Warranty- Do retail trailer buyer's care or pay attention?

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

I have been looking at trailer manufacturers warranties and to my surprise they differ quite a bit. Some are transferable most are not. You would think the more expensive rigs would have a higher profit margin and more quality raw materials hence a better warranty. For example Intech Flyer Discover is 30k ish. It has a 3 year transferable structural warranty which includes the chassis and frame. One year on other aspects they build in house. Then I noticed one brand that is 85K and has a 1 year non transferable on frame and a two year on chassis from the chassis mfg not the trailer MFGer. Also it doesn't cover the powder coat paint chipping off. Which I assume if it does and your frame rusts it's not covered. My trailer has a five year structural warranty and others are lifetime on chassis. Wonder if folks really pay much attention to warranties?

 

[billiebob]

A warranty is only worth the longevity of the builder. Ford, GM, Ram, all good we are sure they will sutvive. Rambler, AMC might have got a buy when Chrysler bought them but Saturn warranties are gone. Maybe GM still backs Olds warranties but anyone building trailers in back water USA...... you want a warranty???? Sure I'll offer a 40 year warranty on what I build and in 3 years when the lawsuits arrive.... Chapter 11 and I am gone. I'll just change names and keep building.

A trailer warranty is nothing like a car. If the trailer hitch still couples and the wheel bearings still turn.... all is good. On components like heaters cooler doors windows.... those are all under manufacturers warranties, nothing to do with the builders.

Define the difference between 5 year and lifetime................ Pay atention to warranty lol.... no pay attention to how long have they been building trailers. pay attention to 1M satisfied customers for 100 years...., ie Airstream vs..... 14 positive reviews on facebook..... ie all the rest. If you buy that state of the art $50K tear drop trailer you are paying for image, status, ego,,,,, just like buying a 1960s sports car called a Cheetah or ..........

There is no warranty on any expo, tear drop, nubu trailer. Warranty is all about brand name established manufacturers.... even then they setup separate entities to avoid the liability. You have a warranty claim..... you will spend exponentially on legal fees to get it resolved and before that happens the manufacturer will change names and market a new brand.

Warranty in the RV world is buyer beware.

Even things the manufacturer builds like the frame. Our legal system offers so many outs he'll claim the steel from China was not to spec. And he's free.

Yes we pay attention and when the warranty looks to good to be true..... we walk.

When I buy a used car I like a 12 month warranty. First I'm sure you will be here in 12 months, second if it lasts 12 months I'm kind of comfortable it'll last 12 years. A lot of dealership used cars come with 12 month warranties which is why I buy used thru dealerships. I know they did a full mechanical check because they don't want a warranty claim and they want o be known as a premium used car dealer. Over the past 30 years I have bought 12 vehicles that way and never been burned.

On trailers, no warranty is more valuable than due diligence. Look at the reviews. Set aside yer ego. Forget the stupid reasons you want it. Go home. Talk to the wife, Dad, Son, get other input..... and buy it tomorrow. Warranties on anything "custom manufactured" are worthless.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Good points. Thanks for the response.

 

[jadmt]

I have heard of people waiting a year out for warranty work on RVs. I think most people just give up and fix stuff themselves. RV sold millions of units which have a high return rate for issues and are set up to have sold 1000's......I was just looking at a new Aliner Classic with dual hard dormers and there were all kinds of things cosmetically that needed fixing. This was a new 2022 on the lot unit. I mentioned to the salesman it was a turn off seeing it in need of repair and he said they were not able to get it in to fix it. This was a brand new unit on the dealership lot with the repair facility on the same lot, so how do you think they are going to treat a customer after he drives away with it.......

 

[loup407]

I’d suggest looking deeper here and in similar places to see how builders support their owners. There are builders like A/T Overland, Summit Trailers, and others who go to great lengths to support their products. Others, not so much. I’ve owned a few trailers and campers, and the best builders never asked or made mention of their warranty, they just fixed stuff. That said, a lot of what we can do to a trailer can be pretty far outside of any warranty, and one has to keep one’s expectations realistic.

 

[Alloy]

I have heard of people waiting a year out for warranty work on RVs. I think most people just give up and fix stuff themselves. RV sold millions of units which have a high return rate for issues and are set up to have sold 1000's......I was just looking at a new Aliner Classic with dual hard dormers and there were all kinds of things cosmetically that needed fixing. This was a new 2022 on the lot unit. I mentioned to the salesman it was a turn off seeing it in need of repair and he said they were not able to get it in to fix it. This was a brand new unit on the dealership lot with the repair facility on the same lot, so how do you think they are going to treat a customer after he drives away with it.......

Dealers get hundreds of RVs that need repair but dealers don't do the work until the manufacture pays for it.

Manufactures don't want dealers doing unnecessary work so they won't pay for the work until there's a list of repairs from the buyer.

The worst RVs are bypassed by one buyer after another and get what is called lot rot.

