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Is there a reliable RV dealer in or near SW Idaho?


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Greetings!  It seems there is no lack of advice on YouTube that tells you that finding the right dealer/service provider is as important as finding the right rig. The advice is, if the dealer your working with seems shady or dishonest, to walk away.
I guess this means that if that particular dealer sells the model you want and you don't like the salesman/technical advisor/service manger, you walk away and resign yourself to going to another dealer for that brand. Even if that means they are hundreds of miles away. Then if you need service on the rig???

OK to the main question, who, of the various big names in SW Idaho or nearby, are reliable to sell any of these 2 brands:  KZ (Durango Half-ton 5ver), Outdoors RV (Glacier Peak 5ver) .
I know of Bretz and Bish and Dennis Dillon as well as Camping World.  Where can I find testimonials for these for purchase and service, besides the canned and cleaned versions I see on their website?

Thanks for your time in replying,

FB

 

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2021 Ram 3500  2017 Arctic Fox 25W(to be traded??)
HAM guy (Ke7FIX), photography, woodworking (mostly sawdust),
Electronics Technician,  USAF DAV

Going where everyone has gone before

 

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Welcome to the forums! Having never bought an RV in Idaho, I can't tell you what dealer I would go to but I have made several RV purchases over the years. The first thing I'd say is that if you are going to be fulltime and rarely in that area, then price becomes more important than anything else, except perhaps dealer-prep. If you are not going fulltime then the dealership may be more important as you may want to have an ongoing relationship for future maintenance and warranty work. It has been my experience that the more customer oriented dealers tend to have better prices and better services in the same facility and the manner in which people are treated is a good indicator. Best does not always mean lowest price but it almost never means the highest prices either. If you can make contact with a local RV club, the members would be a good place to find useful references. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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I’ve never purchased an RV in Idaho but visit the Bosie area often. I have tried to get service at Bish and Bretz but both were backed up for over 6 weeks and I was only going to be there for a month. I believe Bish has other locations as well. I have seen many negative reviews about Camping Worlds sales and service and would stay away from them. I purchased my Jeep from Dennis Dillon in Caldwell but have never been back for service. I am full time and travel a lot so am almost never where I made my purchase when I need service. 

As far as service for the RV, most dealers don’t like to do warranty work because the factory pays them less that the going shop rate. They do it for their customers because they already made money on the sale. Most warranties are only for one year so after that you are paying full rate out of your pocket and the dealer will happily take your money. So after a year it is a non issue. If you are a full timer it won’t matter unless you return to the same area every year. 

2015 Itasca Ellipse 42QD

2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition

2021 Harley Street Glide Special 

Fulltimer

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Thanks for the feedback Twotoes and Kirk!    I would classify my wife and I as Sometimers, with the idea in the next couple of years of becoming part timers while we visit as many National parks as will let us in. 

I have also read and heard about questionable follow-up after the deal with CampingWorld. Thankfully, they don't carry either of the two brands I'm searching for, however, they do have my name if a used one comes through on trade.

I'd like to reach out to a local RV Club, but according to the map of clubs on the SKP web site, the nearest is northern Idaho panhandle, about 5 (or more) hours away. 

Kirk, you're spot on with developing a relationship with the dealership and that is the primary reason for my query, has anyone had a good experience purchasing and with service in SW Idaho.     I visited Thundermountain (Arctic Fox dealer) in LaGrande Oregon to have a look at a FOX Mountain rig, but the rig wasn't WOW, so we passed.  The salesman was very up front with us, so had we found a rig may have considered it, BUT it's 3 hours from home.  And TwoToes hit the mark with service on a rig bought at another dealership is, well, not a priority for the local guys.  I took my Arctic Fox to Nelsons RV in Boise for some warranty work (had an extended warranty from the previous owner) and still got soaked for costs above and beyond what the warranty covered for a bathtub replacement.  I have pictures of what they called "lubricating the slide channels" that anyone would be hard pressed to see any lube. Needless to say, I'm not fond of Nelsons service guys.

I'll keep my hopes up that someone on these blogs has found the diamond in the rough for dealerships, private or MEGA shop, within 150 miles of Boise.  

