Part 1: 3 RV Breakdowns in a Month

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Our RV has been pretty reliable, with relatively few repairs needed during our 3 years of ownership. It’s now 5 years old with 50,000 miles on the clock and we take good care of it with regular maintenance – scheduled and preventative. We’d never had a mechanical failure or ended up stranded on the side of the roaddue to a breakdown. Never needed a tow truck. And until recently, we typically averaged a “major-ish” (non-mechanical) repair about once a year, which was often covered under our extended service contract. 

We shared our first 2 years of repairs and costs in this blog post, but November 2016 is now known as the month of 3 RV breakdowns. And our biggest, most inconvenient and costly month of repairs so far.

With so much content to share, we decided to split this up into a two part series – with a videos and blog post for each part, over two weeks. So here’s the lowdown on part 1. Watch the drama unfold in the video and get the full story and extra detail below in the blog post. If you just want the facts of the repair and costs, that’s all rounded up at the very bottom of this post.

Once you read through RV breakdowns part 1, we continue the saga in part 2.

RV Breakdown #1: I-10 Westbound in Arizona

Saturday, November 5: We had just left Tucson, AZ and were heading to Sedona so Marc could take his new Adventure bike for a spin in one of his very favorite scenic biking locations. It was a smooth and relaxing drive. In fact, I had just mentioned to Marc that morning how reliable our coach had been, as it had been a year since our last significant repair (when we had to replace our water heater). I had just called ahead to a state park and made a reservation at a local state park. We were excited to be spending a couple of weeks in one of our very favorite towns when all of a sudden. BOOM!

There was a huge, horrible metal sound that started coming from under our coach while driving.

It sounded like we had just run over a large metal box (we hadn’t) that was tumbling underneath us in the front end of the coach. It was banging and clanging along the way. We could actually feel the metal banging and vibrating through the floor beneath our feet.

Marc quickly pulled to the side of the road. Thankful that this section of the highway had a shoulder wide enough to accommodate us – just! He was able to come down from 60mph to a stop in just a couple of minutes and the horrible sound stopped as well. After a couple stunned moments catching our breath, Marc stepped outside to take a look at what might have caused that awful sound. He surely didn’t remember seeing anything on the road before the noise began. Sure enough, it wasn’t a giant metal box. It was part of the underbelly of our own motorhome chassis.

This was our first mechanical RV breakdown while driving.

The part that had come loose was a large metal track bar that attaches to a bracket on the frame and the front axle of the motorhome. The bolt that attaches it to the front axle had fallen out which caused the large metal bar to drop to the ground. Of course, when it dropped to the ground at nearly 60 miles per hour, it bounced up into the undercarriage. Which explained the terrible noise and why we could feel it under our feet. Other than this freely hanging bar, there didn’t seem to be any more significant damage to the coach.

Being only a couple of feet off the right of the white line of the highway, and with semi-trucks whizzing by at nearly 70mph, the coach was rocking really hard every time a big truck drove by. This was unsettling, to say the least. 

Having looked underneath the coach and knowing that he was able to maintain control of the vehicle after it had come loose, Marc was relatively confident that he could create a temporary solution to get us moving enough to find a safer location. I was not so confident and thought that it would be worth calling roadside assistance to get a second opinion. Hopefully we would get confirmation that our plan wouldn’t cause further damage to the coach.

Thinking it wouldn’t take too long to get a second opinion, Marc agreed and we gave our roadside assistance provider (Good Sam) a call. Marc spent about 20 minutes on the phone with the operator who tried contacting RV shops to get some feedback. Unfortunately, being nearly 5pm on a Saturday, they weren’t having a lot of luck connecting with anyone. We ended up on the phone with roadside assistance for nearly an hour and a half with no real assistance or solution. Of course, by this stage, it was dusk and we were losing light fast.

Initially, we thought we would not need a tow due to our RV breakdown.

Then we did. Then we didn’t. Instead of waiting even longer, Marc was really starting to lean toward his initial idea of tying up the part and driving to a repair shop to get off the busy highway. So he left me on hold with roadside assistance, and went back outside and got under the coach again. He noticed that while all of the steering components appeared to be in their right place, something had gone awry with the Sumo Springs. It was our suspension upgrade, which we’d made in 2016.

One Sumo Spring was still standing straight. But the other was definitely rather crooked, leading Marc to believe that perhaps things weren’t quite as “hunky dory” as he originally hoped. So then he thought we DID need a tow again. Sigh.

A Breakdown Meant Time For Plan B

Aside from the extensive wait time, our biggest frustration with the Roadside Assistance rep (yes, that’s you, Good Sam) was that we wasted all that time on the phone with them with no real solution. By now it was dark. Great. We had asked them to send a tow truck, but they wouldn’t. The reason being (according to the rep) was she was unable to contact or confirm with an RV repair shop that they would be able to do the work, as they were all closed. I did my own homework and told her La Mesa RV, a Tiffin dealer, was only 30 or so miles away and we were confident they could do the repair on Monday. But it seems that wasn’t good enough for them.

I explained we couldn’t leave or stay in our motorhome on the side of the highway all weekend. The intense rocking and rolling from all the trucks going by at 70pmh was really concerning – even scary at times.

Her advice? “If you feel unsafe, call 911.”

