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Distance From Dealership When Considering a New Truck Camper

Brent_in_Louisv
Explorer
Explorer
I am currently saving up for a 1 ton dually and a larger sized TC, my first foray into the TC world. Three brands I am considering are Northern Lite, Arctic Fox and Lance. As I am looking around, Lance seems to be the only brand with dealerships near me in Louisville, KY, Arctic Fox and Northern Light seem to have all their dealerships on the Western half of the US. Would a brand's dealerships being a half day or more drive compared to a few hours for another brand steer you away from that longer distance brand knowing someday your TC will need service and you will need to take it there? Driving 2 hours for service would not be fun but certainly beats driving 12 or 18 or more hours.

Appreciate and thoughts you may have.
15 REPLIES 15

brholt
Explorer II
Explorer II
I'll second Bedlam's comment about the advantage of a good local dealer. Mine has done a great job and when there was a problem they went out of their way to take care of it even well after the warranty period.

tcguy
Explorer
Explorer
As was mentioned earlier, Mike Jones RV is only a couple of hours drive from Louisville and he carries all 3 brands of truck campers you mentioned. I recently purchased a Northern Lite 8-11 QC SE from them and it was a great experience. They are very knowledgeable and have a great selection with no high pressure to buy. Highly recommended.

Bedlam
Moderator
Moderator
I prefer to have a local dealer for items I do not want to fix myself. The dealer from whom I purchased my last two campers has four locations and gives their customers priority treatment over walk-ins off the street that bought elsewhere.

Host Mammoth 11.5 on Ram 5500 HD

ICamel
Explorer
Explorer
For warranty repair work, your camper is likely to sit at the dealer for weeks, if not a month or more.
1) It will sit waiting to get into the work shop.
2) There will be time diagnosing what the problem is.
3) There will be time waiting for the manufacturer to approve the warranty work.
4) There will be time waiting for parts that need to be ordered if the dealer does not have it in stock.
5) There will be time that the rig sits waiting to get back into the work shop.
6) There will be time that the rig is being worked on.

Even for a two hour trip(4 hour round trip?) your warranty repair will likely entail at least two trips to the dealer. One to deliver your camper to them and one to pick it back up from them. As others have written, you will be best served to find a local shop that is authorized to do warranty repair on your brand or do the work yourself. Many times, the manufacturer will work with the buyer to provide parts at no charge to you rather than pay the dealer to perform the repairs.
ICamel

2017 Arctic Fox 992
2005 Ford F350 Lariat SuperDuty CrewCab 4x4 + 6 Speed Manual + 19.5" Tires + LoadLifter 5000 Rear Air Bags
2005 16' River Wild Drift Boat
Honda EU2000i
Trophytrout FlyFisherman

HMS_Beagle
Explorer
Explorer
The need for a dealer for warrantee or other service, presupposes their ability to actually fix anything. Maybe that happens in rare instances, but in my experience more often they will band aid the problem and wreck some other stuff doing it. Given the quality of the average RV, you really need to learn to work on it yourself, or develop a relationship with someone local who can.
Bigfoot 10.4E, 2015 F350 6.7L DRW 2WD, Autoflex Ultra Air Ride rear suspension, Hellwig Bigwig sway bars front and rear

jimh406
Explorer III
Explorer III
I've had my TC almost 12 years, and it's never been back to the original dealer for service. The furnace has been serviced, and the AC has been replaced. I shopped for the best deal. I did the rest of what needed to be done. The service at RV dealers varies. The appliances in the TC are pretty generic and any RV service or repair shop can do the work. You also can find details online. It's good to know how it works when you are camping in any case.

Other than fixing manufacturing issues that could be noticed before delivery, I can't think of any reason to have the work done at the original dealer. I know people who have RVs that spent the first 2 years at the dealer. For that reason, I'd much prefer a used one that has been used and not abused over being the person who has to get it fixed as it should have come from the factory. Of course, the other benefit is they are much cheaper used, and most RVs just aren't used over a few times per year.

'10 Ford F-450, 6.4, 4.30, 4x4, 14,500 GVWR, '06 Host Rainer 950 DS, Torklift Talon tiedowns, Glow Steps, and Fastguns. Bilstein 4600s, Firestone Bags, Toyo M655 Gs, Curt front hitch, Energy Suspension bump stops.

NRA Life Member, CCA Life Member

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
You most likely will eventually be traveling a lot farther than the initial 12 hour drive when you eventually go camping. If the camper is right, the distance should not matter.

azdryheat
Explorer
Explorer
Anyone authorized by the manufacturer can repair an RV under warranty, meaning you don't have to go back to the dealer you bought it from.
2013 Chevy 3500HD CC dually
2014 Voltage 3600 toy hauler
2019 RZR 1000XP TRE

zb39
Explorer
Explorer
I live in PA and ordered my Host from NC......not an issue
2017 Host mammoth, sold
49 states, 41 National Parks, 7 Provinces
2019 2 door Rubicon 6 spd.
2019 Berkshire XLT 45B
2022 Host Cascade
2021 Ram 5500 Air ride

Wardster
Explorer
Explorer
Mike Jones RV carries all three of those brands and he is just over two hours from Louisville - his dealership is a little east of Cincinnati. If you visit him, tell him I said hello.
2016 Northern Lite 8'11" Q Classic Special Edition
2003 GMC 2500HD Crew Cab 4x4 - Duramax/Allison

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
hey is that louisville ohio. like close to canton?

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
X2 don,t worry about the dealer, theres plenty of mom,pop shops that do repaires. and a lot of mobil techs can do warrenty work. here in ohio northeast canton area we have a very good mom,pop shop .they do it right and don,t break the bank. you get to deal with the owner and talk to the mech. can,t be beat.

fitznj
Explorer
Explorer
My last TT was bought from a dealer approx 900 miles away (because it was the floorplan I was looking for). TTs are not rocket science, most use the same components (Atwood, Wingard etc), so any RV place should be able to service your TC.

I've had 4 TTs - and they really very basic; wiring, plumbing, wall construction etc etc. I have not found anything that I can't fix myself.

Distance from a dealer is not something that I would worry about.
Gerry

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
But a used one, save way more $ than you'd be likely to benefit from a year of warranty and then get it fixed anywhere if you need to.

Or buy a Lance, they're nice too.
But I'm the guy that won't drive to the oil change place 20 minutes away because it would still take longer than doing it myself....and I'm cheap!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold