Full time RV living and Mfr. Warranty

[mbsnow]

We are brand spankin' new to the RV lifestyle. So new we don't even have a rig - yet.

 

We've been reading, studying, and searching for some months now since the big "R" is at year end.

 

We think we found what will meet our needs and desires for full time living in a Jayco Pinnacle. While reading a copy of the owner's manual published online (we have not bought but did put a refundable deposit down) that the manufacturer 2 year warranty is void if the RV is used for long term or full time residence.

 

Has anyone encountered this? We told every dealer we spoke to that we were planning for full time and not one person has mentioned this "little detail" about warranty.

 

From the RVCG database this is a reliable company and product so why wouldn't they be willing to honor their warranty for more than occasional use? Just wondering if this limitation/exclusion is an industry standard?

 

Been reading posts here and just joined Escapees because we know we know nothing about this lifestyle and everyone seems so generous with helpful wisdom.

 

Thanks much in advance,

Snows

[MrSeas]

Yep read the fine print.

[ronmon]

an industry standard apparently for manufacturers who dont ttust their own build quality IMHO.

Ron

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee open forums! It is great having you here and we will do our best to help you.

We've been reading, studying, and searching for some months now since the big "R" is at year end.

We think we found what will meet our needs and desires for full time living in a Jayco Pinnacle. While reading a copy of the owner's manual published online (we have not bought but did put a refundable deposit down) that the manufacturer 2 year warranty is void if the RV is used for long term or full time residence.

Has anyone encountered this? We told every dealer we spoke to that we were planning for full time and not one person has mentioned this "little detail" about warranty.

From the RVCG database this is a reliable company and product so why wouldn't they be willing to honor their warranty for more than occasional use? Just wondering if this limitation/exclusion is an industry standard?

Actually, it isn't universal but it is pretty common. It is important to note that the typical RV is only used for a couple of weeks of vacation and a few weekends per year, usually adding up to somewhere between 30 and 60 days of actual use. Compare that to a fulltimer who uses his RV for 5 to 10 times that much each year and it should not be so very difficult to understand the difference. Even so, there are companies that do not put that exclusion on their warranties. In my more than 30 years of RV use, I have never once heard of any RV dealer asking how much you use your RV when a customer comes in for warranty work of any kind. I suppose it could happen if the repair were exceptionally expensive, but I have heard of not one case of verifiable use of that clause. In addition, most of the repairs are usually on appliances which each one has it's own warranty by the appliance manufacturer. It is possible that the full-time exclusion could come up, but I have never heard of it happening.

[Orvil Hazelton]

Products from Jayco as well as Forest River put this usage limitation on their products . . . always in the fine print of their warranties. Forest River also adds the warranty limitation of requiring warranty work to be performed be the selling dealership. This seems to be idiotic for anybody who travels away from "home". Kirk owned a Forest River product a few years ago, perhaps he can add something here.

[Kirk W]

Kirk owned a Forest River product a few years ago, perhaps he can add something here.

 

I don't believe that I did...............................

 

[ronmon]

Can you imagine a dealer telling a full-timer that his rig has no warranty because they are fulltiming in their rig!!!!! Dealer would likely not play that card & get in the middle of that issue.

Ron

[avan]

Newb lesson #1. Dealer is moving, dealer is speaking, dealer is breathing = dealer probably lying and for sure not looking out for your best interest.

 

Lesson #2. Not all RVs are built to take full time wear and tear.

 

Lesson #3. If you have a non warrantied FT unit and you have a problem, play the RV mfr and RV dealer game and act like you were on or are on a week's vacation.

[2gypsies]

When you're full-timing and need warranty work, I don't think you'll be able to play the game. You're going to have to be honest. Full-timers need work done immediately, That's their home and they're need to tell the dealer that so the work is done fast. You can't leave the RV there and come back in a week or two.

[mrfrank]

We have been full timing since 2007, and have had two brand new coaches. Never had a warranty service issue with either, and yes they both required warranty work. I would be very suspicious of the quality of the coach if the manufacturer put a no full timing clause in the warranty.

[Orvil Hazelton]

I don't believe that I did...............................

 

KIRK: I apologize Kirk, I thought that the Georgetown you used to live in was a Forest River product. I"ll have to learn to keep my mouth shut. As always, oRV

[Barbaraok]

I think you should do some more reading and find a gently used 2-4 yr old coach of slightly better construction. You will do so much better with a unit where the 'kinks' have been worked out, and higher quality unit will be much better for fulltiming. You can always by an extended warranty for the rig if you want.

[VallAndMo]

Hi Snows,

 

First of all, welcome to Escapees and to the forum!

 

Secondly, thanks for the post. We will too be moving into the full-time lifestyle by late 2017, so this kind of info is very relevant for us.

 

We think we found what will meet our needs and desires for full time living in a Jayco Pinnacle. While reading a copy of the owner's manual published online (we have not bought but did put a refundable deposit down) that the manufacturer 2 year warranty is void if the RV is used for long term or full time residence.

This is really disappointing, specially considering that the Pinnacle is a very high-end unit (the manufacturer even calls it "Luxury") and that this warranty-voiding is buried deep into the manual (for those willing to check, it's at page 22 of the Pinnacle Owner's Manual PDF, at the end of a very long, paragraph-sized phrase ending with "any use of the RV as a semi-permanent or permanent home."