Seriously!? What is 911 going to do about a broken down motorhome on the side of I10W on a Saturday night? Now perhaps we just reached a new person – someone who wasn’t able to “think on her feet” or troubleshoot or even use some common sense. Needless to say, we both felt incredibly frustrated by our experience and ended up hanging up to try and create our own Plan B.

Marc headed outside to unhook the MINI from the motorhome and see what else he could come up with.

Rusty saves the day (and night)

Fortunately, in the meantime, a good samaritan – a fellow named Rusty who also happens to do some roadside assistance as an alternate provider – had seen we were stranded and stopped to lend a hand. Another call to Roadside Assistance and 40 more minutes later, we were finally able to get them to approve paying Rusty a call out fee so he could to assist us.

In the meantime, we had gone from sunlight to complete darkness. So it was definitely a huge advantage for us to have somebody who knew the area and was equipped with excellent emergency lights on their vehicle. They were able to guide us to a safe location.

Marc shared his breakdown plan

He was going to tie up the part and drive slowly to a repair shop and Rusty agreed that would probably work. So Marc grabbed some zip ties and tie down straps, then got under the coach to tie the track bar up to the front axle.

He then put together a plan and route with our new friend Rusty. We knew we would not want to be driving high speeds in the dark with a suspension tied together simply with zip ties and straps. We agreed that 30mph was probably a reasonable maximum speed (slower if any turns). Julie had already called the sales office at LaMesa RV before they closed (service had already left for the day) and they confirmed we could park in their parking lot over the weekend. 

Their service center was just off the highway about 20 miles north of us. So at least we knew we had a nice, safe destination not too far away. Of course, 20 miles is still a fairly long drive when you are only going 20-30 miles per hour!

Marc had already unloaded the MINI so I could drive separately.

Partially to reduce the load on the coach, and also for the increased flexibility of having multiple vehicles to block traffic if needed.

Rusty backed up his truck about a quarter of a mile to slow the traffic down and open up the lane for Marc to get back on the highway. It was great having a local blocking the traffic for me. Having agreed on a route, he was able to block lanes for me to change lanes every time. It was obvious this was not Rusty’s first rodeo. The drive took about an hour and Rusty escorted us with the talent of a seasoned professional. You could tell that he really took pride in doing a good job and being a helping hand to people in need. 

We sure appreciated Rusty’s help that night and sent him off with a generous tip.

Making Lemonade Out of Lemons

We arrived at the parking lot of La Mesa Service Center and were pleased to discover that the available space was large enough to easily accommodate our coach. It even had a little rock garden and palm trees on our patio side and electric hookups! Score!

It was so nice to be able to park in a quiet, level space off the highway for the weekend, with 50 amp power too. And we had 85 degree F days. Fortunately, we had a few gallons of water on board to get us through the weekend as well. We stayed in the parking lot most of the weekend, but Marc did get out for a bike ride on Sunday. Not quite as scenic as the red rocks of Sedona as we’d originally planned, but hey, it was better than nothing!

Diagnosing The RV Breakdown Problem

Monday morning came and we spoke with the service team about our situation. The problem turned out to be a pretty simple yet uncommon one. A large bolt from the Track Bar had come loose and completely fallen out, causing the track bar to fall to the ground.

What is a Track Bar?

Located by the steering stabilizer on the driver side of the axle, the track bar goes up to a mount that hangs off the passenger side frame. It keeps the front axle centered from side to side.

Now, for those of you who are wondering if a breakdown is likely to happen to your RV, here’s what we know.

According to the service techs at La Mesa RV, they had never seen this happen before, so this was considered highly unusual. We asked what would have caused it to come loose and they really didn’t have an answer. They couldn’t even suggest what could be done to prevent it from happening, it’s just that random. But we would suggest the next time your RV’s in at a shop, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have your mechanic check to make your track bar bolts are really on there nice and tight.

The repair was going to cost around $480 and was eligible to be covered under our extended service contract, but our deductible is $500. We then remembered that our leveling jacks had been temperamental in recent months and sticking. They were not retracting properly despite lubricating them regularly, and we’d just been dealing with it. The service tech took a look and determined we needed new leveling jack springs as well, which also ended up being covered under our extended contract. 

So voila! Just like that, we managed to make the most of the situation and get an additional repair done on our coach, for just $500 out of pocket.

Breakdown Means Bonus Hotel Stay-cation

So, over the past couple of years, we’ve mostly been able to get repairs done on our coach pretty much same day. But this time, they had to order the parts and it would take a few days before the coach would be repaired. La Mesa RV said we were welcome to stay in the parking lot until the parts arrived, but that would be disruptive during the days when they needed to work on the coach and Marc had to work (he was still at his old job at that time.) Although we would normally prefer to stay in our motorhome, when it’s in and out of service bays and Marc needs to be working, it was far less disruptive to be in a hotel. 

As it turns out, our extended service contract also covers us for up to 5 days at a time out for travel expenses – hotels and meals – anytime we need to stay out of our RV. Therefore, we booked ourselves a room at a local Hyatt Place which had a desk, office chair and included breakfast as well. This minimized disruption to Marc’s schedule and also meant we were able to take ourselves out to a nice Mexican restaurant for fajitas and margaritas! After the weekend we’d had, we sure needed it!

