3rd party RV Inspector for new rig

[EverywhereMan]

Hello everyone,

Our 5th wheel is in production and it's expected delivery to the dealership in early May.  I was thinking of hiring a 3rd party RV inspector to assist during the pre-delivery inspection at the dealership. Has anyone done this?  If so, possible recommendations for RV inspection company?  Dealership west coast FL.  Thanks for your input.

[Kirk W]

While I have never done this or known anyone who did so, you could use a mobile RV service tech to do it. If so I would make sure that he knows this is a new RV and also that the dealer knows that you plan to do this. The value of doing so depends on the amount of trust you have in the dealership. Since you are buying new, you will have a warranty period to test everything yourself. 

[dewilso]

Trust a RV dealership, or manufacturer ?

[Pappy Yokum]

Now you know someone who did this - actually "un-planned"!

In 2006 I purchased my first  5th wheel (I had ordered) outside of my home state.  Due to the exorbitant prices in So CA, I was willing to drive out-of state to one of the RV wholesalers.  With some searching, I found a dealer ("closer") in SD who would match their prices. Did everything over the phone.  When it came in,  we drove over 1K miles to pick it up. Until then I had previously owned 1- slide-in camper, 2- TTs, and 2 MHs - but zero-5th wheels. (Dealer didn't know my RV "history").

Everything went well.  When it was time for the PDI walk-thru, a mobile tech arrived. The dealer explained it was SOP (at their expense), and I was welcome to spend as much time with the tech as I wished, ask questions,  have the various features tested/checked and explained,etc.  The dealer then left the RV to us (and the tech).

We stayed overnight in the new 5th - on the dealer's lot- then moved to a campground for 'outfitting".  All was well, but while there, I had a "problem' with the rear (electric) stabilizer being inoperable.  As per instructions, called the RV tech who promptly  came out and showed me what I had missed in "operation" of same.

Even with a very, very thorough PDI we still managed to miss two small (insignificant?) items:  The bottom door glide for the pocket bedroom door was missing (I took care of that, about $2 and 5 min).  A part of the footrest on one of the recliners was missing. Since it was a "color match", the dealer mailed it to me when it arrived from the factory - along with a suggestion/offer to have a local dealership install it (unit had a 2yr warranty). No problem - 4 screws and another 5 min of my time. 

Would I do it again - even at MY expense? - - Easy!.... "Yes".

 

[EverywhereMan]

Kirk, good point about the RV mobile service tech, I'll consider this.

Pappy, I'll be driving the same distance to pick up the rig.  

I read a lot about poor quality control at the manufacturer, so would like to try and be sure, items I may not pick-up during PDI that another set of eyes can help catch. Especially someone that works on RV's every day and is familiar with potential issues.

[Kirk W]

11 minutes ago, EverywhereMan said:

I'll be driving the same distance to pick up the rig.  

That does make the PDI more important but there should be someone near you who would do warranty work. It is a bit like buying when fulltime so you aren't near the selling dealer for long. I would suggest that you spend at least 24 hours in the rig near the selling dealer just to check things yourself. No RV tech can completely prevent any warranty period failures so you need to actually operate every appliance and device. 

[rynosback]

Sounds to me that you should have bought your rig with another dealer.  Especially since you do not trust them to PDI the unit.  With in the DRV network, there are two dealers that stand out amongst the others.  Those are the two dealers to order from.

not sure what you are buying, but if you go to there forum you should be able to find out which dealers have the best reputation.

Most dealers will allow you to spend a couple of nights there going over the unit.  

[dblr]

Out of curiosity what brand camper are you getting? Have you thought about looking for that brands owners forum board, you could join and ask about your specific unit and maybe someone there might be able to point out things to look for common in that brand, just a thought. Good luck and hope all goes well with your PDI.

[FL-JOE]

I'm not sure I have ever talked to anyone who purchased a new RV and did not have issues of some sort.  You just need to work through those issues the first year.

We have only owned two new RVs.  Our current one was 99% perfect 3.5 months ago when we went through PDI.  After full timing and putting about 500 miles on it some minor issues have came up.  None of these nagging little things could have been caught even if 10 RV inspectors would have spent all day on this rig.

I do as good of a PDI as I can.  I make every attempt to have the selling dealer fix anything during that first year than I can't fix myself.  After that, unless you really got a lemon, you should be good to go just doing regular preventive maintenance.