I ran into a, shall we say agravating, problem getting some after market stabilizers put on my 5th wheel. I pulled into Camping World in Albuquerque with an appointment at 1:30 P.M. one day and after an interesting afternoon, I'm not sure you can put on the ultra fabs or JT's on my trailer.
I'll try not to be too long, but this is worth repeating.
They ask me if I could get there earlier than the appointment, so I broke camp in Colorado at 6 a.m. and got to albuquerque CW at 11:58 a.m. I was then told it would be 1 p.m. before they could get to me. Oh well, my appointment at 1:30.
I left them my cell phone number and went to explore the town until 2:15 p.m. On my return I was told that they were backed up and it would be another 30 minutes before they could get to my unit and it would take about one and a half hours to do the job, so I left again.
At 4:30 p.m. I returned to find my unit in the back and a Tech telling me he couldn't put them on because I had an enclosed underbelly. (its a very thin metal sheeting). He said it would take about two hours to take off the covering and another three to do the job, so it couldn't be done.
I asked why they didn't call me sooner, so I could be on my way. No answer, but they couldn't do the job. I wrote to customer service at CW headquarters and asked the same questions, including, "could they have done the job if they had taken me in at my appointed time?"
That's been over a week ago and I still don't have any contact from Campging World. I guess a President's Club member for 8 years doesn't rank very high.
My question is now, can these stabilizers be put on my trailer and if so, does the underbelly have to be taken off?
I think I'm looking at the Winfield variety, if they can do the same job.
River Canyon, 34RLQSO
F-350, V-10, 4.30LS
Trailair pinbox & suspension
USN & 'Nam Vet
I wouldn't see why they can't. Worst case just to lower the under belly right at the spot you need to attach the bracket. Trim the pan where the bracket goes (1-1/2" x 2-1/2" area). The brackets attach by drilling and self tapping bolts/screws. They don't even have to get a nut on the back as far as I know. The hardest part is usually the back where you may need a crossbrace. But I'm sure that could wait until later where you could arrange ahead of time to have the material. At least the front bars would be a big step forward.
CHV_FRK wrote: ........ The hardest part is usually the back where you may need a crossbrace. But I'm sure that could wait until later where you could arrange ahead of time to have the material. At least the front bars would be a big step forward.
I have swing down rear stabilizers instead of scissor jacks, would I still need a cross brace?
Call JT's direct and talk to the owners that developed their system. They will be glad to discuss your application with you. They are a great bunch of people to work with.
They also have some drawings on their site that may help you in determining what needs to be done to install them.
Next time, forget any Camping World for doing any type of repairs. Any local Welding/Hitch shop can do just about any type of repair, or Mods or add-on's to any RV. So can most small RV Parts Stores, that also have a repair shop as well. And there rates sure as heck are a lot cheaper than Camping Worlds. At least you learned a good lesson about Camping World. They can't be trusted to do anything correctly. And they are never on time, and most jobs they do, have to be re-done anyways do to poor quality of workmanship. Most workers in any Camping World Shop, are not RV Techs in the first place. Your very lucky if they even have one real tech on hand to tell the begging repair people what to do, as they don't have a clue as to what they are doing. Another great money saver, is to learn to do all of your own work on your RV's. As there is nothing that is that hard to repair, or to replace yourself. Do yourself a favor, and do a search on this forum about all the horror stories about Camping World repairs done, and the problems RV owners have had to put up with. So far in the 40+ years as Campers/RV'er's, there hasn't been anything yet, that I couldn't fix or replace myself. Most RV repairs is nothing more than some good old fashioned common sense. And if you can use a Multi-Meter, than you have half of the repairs already under control. Its pretty bad, for building good customer service, when Camping World even charges to put air in your RV tires. Good Luck. Happy Camping, Dan & Jill
1997 Ford F-250, H.D. Extended-Cab, Short Bed, 7.3 PSD, K&N Air Filter, 5000 lbs air bags w/on board compressor w/guage, SuperChips Tuner/Programer. 1996 Nash 24fter 5er, 15K "Lil" Rocker Hitch w/BedSaver, Twin EU2000i Gen's W/Kit. Nam-Vet, 33 Months.
