Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: biglegmax on November 28, 2017, 08:51:10 pm
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We are considering NOT picking our new unit up at the factory. We are about 2100 miles away. Just wondering if any of you have had one delivered by drivers, or put on a transport? Any thoughts?
Doug
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I believe at one time Phoenix would arrange transport, not sure if they still do but worth asking.
How much are you willing to pay? I'll fly back and drive it to you. :)
When we were in Elkhart I saw many independent delivery services hauling RVs out from the factories, so I doubt it would be hard to find someone, how much they charge is the question.
We live about 2,500 miles away and flew in to pick our rig up. First motor home, first time ever camping. I wish we had had a camera crew, we could have made a great movie. An experience I definitely do not want to repeat but would not have missed for the world. We did a lot of pre-planning, had lists for our lists and it still went sideways more often than not. But we got home, learned far more about the rig than we would have in months at home and had an absolutely great time. Only regret was we had to rush back to get to work before vacation expired so we were pushing 500 miles per day. Still got home a day late but would do it again in a heartbeat.
And don't forget to sign up for the Phoenix Cruiser Travel Club once you get your paperwork. Phoenix picks up the dues for the first year and the application should be in your rig's binder.
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Hi Doug, as inconvenient as driving it 2100 miles home would be, we found that staying in the P.C. parking lot overnight was time extremely well spent. Testing and familiarizing ourselves with the rig,
and then asking and getting answers was invaluable. A couple small issues, including a quick trip to HWH down the street for tweaking, were taken care of immediately. A second night was offered, but we
were satisfied. All the employees were unbelievably helpful. Water in the tank and 30 amp power is provided to " camp " in their lot.
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Good point @Jimmer! There is no substitute for getting the full walk through at the factory and having them adjust the odds and ends that need it. No one is going to be able to explain how the coach works better than the guys that built it.
We stayed at a near by camp ground the first night and went back to the factory with our punch list the following morning. Wish we had stayed over two nights as we found a few more minor things later on but time was tight and we had to get moving.
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Delivery for us worked great. It cost $1800 and was actually less expensive for us then going to the factory and driving home. We had our PC delivered to Montana last Dec.17 by Kermit's son. He also did a great job educating us about coach features. Also the weather was horrible last year when delivered.
My only concern- the past owners were great fixing warranty issues immediately.
Now coming up on owning our PC for a year we have been trying for the last two months to get more issues fixed.
The new management has been horrible with their lack of communication and response!
Dave
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Dave R, try emailing Dave Ponsler at Phoenix. As I understand it he is now in charge of all service inquiries. He has been very responsive to my issues. DPonsler@phoenixusarv.com
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Delivery was in house person and someone familiar with the unit. Mostly Kermits son. How it is handled now will have to be determined to see if you feel at ease with the changes that are sure to come. Price varies by distance. When we were at the red roof Inn we shared the place with many RV travel trailer delivery folks. Constantly on the move. But they were not part of the PC delivery group which was not a publicly outsourced group. We drove up with our tow car and dog and stayed till our unit was ready. We had a need for accurate information which was not available by e mail. Long story. Old news now.
Showing up gets you info you need and your drive out may show you early on if you have anything to be addressed. It's all a learning experience.
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Thanks for all the feedback. I get the feeling that there is no more in house delivery. That would have been a good option to have someone well versed with the unit and able to give you a factory like introduction upon arrival. The coach systems don't scare me much, but the idea of buying a NEW unit and not having it function properly due to poor quality control would not make me very happy(maybe POSTAL would be a better word). If we don't pick it up ourselves I will most likely have an independent RV inspection service take a look and make recommendations before it leaves Elkhart.
I'm still waiting for truck transport information, hopefully someone has gone this route before and will comment.
Doug
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I get the feeling that there is no more in house delivery. That would have been a good option to have
Have you asked the factory about getting it delivered?
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Kermits son was delivering units for the past several years. Don't know if he still does it after the buyout or not. We have purchased two new units and have always picked up at the factory. On one, we had paint problems and PC put us up in a nearby motel (free) while the problems was taken care of. And it always fun to wander around the factory looking at units under construction.
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Yes I have asked. They have made it clear that the drivers are not employed by Phoenix, they will line drivers up though. The truck transport info is still coming. I'm doing my own research, I have friends who transport vehicles across the country a lot, it sounds like its no big deal, we will see.
Doug
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Like others had mentioned, Kermit's son often did the deliveries. I heard he would often tow his own vehicle for the return trip.
