Any experience with Arkansas (or surrounding area) Thor dealers?

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Mo_Mike

Did you get a chance to see the 25.2? Just wondered what you thought..

Loved the rear bed, especially the flip up on the '18. While shower is a bit bigger than 25.3, overall the bathroom is tighter and the toilet on the platform wasn't something my wife found nice. I think if not for the two large dogs (two standard poodles) that will sometimes travel with us, I think I would go with the 25.2. But, since the poodles will be with us on a lot of weekend trips and we will spend most of our time out of bed in the front/couch area, we decided the 25.3 is a better fit now that the '18 has the couch instead of the dinette. It's just more wide open with the bathroom in the back and the fridge and small closet next to the couch.

I went ahead and put a deposit down on an '18 25.3 that dealership already had on order and listed as "arriving soon" (loose term, as I'm not sure how soon it really will be). Should arrive sooner than placing an order from scratch. Best guess is late July or August. I was being quoted Late September or October (from two other dealerships, and someone from Thor that I communicated with a week ago) on a brand new custom order.

In the end I went with Motorhome Specialists down in Dallas.

[Mo_Mike]

Originally Posted by tnedator

Loved the rear bed, especially the flip up on the '18. While shower is a bit bigger than 25.3, overall the bathroom is tighter and the toilet on the platform wasn't something my wife found nice. I think if not for the two large dogs (two standard poodles) that will sometimes travel with us, I think I would go with the 25.2. But, since the poodles will be with us on a lot of weekend trips and we will spend most of our time out of bed in the front/couch area, we decided the 25.3 is a better fit now that the '18 has the couch instead of the dinette. It's just more wide open with the bathroom in the back and the fridge and small closet next to the couch.

I went ahead and put a deposit down on an '18 25.3 that dealership already had on order and listed as "arriving soon" (loose term, as I'm not sure how soon it really will be). Should arrive sooner than placing an order from scratch. Best guess is late July or August. I was being quoted Late September or October (from two other dealerships, and someone from Thor that I communicated with a week ago) on a brand new custom order.

In the end I went with Motorhome Specialists down in Dallas.

CONGRATULATIONS! I am sure the wait will drive you crazy...

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by Mo_Mike

CONGRATULATIONS! I am sure the wait will drive you crazy...

Thanks and it's gonna. Our first RV, we've been debating whether to do it for a few years, and got serious over the last six plus months at looking for what we thought would be a good fit for our first, which will mostly be used for weekend/long weekend trips to parks, Branson, etc.

Mostly apprehensive about where the Thor/RV roulette will land. Will it be a coach with minor issues or major. Hopefully minor, because these Vegas floor plans are just about the only thing we've been happy with in the sub 30 foot range, and as a first RV we didn't want to go 30+.

[Norrirn]

Take a look at Dave's RVs in Claremore, OK, NE of Tulsa. We bought our A.C.E. there in 2014. The sales transaction was pleasant and subsequent warranty service was done to my convenience. Their service guys have been helpful over the phone on occasion too.

[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by tnedator

Hey TheTraveler, thanks for the info. Good to hear that CampingWorld is doing ok on service. In reviews I've read on the Little Rock branch, some have been real positive on service, some not. I read something in a review about a woman that took over the service department (maybe a year ago) that supposedly improved it a bunch.

Glamperjan, is RCD River City RV or something else? Google reviews are nothing but a series of horror stories on River City service.

Either of you ever tried Mayflower service? They seem quite a bit smaller. Also, I guess the previous owner was killed following the big tornado that hit Mayflower (and wiped out that dealership of theirs) a few years ago. Our experience with Mayflower on the sales side, gathering information, has been mixed at best.

Hey Tnedator,
After recent event's I need to revise my comments on the Service Dept at Camping World in North Little Rock. At first they were fairly responsive. However, the 2nd and 3rd times I brought my new Hurricane back for warranty service they became very non-responsive. They fixed some of the items. The others they said were Fords issues even though they were not, or they just ignored them all together. I got the feeling they didn't know how to fix them so they just passed the buck. Must not be much margin for them in warranty work.

