Camping World Fiasco, Redding CA

[chp007kd40]

I can't be the only experienced diesel pusher owner that has gotten their RV treated very poorly at Camping World. It is so bad it seems like a bad dream. 104 days of turmoil and it cannot even be driven on our last five week trip this year because it is being re-repaired in my driveway as I type.

What have some of you successfully done to get help from upper management at Camping World. Who to contact?

Marcus Lemonis any help?

Trip meter reads 13 million miles, odometer went from 104,103 miles to 2346 to now 9765 miles. Norcold 1200 had to be hard reset 3 times before coming back on, dash a/c has had the compressor, evaporator/heater core and a hose replaced

and went out again on the way home. Broken into twice by a criminal wearing an ankle brace who had my #19 key to my tool box in his pocket when searched by Police Officer for suspicious activity. $11,000.00 in damages by ripping my beautiful motorhome apart. $4000.00 in deductibles because it was broken into twice, GREAT!!!

. Put the wrong 4 camera system in and you should see the install. Holes drilled in dash framing for no apparent reason with metal filings still in place, exposed blue wire that sparked while the dash was being removed because no air coming from passenger side vent. One a/c duct was smashed under another and the one on top was punctured by a metal tab that held the dash. Generator auto is still not operating properly, keeps reseting to a low amp restart that is not useable, radio not working so that kills the sirius radio until the new tech reset it. Keys to my motor home now in possession of criminals along with remotes to my entry gates and garages.

I will never take my motor home to a repair shop where it is in "LOCK DOWN" and hidden from view. Any help would be appreciated

[tbutler]

What a terrible experience. From our experience when we were full time, I've found it possible to stay at the repair facility with the motor home through almost all repairs. When not in the motor home I like to be at hand were I can ask questions and when possible peer into the shop to see what is going on.

It has been a learning process regarding repair shops. I've had good, bad and so-so experiences. I get the best service from the factory service center when it comes to the manufacturers items. When appliances need attention I'll try to get them to an authorized repair shop.The engine goes to Cummins, the transmission to Allison. We make appointments before taking the coach in for repair and let the shop know in advance that we will be staying with it including living in it each night. There was one paint shop where this was not possible. Everyone else has been able to accommodate our needs. Even today when we are just traveling for the summer, we're far from home and we expect the same service.

If there is any way possible for you to be available for the day or days when the work needs to be done, do it. It will be vastly better than leaving the coach to be worked on when they don't have something else to do. It also means that you can ask questions as the work proceeds and set an expectation that they will let you know what is being done and ask you questions about the work as it proceeds.

[manholt]

WOW! That's a horror story!

By all means, get in touch with Marcus & get yourself an Atty. There is no good reason for you to live in fear, nor for you to pay for anything!

I hope that your not still using CW to fix your coach in the driveway off your home! If you are, then shame on you!

I use Cummins Coach Care for most mechanical things. I call Spartan if I have a chassis issue and they tell me who to take the coach too!

If I can't get to factory, then I'll let them make the appointment for me at a local dealer...that eliminates the 3 to 5 week wait, while the dealer

takes care of their "customers first".

Like Tom. I never leave the coach alone and pick up later, even when I'm near home. I have learned too give them a key, not the whole key

chain and not the fob. In the afternoon, I get the 1 key back until the morning! Not paranoid, just see no reason to tempt someone.

Carl

[erniee]

Any experienced coach owner, after reading all the crap about camping world should never consider their services.

I won't even venture on their property.

[gitpicker42]

