Cruise America's Extended Warranty Service Agreements

[Floridastorm]

For all those folks that purchased a Cruise America previous Rental I wonder if you can advise if you purchased the Extended 5 year Power Train Coverage and the Extended 4 year Appliances Coverage? If not why not. Did you get the full Roadside Protection Plan from Good Sam or another company? Or did you not get roadside protection at all? Also, prior to taking possession did you have a professional RV inspection company do a comprehensive inspection of the unit and have CA mitigate anything negative in the report? This info is important to me as I am going to purchase a previous rental from Cruise America pretty soon out of their Orlando facility.

Much thanks to all for your help. It will save me a lot of worry.

Dave

[Floridastorm]

bobndot wrote:
Floridastorm, to answer your question...no, I only had the three tire calls to them.

If you ever need specific info on a topic, you have the option to use your search bar rather than rvnet search,

Type in 'rv.net, coach-net reimbursement' or whatever question you have on a topic.
typing 'rv.net' before your question will give you many rvnet posts on a specific topic.

this is an older rvnet link regarding CN, just as an example of doing the above search.
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27462684/print/true.cfm

I reviewed about 6 of the top Roadside Assistance companies. Every one of them has only a collision trip interruption reimbursement. Nothing is said about breakdown trip interruption. So, unless you have a collision they will not reimburse for things like hotel, food, rental car, etc. if you breakdown. You can bet there's a reason for them leaving out "breakdown". Want to bet that most trip interruptions are not for collisions but for breakdowns.

[IAMICHABOD]

carringb wrote:
Cruise America special orders their units from Thor, and when they sell them, they are branded as "Majestic". These do not have slide-outs or awnings. I have no idea if the bodies have any structural changes, other than they all have an excellent length-to-wheelbase ratio.

They have changed some of the,I guess they would be problem areas that may be structural.

The newer ones have no rear window and no window in the door.

[bobndot]

Floridastorm, to answer your question...no, I only had the three tire calls to them.

If you ever need specific info on a topic, you have the option to use your search bar rather than rvnet search,

Type in 'rv.net, coach-net reimbursement' or whatever question you have on a topic.
typing 'rv.net' before your question will give you many rvnet posts on a specific topic.

this is an older rvnet link regarding CN, just as an example of doing the above search.
https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27462684/print/true.cfm

[carringb]

Gjac wrote:
Does anyone know what make and models are used in these rental fleets? If known one could look for those models elsewhere also. I always thought it was their maintenance level that made these used units more reliable but it makes sense that if you start with a simpler more robust unit you have a better chance of getting a good used unit after several years and you should not need an extended warranty.

Cruise America special orders their units from Thor, and when they sell them, they are branded as "Majestic". These do not have slide-outs or awnings. I have no idea if the bodies have any structural changes, other than they all have an excellent length-to-wheelbase ratio.

On the interior, they seem to use more plywood where the consumer equivalent uses MDF, and have small touches like extra brackets where furnishing attach to the walls. The dinettes have fabric trim on upper edges rather than cabinet trim. And the cushions have notches for the seatbelts, which will prevent wear and scuffing.

[Floridastorm]

bobndot wrote:

Floridastorm wrote:

bobndot wrote:

Guess it would be good to have for the big ticket items like the engine, transmission, drive train, and generator. However, how many of these items fail completely and need to be replaced?

They are service contracts which have very specific wording that an atty would be able to pick apart and explain to you better than I can. They are written with lots of wiggle room and allow the contractor to be the winner.
IF I ever went completely crazy and decided to purchase an extended contract I would never buy a service contract from a third party. It would have to be from Ford , GM or whoever manufactured the vehicle but then again, the wording is written in gray ink, blurred gray ink . Like you can't tell if its an eighth note or a sixteenth note. :B

I am now convinced that Service Contracts are not the way to go. However, a good comprehensive Roadside Assistance Plan is a necessary evil when being on the road IMO.

Absolutely. It costs money to do it, the road service comes out ahead. But I did it because I tow snowmobile trailers so I don't have to crawl around changing tires in sub-zero F temps.

I use Coach-Net. They have been great and quick the 3x I have used it. Any vehicle that I drive or are a passenger in is covered. My package includes anything I tow. You can use unlimited times during the contract period and they responded to remote areas where my previous company would not.

Thank you. Very helpful. I notice that Coach.net has an Emergency Trip Interruption that pays for lodging, food, etc. in the event of a collision. Doesn't seem to include breakdowns. Have you had an experience with them reimbursing when the motor home is under repair more than 100 miles from home or is it just for a collision?

[bobndot]

carringb wrote:
I'm pretty sure they'll find a reason to blame it on you, so you'll be buying one anyways.

:B So true ! Sad, but true .

[bobndot]

Floridastorm wrote:

bobndot wrote:

Guess it would be good to have for the big ticket items like the engine, transmission, drive train, and generator. However, how many of these items fail completely and need to be replaced?

