We are considering buying a Vanleigh Beacon knowing Tiffin will honor the warranty and continue servicing it. But we will not always be able to travel to Red Bay Alabama and are concerned about finding other service centers to work on it. What experiences can anyone share with me?
I dont think you will have any issue finding other places to have the unit warranty serviced or post warranty. There are many RV repair facilities (not dealerships) or use of a mobile tech. Tiffin has historically been good on coverage and reimbursements for those repairs. Dealers can be a bit more challenging as they are in the business to sell and their service departments either are focused on their units to move or their customers units.
A few commonly used ones are East Valley RV Specialists in AZ, Hendersons Line in Grants Pass Oregon or Phillip Hollingsworths Family RV in Jackson CA just to name a few I see mentioned often with other owners.
One of the selling points for us with Vanleigh is they had a third party service center available in Tishomingo close to the plant and our plan was to schedule an annual appointment around our eastward travel. We are from Boise and have two service centers there we use.
Our unit is a bit of an outlier so I personally have made the trip from Idaho to Tishomingo Mississippi twice, Goshen Indiana twice, and Redbay Alabama twice and working on another in the immediate future.
Unfortunately for us we have made those trips due to the extensive issues with our unit and we are full time. During our search for other centers they couldn’t guarantee the amount of time they would have the unit due to the amount of work we needed to have completed.
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Thank you so much for your response! We spoke to Tiffin yesterday and they were great, assuring exactly what you said.
I’m sorry you have had so many issues. Would you mind telling me what Vanleigh you have and what types of issues? Thank you!
I have not used the Red Bay service yet and I hope that I can get by without needing to use them. I purchased the Beacon brand because I have heard of Tiffin’s service and care for their customers but if I can repair or solve my problems myself I will. I have very little faith in the dealer who is in Montana and the Red Bay in Alabama and I am somewhere in between. I hope that I don’t have to travel to Red Bay but I will if necessary.
Ralph
I haven’t been to the Tiffin Red Bay service center, but have been to the Tishomingo service center. I thought the Tishomingo facility performed very good work, a lot better than any RV dealer I’ve used in the past. They’re also a lot faster in getting the repairs done. I only spent 2.5 days there and had an extensive list of repairs including work on the frame and suspension.
We have a 2021 34RLB. We have had some unique issues and some quality issues. Our issues are very extensive but as stated I believe our unit is an outlier. I know of a rig that came off production around the same time as my unit and that owner has experienced typical minor RV issues and I am confident most owners are happy with their units.
Vanleigh (as did several other manufactures) had a rash of what is called “frame flex”. Vanleigh’s dated back to 2019 models that were impacted but had a rash in 21 - 23 models where the aluminum sub structure broke and at times caused the exterior fiberglass to crack. This is covered by the 3 year structural warranty if in place but something to check on a prospective unit.
We experienced frame flex, loss of camber in the steel frame, roof decking separation and extensive water penetration due to the backing not being removed on butyl during production (to name the more major issues). We have a future visit to a service center as four walls are delaminating and are slides will have to be rebuilt.
Our experience is unique. No matter which brand you purchase you might consider a third party inspector prior to purchase to help you identify any current problems.
Ralph I am guessing you purchased from Bretz RV?
Yes Ryan that is were we purchased the Beacon. Really they were very nice and treated us very well. But I just don’t have the patience for a dealer to repair it. We live full time in the Beacon and I don’t like the idea my home in a shop for extended periods of time.
So far we love the Beacon! I hope we don’t have the frame issues that others have. My major problem was the drain underneath the shower and poor water hose crimping on the manifold that I have been able to fix so far.
Ralph
I know Dave Bretz and we purchased a toyhauler from one of his Idaho locations. When we first started RV’ing Dave loaned us a 5th wheel off the lot for 5 months. There is a longer campfire story to why our Beacon didnt come from there.
We had exceptional service in Boise - I would say the same I have received from Tishomingo. The business is transitioning to his son so not sure how that has impacted things. Hopefully you dont experience any of those larger issues and I agree being handy and correcting the issues as they come is the way to go.
The dealership was as helpful and gave us a very good deal with lots effort and give on their part. I would buy again from them if I was in the area and RV shopping. But “We are saying the Beacon is going to be the last one .” I don’t plan to go back to that area for a long time but they are an excellent dealer at least to me.
Just my experience!
Ralph
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