I have an ongoing issue with Camping World Golden Colorado. Two years ago, the front AC on my 2009 Monaco Diplomat went out. That Camping World, because Carrier no longer makes RV AC's, replaced it with a Coleman. The problem is the Monaco Data Sheet, brochure, and window sticker state that it was equipped with dual 15M BTU Roof Air Conditioners with Ducted Air, Heat Pumps, and Digital Thermostat Controls. The part number shows in Monaco part book the AC is a 15K. Other sites, like RVPartFinder, shows it is a 13.5K. Camping World installed a 13K AC and has no paperwork showing what they took off. As the owner, it was never mentioned a smaller AC was installed. We provided them all the time they needed, so there was no rush to install whatever they had in stock. They ordered the wrong AC at first, don't know why it was a wrong AC, and we waited patiently for the next. It arrived with the wrong color shroud, which they were told in advance. Finally they drop-shipped it to a Camping World along our route and it was corrected. Shortly afterwards, that AC broke down. I had it replaced in Albuquerque at Camping World and they replaced it with the same model that Golden CW put on. The following year, we did not use the RV. This summer we went into California and noticed that the front AC would not keep the front compartment cool (temps in the 90's). We worked our way to Yuma AZ and with the temps in the 110 range the RV was unbearable to stay in. I took the RV to Lazydays of Tucson in August to have the AC looked at. It was there we found that the front AC, installed originally in Golden CO, was a 13.5K. The tech stated that in the high temps, the AC could not keep up. He stated the AC was performing as designed. I have asked for additional information as to was exactly was tested on the AC. I was provided the reading from supply air and outside air. Coleman requires additional info, especially amp draw, to determine if it may be the problem. The rear original AC blows cold air at the same time the front blows warm air. My dilemma is two fold: Monaco states 2 15K AC installed, some manuals state 13.5K. With this being a pre-bankrupt Monaco Coach, who do I turn to? The Camping World in Indiana, where I purchased it, doesn't check each part to see what was installed by the factory. Second, where do I find overwhelming proof to show Camping World that the original AC's were 15K's? Any and all help would be welcomed. Steve

[chp007kd40]

Carl, Tom and Erniee, Thank you for your reply, but Carl, your comment (Carl, they will ever touch my motorhome) really stood out, and I thank you. If I would take it back to Camping World now then no one should ever believe a word I am saying. What you said Carl made me want to be even more correct about explaining this situation because it was so easy for me to get trapped and I'll explain.

Back in February I discovered that this Camping World had a technician that could install my new remote for my auto-start for the generator. Upon delivering my motorhome to C.W. I just happened to mention that my dash a/c had a slow leak around the fill valve (up front above the generator) so please charge the system and if possible solve the leak. This was a six day scheduled process and I got my motorhome back around mid March (already 3 days late for our 6 week trip) with a new a/c compressor and a promise we guarantee our work . Since they found no leak up front and now I have a new compressor (they forgot to save the part as I requested) I started to feel a little uneasy. What were they doing for 18 days?

That feeling came alive going through Nevada when we lost cooling in the dash a/c on the second day out and the auto-start did not work properly that evening. All I could think about was $1978.00 dollars paid, 18 days in the shop and three days late on our trip, we needed to make up some time to meet our schedule which we never did and It cost us another $500.00 dollars or more by rerouting. We bought five large cans of a/c charge on the trip to have dash air. One can would last only hours, that's how bad of a leak we had. It was later discovered later (Freightliner shop) that the new compressor had an "O"

ring installed loose or improperly. You mean is 16 days they never checked their work?

Now here is where things started to go in a different direction. High in the Colorado Rockies someone backed a small trailer hauling a couple long pieces of lumber and just happened to hit the right front of our motorhome (2005 Horizon 40' DP) and tore the cap loose and was separated from the frame by 15 inches. What a sight to see at 8000 ft. in the Rockies and no town in sight and the right side mirror (large and heavy) was flopping around. Did not look good! Well, the nice man who saw

this happen (didn't get lic.#) stayed to help me. WE took the horizontal trim off and saw where it had pulled loose from. Reattached and made it to, I think Canon City, where we actually glued it back together (I was surprised how these motorhomes are assembled) and it held for the next 6500 miles.

Guess where our National General Ins. Co. has a national contract with? CW! I did not want to take it back to CW and I knew I didn't have to, except they had $1978.00 dollars of my money, they needed to do some explaining and besides, Mr Borden who runs the body shop has quite a nice following so I took it in with some hope of satisfaction. 104 days later you know some of the rest of the story. Pitiful. One day I waited about 40 minutes to be taken back to my motorhome, abiding by store policy. When a shop does a LOCK DOWN on your motor home, RUN to it and get it out of there. Another words, I'm assuming most CW shops are set up that way so watch OUT.