Feeling the love from our RVLOVE community during our RV Breakdown!

While sitting on the side of the road on I-10W, I’d posted about our RV breakdown dilemma on our Facebook page. We were blown away by the number of people who reached out to offer help or check in on us and make sure we were able to find a safe place to stay. There were offers to meet up and buy us dinner – seriously, you guys are awesome, we felt the love, big time. We ended up sending out a message via Facebook and RVillage inviting people to meet up with us at a brewery in Tempe on Tuesday night. We knew we’d be there for at least a couple of days! 

So, we thought maybe a dozen people at most would show up, but we ended up with a group of 40 or 50! 

It was so great to see everyone connecting with their fellow RVing community! Many people arrived knowing no one, but everyone left with new friends. It was extra special for Marc and I as we were able to not only meet new people, but also reconnect with quite a few others we had already met in other parts of the country the year prior. They just happened to be in Phoenix that week. We love serendipity! That week, we also got to meet up in person (finally) with Curtis, founder of RVillage (above, center). 

RV Breakdown #1, Repair #1 Complete

Finally, by Wednesday afternoon, our coach was all fixed and ready to be collected! Our total bill was just the $500 deductible. But the original bill was over $900, plus over $400 dollars in hotel stays and meals out that will be reimbursed as part of our contract.

This was the third time in 2.5 years that we have submitted a claim with our extended service plan (warranty). Read about our previous repairs here. Personally, we sure are glad we have it. It gives us great peace of mind knowing that if repairs are really big, our out-of-pocket expense will be capped at the amount of our deductible.

In addition, we expressed our concern to La Mesa RV that the bouncing track bar may have thrown our coach alignment out. Bob, the Service Manager at La Mesa asked the warranty company about it and they agreed. It would be part of the track bar repair and they would also cover the cost of an alignment on the coach. Unfortunately, La Mesa isn’t set up to do this so they recommended we take it to a truck tire shop with the right setup and equipment. 

Keep reading on for RV Breakdown #1, Repair #2. This saga continues for the whole month of November! But more on that later.

Repair #1 - work done by LaMesa RV

Track Bar Repair

Parts – Track Bar bolt and nut = $133.96
Labor – 1 hour = $139.00
Total = $272.96 

Leveling Jack System 

Parts – Leveling Jack Springs = $184.00
Labor – 2 hours – $278
Total = $462.00

Plus

Shop supplies = $41.70
Tax = $28.95

TOTAL= $921.16 

What we paid: $500.00 out of pocket
What our extended service contract paid: $421.16

Where we stayed: We spent 2 nights in La Mesa RV’s parking lot over the weekend, then 2 nights at a hotel while they did the repairs. Our extended service contract covers up to $225 a day for travel expenses, including hotels and meals. We submitted an expense claim for 2 days of hotels and meals and were sent a reimbursement check for $425.82 a few weeks later. This turned out to be a nice little hotel stay-cation with a few meals out. In turn, it helped offset the inconvenience.

End of a long week

We sure were glad to get settled back into our coach in a campground in Phoenix for a couple of nights. It felt really good to be back home in our RV. On the weekend, we were able to hit the road again and finally get to Sedona. Here, Marc was finally able to get in that bike ride he had envisioned the week prior.

But it would only be a couple of weeks later that we would discover our simple alignment would turn into something much bigger. 

RV Breakdown #1, Repair #2

Tuesday, November 22: We had driven down from Sedona to Phoenix on Sunday night and by Tuesday morning. We were up bright and early to take the coach down to Robert’s Tire for part two of our original repair – an alignment. It was all supposed to be pretty straight forward and they expected to be done by lunchtime. 

So we packed our laptops and headed down to the Hyatt Place hotel. We had stayed there during our last repair to work from their lobby. They have a Starbucks so we figured they wouldn’t mind us hanging around for a couple of hours. We were only halfway through our Chai Lattes when Chris from Robert’s Tire called. They advised us they couldn’t do the alignment. Or at least, they said it would be pointless doing so – as our King Pins were shot. 

What are King Pins?

King Pins take the place of Ball Joints that you would have on your car, but it’s a big steel rod on gas motorhomes, pickup trucks, and vans. The next time you see a Ford van driving down the road and the front tires look like they bent something on the front end, it is most likely the king pins. In other words, they control the Camber and Caster. There is normally only one on either side. It has a LOT to do with alignment. If they are loose you can’t “hold” an alignment because those are the things that hold the wheels in place as far as they are the pivot point between the wheels and axle.

We packed up and headed back to the shop to take a look. Chris showed how much “play” there was and explained it was WAY more than it should safely be – especially for a vehicle of our age (2012) and mileage of only 46,000.

“This is going to be an expensive repair” warned Chris. “It’ll be well over $1,000.” Ouch.

I quickly looked up our extended service contract policy and was VERY relieved to discover King Pins ARE covered by our policy. Phew! But, we wondered, did that mean we would have to pay another $500 deductible? After all, we’d just paid that a couple of weeks ago for the track bar repair. The alignment was related to that original repair – so it was effectively a continuation. Had all the repairs (including the alignment) been able to be completed at the same time at one shop, the King Pins would have also been identified as needing replacing. Thus necessitating only one deductible.

Chris called our extended service contract company.

