RV Dealer "Wisdom"

[AFchap]

Had an interesting conversation with a senior guy in an RV dealership recently ...I was buying a new female end for a 30a extension cord to replace one that was damaged. He walked up and said, "Yea, most rv'ers don't realize that when they connect their 50a RV to a 30a outlet they are only going to get 25a because they are using just one leg of the 50a cord ...and that's why they get hot and melt. They're trying to use 30a and there's only 25a available." An effort to have a conversation about it quickly went nowhere as he continued to talk about using just half of the capacity of the 50a cord. I paid for my parts, said "Yep," and hit the road.

[Rif]

Just one more example in a long list of RV salesmen who have no idea what they're talking about. Amazing how many of them have never even owned or used an RV.

[Kirk W]

Just one more example in a long list of RV salesmen who have no idea what they're talking about. Amazing how many of them have never even owned or used an RV.

Just my thought.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Guys, just in case you have some new people that don't understand what the issue is, 50amp service has two 50 amp 120 volt legs. You actually have 100 amps of 120 volt power at the pedestal which is more than 3 times what you can pull on a 30 amp cord..... a 30 amp service will only use one side of that 50 amp service.

[Kirk W]

 

You actually have 100 amps of 120 volt power at the pedestal which is more than 3 times what you can pull on a 30 amp cord..... a 30 amp service will only use one side of that 50 amp service.

And you can only draw a maximum of 30A with a 30A RV because it has a circuit breaker in it's distribution panel that sets the maximum that RV can use, no matter how much is available. The statement made to Paul shows that the guy had no understanding of electricity at all.

[wildmandmc]

my last 4 times looking to trade mine in for a newer one. got either a 1st day on job, or one that first job as a rv salesman. I thought i was only one with such "good luck".

[mds1]

I spent about three months studying up on RV construction before I went to the last local RV show. I talked to an Open Range RV (Highland Ridge) salesman. Five minutes into the conversation he admitted he had recently changed jobs from a car salesman to an RV salesman. I appreciated his honesty and changed the question to simply - if you had to live in this thing what parts do you think make it livable? Maybe the new owners at Jayco will train him because the dealer sure did not.

 

Talked to an established salesman with Trilogy for less then 30 seconds after I asked what the gross vehicle weight of the trailer was, adding I was concerned its weight was a little more than I might want to tow. He said don't worry about the weight because you will never travel with a full water tank. Never is a big word! Wonder if that is a standard line Forrest River/Dynamax want's salesmen saying?

 

The excuse used by the Keystone Montana factory rep for why so many RVs come off the line with flaws was that they are only as good as the people assembling them, and it's hard to find good help. The reason they only offer a one year warranty is to allow dealerships a better chance of selling extended warranties and the second year of warranty, sold by other manufacturers, don't cover much. I want to believe him?

 

Then there was the Grand Design salesman who was pushing a newer model. He walked past the other rigs I wanted to see (Redwood, Montana) which his dealership sells. He kept on about the Grand Design because "they were throwing money at him" in terms of dealership incentives. The salesman has a license to buy used trucks at auctions and tried to sell me one of those also, adding there is no need for a dual wheel truck for the 42 foot 16,000 pound rig he wanted to sell me. To his credit, he did not flinch when I told him we were at least two years out before buying a rig. And If he was paying attention in the first 30 minutes of our meeting he learned I was set on not buying a rig that day.

 

My mom sold GMC products for 17 years. She was so busy with returning customers she had an assistant because everyone demanded her as a salesman. That lady could spec out a truck better than any factory rep. Construction workers loved the fact they could tell her what they would be hauling and knew she could spec out the correct truck. Now that's a professional.

[wildmandmc]

An to add the only thing worst than a newbie salesman is one that's made a career of it. He/She may know what's what but, they also know how to put the screws to ya on the deal. In last few yrs looking at our first an trading in our first, ya got to know what is what or else. I got a little lucky as i found a few rv forums an read up on a lot, but even that wasn't enough.

[LindaH]

Many years ago, we were looking at Class C's and stopped by a lot in Quartzsite to look at a Big Foot. It was a model that had a garage in the back where one could drive a quad up into (not a toy hauler really, since it loaded from the side). As we were checking out the inside, I noticed the weight sticker said that the CCC was 600-something pounds. I made a comment to DH that once someone drove a quad up into the garage, that would take up most, if not all, the CCC leaving no room for any other supplies.

 

The saleswoman was quick to assure me that the weight of the quad would come out of the towing capacity, not the GVWR of the rig! I tried to explain to her why that wasn't true, but she was having none of it. I often wondered, afterward, what unsuspecting person bought the rig based on her...dangerous...statement, proceeded to carry a quad in the back and then load up the remainder of the rig with all their supplies, water, and propane.

[Rosita]

"...you can only draw a maximum of 30A with a 30A RV because it has a circuit breaker in it's distribution panel that sets the maximum that RV can use, no matter how much is available."

---

Exactly; even "volt dolts" should know this basic information. Unfortunately, way too many RV salespeople fall into the "general dolt" category when it comes to knowing the first thing about whatever they're selling. However, they also succeed in unloading the same "whatever" far more often that they should because way too many buyers are equally clueless!

[Clay L]

There is a lot of that going around. I had two dealers tell me that since I had a 5000 pound towing capacity and my car only weighed 2800 pounds that my CCC was increased by the 2200 pounds of my towing capacity I was not using. One of them told me he knew that was right because he learned it in a Winnebago sales course. Winnebago said "WHAT" when I told them that at the factory. There was absolutely no way to convince the salesman otherwise so like Paul I just went on my way.

[Ronbo]

So if my HDR can haul 80,000 lbs and my 5th wheel weighs 21,000 we can actually put another 40,000 lbs on the RV. Honey we gotta go shopping

[TXiceman]

I used to think that the InterNet would help to get more information out to the masses and let them make a more educated decision. Instead, the InterNet is helping to breed a less educated public. Some people have trouble separating the chaff from the wheat and wind up following the wrong lead.

 

For everyone's safety (and sanity) if you do know know the correct information, tell the others that you do not know and keep your fingers off the keyboard.

 

Ken

[docj]

Had an interesting conversation with a senior guy in an RV dealership recently ...I was buying a new female end for a 30a extension cord to replace one that was damaged. He walked up and said, "Yea, most rv'ers don't realize that when they connect their 50a RV to a 30a outlet they are only going to get 25a because they are using just one leg of the 50a cord ...and that's why they get hot and melt. They're trying to use 30a and there's only 25a available." An effort to have a conversation about it quickly went nowhere as he continued to talk about using just half of the capacity of the 50a cord. I paid for my parts, said "Yep," and hit the road.

 

It's bad enough when you get this from a salesman; I heard something very similar from a guy who runs a mobile RV service business. Needless to say I haven't requested his services.