Legends of the Fall (and Winter)

By Steve Froese, F276276

Spring and summer tend to be the busiest times at RV dealerships. For this reason, the RV rental or detailing departments usually hire temporary staff to help during the peak season. In most cases, though, RV service centers prefer to maintain steady full-time service staffing levels throughout the year. So, how do RV dealerships keep service technicians busy during the fall and winter, when the facility may not see as many customers seeking RV service or maintenance?

One way is to encourage customers to schedule insurance, major repair, and warranty work for the fall and winter. This generally involves repair work necessitated by accidents, mother nature, or defective RV issues covered under warranty. This work can be performed during the off-season when the owners don’t ordinarily use their units.

I have often written about the importance of proper and regular maintenance, specifically when it comes to the exterior sealants and the propane system. However, most of the work undertaken by RV dealerships during the off-season — for the purposes of this article, I am assuming that most RV markets actually have an off-season for travel — consists of the aforementioned type of tasks.

In terms of insurance work, this may have been prompted by a tree falling on an RV and damaging the roof or sidewall. In the case of roof damage, the only way to properly and permanently repair it is to replace the entire thing. I plan to discuss this in a future column, but in short, this will consist of replacing the entire rubber membrane, and possibly some or all of the substrate wood underneath. If the damage is minor, the owner may be able to temporarily apply repair tape to get through the travel season, but eventually the roof will have to be replaced.

Similarly, if damage occurs to the vehicle sidewall — usually the result of an accident — temporary fixes may be possible, but ultimately the sidewall will have to be replaced or repaired.

In many cases, these repairs will be covered under an insurance claim, depending on the type of coverage the owner has. In other instances, the damage results in large repair bills for the customer. It is important to note that water damage caused by poorly maintained sealants is rarely, if ever, covered by insurance. In rare cases, such as if the sealant fails within the first six months or so of new ownership, it may be covered under the warranty. This is why I often stress the importance of regular seal maintenance. Failure to do so can result in very expensive RV repairs.

Once a customer seeks warranty or insurance work, a lot must happen before the work can commence. The RV owner will generally contact their RV service center (which doesn’t have to be their selling dealer). If temporary repairs have been applied, the service writer may suggest that the customer bring in the unit during the fall or winter. Repairs often are extensive and require many hours or even weeks to complete. This type of work is difficult to schedule during the peak travel season, as service departments tend to be extremely busy with on-road issues and emergencies.

When it comes to the claims process, the first step is for the owner to take their unit to the dealer for a damage assessment. The service department will evaluate the work required, which often goes beyond the visibly damaged area, and submit a detailed estimate to both the customer and the warranty or insurance provider. In the case of insurance, the carrier may send an appraiser or agent to the dealership to confirm the work required, but insurance companies usually have trust agreements with the dealerships or repair centers. The estimate will include specific parts and labor required to complete the work.

Then the dealership must wait for the claim to be approved by the manufacturer or insurance provider. This can take several months or more, so sometimes significant delays occur before the parts can even be ordered. Because of this time delay, service departments often will order the required parts at the time of the assessment if they believe the claim is likely to be approved. This prevents additional delays for parts ordering that tend to occur otherwise. Service writers and managers have a good sense of what work will be approved and what won’t, which also helps them advise the customer on whether a customer-pay component may be involved.

Once the work is approved and the parts arrive at the dealership, the service writer will make an appointment with the customer for the work to be done. Then the work itself can commence, which may take upward of a week or more, depending on the severity of the repair.

So, while the spring and summer are extremely busy times for RV service departments, technicians are also kept busy during the off-season with everything from major reconstruction work to seasonal maintenance tasks and predelivery inspections (PDI) for the sales department.

About the author: Steve Froese is a longtime member of Family RV Association, a nonprofit organization for owners of recreational vehicles, and writes the “Tech Talk” column for Family RVing magazine. He is an experienced RV owner and a certified RV technician in both the United States and Canada. Steve is also a licensed professional engineer in British Columbia and a busy professional musician.

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Source: https://familyrvingmag.com/2025/03/24/legends-of-the-fall-and-winter/