They are service contracts which have very specific wording that an atty would be able to pick apart and explain to you better than I can. They are written with lots of wiggle room and allow the contractor to be the winner.
IF I ever went completely crazy and decided to purchase an extended contract I would never buy a service contract from a third party. It would have to be from Ford , GM or whoever manufactured the vehicle but then again, the wording is written in gray ink, blurred gray ink . Like you can't tell if its an eighth note or a sixteenth note. :B

I am now convinced that Service Contracts are not the way to go. However, a good comprehensive Roadside Assistance Plan is a necessary evil when being on the road IMO.

Absolutely. It costs money to do it, the road service comes out ahead. But I did it because I tow snowmobile trailers so I don't have to crawl around changing tires in sub-zero F temps.

I use Coach-Net. They have been great and quick the 3x I have used it. Any vehicle that I drive or are a passenger in is covered. My package includes anything I tow. You can use unlimited times during the contract period and they responded to remote areas where my previous company would not.

[Gjac]

Quote: "For how many units Cruise America sells, I really don't hear any complaints about their used units. On the contrary, they seem to have LESS problems than most NEW RVs. Partly because they have simpler, more robust builds, but also because they've also already common workmanship issues that come out of the factories." This is an interesting observation. Does anyone know what make and models are used in these rental fleets? If known one could look for those models elsewhere also. I always thought it was their maintenance level that made these used units more reliable but it makes sense that if you start with a simpler more robust unit you have a better chance of getting a good used unit after several years and you should not need an extended warranty.

[carringb]

Floridastorm wrote:
Guess it would be good to have for the big ticket items like the engine, transmission, drive train, and generator. However, how many of these items fail completely and need to be replaced?

The powertrains on modern motorhomes rarely have major issues. The generator is probably the most likely $$$ item to go out, and if it does, I'm pretty sure they'll find a reason to blame it on you, so you'll be buying one anyways.

[Floridastorm]

bobndot wrote:

Guess it would be good to have for the big ticket items like the engine, transmission, drive train, and generator. However, how many of these items fail completely and need to be replaced?

They are service contracts which have very specific wording that an atty would be able to pick apart and explain to you better than I can. They are written with lots of wiggle room and allow the contractor to be the winner.
IF I ever went completely crazy and decided to purchase an extended contract I would never buy a service contract from a third party. It would have to be from Ford , GM or whoever manufactured the vehicle but then again, the wording is written in gray ink, blurred gray ink . Like you can't tell if its an eighth note or a sixteenth note. :B

I am now convinced that Service Contracts are not the way to go. However, a good comprehensive Roadside Assistance Plan is a necessary evil when being on the road IMO.

[Floridastorm]

IAMICHABOD wrote:

Floridastorm wrote:
I find that the El Monte refurbished rentals are approximately $10,000 more expensive for the same class, size, and year.

I find that a bit of a stretch.The ones at Cruise America in your area run about $35000 to $37000 for the same class and size but are 2016 year model,as all their RVs are on a 4 year turnover model,

Where the same size and class and interior design at El Monte RV is $39989,but is a 2018. 2 years newer and most likely with less mileage. El Monte RV is on a 2 year or less turnover model.

On another note I found THIS POST on how El Monte RV responded to their 1Year/12000 mile warranty and filled the tank with gas!

In Orlando the CA units are going for $32000 with a $3000 discount which makes them $29,000. That is a $10,000 difference. I am not pro or con one company or the other. Just stating facts. I have a budget which is maximum $30,000. So, doesn't make a difference to me if the El Monte units are 2018. Thank you for the info, though.

[bobndot]

Guess it would be good to have for the big ticket items like the engine, transmission, drive train, and generator. However, how many of these items fail completely and need to be replaced?

They are service contracts which have very specific wording that an atty would be able to pick apart and explain to you better than I can. They are written with lots of wiggle room and allow the contractor to be the winner.
IF I ever went completely crazy and decided to purchase an extended contract I would never buy a service contract from a third party. It would have to be from Ford , GM or whoever manufactured the vehicle but then again, the wording is written in gray ink, blurred gray ink . Like you can't tell if its an eighth note or a sixteenth note. :B

[IAMICHABOD]

Floridastorm wrote:
I find that the El Monte refurbished rentals are approximately $10,000 more expensive for the same class, size, and year.

I find that a bit of a stretch.The ones at Cruise America in your area run about $35000 to $37000 for the same class and size but are 2016 year model,as all their RVs are on a 4 year turnover model,

Where the same size and class and interior design at El Monte RV is $39989,but is a 2018. 2 years newer and most likely with less mileage. El Monte RV is on a 2 year or less turnover model.

On another note I found THIS POST on how El Monte RV responded to their 1Year/12000 mile warranty and filled the tank with gas!

[delwhjr]

I always liked the statement:

Behold the warranty... the BOLD print giveth and the fine print taketh away!

Read carefully the list of covered and non-covered items and be aware that many will not cover a part that was listed as covered if a non-covered part was responsible for the failure.