Hi all,

You may remember I've posted here from time to time over the last
few years. To recap, my wife and I are looking for a Lance 1475
because it seems to fit our needs quite well. There is a dealer
in Indidanapolis (just over an hour away) that became a Lance
distributor a couple of years ago--but due to product woes, they
haven't been able to get any stock in. As a result, we have yet
to even be inside one of these (though we've been in a larger
Lance and really like the workmanship).

I've come across a new unit at a dealer in Medina, OH. This is
about a five hour drive for us, but we plan to make the trip so we
get a chance to see one. That's assuming it doesn't get sold
before we get over there.

If we like it, I'm wondering if it would be irresponsible to buy
it while there? I'm also wondering if it's possible to bring it
back for inspection by the dealer in Indy. I suppose as a new
unit, that's probably not important.

What about future service? I'm not going to take a trailer five
hours every time some repair or service is needed, can I presume
it'll be reasonable to use the dealer in Indy? Maybe even a more
local dealer (that doesn't carry Lance products)?

FInally, what should I be looking for regarding storage? We'll
need to rent something, what type of place should I be looking for
and what's a reasonable cost?

Thanks for any advice from more seasoned folks!

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

On Thu, 3 Nov 2022 09:25:26 -0700,
Technobarbarian <technobarbarian-ztopzpam@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/3/2022 9:05 AM, Technobarbarian wrote:
> > On 11/3/2022 8:15 AM, Ted Heise wrote:

> >> If we like it, I'm wondering if it would be irresponsible to
> >> buy it while there?? I'm also wondering if it's possible to
> >> bring it back for inspection by the dealer in Indy.? I
> >> suppose as a new unit, that's probably not important.
> >>
> >> What about future service?? I'm not going to take a trailer
> >> five hours every time some repair or service is needed, can I
> >> presume it'll be reasonable to use the dealer in Indy?? Maybe
> >> even a more local dealer (that doesn't carry Lance products)?
> >>
> >> FInally, what should I be looking for regarding storage??
> >> We'll need to rent something, what type of place should I be
> >> looking for and what's a reasonable cost?
> >>
> >> Thanks for any advice from more seasoned folks!
> >
> > ???? You should go in and talk to the local dealer about your
> > warranty issues face to face. That way you are most likely to
> > get a straight answer. Sometimes manufactures require that all
> > of their dealers provide warranty service for their products.
> > This is sometimes an issue between dealers and the company
> > because it doesn't pay well. This often results in a long wait
> > for warranty service.
> >
> > ???? It's unlikely that you will be able to get warranty
> > service from dealers who don't carry their brand. Warranty
> > service doesn't pay well in the first place and the
> > manufacturer isn't likely to pay someone they don't have an
> > established relationship with.
> >
> > ??? For inexperienced owners it really best if you have your
> > rig inspected by a technician you trust *before* you buy the
> > thing. You are in a much better bargaining position before you
> > sign the contract than you will be after. New RVs frequently
> > have problems that have been overlooked.
>
> Something I should have added. All of your major
> appliances will have their own warranty network. At one point I
> figured I was repairing more propane appliances than anyone
> else between Portland and San Francisco. One of the reasons for
> that was that the propane company I worked for had warranty
> contracts will all the major propane appliance companies. They
> did it because it brought in business. By the time they paid
> the bills they were making little or nothing on the warranty
> service. The real money was in selling propane in bulk.
>
> Anyhow, by looking at the service centers for your
> appliances you can often get warranty service at other dealers
> that way.

Thanks, TB. We don't have any warranty issues, but I think I get
the general point. The rest all makes sense, though I don't know
any technicians so none trusted.

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

On Sat, 5 Nov 2022 09:43:06 -0700,
Technobarbarian <technobarbarian-ztopzpam@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 11/5/2022 5:50 AM, Ted Heise wrote:
> > On Thu, 3 Nov 2022 09:25:26 -0700,
> > Technobarbarian <technobarbarian-ztopzpam@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On 11/3/2022 9:05 AM, Technobarbarian wrote:
> >>> On 11/3/2022 8:15 AM, Ted Heise wrote:

> > Thanks, TB. We don't have any warranty issues, but I think I
> > get the general point. The rest all makes sense, though I
> > don't know any technicians so none trusted.
>
> In that case I would look for someone who doesn't have a
> financial interest in your transaction. You might try looking
> at the shops that do the warranty work for your appliances. The
> companies who make those appliances monitor their warranty
> network and try to make sure that they're getting what they're
> paying for.
>
> Just about any major shop will try to do a competent
> inspection for you because they don't want you coming back and
> suing them over what was a very minor transaction for them, if
> they miss something obvious.
>
> One of the things you should be prepared for is that some
> problems don't show up until after you start using the thing.
> For example, I had more than one furnace come in for warranty
> work because some idiot at the factory had run the electrical
> wires under the furnace. After it has been on the road for
> awhile the furnace can start shorting those wires. That wasn't
> covered under the appliance warranty and those customers had to
> go back to the dealer to be reimbursed for the work we had
> done.

Thanks for the additional suggestions.

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

On Sat, 5 Nov 2022 13:33:41 -0700,
Technobarbarian <technobarbarian-ztopzpam@gmail.com> wrote:

> At some point you have to fire up the furnace and see
> what happens. We had the door open because we were working in
> and out of the thing. I didn't find the problem until I
> scorched the door. They had built the thing so that when you
> latched the door open the furnace vent was blowing directly
> onto the middle of the door. Eventually a lady from the factory
> showed up to take a look at the thing for herself.

Reminds me of the time my dad hauled my expensive bicycle on a
cheap trunk rack on the back of his car. We arrived to his place
to find one of the tires melted off the rim. It had been hanging
directly in front of the tail pipe. Doh!

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA