Dear Marcus;
I am a new member to RV.net and have a question concerning my Good Sam extended warranty. Back on April 21st I purchased a used 2007 Fleetwood Terra LX from Camping World RV Sales in Valencia, CA. I can't say enough good things about how well my wife and I(and even our dog Tyco)were treated by Mike, Don, Marie, and the rest of the Sales staff. They went out of their way to make our experience of buying our fist Class A easy and stress-free. Even my Golden Retriever got first class treatment; lots of scratches and hugs and they brought him water all the time! Everything from viewing the RVs to the orientation after purchase was excellent. I have told friends who might be in the market about our experience there and to check them out.
OK, to the extended warranty question. Unfortunately after I took my RV home the onan quit working. It would start but wouldn't stay running. I took it back to Camping world at Valencia to check the problem. It took the technicians awhile but they finally traced the trouble to a broken drive belt. They contacted the Good Sam Extended Warranty Center to check coverage. The service writer was told that the drive belt is not covered and to check paragraph 11 in my service agreement.
I have worked as a mechanic and service writer in the past and I understand why wear items such as brakes, clutches, hoses and belts are not covered. This belt, however is a internal part of the onan and really isn't accessible for maintenance unless the generator is pulled from the rig. I talked to the mechanic working on my rig to make sure there wasn't a underlying cause such as a bad tensioner or other part that caused the belt to break. After the onan was pulled, they didn't find any other problems other than the broken belt. The rig is a 2007 but I don't know how many hours are on the onan. Useful service life on serpentine belts is usually pretty high unless they are damaged by another related failure such as a tensioner bearing or idler bearing, water pump, etc.
My rig's repairs should be done by the end of this week and am looking forward to using it. I am just wondering if this isn't a repair that the extended warranty should cover. By the way, I talked to Cummins/Onan about this problem. I was told that the belt is covered, but not the labor because I am not the origional owner.
Sorry about the length of this message-I can get long-winded!
Thank you for your time-and patience.
Dear Caseydog;
I can tell you in general terms, Service Contracts (otherwise known as extended warranties) including the Good Sam Extended Service Plan you purchased from Camping World are not intended to cover maintenance items, as you mentioned, such as belts, hoses, and spark plugs. However, they should cover internal belts, like timing belts. One rule of thumb is if the item is internally lubricated, meaning that the engine would have to be torn apart to get to it, the item should be covered. If the item in question is a serpentine belt, outside the engine, it would be considered a maintenance item, even if it is difficult to get to.
I am a little confused by the answer you got from Onan, since if this generator is original equipment, would be well out of the warranty provided by the manufacturer. I wouldn't think that they would cover any problems at this point.
If you would like me to look into the specifics of your repair, I would be happy to. You can send me a private e-mail with your contact information and I will review the repair in detail to see if it was handled properly.
Scott Blanc
Vice President and General Manager
Good Sam Continued Service Plan
sblanc@goodsamfamily.com
Thanks Scott. I should clarify that the belt coverage info. was from a certified cummins-onan dealer where I live. Your explanation clears up the definition of a covered part(internal) versus a wear item. I was thinking of the belt as a internal part since the gen. must be removed to get to it.
My only concern is if I'm going to continue to have belts break or if this was an isolated problem. I appreciate your offer to verify that my repair was done properly. We did have a problem reaching the service writer or getting calls back. My wife called the salesperson and told him of the problem we were having. It so happens that the regional manager for Camping World was having a meeting at that location, and he joined in on a conference call with the salesperson, service, and my wife! I was called that afternoon by the service writer with a progress report, and I should have my rig back either this weekend or early next week. Also, the sales dept. offered to pick up half of the labor costs for the generator repair! I am very satisfied with the way Camping World stepped up to the plate and I can't say enough about everyone in the Sales dept. Thank you again!
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