1st Choice RV in Goshen Indiana.  They will make your RV all it can be and more!

It’s an age-old story, you purchase an RV and then you create a punch list.  This is a list of things that need to be taken care of by the dealership; and typically this is where all the problems begin.  Your RV sits at the dealership while they try to figure out how to repair and/or get authorization to repair it.  Most of the time this becomes a back and forth between the dealership and the manufacturer.  You wait as the dealership gets pre-authorization, parts ordered; and then you wait for a service appointment.

Meanwhile you are without your travel trailer and the camping season slips away.  When you finally get your RV back – it’s all to often a disappointment; either it wasn’t fixed correctly or they tell you that there is no fix for the issue.  We’ve seen this time and again over the years;  most recently on our Imagine Travel Trailer.

1st Choice RV

1st Choice RV

One thing that was really a source of frustration for us was the entry door and screen door. The two doors never matched up correctly to latch together.  In addition the deadbolt in the door would not fully engage.  The dealership looked at it after it sat there for a few weeks and then they called and told us it just couldn’t be fixed, so they didn’t even try.  They explained that any fix they could think to apply would make matters worse.

This is the problem with the RV industry today…they just do not know how to repair RV’s, they just know how to sell them.

After expressing my frustration to the Manufacturer, they told me about 1st Choice RV in Goshen Indiana (Since I mentioned I would be there to take a factory tour).  So I reached out to Connie, and told her about my issues and we scheduled an appointment months in advance.   I kept in touch with Connie as other issues popped up over the summer and added them to our list.  In addition,  I added a suspension upgrade so I shipped the parts directly to 1st Choice RV.

Now, having had so many bad experiences with RV Dealerships I had no idea how long it would take to complete our punch list.  We rolled into their lot on a Tuesday afternoon (forgetting that we would lose an hour as we entered the eastern time zone).   Connie told us to back the rig up, hook up to the water and electric;  and they would get together with us first thing the next morning.  1st Choice RV is a full service shop, one look inside and you can see that these folks do everything.  I can see trailers being totally rebuilt, walls and slides are being repaired; it was quite amazing.

The Service Manager Bert met with us right away the next morning.  Together we reviewed the large punch list.  As we walk through the trailer Bert finds additional items to repair, like loose trim strips; and Bert adds these items to our list.

In order to give 1st choice RV access to the trailer we decide to leave for the day.  We load the girls in the back of the truck, stop for breakfast; and then at 2:00 PM take the factory Grand Design Factory tour.  When we returned, amazingly everything had been completed on our punch list.  In addition they had ordered a fireplace to be delivered the next day to replace the existing one since the thermostat was not working.

All of this work would have taken months at our dealership…and even then the repairs would have been substandard.  These repairs are first-rate. Now the door and screen operate as they were designed to function;  and the deadbolt engages completely.  Our trailer now looks and acts like a new trailer.  Just as it should have when it left the manufacturing plant.

Now this is where fate takes over.  The next morning at 1:00 AM we awake to loud beeping.  It shocks us and upsets the dogs. Going out into the living room I locate the source of the sound; the Propane alarm.   Since it is the propane alarm going off I assume at first that we had a propane leak.  Then I see the code indicating that we have an electrical fault.   So, to stop the beeping I cut the 12 volt power to the trailer.

After googling our issue, it seemed almost certain that we had a converter issue.  This wasn’t the end of the world, but it did mean that there would be no furnace; and it was cold.  We turned on the fireplace, and we went back to sleep.

I was waiting at the bay door as the service crew arrives at 6:30 AM.  After finding Bert I give him a run-down of the new problem.  At 7:00 AM, their electrical technician Adam is installing a brand new converter.  Had this happened on the road who knows what would have happened; or how long we might have been stranded somewhere.

In the 30 years of owning travel trailers, we have never come across a place this great.  If by chance you’re in the area and have a problem with your travel trailer, this is the only place to go.  We are so sold on 1st choice that we would drive the 900 plus miles just to make sure the job is done right.

To visit 1st Choice RV on their website click here.

To read the final chapter in this trip click here.