Thanks again for your reply.

FB

 

+++++++++++_____________________________________+++++++++++

2021 Ram 3500  2017 Arctic Fox 25W(to be traded??)
HAM guy (Ke7FIX), photography, woodworking (mostly sawdust),
Electronics Technician,  USAF DAV

Going where everyone has gone before

 

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It appears RV Service Reviews.com is lo longer functional. My Google search only came up with this not very helpful site: https://www.dealerrater.com/directory/Idaho/Recreational-Vehicles/

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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Much appreciated for the link!  Now I have egg on my face for not thinking of Google before!😳

I'll try to do as much of the service as I can until I can't. Having the list of service folks is very helpful.
It looks like I'll also need to spend some quality time with link that sandsys forward.

Thanks again! I'll keep my ears open if someone has a person experience they would share.

Cheers

FB

 

 

+++++++++++_____________________________________+++++++++++

2021 Ram 3500  2017 Arctic Fox 25W(to be traded??)
HAM guy (Ke7FIX), photography, woodworking (mostly sawdust),
Electronics Technician,  USAF DAV

Going where everyone has gone before

 

              event.png                                             

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20 hours ago, franco-bolli said:

I took my Arctic Fox to Nelsons RV in Boise for some warranty work (had an extended warranty from the previous owner) and still got soaked for costs above and beyond what the warranty covered for a bathtub replacement. 

Keep in mind that what is called an extended warranty isn't really a warranty at all but it is a contract to cover future repairs. It is much like a health insurance policy for the RV and as such most of them also have a deductible that you pay before they pay anything, then there is often a maximum that they pay, and there is always a list of excluded items which they do not pay for. There are contracts that only pay for the listed items and better ones that pay for everything except listed items. Since those are not sold by the manufacturer of the RV but rather some insurance company, the dealers usually can't get everything you want paid for. Never blame the RV manufacturer for what an extended warranty doesn't pay. 

RV  Service Reviews

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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11 hours ago, sandsys said:

Huh. It sent me to an ad for Adidas.

My first click on it also took me to an odd site. I refreshed the screen and clicked again and ended up at the service reviews site.. The site only had a few listed, but there was some insight to what is near me. I was able to add comments to one already there as well.

 

Kirk, this is the first time I've had an RV with and Extended warranty, which, thankfully I didn't have to pay for. I have to admit service provider had good craftsmanship in the replacement of the tub, and I understand they can't work for free. The warranty had some ridiculously low number of hours they would pay for to replace the bathtub, something like 3 or 4 hours. I don't blame the manufacturer for the cost of the repair.  I think what really irked me was that I also asked them to look at the slide out because it seems very slow and labored to go out. First they told me there was a rock in the channel. I know there wasn't a rock, because I had already been under the trailer and looked for obstructions.  Then they claim they lubed the rails and cleaned the slide gaskets.  I crawled under the rig again and took pictures when I got home.  Later I quizzed them about "where is the lube?" Their reply, "it's a dry lube".  I've used dry lube before and there is always some left on the surfaces even though it's dry. There was no evidence of any lube, or cleaning.  So, I was disappointed in their reply to that as well. Rather than complain and lose the use of the rig for another 4 weeks, while it got back in line to get serviced, I'll lubricate it myself.  I don't think I had unreasonable expectations for the service but maybe I was overly optimistic about what the warranty would pay to get it fixed.  

Thanks for your replies.

FB

 

+++++++++++_____________________________________+++++++++++

2021 Ram 3500  2017 Arctic Fox 25W(to be traded??)
HAM guy (Ke7FIX), photography, woodworking (mostly sawdust),
Electronics Technician,  USAF DAV

Going where everyone has gone before

 

              event.png                                             

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2 hours ago, dirtyboots said:

I've used RV Service Reviews many times over the years....just now I click on the above link given and my Malware Bytes Anti-Virus kicked it out as having a Trojan.  Beware!  I'll see if I can contact them to report.

That trojan might be what sent us to ads. I'll have my Dave check to see I didn't infect anything. Thanks for the info.

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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