They authorized the repair and waived the $500 deductible. Relief! But, it was going to take 10 days for the parts to come in via ground shipping. Thanksgiving weekend was just a few days away and we had plans to fly back to visit family in Colorado. We asked the shop to expedite the shipment of the parts. We paid for the extra freight to keep things moving along at a faster pace.

Roberts Tire got the parts the next day and they were able to commence the repair on Wednesday afternoon. It was a big job that they said would take a couple of days. But of course, this coincided with Thanksgiving Day and weekend. In the grand scheme of things, the timing turned out to be perfect. We booked another stay at the local Hyatt House in Phoenix for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Then we flew to Colorado on Thursday and returned to collect the coach late on Saturday evening. Because our flights were delayed, we didn’t end up arriving at our coach until 1am. The repairs were all done – but we had another problem.

And we’ll get to that in Part 2, next week!

Meanwhile, here’s what this repair cost:

Repair #2 Work done by Roberts Tire

Alignment

Labor: $145

King Pin Repair

Parts – King Pin Kit $529.09
Parts – Front Seals $109.40
Labor – King Pin Repair: $700
Freight: $125.10 (we paid)

Plus

Shop supplies: $40.00 (we paid half, extended service contract paid half)
Tax $54.61 (we paid)

Total: $1,703.20

  • What we paid: $199.71 out of pocket (freight, 50% of shop supplies, plus tax). We paid NO deductible for this repair – yay!
  • What our extended service contract paid: $1,503.49

Where we stayed: As soon as we knew the coach was in for a big repair, we immediately booked 2 nights at a hotel in Phoenix. We then flew to Colorado and spent Thanksgiving with family, and we were covered for 2 nights of Colorado hotels (and meals) as well. 

We can tell you, we definitely gave THANKS for that!

This truly made lemonade out of lemons. Our family visit ended up being an (almost) free trip. We managed to score some cheap airfares from Phoenix to Denver, which of course, we paid for ourselves. We submitted an expense claim for 4 days of hotels and meals and were sent a reimbursement check for $913.34 a few weeks later. November was the month of RV repairs, inconvenience AND stay-cations.

Summary of Repairs and Costs - RV Breakdown #1

Repair #1 – work done by La Mesa RV

Track Bar Repair
Parts – Track Bar bolt and nut: $133.96
Labor – 1 hour: $139.00
Total: $272.96 

Leveling Jack System
Parts – Leveling Jack Springs: $184.00
Labor – 2 hours: $278
Total:  $462.00

Plus
Shop supplies: $41.70
Tax: $28.95

TOTAL $921.16 

What we paid: $500.00 out of pocket
What our extended service contract paid: $421.16

Where we stayed: We spent 2 nights in La Mesa RV’s parking lot over the weekend, then 2 nights at a hotel while they did the repairs. Our extended service contract covers up to $225 a day for travel expenses, including hotels and meals. We submitted an expense claim for 2 days of hotels and meals and were sent a reimbursement check for $425.82 a few weeks later. This turned out to be a nice little hotel stay-cation. All with a few meals out, which helped offset the inconvenience!

Repair #2 – work done by Robert’s Tire

Alignment
Labor: $145

King Pin Repair
Parts – King Pin Kit $529.09
Parts – Front Seals $109.40
Labor – King Pin Repair: $700

Freight: $125.10 (we paid)

Plus
Shop supplies: $40.00 (we paid half, extended service contract paid half)
Tax $54.61 (we paid)

Total: $1,703.20

What we paid: $199.71 out of pocket (freight, 50% of shop supplies, plus tax). We paid NO deductible for this repair – yay!

What our extended service contract paid: $1,503.49

Where we stayed:

As soon as we knew the coach was in for a big repair, we immediately booked 2 nights at a hotel in Phoenix. Then we flew to Colorado and spent Thanksgiving with family. We were covered for 2 nights of Colorado hotels (and meals) as well. 

We can tell you, we definitely gave THANKS for that! This truly made lemonade out of lemons, as our family visit ended up being an (almost) free trip. We managed to score some cheap airfares from Pheonix to Denver, which of course, we paid for ourselves. We submitted an expense claim for 4 days of hotels and meals and were sent a reimbursement check for $913.34 a few weeks later. November was the month of RV repairs, inconvenience AND stay-cations.

Snapshot

A potential drawback of lithium batteries, depending on application, is temperature sensitivity. Our Battle Born lithium batteries have an operating range between 24–1ad acid batteries. Of course, keeping the lithium batteries inside the living space makes it even easier to maintain optimal temperatures. So here’s the snapshot summary of who paid what for the repairs. Also, associated travel expenses from our RV breakdown #1.

What we paid out of pocket:
Repair #1: $500.00
Repair #2: $199.71
Total: $699.71

What our extended service contract paid:
Repair #1: $421.16
Repair #2: $1,503.49
Sub-total: $1,924.65

Travel expenses: $1,339.16 (6 nights)

Total: $3,263.8

Wrapping Up RV Breakdown #1

All in all, we feel we fared pretty well considering this was our first major mechanical breakdown. It wasn’t a huge mechanical issue, although the missing track bar bolt did lead to the discovery of the failing king pins which was a blessing in disguise. The coach is fine – in fact, it drives better than ever now (tighter, thanks to the new king pins) and we were fine. 