Yes, I am pretty darn mad because this trip we are missing is something my wife has been looking forward to for along time. Going the Yellowstone this time of year an going out on adventure hikes, excursions and talks on animal movements, hibernation and just to see Winter coming also in Glacier. An ex employee of CW said it best from what I observed so far, "they take in more work than they could possibly repair correctly and this is a common result. Management at the level I talk to blame it on the Corporate push for profits.

I have to say thank you again FMCA for this platform so as to help all of us. I know now that my last five motorhomes were not fragile until uncaring people made them that way. Mine is now fragile!

All of you wonderful people, please send us some rain and snow. We are really hurting for snow and water in Northern Ca.. Last Winter we got 5% of our normal snow fall.

David and Ruthann

[pilot92270]

CW is a disaster in Kissimmee FL. Won't go into details other than $1500 later, lug nut missing, items on list not completed. Couldn't match the lug nut so got it myself. Manager hid under his desk. Found a dealer in Memphis part of the Route 66 network. So far breath of fresh air! I'll use independents before going back to CW. Marcus too busy being a Trump look a like.

[JnCMiller]

Bought six tires from CW in Lake City, FL last year only to discover they were already 3 yrs old. After installation at CW (they turned the DOT dates inside) I was able to determine what had been done. Sent an email to Marcus "as he always preached he would help at the Rally's." Never heard directly from him, but a staffer contacted us and eventually had a manager from another Florida store contact us. The tires were changed out with 2013 and 2014 DOT dates, but it was still a dishonest endeavor on their part.

Marcus doesn't care about repair services, CW is more about retail sales and supplies. I'm surprised they are still in the RV maintenance business, and as the other poster said, he's more interested in his TV shows and NASCAR deals than his consumers.

CW would be a last resort for us as well.

We use Cummins Coach care for our chassis and independents for other repairs.

[Afishhawk]

I must agree with the general consensus here.

I have made several attempts to do business with Camping World but thru their own discussions with with me it never seems like they have a person qualified or familiar with the problem. As always they were several weeks out to have anything looked at and didn't seem interested. I use Cummins Onan or OEM.

If Camping World was my only choice I will do it myself to avoid the difficulty and stress.

[wayne77590]

[...]

An ex employee of CW said it best from what I observed so far, "they take in more work than they could possibly repair correctly and this is a common result. Management at the level I talk to blame it on the Corporate push for profits.

[...]

David and Ruthann

...and there lies the problem. Step out of line and someone else takes the place. They continue to make money.

[Batsome]

I had the misfortune of taking my Fleetwood Pace Arrow in to Camping World in south Las Vegas for a non working vacu flush toilet. Three weeks after my initial appointment I went back in to find parts still had not been ordered and getting the excuse the parts manager has been ill.

Six weeks after my initial appointment I stopped by to verify the needed parts including the pump had indeed arrived and to confirm all the parts in the package would be replaced. I was assured they would be replaced. Almost two weeks more passed before I could at last pick up my "repaired" unit. I however was told I had to pay 4 hours labor as warranty would only cover 2 hours but the job took 6.

I left Vegas for Palm Springs and the next evening the pump quit working and once again no toilet. I phoned the Las Vegas C.W. and the service manager steered me to call a local jobber they had used before. The jobber arrived promptly when promised and went to work.

In total he took 5 hours to repair the non work done at C.W. The only part C.W. had replaced was the pump and none of the other parts. The result was a plugged pump from dried effluent left in the pipe that was supposed to have been replaced as part of the parts package.

To have replaced the pump only as C.W. had done, took the jobber less than an hour. To add insult the service manager in Las Vegas wanted me to pay the jobber. After contacting head office, for the third time on this fiasco, C.W. paid the jobber and refunded the extra 4 hours labor I had paid for previously. To date the toilet still does not work properly.

I was asked to complete a survey on my experience after the initial visit and I stated my frustration at getting nothing done and complained about attitude of the service manager. It is nice to know the service manager was contacted but unfortunately he made life miserable for us for almost two months as a result by dragging out the repairs and giving attitude.