Your first mistake was coming to Albuquerque, NM, for RV service. For anyone reading this thread, if you can EVER possibly avoid using ANY RV DEALER in Albuquerque, NM, do it. They are all absolutely worthless. I had heard that Albuquerque's CW had a good reputation for service and after researching them, and talking to friends that bought RV's from them, I found that to be a myth. There's not a single RV dealer in Albuquerque, NM, that I would recommend for service. I am very sorry you wasted time and money to make a special trip here. If you had posted something before hand maybe I could have saved you the trip. The RV companies here should be embarrassed to be in business. I had some work done on my rig at Aloha RV, here in Albuquerque, NM, and needless to say, I had to clean up the mess they made. If possible, I do everything myself now.
If I had the money, I would open an RV repair shop here. I'd hire good tech's (that are actually tech's and not just labeling themselves as such) and pay them decent wages. The prices would be fair and the work would be done right the first time. There would be no cutting corners. You'd make a mint here because we have no such RV service in the first place.....
I just installed ultra-fab stabilizers on my toy hauler yesterday. I do have an enclosed under belly. You do not have to remove the material that encloses the bottom. They give you enough materials to install the stabilizers with or without the bottom being enclosed. oh yeah the jt's arm the same way also. I had ordered jt's but they were back ordered for over a month so I canceled my order and got the ultra-fab units. They are the same as the jt's. If you have a drill and ratchet set you can install them by yourself with just a few hours of work. The hardest part is getting in under and back out from in under the trailer as much as you have to by yourself for parts.The ultra-fab units also fit the swing down rear stabilizers. They really make the trailer rock solid.
Good Sam Life member
GWRRA member
NRA Life member
2002 F350 Lariat SC 4x4 PSD 6 speed,
2008 Goldwing GL 1800/2008 CSC trike conversion
2008 KZ Sportsmen Sportster 35'
Retired and loving it.
tbax46 wrote: I left them my cell phone number and went to explore the town until 2:15 p.m. At 4:30 p.m. I returned to find my unit in the back and a Tech telling me he couldn't put them on. I wrote to customer service at CW headquarters and asked the same questions, including, "could they have done the job if they had taken me in at my appointed time?" That's been over a week ago and I still don't have any contact from Campging World. I guess a President's Club member for 8 years doesn't rank very high.
Don't expect any help from these so called "tech's" employed by CW. They should all be arrested for taking money from CW and CW's so called "service area's" should all be shut down for having non-qualified gomers like that working there. I wouldnt let most "rv tech's" mow my yard. For truely hard working, properly educated, honest tech's that might read this, I feel bad for you getting a bad rap from people hiring these idiots.
My buddy purchased a $108k motor home from Albuquerque's CW last year. He also purchased a $5k five year extended warranty (yes I know). Anyway, to make a long story short, he has the self leveling hydraulics and was in Jemez, NM, last week and they failed. They were extended and would not retract. His rig was off the ground. He tried several times, and failed, to get someone from Albuquerque's CW on the phone that knew what they were doing. He finally had to borrow his brother-in-laws truck to drive back to Albuquerque and speak to someone at CW. Their answer to the problem, "have it towed". His reply, "HAVE IT TOWED!!!?, IT"S OFF THE GROUND!!!, HOW DO YOU SUGGEST I DO THAT????." He had already tried by-passing the hydraulics and everything else the "troubleshooting manuel" said to do. Nothing worked. CW's reply, hmmmmm, never heard of that happening. Don't know what to tell you. He finally got underneath and after several hours was able to slowly pry the jacks up. His rig is now at CW in Albuquerque and I told him not to be suprised when they send it back to the factory for the repair.....
Ken
* This post was
edited 08/08/08 05:47pm by KSadler1 *
Offline