The financial hit wasn’t too bad and to be honest. The biggest inconvenience was the interruption to our travels and ability to work. However, knowing we could immediately book a hotel with a desk and chair for Marc to set up and continue his work day was fantastic. Working from a coach while it’s in a repair shop is neither fun nor productive. It’s “little things” like that – knowing our expenses were capped and we didn’t have to worry about how much hotels were going to cost us that gives us peace of mind.

We’d like to say this was the end of the story. But the very next day, the saga continued. It’s way too much to continue here in this already long post and video.

Here is Part 2 of 3 RV Breakdowns in a Month – to see what happened next.

About our RV Extended Service Contract (and our advice)

Since posting this article and video, we’ve had a lot of people contact us to ask which extended service contract we have (commonly referred to as an extended warranty). As you will discover when you read on, it’s not “black and white” or as simple as sharing the name of our policy. We are currently in the process of writing a more comprehensive blog post about extended service contracts – what we think of them, whether they are worth it, what to look for etc – but in the meantime, we have put together these quick notes which we hope you will find useful.

The reason we did not name our specific policy in this (original) article is that in doing so, we felt it may be incorrectly interpreted as an endorsement of that particular company and policy. We have now added the section below to explain this situation in more detail – and share some important things you need to keep in mind if you’re considering an extended service contract yourself.

Here’s a couple of important things you need to know first:

1. We did not buy (or research) our extended service contract ourselves – we inherited it with our RV

When we bought our motorhome in 2014, we were very lucky that the previous owners had purchased an extended service contract from the dealer at the time of buying the motorhome. We estimate that our XtraRide contract would have originally cost several thousand dollars. Upon buying our RV, we got the policy for free by paying just $75 to have the contract transferred into our names. We pay a $500 deductible whenever we make a claim. 

Of course, who wouldn’t be happy to have an extended warranty included, when purchasing an RV? We’re grateful to have it and to the previous to the owners for having the foresight to invest in it. It has been definitely benefited us on several occasions and saved us good money, as you saw in this post and video and also for some of the repairs made during our first 2 years of ownership. But you can get pretty much the same policy for a lot less elsewhere – and with fewer limitations. 

2. Things have changed with the policy/company

While our contract HAS ended up being useful for us and we have enjoyed the benefits, again remember, we did not pay for it! So far, we’ve had no issues and have no complaints, however, it this had not come for free ($75 to be precise) with our RV, we would certainly have shopped around extensively and done both price and benefit comparisons as part of our research, as you all know we like to do. In the last couple of years, a lot has changed with this company since the policy was first purchased by the previous owner of our RV (in 2013). Hence why you should not automatically assume the one we have is “the best one or best value” to get! So we believe the real question most of you are asking is…

Would we recommend this policy – or buy the same one again ourselves?

Hmmm no, probably not. As we said, we like to do our own in-depth research and shop around – and we believe that today, you can actually get a better deal/policy elsewhere – with virtually the same benefits for less money. Here’s why.

A couple of years ago, the company behind our current policy (Xtra Ride) changed the rules and now it can ONLY be purchased through certain RV dealers (we bought our RV through a private party, as many do – so we would not have been able to buy this independently)

You can ONLY purchase this policy AT the time of RV purchase (from a dealer)

Dealers mark up the cost of extended service contracts to whatever they think they can get away with – it’s not unusual for dealers to make more on the warranty policy than on the sale of the actual RV!

Dealers also usually try to suggest you roll the warranty in with the RV financing because it’s convenient and it’s only a little more on a monthly payment. Remember dealers make money on the financing too and rolling the extended warranty into your finance can end up DOUBLING the cost of your policy

Dealers typically won’t give you a policy quote in advance which makes it harder for you to budget/plan

If you want to renew the policy down the track (after it expires), you can’t (refer to points 1 and 2)

There are other reasons, but these are the big ones you need to consider.

Please note:

If you already have the XtraRide policy we are NOT saying it isn’t a good one – it is. What we are ARE saying is this – you will probably end up paying a lot more than you need to because you can only buy that one through a dealer at the time of your RV purchase. And who wants to pay more when you can get pretty much the same policy elsewhere for a lot less, and without the limitations? That’s why we recommend you shop around and don’t simply assume that because we have this policy it is the right one for you.

So, who DO we recommend for Extended Service Contracts?

If you happen to be shopping around for an extended service contract, you should always get a couple of comparison on price, policy and read the fine print! One that we recommend you check out is Wholesale Warranties so you can ask questions, learn more and get a quote. Here’s why we like them and are confident in recommending them as an alternative to our XtraRide policy:

Their prices are wholesale (not marked up) and they are able to offer virtually the identical contract, benefits and features (Viking Protection Plan comparable with XtraRide) but at a substantially lower cost

They are independent of RV dealers and have access to a range of different policies, inclusions and price points so you can decide on the best option for you ie. you’re not limited to just the one(s) the dealer happens to offer

You can get a policy on RV purchases made through a private party (no need to buy through a dealer)

You can buy the policy at ANY time – not only at the time of purchase – and you can also renew a policy if you choose

They have Warranty Specialists that focus on educating you (not simply selling to you) to help you understand the differences, make the most out of your warranty and get your claims approved

You can get quotes on several RVs that may be on your shopping shortlist, to help with your budgeting/planning in advance

They have an RV inspection service that does a full inspection on the RV first. This can help you negotiate a better price or have issues fixed before you drive it off the lot – or avoid buying an RV with serious issues (especially important if you are buying a used RV)

Their policy is also available to Canadian customers

Again, there are more reasons, but we’ll cover those in another blog post. These are the biggest reasons you need to know about for now. You can learn more or get a quote from Wholesale Warranties from their website.