 

Well, we've just scratched Jayco from the very short list of manufacturers we would consider buying a new unit from... Now remaining in it, there's only Grand Designs (Reflection models) and Northwood (Arctic Fox/Fox Mountain). Anyone dug into their docs already for this kind of info?

 

Cheers,

--

Vall and Mo.

[VallAndMo]

Hi,

Well, we've just scratched Jayco from the very short list of manufacturers we would consider buying a new unit from... Now remaining in it, there's only Grand Designs (Reflection models) and Northwood (Arctic Fox/Fox Mountain). Anyone dug into their docs already for this kind of info?

 

To answer our own question, I just went through the Northwood Owner's Manual/warranty PDF, and didn't see anything like a loss of warranty for full/long-time living (in fact, the warranty information is extremely short and to-the-point, just one page at the end -- but I did a quick scan through the rest of the manual and also found nothing).

 

Will check GD's documentation next, and post the results here.

 

Cheers,

--

Vall.

[VallAndMo]

Howdy,

 

Will check GD's documentation next, and post the results here.

So, looked far and wide for any information regarding this, to no avail. There's a page named "Warranty" at GDRV website, but it doesn't go into much detail and basically refer to the Owner's Manual. And I could not find that manual anywhere... Worse yet, I found a thread at the GDRV owner's web forum where a forum member scanned and posted his paper copy of the manual, but then it was swiftly removed (and the thread locked) by the GDRV staff webmaster, citing copyright law infringement... huh? How can that be, when so many (most?) other manufacturers readily make their own manuals publicly available? It seems GDRV simply doesn't want that information in the hands of prospective buyers (only those that have already got their products), which again I find very strange, if not sinister.

 

Anyway, if anyone has further information on this, I would be glad to hear it.

 

Thanks in advance,

--

Vall.

[Kirk W]

I thought that the Georgetown you used to live in was a Forest River product. I"ll have to learn to keep my mouth shut.

No apology needed Orv but you must be thinking of someone else. While Georgetown is built by Forest River, I have never owned one. What I did own was a Georgie Boy product, later bought out by Coachman Ind.

 

On the warranty question, the only way to be certain of the complete content of any manufacturer's warranty is to read the paper document that is provided with the sale of the RV. It is something that I would suggest doing prior to any payment of money and while many dealers are reluctant to provide you with a copy, they do have them and can do so. I suspect that very few RV buyers have read the entire warranty of their RV before purchase. The same is probably true for a new car.

 

If you should choose to protect yourself by purchasing an "extended warranty" for the RV that you choose, make sure that you also get a copy of that contract and read all of it before signing and paying for it also. If thinking of going that way, I suggest that you take the time to read this article on extended warranties that was published by Escapees Magazine.

[chirakawa]

 

This is really disappointing, specially considering that the Pinnacle is a very high-end unit

 

No, it's not.

[WeBeFulltimers]

I think you should do some more reading and find a gently used 2-4 yr old coach of slightly better construction. You will do so much better with a unit where the 'kinks' have been worked out, and higher quality unit will be much better for fulltiming. You can always by an extended warranty for the rig if you want.

 

 

I am in total agreement with this. We have been full timing for 6 years and although we have had no serious problems with our current fifth wheel this is what I'll do if we decide we want a change.

[WeBeFulltimers]

 

No, it's not.

 

From what I have seen the Pinnacle is a decent mid-range unit, but a very LONG way from "high end" !

[Kirk W]

 

I think you should do some more reading and find a gently used 2-4 yr old coach of slightly better construction. You will do so much better with a unit where the 'kinks' have been worked out, and higher quality unit will be much better for fulltiming.

While I do agree that a quality used RV is a better choice than a new RV of poor quality, I am constantly amazed by the number of folks who advise against anyone buying a new RV right from the dealer. I have now owned both new and used RVs and both have been good experiences. If my memory is accurate, I had only 1 warranty issue with each of the 3 new RVs that I have owned. Since the first new one was more than 30 years ago, I'm not certain about the 1 issue part but can say that it was the biggest problem as it took several trips to get it right. My current RV was purchased new and of the 3 it is the lowest on the quality scale, but it was only back for warranty repairs one time and that was midway through the second year of the warranty period. Our used RV experiences were pretty similar, although 2 of those were from private owners so there was no dealer to return to. The thing to remember when buying used is that there is typically no warranty on anything so all repairs will cost. The point is that there is more risk in buying used than with new because of the lack of a warranty. Remember that when an RV is sold or traded after a very short period, there is always the possibility that you are looking at one which the original owner had so much problem that he got rid of it and took a major loss in doing so. You risk being the person who bought some previous owner's headache. The only RV owners that I have personally known who traded the RV away in less than 3 years(only 2) both did so because the RV was a disaster!

[GlennWest]

We bought a used unit. Teton was out of business so no Chace of buying new. We are fully satisfied with it. Yes, we replaced some items. Upgraded some items.

[richfaa]

These are RECREATIONAL vehicles not residences.

[chirakawa]

These are RECREATIONAL vehicles not residences.

 

Says you. I disagree.

[GlennWest]

Some are built ground up to full time in. Teon was. New Horizons is. Space Craft is. Drv. Continental Coach.

[richfaa]

Says New Horizons "New Horizons RV is a Five Star Rated RV Manufacturer of Truly Custom High End RV Trailers and Fifth Wheels. We design your perfect floor plan.

 

What does the R stand for.