Tiffin Motorhome repair Red Bay rule change

[mikestock]

This may have already come up before in this forum but it was news to me. I may be the last to know.

Tiffin will no longer make repairs to their motorhomes that are over 10 years old. I had a leveling jack problem. Went to Tiffin to register and was told that they no longer work on units over 10 years old. Mine is a 2006 Phaeton.

I was referred to Bunkhouse RV Repair, which is just around the corner. The Bunkhouse folks said they had some real experts that could take care of it. What a joke. They gave up in about 20 minutes.

Finally, through some local connections, found out how to get in touch with a Tiffin repairman, who came to my location after getting off work at 4:30. He fixed my problem in just a few minutes. Gladly paid him directly, and well.

Never had anything bad to say about Tiffin until now. This is a black eye in my book. If you bought a new unit that is approaching 10 years you had better look at making a change.

[zb39]

If your close to your selling dealer and they are good at service I would think you would be fine. But that is tough to do. Good Luck!

[mikestock]

Nothing against Tiffin. It's important to know your dealer and his ability to service your purchase.

[jimbotaylor]

Man after reading this it makes me now hesitant to pull the trigger on a 2019 allegro bus 45.

[mikestock]

Doug,

You are missing some facts:

1. You do not know what kind of clue I have. I have had a previous failure to this controller 3 years ago and did successfully replace it, myself.
2. Tiffin has techs that have always been available to give phone assistance. I have come to know a couple of them personally. Didn't know it was a sin to ask for free advice when it is made available.
3. It is true that Lippert wanted $495 for a replacement and they told me I would have to change out both the touch pad and controller, leading me to believe it was different from the Atwool original. Upon talking to a friend at Tiffin, he told me that they had received 7 the day before and the price was $377. I told him that Lippert (must have been Doug) wanted $495, but failed to recognize my responsibility to argue further.
4. I drove my car to Tiffin and purchased the controller. It was the same identical Atwood controller I had before, not a Lippert replacement, as I was led to believe. I was not aware, at this point, that Tiffin had changed their policy about non-warranty work.
5. I changed out the controller but had a problem getting it to work. I checked with the local Tiffin dealer and found that they had no interest in working on electric jacks. Since calling to set up work at Tiffin has never been the process they recognized, I reluctantly drove to their facility and was then told about the change. They recommended Bunkhouse RV, just around the corner. They told me that they had the experts to trouble shoot and solve the problem. I drove over, paid for camping there, and got in line. As it turned out, they got my RV into the shop fairly quickly but, after 30 minutes, agreed that they had no clue about Atwood Levelers. I went over to Tiffin at lunch and made arrangements for a tech to come over after work and look at my problem. He solved the issue in about 45 minutes and I paid him generously.

Doug wrote:
4. He then made a unannounced trip to Red Bay(100 miles each way), and then complains about the change in policy. IF HE HAD CALLED AND STATED WHAT HE WANTED TO DO, TIFFIN WOULD HAVE TOLD HIM TO NOT MAKE THE TRIP.
But no, that is Tiffins fault, even tho the policy is available On Line from Tiffin.

"UNANNOUNCED" is the only way Tiffin repair shop has ever operated. You have to show up to make an appointment.

Tiffin is totally within their right to make whatever policy change they like. I never had any reason to know about this policy change. Didn't know I had been "abusing" their shop. Calling ahead was always useless. I did call to ask if I could get in line for work and stay at an off site campground 40 miles away. They said that was fine, but I had to come to their site to register, which I knew. Due to family illness I have had very little time for surfing the web and didn't know things had changed at Tiffin. They didn't ask if it was warranty work or the age of my RV. I never thought to ask, before this, or any other visit, "Has your policy changed about non-warranty work?"

I have always gone to Tiffin for repair issues, because I am so close to Red Bay. I do not go to Red Bay, strictly for enjoyment. I can think of no place I would less like to camp.

As it turned out, knowing what I knew when the problem began I don't know what I would do differently except posting on this site, opening myself up to ridicule from Doug. The problem is solved.

[vjstangelo]

FWIW, if not warranty related, one doesn’t even need to go to a certified service center. For example, the local rev center in my home town has done fine work on my Winnebago MH. They have changed out both roof ac units when they cr@ped out, and replaced seal weatherstripping that tore requiring partial removal on the slide. It would have to be pretty major for me to drive all the way to Iowa and have work done at Winnebago, really major!

[zb39]

Having owned a Zephyr for over 6 years and having been to Red Bay, I won't buy another Tiffin either.

[MRUSA]

down home wrote:
Th reason people like to go to the factory for repairs and service is they know what they are doing.
We have had many expensive encounters with RV Dealers. They can't keep or don't want to, good people as they cost too much, from what I've seen.
Since American Coach has changed things I'm not sure we can get in either. We're over ten years old. Use to have drop in service. Don't think they do now. Out on the road and anything happens, we have been burned three times. Go to the factory, it might cost more but peace of mind it will be fixed right and expedidiously. Dealers you never know. We have had our Mh sit at one for over two months at a time and repairs not done, or not right and damage done and parts taken off.