Update: After writing this blog post we wrote a very comprehensive blog post about RV Extended Warranties.  You can read it here.

A few more quick tips

Many extended service contract policies will look similar across the board. It’s the exclusions and fine print that sets them apart – as well as customer service, including ‘out of crib’ travel expenses like we had. So be sure to look carefully at all of those.

Look for an EXclusionary policy (not INclusionary) so you are clear up front what is NOT covered in a claim.

Be sure to get a comparison quote before making your decision and compare apples with apples.

What’s next for us?

Our current extended service contract is expiring in March 2018. When that time comes – or if we change RVs in the meantime – we will be purchasing our next policy from Wholesale Warranties as we feel they offer a great product at a competitive price, have an excellent reputation and importantly, are independent of dealers that hike up the prices pretty substantially. Of course, maybe we will be extra lucky and inherit a policy again with our next RV!? LOL

We hope that explains things more clearly. As mentioned above, we are currently in the process of writing a more comprehensive blog post about extended service contracts. What we think of them, whether they are worth it, what to look for etc. But, we hope this info is useful in the meantime.

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35 thoughts on “Part 1: 3 RV Breakdowns in a Month”

  1. We were also scared into purchasing a GS extended warranty and roadside service when we purchased a new fifthwheel in 2015. In 2016 we had a flat tire near Bowling Green, KY. Called up for help and were told that there was nobody in that area that could change a tire on a fifthwheel. Called 3 times over the next several hours and each time was told that they were trying to find someone to assist us. After the third call we were told that we didn’t need to keep calling that they would call us when someone was found. After hearing nothing from GS after 24 hours we limped the rig to Kentucky Tire Company and they were absolutely excellent. As far as GS knows, we are still sitting there 8 years later waiting for them to show up. Purchasing a 2 year C class this week, not buying the etended warranty. I am, however, purchasing a extended chassis and drivetrain ESP warranty (Called an incomplete vehicle warranty) from Flood Ford to cover that part of the rig.

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    • Tony, we are SO sorry to hear about your awful experience with Good Sam. This makes us so mad! So incredibly frustrating, which is why we cannot recommend them at all. Also makes us made to hear you were “scared” into purchasing a GS extended warranty. RV sales people can really prey on people’s fears and insecurities when buying a new RV. It’s not that we are not a fan of warranties BUT people need to really understand them, the difference between exclusionary and inclusionary, who is BEHIND / backing it, etc and also know that dealers mark the warranty price up as well. We recommend Wholesale Warranties https://wholesalewarranties.com/rvlove – as we trust their service, price and that they are properly backed. I’m glad you got your rig to the KTC, we have had to ‘save ourselves’ more than once when roadside assistance was ‘unable to help’… crazy they never got back to you, then again, also not surprising being GS. Sounds like you’ve made an excellent choice with the used Class C and covering yourself for the most expensive parts on the drivetrain. The house parts are often not too expensive and able to DIY with a little know how, couple simple tools and help from a YouTube video. Wishing you all the best with your next RV! We always say “your first RV will teach you the most” – safe and happy travels to you! – J

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  2. I learned the hard way about kingpins on our 9 year old Winnebago. I learned that when the kingpins are lubricated, the coach has to be lifted off the ground for the grease to thoroughly penetrate the king pins on my F53 ford frame. The shop I use in Salem, Oregon has a solid reputation.

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  3. Once again, a bounty of helpful information!
    I couldn’t help thinking in regards to the interaction with Good Sam- Don’t they know who they are talking to!?!? It’s Marc and Julie of RV Love! You screthis up and e eryone will know! As in “Pretty Woman”..”Big Mistake! BIG mistake! HUGE!”

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    • Oh Nancy you are hilarious! I don’t think the phone rep would ever have any idea that experiences like this would end up on a video LOL. Love that scene from Pretty Woman. On the positive side for Good Sam, they DID send us a tow truck a couple of weeks later and that was a 2+ hour drive! So they redeemed themselves. That said, we didn’t renew when it expired in January as we realized we also had roadside assistance as part of our extended service contract, so we were in fact ‘double covered’ last year!

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  4. I can’t believe the Good Sam operator told you to call 911. Then again I can as I had the same type problem (wouldn’t dispatch help). I no longer have Good Sam.

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  5. Very clearly explained and helpful to people like me that have a lot of heavy equipment experience and zero RV experience.

    I added Sumosprings and they have worked very well. Ford added a lot of extras on the 53 chassis we appreciate the tow haul that works with cruise control as an engine brake going down steep hills saves on brakes.

    The information you provide is invaluable and we also use LaMesa very qualified for repair & maintenance work.

