talked about “one day” purchasing a motorhome with a bath and a half. Doing the pee-pee dance and squeezing your cheeks while waiting for your spouse to vacate the bathroom is inevitable and unpleasant, whether in a house or an RV.

Our “one-day” plan was accelerated when we found out we had a major issue with our super-slide, and our warranty would likely not cover it. The prospect of moving out of our home and spending thousands of dollars for a repair that should have been dealt with when the Fleetwood was in a shop for warranty work for two months in California was horrible. 😖

We’d looked at and even put a deposit down on a new Thor Tuscany at the Lazy Days in Wildwood, Florida, in 2021. Our house in California hadn’t sold yet, and we’d decided not to spend that kind of money. Despite Lazy Days making us an excellent offer on a trade-in deal, we didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. When the Thor showed up at Lazy Days eight months after we ordered it, we checked it out anyway.

We’d already heard plenty of news about the crappy RVs built during COVID, and one look at the Thor Tuscany proved that what we were hearing were not rumors. The difference in the quality between the RV we looked at in 2019 and the one that Thor delivered was night and day.

The cabinetry looked like particle board, and the lack of quality, in general, was unacceptable. We asked for our deposit back and told our salesman to keep an eye out for a used motorhome with a bath and a half. When we discovered the Super Slide issue on the Fleetwood, Tommy called our salesman, J.R., and lamented it. JR suggested we let them deal with the super slide problem on the Fleetwood and check out four used motorhomes on the lot.

Out of the four RVs we looked at, we liked the Entegra best. At first, we thought the color might be a bit too much. It grew on us, and we always get compliments on it. We spent six days at Lazy Days making the swap from our old rig to the new one and getting minor repairs made. We love the extra space, and having two bathrooms is fantastic! Before I share the difficulties, which I do to inform others considering the purchase of an RV, or the full-time lifestyle, I want to reiterate that we LOVE our motorhome.

What we’re not enjoying are the problems. After four cross-country trips and 16 months of full-time RV living, we’ve learned our situation is not unique. Dealing with repairs and warranty issues is a major headache for most RVers. We’ve heard more horror stories than I could begin to put in one post. But we all love the RV lifestyle and wouldn’t change it for the world. So, we buckle in for the ride and pray.

Let’s see if I can give you a Readers Digest version of our problems since we purchased Big Red in March 2022.

We had to replace the Satellite Dish within three weeks of owning the Entegra. It was more than a $2000.00 expense and not covered by our warranty. The Dish on top of our motorhome was four years older than the motorhome. We didn’t even try to make sense of that. 🤔

We were in Maine in August when our refrigerator died. After shelling out a bunch of money only to find out it wasn’t repairable, we fought with the warranty company to get it replaced. Our old fridge would not fit out of the front door, and we had to spend $600.00 that was not reimbursable to get it out and the new one in. After deductibles and funds spent not covered by the warranty, we remained about $1400.00 out of pocket. So much for “FULL” coverage.

Getting those funds from USA Travel Care was like pulling teeth. Thankfully the repairman we found was patient and helpful. I gave him the claim number, and he called the company, supplied them with that number, and told them that the part he replaced didn’t fix the problem and that we needed a new fridge.

😤 We didn’t realize that our Fleetwood had been covered by the same company. Despite being given the correct number, they applied the claim to the motorhome that we no longer owned and not the Entegra. Getting that issue ironed out was a nightmare.

In October, while in Virginia, our washer died. Tommy knows a little about appliances, and after pulling it out of the cabinet and inspecting it, he was sure it was dead. The catch with the warranty company is that they will not cover anything if a licensed and bonded technician doesn’t verify the necessary repairs or replacements. They require a service call, but they won’t reimburse you for service calls.

It was challenging to find a mobile technician who would just look at the washer and call the warranty company to verify its demise. They all kept telling us they didn’t work on the China-made piece of crap washer brand. We repeatedly told appliance repair companies that we didn’t want it repaired. We needed them to verify that it was dead so our warranty would pay for a replacement.

We finally found a guy that would come out and look at it for $150.00. He looked at the washer, now sitting in the middle of my bathroom, and in less than two minutes, said, “Yep, it’s dead. I don’t think you can even get parts for this brand if it was fixable.” We thanked him, gave him a check, handed him the phone number for USA Travel Care along with the claim number, and thanked him for calling them so we could get a new washer.

We needed a replacement that would fit the cabinet, which also became a challenge. Tommy spent hours searching the internet for a stackable 20-inch deep washer. Apparently, 24 inches is standard. The ONLY place we could find a washer that would fit was Camping World. If you’ve enjoyed RVing for a while and shopped at the illustrious store, you know they are not cheap. You pay for the name.

I am the navigator, and after looking at our travel schedule, we decided that Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, would be the best place to get our washer installed. We were spending a week at a campground there, and there were a couple of Camping Worlds in town. Tommy scheduled our delivery, and we continued our east coast journey using the laundry facilities at RV parks.

We loved the Myrtle Beach Travel Park! We walked on the beach daily, ate at restaurants close by, and got our washer installed. Camping World sent two guys who quickly removed our dead Chinese brand and installed the new Splendide (Oregon-based manufacturer) washer. They had us up and running in about 30 minutes. They hauled away the old washer too. It was included in Camping World’s $639.00 fee. The warranty folks told me that they don’t cover delivery and installation fees. What a crock!

If you know me, you are picturing my face turning bright red and steam coming out of my ears. 😡 I asked to speak to a manager. The manager informed me that they would cover the cost of a replacement washer at $899.00. He backed up his underling’s claim that installation is not covered but told me he’d give us a one-time courtesy payment of $150.00.

To wrap this story up, after spending $1839.00 to replace a washer supposedly covered by our warranty, they were mailing us a check for less than $1000.00. After talking to the manager twice, I was assured that a check was going out in two days.

Because of a scheduling issue, we were changing campgrounds earlier than planned, so I called USA Travel Care to inquire about the check and inform them that we weren’t going to be where we had originally planned. I told them that I needed to change the delivery address if still possible.

The customer service representative told me that the check wasn’t going out until the next day. I was relieved that it hadn’t been mailed to Georgia since we were now heading to Florida. We were be-bopping around without long scheduled stops so I had them send the check to our mailing address in Texas.

I’m having trouble wrapping things up and making long stories short.

We had our mail forwarded to us in Florida, and guess what? There was no check from USA Travel Care. After a phone call to the company and another chat with a manager, they are canceling the check that they sent to Georgia. There is no record of my conversation with the asshat that assured me our check hadn’t gone out yet and would be mailed to our Texas mailing address.

The manager got a little snippy with me and told me they couldn’t keep reissuing checks. She wanted to be sure we would be at the Florida address I supplied her with. A slap would have been in order if I could have gotten my hand through the phone. Tommy says I’ve been talking about slapping people too often. I know he’s right. 🙄

I started this post while sitting in the service-department waiting area at the Lazy Days in Wildwood, Florida. I finished it sitting in my recliner in our motorhome in their park. Thanksgiving was our ninth day here.

There is so much to share about the experience at Lazy Days waiting for repairs and service that I’ve decided to make this part of a series. As the Motorhome Turns — repair and maintenance woes. The next post will be out next week.

Prayerfully, I can do that one in under 1500 words. It’s not looking very promising at this juncture.

If you are interesting in reading more about the RV Lifestyle sign up for a Medium subscription and access to thousands of stories.