17' Series Caravan servicing

[achjimmy]

Some dealers will try and scare you into getting service work done by them. I am a trade qualified motor mechanic and have lost count of the engines,gearbox's,4wd front and rear axle assemblys I have rebuit and also have fitted or repaired just about every other part of a vehicle. And yet my local caravan repair centre tried to tell me I was not qualified to service my last Jayco Dove camper.I was in buying some parts and mentioned to them that I had just replaced the XYZ china bearing company wheel bearings with quality Timken bearings and they said I would void my warrenty for the whole van.I asked them to show me their staff trade papers (they could'nt find them) So as other members have said dont be bullied into paying dealer prices as long as the work is done by person with sound mechanical ability that is ok.

This and SD's post is my point . Iam amazed they get away with it in this day and age. lets look at it another way.

Van brakes worked on by Tim the knock about do anything dogs body at the van dealership, van brakes fail and you have an accident and kill someone, coroners inquest and it is discovered Tim is nothing more than a good bloke with no qualifications???????????????????? good luck to that princpal.

Go to a mechanic guys thats what they are qualified for, i am not saying they are neccesarliy better than doing it yourself but they are at least licenced to do it, or ask your dealer to tell you which qualified mechanic will be either doing the work or overseeing it, ask for the mechanics number.

 

[Burnsy]

Some dealers will try and scare you into getting service work done by them. I am a trade qualified motor mechanic and have lost count of the engines,gearbox's,4wd front and rear axle assemblys I have rebuit and also have fitted or repaired just about every other part of a vehicle. And yet my local caravan repair centre tried to tell me I was not qualified to service my last Jayco Dove camper.I was in buying some parts and mentioned to them that I had just replaced the XYZ china bearing company wheel bearings with quality Timken bearings and they said I would void my warrenty for the whole van.I asked them to show me their staff trade papers (they could'nt find them) So as other members have said dont be bullied into paying dealer prices as long as the work is done by person with sound mechanical ability that is ok.

Mate, i've often wondered about what bearings Jayco use, so they are Chinese then? Being a fitter i know about Chinese bearings, absolute crap! I had 1 disintergrate on my camper trailer once and it wasn't very old, the material is just too soft and doesn't last. Either i will change myself or supply quality such as Timken for my first service (so i don't void warranty).

Cheers.

 

[straydingo]

I'd have no problem doing the work myself. (I rebuilt my first car and learnt lots doing it) Servicing and general repairs including brakes and bearing etc is fairly simple , and too get it wrong enough that it causes an accident would be pretty hard. If you are happy doing it yourself, do it. The RAC note I posted was the official standing on warranty. My next 'service' will be outside of warranty, so why would they care other than they don't get the $$$

In my case, I'm lazy. Nah, just kidding. Its more convenient for me to have some who knows what they are doing go the work in the quarter of the time it would take me to do it, and they probably won't have a few screws left over. Its unlikely I'll use Jayco again, but I will use a mechanic.

 

[leesy]

i had mine done today and they do all the checks ect as well as take out the wheel bearings and check and re pack them, i was quoted $195 at Page bros in Melb

Well picked up the van after the service and checked all the grease nips and wheel nuts, all had been done and the mechanic had listed the serial number of the wheel bearings down for me as requested sdo i can make sure i have the correct spare part! They had touched up a few spots with the Gal paint on the draw bar and adjusted a few other bits and bobs, most of which were warranty anyway.
As the manager was not there i am still to have my conversation about being told by 2 seperate staff that if i did not do the first service the warranty would be void... this is not stated in the manual as they stated and it is very against the law also!!
Will keep you posted!

 

[AAJB]

Well it's time to send it in for the first service & some warranty issues i'll give Page bros a call Monday and book it in.

 

[Greg]

Booked mine in at Jayco Newcastle $250 for the first sevice. Mine was due after ther the return trip from Melbourne, also over 1 month wait to get it done.

Greg

 

[Burnsy]

Something I found out the other day which might make sense of the varying prices for servicing. I found it strange that Jayco HQ did not refer me to Jayco Newcastle for my warranty issue but other repairers instead. After talking to a local repairer and mentioning this he told me that the repair/warranty division of Jayco Newcastle is now independently owned and the rate charged is too much for Jayco....how ridiculous is this? You would think that if you buy into a Jayco franchise that hourly rates are accross the board but not so.

Maybe in the future all Jayco warranties will be done by subcontractors, just like car repairs, quote, submit then cheapest gets the job!

Cheers.

 

[Greg]

Good call burnsy, does that mean servicing can be done by a repairer other than Jayco and warranty kept, its a pain in the but to hook up the van travel an hour and the same for th return when there is heaps of local people can do the same job. Im going to make a few inquiries next week.

Greg

 

[Harv n Bron]

It is a pain to hook up and get the servicing done, I was only saying to Bron that there is a real (business) opportunity for a travelling caravan servicer/repairer. I would pay the call out fee!!

 

[Burnsy]

Good call burnsy, does that mean servicing can be done by a repairer other than Jayco and warranty kept, its a pain in the but to hook up the van travel an hour and the same for th return when there is heaps of local people can do the same job. Im going to make a few inquiries next week.

Greg

Hi Greg, no mate i was mainly talking about warranty work. I know what your saying about taking the van to Jayco for servicing, as mentioned on here there probably not qualified mechanics anyway and they don't do much for the money but i suppose it's what you need to do for warranty which is only for 12 months anyway. After the 12 months is up i would take to a local mechanical service centre and get them to service. I don't know if you have heard of Charlestown Steering Services at Gateshead but he does heaps of vans, i see them there regularly and he's in a cul-de-sac street so not busy with traffic.

To be honest servicing a trailer is not rocket science and changing bearings is not hard, I hate the thought that I probably have Chinese bearings on the stubs and will probably change myself regardless of the 12 month warranty issue.

Cheers.

 

[Greg]

I agree Burnsy its not rocket science, Im just jumping through the hoops to keep the warranty, once 12 months is up I will be doing the servicing myself, if I could use someone closer it would have been alot easier, as Ive have no warranty issues (yet).

Greg