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  6. Before the 2016 Tiffin I have now I owned a 2015 Fleetwood Bounder 35k. I had 2 stress cracks on the bedroom slide that Fleetwood would not cover. I have since seen 2 other Bounder 35k with the same stress cracks on the bedroom. Buy a Tiffin
    I meet Bob Tiffin last January at La Mesa RV in Quartzsite. Told him my painted cargo door latches were starting to chip. I asked if crome handles like on the Phaeton would work? I now have all new Crome handles on my 32SA Bob is great

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    • Thanks for sharing your experience! Yes Tiffin builds a good product. We actually had a crack under our bedroom slide as well – discovered it in 2014 (coach is 2012) and Tiffin covered it no problems. (Fixed by a Tiffin dealer, repainted by Tiffin a year ago – all no charge). They stand behind their product. Sorry to hear Fleetwood didn’t do the same – does not sound right for such a new coach that you had. We had the opportunity to meet Bob in Chandler in March at the FMCA rally, we had a great chat!

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  7. Thank you for so much information. And so glad everyone is SAFE!! I think we all want to know who the extended warranty is through. Sounds like they are worth their weight in gold. Perfect opportunity to showcase them. I’ve heard horror stories about Good Sam Roadside assistance unfortunately. Glad you found someone to help you on the side of the road.

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    • Thanks Brenda. Yes, we have heard some people have positive experiences with Good Sam RSA but we’ve been less than inspired. At the end of the day, it’s important to have but always be prepared to do your own legwork to get out of a jam. More info on the extended warranty coming soon as we need to write a blog post on that – you can’t buy our policy anymore unless it’s at a dealer at time of purchase (we inherited it with the coach) and dealers mark up the price a ton – and so while it’s been good for us, it’s probably not what we would buy next time for reasons – we will explain more in the post.

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    • Hi Brenda, yes a lot of people are asking about the extended service contract – however, everything is not ‘black and white’ – there’s more for people to be aware about, than simply sharing a name – as things have changed with that policy in the past couple of years. So we just added the following update at the end of the blog post, but for convenience, here is a copy and paste of the additional info. Moral of the story is always do you homework, don’t make assumptions, shop around and do the math on whether it’s right for you. 🙂 Happy trails!

      Read the revised post here (scroll to end) https://rvlove.com/2017/07/23/part-1-3-rv-breakdowns-in-a-month-what-went-wrong-what-it-cost or see below.

      —————————————

      Post Updated on July 26:

      About Our Extended Service Contract (and our advice)

      Since posting this article and video, we’ve had a lot of people contact us to ask which extended service contract we have (commonly referred to as an extended warranty). As you will discover when you read on, it’s not “black and white” or as simple as sharing the name of our policy. We are currently in the process of writing a more comprehensive blog post about extended service contracts – what we think of them, whether they are worth it, what to look for etc – but in the meantime, we have put together these quick notes which we hope you will find useful.

      The reason we did not name our specific policy in this (original) article is that in doing so, we felt it may be incorrectly interpreted as an endorsement of that particular company and policy. We have now added the section below to explain this situation in more detail – and share some important things you need to keep in mind if you’re considering an extended service contract yourself.

      Here’s a couple of important things you need to know first:

      1. We did not buy (or research) our extended service contract ourselves – we inherited it with our RV

      When we bought our motorhome in 2014, we were very lucky that the previous owners had purchased an extended service contract from the dealer at the time of buying the motorhome. We estimate that our XtraRide contract would have originally cost several thousand dollars and upon buying our RV, we got the policy for free – by paying just $75 to have the contract transferred into our names. We pay a $500 deductible whenever we make a claim. Of course, who wouldn’t be happy to have an extended warranty included, when buying a RV? We’re grateful to have it and to the previous to the owners for having the foresight to purchase, as it’s been definitely benefited us on several occasions as you saw in this post and video and also for soem of the repairs made during our first 2 years of ownership.

      2. Things have changed with the policy/company

      While this HAS ended up being a useful policy for us and we have enjoyed the benefits, again remember, we did not pay for it! So far, we’ve had no issues and have no complaints, however, it this had not come for free with our RV, we would certainly have shopped around extensively and done price/benefit comparisons as part of our research (as you all know we like to do). All that said, a lot has changed with this company in the last couple of years since the policy was first purchased by the previous owner of our RV. Hence why you should not automatically assume this is “the best one” to get!

      So we believe the real question most of you are asking is…

      Would we recommend this policy – or buy the same one again ourselves?

      Hmmm no, probably not. We like to do our own in-depth research and shop around – and we believe that today, you can get a better deal/policy elsewhere. Here’s why.

      A couple of years ago, the company behind our current policy (Xtra Ride) changed the rules and now it can ONLY be purchased through certain RV dealers (we bought our RV through a private party, as many do – so we would not have been able to buy this)
      You can ONLY purchase this policy at the time of RV purchase (from a dealer)
      Dealers mark up the cost of extended service contracts to whatever they think they can get away with – it’s not unusual for dealers to make more on the warranty policy than on the sale of the actual RV!
      Dealers usually try to suggest you roll the warranty in with the RV financing because it’s convenient and it’s only a little more on a monthly payment. Remember dealers make on the financing too and rolling the extended warranty into your finance can DOUBLE the cost of your policy
      Dealers typically won’t give you a policy quote in advance which makes it hard for you to budget/plan
      If you want to renew the policy down the track (after it expires), you can’t (refer to points 1 and 2)
      There are other reasons, but these are the big ones you need to consider.

