R Vision Smoke and Mirrors...
In the Spring of this year, I bought a (class A) "Condor" motorhome, made by Trailite and R. Vision at Long View R.V. Superstores of W. Hatfield, MA. They have two other stores, in Florida and Connecticut, as well.
While my wife and I are not "rich, " we are well-educated people who can tell if people are "indifferent" to their needs - as consumers.
We made our initial journey to Virginia Beach, with our enclosed motocycle trailer in tow.in NY City, I believe, the coffee decanter "flew" out of the under-the-cabinet coffee maker. No strap was included in this package (as most R.V. S have, I now know). The fact that it flew out may seem like a "no brainer", in retrospect. Hindsight is always 20/20. My wife cut herself on the glass shards (trying to pick them up; there was no place to pull off/over safely). That could be a product liability suit in-the-making.
The back-up camera feels essential, at all times, when you're towing a trailer. This was "scrolling" continuously (I had already brought it in for this reason - and it was "okay"). When passers-by where giving me the "finger" I finally realized that my "marker lights" were out, as were my trialer lights.
While I was descending a steep grade in the Virginia mountains, I found that my brakes weren't working as well as planned (with over 1 ton of cargo behind me). The brakes squeeled from day one. It had only 1,000 miles on it (it was driven from the factory). The windows took a "great deal of effort" to open. The passenger window in the front would not budge - even after I put my legs on the dash for leverage.
A fog light was dead. Many little things were wrong - which were unimportant and not worth mentioning.
I found a "window sticker" in a kitchen drawer, with our R.V.'s VIN # on it - and the price tag was $4,000 less than our "deal." I showed this to our salesman; he said it "couldn't be" (end of story).
During the first 3 months we "owned" our R.V., Long View had it. They said we could have it back (broken), to use. R. Vision reportedly gave then trouble regarding our windows. We had to wait for their supplier to get them, have them made - God knows.
Long View stated that they had to drive the R.V. To Westfield (on our gas) to have the brakes repaired. It was no small thing; did the driver "ride the brakes" non-stop for the 1,000 miles? When the unit was "fixed, " it really wasn't. Many of the items weren't touched. Further, they said that it was "all washed up" and "ready to go." The staff spilled sugar in our unit - and it was no cleaner than when we left it there.
Problems: Brakes needed an overhall; marker lights were incorrectly wired; we found that the trailer connection was incorrectly wired as well.
I was told, from "day one", that Long View hired a guy (paying him $100,000/yr), who's only job is "customer satisfaction." He was very inaccessible. He didn't return calls (almost never did he call me back). There was no remedy to the "ill will" that was engendered by their poor customer service. Free installation of my stabilizer bar? No! Movie tickets? Coupon? Anything? No!
I have since had a speedometer that hasn't worked. I had to bring it to an R.V. Dealer a mile away. Because, as Long View states, they aren't a "workhorse chassis authorized repair shop." They are larger than the dealer I brought it to; how pathetic.
In retrospect, I would never encourage any friend of mine to go there (based on my experiences). When the day ends, you only have one thing... integrity! If you don't have that, forget about all the glitz and glitter. Banners, shiney R.V.'s, fast-talking salesmen... All crap, without customer service. Then throw in the $100,000/yr employee who doesn't respond. Oh, priceless!!!
Don't fool yourself! Shop around. Ask for references. It's a huge investment. Don't make yourself sick to your stomach for the warranty period, having to bring it back to somewhere you don't want to be.
Tom
belchertown, Massachusetts
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