If the buyer inspects the RV and there's list of repairs the worst thing one can do is to pay for it before the repairs are done.

There is no money in warranty work so dealer will time the warranty out by delaying appointments, keeping the RV for months and returning it partially repaired.

 

[vintageracer]

Another thing to consider.

A "Warranty" by law can only be offered by the manufacturer of the product or or provider of the service. No other party, company or individual can offer a "Warranty" on an item they did not produce. A dealer or representative company of the manufacturer can honor and execute the Warranty Repair on behalf of the manufacturer however it is still the manufacturers problem to pay for the repairs.

Companies other than the manufacturer CAN offer you a "Service Contract" for that product or service which is exactly what all these companies on the TV are providing all the while saying the word "Warranty" in their advertising to git your attention. Look at the fine print at the bottom of the TV ad's you see pimping vehicle warranties and you will see the words "Vehicle Service Contract" listed.

Carshield for example advertises as a Warranty however in reality what they SELL YOU IS A VEHICLE SERVICE CONTRACT for your old out of FACTORY WARRANTY broken down old automobile. It is specifically stated as a Vehicle Service Contract on the paperwork not a Warranty!

 

[Paddler Ed]

What's the purpose of a warranty?

In some cases, it's a guarantee that the product is as described, but realistically, it's an explicit signal from the manufacturer/supplier of their confidence in the product.

They know what the product is like, but you as the consumer is guessing at what their quality is like. For example, who can remember when Ford/GM/Chrysler only offered a 1 year warranty? Who can remember when the Japanese manufacturers started to enter the market - and how much were they perceived to be cheap crap? What did they do? Certainly in the UK they introduced a 3year warranty... and how quickly did Ford/GM (Vauxhall) follow? What happened when Kia and Hyundai entered the market? Oh look, cheap nasty product... but it comes with a 5 year warranty.... now I think they're up to 7 years as their way of differentiating their product.

Ultimately, it's a confidence signal to the consumer, but falls over when (as you guys are alluding to) it's needed because the product is sh1te. In terms of sh!te, I always remember a story of a Land Rover dealer who was able to built, equip and staff a bay just on warranty work...

Coming back to trailers, there are some good European manufacturers who warranty their products and have confidence in them:
-Polar Caravans of Sweden: 2 yr warranty, plus 7 years watertight: https://polarvagnen.se/en/om-polar/reservdelar-och-garantier
-Knaus of Germany; 2yr warranty plus 10 years watertight (https://www.knaus.com/fileadmin/med.../kta-knaus-2021-2022-katalog-wohnwagen-en.pdf) - Parent have had Knaus and Fendts for the last 20 years or so; they've had 3 in that time... in 12 years of using English caravans they had 4 because they started to leak; their 'vans live outside all year round, with no covers on and the German vans are all they get now.

The British manufacturers are catching up, but it took them a while, and very much have gone for the "we had a rubbish reputation, let's show how much confidence we now have" approach:

Caravans 2019

www.swiftgroup.co.uk

Just some international food for thought....

 

[Gravelette]

I don't think the warranty is something trailer buyers focus on. As pointed out earlier, most of the stuff that will go wrong, appliances, etc. is not covered by the mfg warranty anyway. Water damage is what kills most trailers and it can be hard to spot during any reasonable warranty period. Owning a trailer, you pretty much have to become a DIYer, whether or not you are inclined that way.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Thanks for all the great points on this question. I would still be hesitant to pay over 80k for a trailer that only carries a 24 month warranty on thier chassis. That's the foundation man. Just saying

 

[tacomabill]

So are warranty laws different for the RV industry vs autombiles and pickups?

I know there are a lot of state warranty laws. There is also the federal Magnuson-Moss warranty act, but I do not know if it applies to RVs. Are there are other fedral laws that apply to autos, or to RVs.

I always assumed there are legal reasons why car and truck warranties are pretty much end-to-end and cover many items not made by the automobile manufacturer. If I buy a new F 150 and something like the AC, heater, or CC has a major failure within warranty time frame, that is covered by Ford. Pretty sure the same applies to any new auto or pickup sold in USA. But apparently this not the case for RVs.

 

[vintageracer]

Warranty terms are typically like Insurance contracts where the business or person granting the warranty state what's excluded "The Exclusions" rather than what is "Included" with the warranty. It's easier to "Exclude" rather than state everything that is covered. Example might be a "Bumper to Bumper" warranty with specific "Exclusions" such as time and mileage.

You also see terms like "Implied" Warranty and "Limited" Warranty which also have different meanings.

 

[tacomabill]

But why are are atuomobile warranties in USA always bumper to bumper, while that is never the case for RVs. Must be some legal basis for it.
.

 

[vintageracer]

They don't have to offer a Warranty it all therefore they can make it for the most part whatever they want within the law.

 

[tacomabill]

They don't have to offer a Warranty it all therefore they can make it for the most part whatever they want within the law.

But that does not explain why all auto manufacturer warranties are bumber to bumper while RVs are not.