Any thoughts on Demondtrond RV for warranty repairs?

[Hansom-Man]

Need to get some basic warranty repairs (popped rivets, broken valve, tank sensor, etc..) done.

Demondtrond is the closest dealer to us here in N. Houston (we bought our AS "gently used" from a private party). We visited them while we were looking, and were not real impressed with the sales dept. Wondering what to expect from a service perspective.... if anyone has an opinions or alternatives to share.

Thanks!

[28totow]

BEWARE!!!!

I ordered my 2006 CCD from Jackson Center thru them. Live in Houston, so I buy in Houston. After taking delivery, on first trip, AC would not work - DeMontrond kept it 6 weeks to repair. Also pointed out a water leak in body shell.

Picked it up on a Friday and took it directly to Hempstead for weekend - AC did not turn on. Took it back on Monday, and it was ready 6 weeks later. Picked it up and headed out on trip. AC did work, but still had leak. Took it back- they said they could not repair leak, told me to take to Jackson Center. (Both times I made appointment for service, it did not matter - 6 weeks was standard turnaround for Airstreams.)

I will never go back there under ANY circumstances. They may be a better repair dept. now, but I don't care. Bob Jones on Gulf Freeway has my repair business.
However, they do not do warrenty work. I would take my chances with Camping World on Katy Frwy (they are Airstream Dealer) or go to Camper Clinic in Austin.

Good Luck

[RichHog]

Though not a dealer Chris at Bob Jones RV off I-45 South / College exit has taken good care of me on my 72 Tradewind. The did my axles last summer, replaced the bathroom sink (old vintage plastic) repaired interior sink/formica, rewelded my hitch. Highly recommend them, fair pricing. First time I pulled in and saw three Airstreams in the lot knew they could be trusted. The sales team at Camping World in Katy are nice and would have loved to sell me a new Flying Cloud, don't know about their service dept. though.

[withidl]

Back in 2003ish I took my 31' ASCL to Demondtrond for warranty work on a leaking black tank seal and to replace my wheel seals which had leaked and contaminated 3 of the 4 brake shoe pairs (Airstream authorized replacement of all 4 wheel seals and all 4 pairs of brake shoes); that's the good news.

The bad news is that one of their mechanics in attempting to move the AS with their fork lift didn't stop it's motion before setting it down on the tongue jack post and bent the post. After I had hooked up to it in their yard I attempted to retract the jack post only to have it bind and stop before being retracted.

I advised one of the service managers of the problem and his immediate response was that I must have brought it in like that. After some rather direct conversation with him he realized I couldn't be bluffed and went out to the AS and proceeded to attempt to retract the post to no avail. He than had a mechanic bring out some grease which he slathered on the post and again attempted to retract the post, and again, and again, etc. for over 30 minutes while I told him he was over stressing the jack motor and gears and would have to replace the jack.

He finally gave up and we went inside where he tried to talk me into an under powered jack which they had in stock. I told him that was not acceptable and that he WOULD replace it with the OEM jack, which he than ordered.

About a week later they received the jack and installed it. I hooked up to the AS and while retracting the new jack the entire motor/gear assembly was oscillating on its mounting. As I carry most tools with me I got an “allen” wrench and removed and reset the motor/gear assembly which their mechanic hadn’t assembled correctly.

I don’t plan on going back there any time soon.

[Hansom-Man]

Thanks for the response. Looks like I'm gonna have to drive a bit if I want to get better service.

Does anyone have any suggestions on shops that do warranty work in the greater Austin or DFW area? Saw the other thread here on camper clinic II in Buda, and the reviews seem mixed.

I realize that I'm pushing the cost benefit aspects of this since none of my repairs are real big, but I'd like to get this thing to someone who would give it a good look through to see if there's anything else that needs repair. This trailer was purchased from a party that really did only use it once in the year they owned it. It's pretty clear that the original dealer got away with the absolute bare minimum inspection & prep when they sold it to the original purchaser. Heck, they even had them convinced the factory warranty only lasted 1 yr.

In that time it was never taken in, so it's never had a lick of shakedown repair. To be fair, it did not really appear to need any since it had not really been used.

[RichHog]

What does Airstream say about service in Texas? Seems like they ought to point you to a trusted service dealer.

[tj_ia]

Camping World in Katy treated me fairly well on some recent bodywork (due to a tree backing in to me), and repairing a leak in the fantastic fan. The quality of work was good, though I did have to stay on top of the "project management" side of things by setting reasonable deadlines and checking in with them regularly.

I did find they are better to deal with in person than over the phone, however. They seem to be a little understaffed at the service counter.