Correct. This is true of ALL brands. The overwhelming majority of dealers do not know what they are doing, don’t care, or are swamped with work. They tend to require long lead times, do shoddy work, and overcharge. Many will not touch a coach that they didn’t sell. A visit to the factory gets the problem fixed on the first attempt, by someone who knows what they are doing. The dealers often need multiple attempts and the work is not done in a quality fashion.

The difficulties in getting Tiffin factory service are why I won’t buy a Tiffin.

[down_home]

Th reason people like to go to the factory for repairs and service is they know what they are doing.
We have had many expensive encounters with RV Dealers. They can't keep or don't want to, good people as they cost too much, from what I've seen.
Since American Coach has changed things I'm not sure we can get in either. We're over ten years old. Use to have drop in service. Don't think they do now. Out on the road and anything happens, we have been burned three times. Go to the factory, it might cost more but peace of mind it will be fixed right and expedidiously. Dealers you never know. We have had our Mh sit at one for over two months at a time and repairs not done, or not right and damage done and parts taken off.

[AllegroD]

Doug & Bruce,

Excellent points.

ALL

Tiffin does have regional sales and service managers but not shops. Like many mfgrs, they utilize local dealers and independents. You do not have to make a trip to Mecca (Red Bay) to get service of any kind, including warranty. I have had warranty, recalls and non-warranty (I paid) repairs done at 2 independents and the dealer I bought from. Tiffin gladly dealt with and shipped the parts required and answered the techs call for additional info.

For some upgrades I was able to do myself, a couple of very short emails with Don Boyd helped.

[Bruce_Brown]

Doug,
IMO much of the Tiffin culture has been developed by their "legendary service".

While I agree with you 100% on some people abusing the system (I'm not saying the OP did, I don't know that situation), they brought much of this on themselves by past practices. I have spoken with many Tiffin owners who have made the trip to Red Bay more for the event of it than needing any real factory service. Getting something fixed was more of a secondary excuse to make the trip itself. It looks like times may be changing.

As you well know, in some ways the old Newmar 3 year warranty suffered much the same fate. Locally people were driving an hour to the dealer to get a $4.00 light replaced or some other simple, easy job done.

While very well intentioned, sometimes things get out of hand.

[dougrainer]

The Policy Change was dictated by Tiffin Customers. THEY (some not all) abused the policy by going to Red Bay. Notice the Daily charge for staying at the CG. That is a recent event. WHY? Because, Tiffin customers(out of warranty) would show up and then stay long after their service was concluded(free stay) or leave the RV there while they left and did other things, using it as a stop over point and free storage. Tiffin has a well founded reputation for repairs at Red Bay. Some people with more time on their hands, like going to Red Bay for repairs long after warranty. Tiffin's Dealer Network is capable of doing warranty and out of warranty repairs. SOME people do not like to pay for that work and will go to Red Bay, because they pay a lot less in an hourly rate and parts. As to the OP, I have been in contac with him. On his current repair problem. He failed to state some facts.
1. He was attempting to do his OWN repair and had no clue what to do
2. He tried anyway and utilized FREE knowledge from Tiffin on the Phone
3. Not only got free advice but Tiffin made a mistake on the parts HE stated he needed and got them at Tiffin COST($377) instead of the correct mark up to $479. How did he know this? I told him and the fact that the supplier wanted the higher figure and Tiffin made a mistake on the price their mistake. Tiffin told me they made a price mistake
4. He then made a unannounced trip to Red Bay(100 miles each way), and then complains about the change in policy. IF HE HAD CALLED AND STATED WHAT HE WANTED TO DO, TIFFIN WOULD HAVE TOLD HIM TO NOT MAKE THE TRIP.
But no, that is Tiffins fault, even tho the policy is available On Line from Tiffin.
5. I am a service Tech for a Tiffin Dealer----40 years at same dealership.
So, the Tiffin problem is driven by customers that overload the Red Bay service center for problems that almost all Dealers or Independent Service Centers could fix. You do not have to go to a Tiffin Dealer for out of warranty repairs. Doug

[irishtom29]

vjstangelo wrote:
Does Tiffin not have a nationwide service network? Why must one bring a Tiffin back to the factory?

The dealers are the service network and dealers are often unreliable.

[vjstangelo]

Does Tiffin not have a nationwide service network? Why must one bring a Tiffin back to the factory?

[irishtom29]

I see no obligation for Tiffin to be a general repair facility. I see an obligation for them to do warranty work. If stopping general repair work facilitates more efficiency in warranty work that's good.

I think Tiffin should build several regional sales and service centers, ditch the dealers, and sell and service direct. And then do all services needed regardless of the age of the coach. After all, it's obvious the dealers can't be relied upon, why not just cut the bums out?