      Please note, if you already have the XtraRide policy we are NOT saying it isn’t a good one (it is). What we are ARE saying is this – you will probably end up paying a lot more than you need to because you can only buy it through a dealer. And who wants to pay more and be limited, when you can get pretty much the same policy elsewhere for a lot less and without the limitations? That’s why we recommend you shop around and don’t simply assume that because we have this policy it’s the right one for you.

      So, who DO we recommend for Extended Service Contracts?

      If you are shopping around for an extended service contract, you should always get a couple of comparison on price, policy and read the fine print! One that we recommend you check out is Wholesale Warranties so you can ask questions, learn more and get a quote. Here’s why we like them and feel confident recommending them:

      Their prices are wholesale (not marked up) and they are able to offer virtually the identical contract, benefits and features (Viking Protection Plan comparable with XtraRide) but at a substantially lower cost
      They are independent of RV dealers and have access to a range of different policies, inclusions and price points so you can decide on the best option for you (you’re not limited to just the one(s) the dealer happens to offer)
      You can get a policy on RV purchases made through a private party (no need to buy through a dealer)
      You can buy the policy at ANY time – not only at the time of purchase – and you can also renew a policy if you choose
      They have Warranty Specialists that focus on educating you (not simply selling to you) to help you understand the differences, make the most out of your warranty and get your claims approved
      You can get quotes on several RVs that may be on your shopping shortlist, to help with your budgeting/planning in advance
      They have an RV inspection service that does a full inspection on the RV first. This can help you negotiate a better price or have issues fixed before you drive it off the lot – or avoid buying an RV with serious issues (especially important if you are buying a used RV)
      Their policy is also available to Canadian customers
      Again, there are more reasons, but we’ll cover those in another blog post. These are the biggest reasons you need to know about for now.

      You can learn more or get a quote from Wholesale Warranties from their website.

      A few more quick tips

      Many extended service contract policies will look similar across the board. It’s the exclusions and fine print that sets them apart – as well as customer service, including ‘out of crib’ travel expenses like we had. So be sure to look carefully at all of those.
      Look for an EXclusionary policy (not INclusionary) so you are clear up front what is NOT covered in a claim.

      Be sure to get a comparison quote before making your decision and compare apples with apples.

      What’s next for us?

      Our current extended service contract is expiring in March 2018. When that time comes – or if we change RVs in the meantime – we will be purchasing our next policy from Wholesale Warranties as we like them, we trust them and they offer a great product at a competitive price. That is, of course, unless we happen to be extra lucky and inherit another policy again with our next RV!? LOL

      We hope that explains things more clearly. As mentioned above, we are currently in the process of writing a more comprehensive blog post about extended service contracts – what we think of them, whether they are worth it, what to look for etc – but hope this info is useful in the meantime.

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  8. Thanks so much you 2 valiant road warriors for sharing your experiences and resultant wisdom! Be safe and be sure to have fun everyday. And keep the good advice and info coming!

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  9. At times if you are a full time Rv’r, Everyday is repair day.. LOL How many springs did you replace replace. I saw on the Winnebago parts supply website the go for about $36 per spring.

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    • HI there, actually we consider ourselves pretty fortunate. Even though we are full-timers, it definitely is NOT repair day every day. It’s pretty rare for us. But yes for some it seems to be that way! I don’t think we would enjoy the life so much if we were fixing stuff every day… 🙁 Not following re the spring question?

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  10. In 17 years we have been towed twice and had road service get us underway once! I omit an accident experience which does not fall in this category. Both tows were on our first coach, a 2001 Damon Daybreak on a a Workhorse chassis. The upshot was an electrical failure in the ignition which occurred while we were parked. Coach-net came through in both instances although the first driver to arrive didn’t have the right tool to unbolt the drive shaft! The third incident was a slide that would not retract (electrical on 04 Southwind) in Fort Stockton. Road service tech was 1/2 mile from us and had us underway in 30 minutes. Coach-net found us service center in Las Cruces NM, our destination for the day. We were repaired and underway as we finished our visit with friends, new motor, air freighted in. Don’t remember that my out of pocket was more than $100.

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    • Thanks for sharing! We have heard very positive reports about Coachnet – glad they came to the rescue when you needed them and your breakdowns have been relatively minor for 17 years! Safe travels!

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  11. Hi Julie, I think you may have the wrong month??? November 2017 isn’t here yet and was it Randy or Rusty that came to your rescue? Anyway, love all the detailed information. Keep the videos and blog info coming. Safe travels.

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    • Sorry Joanie – fixing date now! Thought I had done that but it didn’t save – was November 2016. RUSTY came to our rescue (my typo, sorry) – glad you find the info helpful. Cheers!

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  12. Sorry to hear about your RV breakdowns. Pretty scary. I hate to think what might have happened if your guardian angel Randy, hadn’t come along. We are now on our 3rd AC unit and 2nd set of 2 slide motors. Out of pocket has been about $2000. This is on a 2016 Forest River 3011DS. Needless to say I do not have too many good things to say about them, Dometic and Lippert. I like you go through great pains to operate and maintain my RV correctly. Who is your extended warranty with? Seems like a very good company.

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