The most frustrating part is that they took about 3 weeks each time I took it in (with a scheduled appoint I might add) and didn't finish the work either time. To make matters worse, they would not answer or return my calls to give me a status update. Only my service manager knew anything and he totally quit respond (VERY FRUSTRATING). During my last 3 week encounter they had said they were ordering some parts and waiting on that. When I picked it up I was told they could not work on the item they had previously said they were ordering parts for because their manager said it was a Ford problem. Some one was lying to me the whole time. I totally recommend that you DO NOT use them if possible. However, if you absolutely must, don't leave your RV with them if possible. Wait at the store for the work to be done. Otherwise, they'll park it in their lot for weeks and only work on it when it's convenient for them even though you have a "scheduled appointment". I guess I've ranted enough

[Norrirn]

We purchased our 2013 A.C.E. from Dave's RVs in Claremore, Oklahoma. The sales transaction was very pleasant and the susequent service appointments were more than satisfactory. Their service writers have been very open and honest regarding all aspects of what we could expect. I have no complaints.

[FL-AR]

We bought our motorhome in Florida because we were unable to find what we wanted at an Arkansas dealer. Having heard of issues with service of a rv purchased elsewhere, we were concerned about getting warranty work done locally. We have had a lot of things taken care of at River City RV In Sherwood. The online reviews were terrible, but we have had great service from them. Very professional and thorough.

[vmyoung61]

I just want to say again - We bought our fifth-wheel out of state when we lived in Sherwood, AR. The couple of times we needed warranty work, Mayflower was awesome. They got us in quickly and worked on it in a timely manner. Not only did they fix the problem, they even found some other issues that they pointed out to us and fixed. John was our tech and he's top-notch. If I was in AR and needed service, that is where I would go. We don't even set foot in NLR Camping World anymore. They are notorious for saying they have ordered parts when they haven't. If you do use them, follow-up with the manufacturer to make sure they have requested approval and/or ordered parts.

[Mike&Mary]

We bought a 2015 Palazzo from Crain RV in Little Rock. They are not a Thor dealer but service all makes and models. So far we've been pleased with the few issue's we've had.

[LandKO]

Bought a Travel Trailer from River City RV in Sherwood Arkansas three years ago. Buying experience was good. After sale service was also good.
Last week, traded the TT for a Class C Motor Home from the same location.
The buying experience was similar to the previous sale. Haven’t had to try out their service yet.
I give this comparison because when we first bought from them they were an independent company. Recently they were bought out by the Camping World organization and the name has changed to River City Recreation World.
So far, the culture of the company has not changed to Camping Worlds.
Today, I would recommend River City Recreation World. But, we wil see as time goes on.

[Zippy]

There is another Camping World at Lowell, Ar. I did get my 2018 30FE Freedom Elite from the LIttle Rock CW and to be honest the only complain I had was with the guy who did the walk through. They did not take the water heater off of by pass and he never show us where it was done. He showed us very little and most of the walk through was me and wife trying everything we could think of. All most fried water heater first outing. He was a complete idiot. Sales, finance, and service dept. was really pleasant to deal with. Had some minor issues that need fixed and they did a good job getting things fixed. Just don’t get in a hurry to get it back because they had it about a month waiting on parts. FYI River City is owned by CW now.

[ACEroad]

Purchased a new class A from CW, but due the complete disaster on the service side I had to get all repairs at the Thor factory service shop. Just purchased a second new Thor class A and CW was not even considered. Went to Total Value RV in Elkhart, IN even though it is seven hours away. Got a better deal than could get at CW and no destination charge is paid. PDI was great and service is good. But the best thing is Thor factory service is fifteen minutes away from this dealer. I just had to decide my repairs (made correctly) would be made seven hours away. We just made it a trip and enjoy the area when we go there.

[K0LCB]

I’ve had good luck with Springfield, MO CW. I know they get a lot of bad press, but I’ve always been treated right so far. This is third RV I bought from CW, one in Alabama, one in Texas and one in Missouri

[Long & Winding road]

I purchased my Axis last year at CW of Lowell AR. They did Okay but I was totally prepared and ran the show (thanks to this forum). I told them what I was willing to pay and stuck to my guns and I was willing to walk out (Stood up twice when it was not going my way but they didnt want me to walk out).

I even had them throw in a big screen TV for my house (I guess they had one for a larger RV laying around?) and I already had my extented warrentee figured out from Good Sams the day before so I told them I didnt need it. After about 15 minutes of shutting them down I got a 5 Y extended for less than the 4 year Good Sams qoute (this was my first RV so I felt more confortable purchasing one - But I would not do that again).

CW started out about 5 times the price of what I paid for this warrantee. They must be like 95 % profit for them.

But the service is terrible. I ended up doing most of my own work anyway.

[Jerry B.]

Bought our from Mayflower RV in Sherwood AR. Great people to work with whether it be warranty work or not. Service dept is awesome. Get you in and out in reasonable time and if they say it’ll be ready Tuesday it’ll be ready Tuesday. Check’em out, you won’t be sorry.