[justus2]

Any experienced coach owner, after reading all the crap about camping world should never consider their services.

I won't even venture on their property.

X2 !!!!! I cannot belive all you experienced rvers still do business with CW. Just use them in an emergency. They lost my business years ago on a repair they did (UGH) 3 years ago.

BTW---many if not all these locations are franchises I think operating under the CW umbrella. I had a long fight to get a small settlement from their Rapid Response Team. I've never seen a post on their website where Marcus is involved. The refund check came from the Dealer that operates this location----------not from CW directly.

Everyone, please post your experiences (good or bad) on website ---- http://rvservicereviews.com/

[dickandlois]

Camping World update:

The CW store in our area is closing and the original family that owned this location is reopening it with there original name.

While talking to some of the personnel, many are pleased and some of the original employees that worker or where transferred to other CW locations are returning.

There grand opening will be Nov.1st.

I'm sure there will be some loose ends to tie up, but all an all I have a feeling it will be run with the customers winning.

Rich.

[justus2]

Camping World update:

The CW store in our area is closing and the original family that owned this location is reopening it with there original name.

While talking to some of the personnel, many are pleased and some of the original employees that worker or where transferred to other CW locations are returning.

There grand opening will be Nov.1st.

I'm sure there will be some loose ends to tie up, but all an all I have a feeling it will be run with the customers winning.

Rich.

Now that is good news for your area----hopefully more locations will return to original owners. The one in Greenwood, IN (Indy area) will do the same. this one CW was/still is under horrible management.

[huffypuff]

Justus2 thanks for the link. I had excellent service from them here in Washington and handle extended warranty flawlessly. I gave them an excellent review.

[rpelatt]

After reading this series of posts and a few others on other forums, I cannot imagine anyone wanting to get repairs at any CW. I for one, have not nor will ever deal with them for repairs. It seems to me that whether it's a franchise or Corp. owned there should be some accountability at the corp. end, and it appears they simply don't care.

Bob

[huffypuff]

Forums are the complaint hotline of today and not very often would someone start a post to comment on excellent service.

[chp007kd40]

Update on Camping World fiasco in Redding Ca..

My Itasca 40KD is still not on the road or useable since 6-12-15. Imagine if you were out of state and on a tight schedule. If I knew any attorney's locally that I could trust I would have them in court. I was contacted by an out of state attorney, but I just want my wonderful motorhome back on the road!

My Darling Wife just reminded me that tomorrow was the day we were to return from our 6 weeks in Yellowstone and Glacier National Park area. One of our favorite trips. Our insurance Co. (NGIC) is part of our delay problem also. They say they guarantee the work CW does for a 2 year period. I will never go back to CW for anything and the warranty is "hollow" in my opinion.

[hermanmullins]

chp007kd40,

Go get your coach. pay what ever is owed to CW on your credit card. Take your coach home and when you get your credit card bill put the charge under protest. At that point CW will have to prove that the service was preformed. Once you have your coach back you can have an attorney fight with CW and your Insurance Co.

Then go and find a shop that will tell you which items they can repair and which they can't. It is very possible that you may have to go to more then one shop to have all the work done.

It amazes me that Camping World hasn't stepped up and tried to make your situation right. They have lost a lot more in negative advertising then they can regain anytime soon.

CW is a good place to buy RV trinkets, not a place to have an RV repaired. Most folks don't go to a beauty shop to have their oil changed, neither should a RVer got to souvenir shop to have a RV repaired.

Herman

[huling3]

I used a Portland Oregon RV dealer with great results. Then CW took over. They would not let me see the work in progress as per "insurance policy", price went up and days dragged on.

I would not even use them as a last resort as I cannot comprehend a world in which CW was the only and last chance. I use a motorhome friendly, certified Cummins truck dealer for chassis work and, when on the road I try to use RV repair shops recommended by CG host or RV parks managers.

My brother-in-law has CW tire stories that defy belief including tire dates, brands, threats to fire an employee if he didn't allow a price bump, on and on.

I agree that their retail shop should be the only reason to visit, however, I have always found the same product elsewhere for less when I have time to shop.

Fred