I have never seen a motor home on a flat bed truck, not sure it is even possible without the use of a loading dock. I would be very concerned of the on/off approach if using a ramp, dragging the back of the PC getting it on the flat bed. For that reason along with all the other good reasons mentioned by other replies, I strongly vote for flying out to Phoenix and driving the rig home yourself. Or have jatrax do it for you. Or someone else you trust.
Heck, depending on the month, even I might be interested. I live 3 hours from the factory. I'd have to rent a car to get there, drive your rig home to you, then fly home to O'Hare airport. Being semi-retired now, I might be available and interested depending on the $.
Ron Dittmer
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I have never seen a motor home on a flat bed truck
Ron, that is how how the LTV units are delivered to our local dealer. Of course they are on Sprinters so maybe a little lighter. I am not sure how they get them off, I've seen them in the parking lot on the flat bed but never stopped to watch. I was told they can only order (or receive) in lots of two as that is how many go on a truck.
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I was quoted 1.25 per mile by Earl about 8 months ago.
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I was quoted 1.25 per mile by Earl about 8 months ago.
I assume you means 1.25 dollars per mile. 2200 miles = $2750
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As of today Phoenix is quoting $1.25 per mile, for a delivery driver driving your coach and towing his return car. Again this is not an employee of Phoenix.
Doug
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2,200 miles out @ 10 miles to the gallon and $3.00 gas = $660
2,200 miles back @ 20 miles to the gallon and $3.00 gas = $330
4 days out and 4 days back @ 10 hours per day = 80 hours x $15?? $1,200??
Food and hotel assuming they are not sleeping on your rig ????? $700??
Total = $2,890. Pretty close to the quote. I wouldn't do it for less. 500 miles per day is brutal.
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Yep, doing the math makes the offer to deliver questionable. Now if you could use it as an opportunity to visit family and such, that would surely be different.
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I have never felt the milage rate is out of line. The concerns I have are towing with a new motor, I don't know what Ford specs say, we just bought a new Toyota and are not suppose to tow for the first either 500 or 1000 miles,can't remember which, but I suppose this could be used against you in a warranty situation. The other concern is getting a driver who has little respect for your coach, in other words just two speeds. I'm still weighing all options.
Doug
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I would highly recommend you pick it up yourself at the factory. I picked up a unit in October and everyone was great. However, there were things that needed to be fixed and if someone would have delivered it to me in Nebraska.... I would have been doing the repairs or had to go find someone to get it done for me.
I learned so much about the process of building and met a lot of the workers as I stayed overnight at the plant. I had a few items to have repaired in the morning and was out the door by 10 a.m.
Great experience and I am so glad i did not have it delivered.
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I just wanted to do a follow up. We had our 2350 put on a flatbed and shipped. It took about three weeks to finally coordinate a full load headed in our direction. A 2350 qualified as a partial load, so they had to wait for the rest of the load. It ended up being about $1.65 per mile. I thought that was more than fair. A driver towing his return vehicle was $1.25 per mile. So our coach showed up with no additional mileage, no crazy drivers, on time, with no hassle. I want to say EARL went out of his way to show up on a weekend to get it loaded, and communicate with everyone. Thanks EARL!
Doug
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Glad it all worked out for you, Doug. Hopefully no problems with it and it's "all good" from here on out. Thanks for letting us know.
jim
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We flew to Chicago (flyer miles so no cost), drove to Elkhart and picked up our new 2552 the first of March, spent one night on-site (no punch list repairs to fix), then drove home. We could tell the delivery drivers on the north Indiana roads because they flew by us. I am not judging them for speed, they are trying to make a profit. I would not have wanted my new vehicle with 50 miles on it driven like that with a toad.
On the flip side, I met another customer at the factory that was arranging for his delivery. He had no vacation to spare, lived several states away, and was okay with paying someone else to drive it home for him.
The shipping is an interesting option as it places no miles on the chassis but as the poster said it took three weeks to schedule.
When one has no options, the current path is the best!
Steve
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The shipping is an interesting option as it places no miles on the chassis
It surprised me to read that biglegmax had his PC delivered on a flat bed. I never read anyone else having their PC delivered that way before. I understood delivery was done by the PC being driven to the person's house, often towing a vehicle for the driver to get back home. This being done across many states. Historically is was Kermit's son doing deliveries that way. Maybe now under new ownership, delivery is handled differently.
If considering delivery, make sure you understand the details on how it will work.
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I want to clarify my post above. I commissioned the brokers to put the transport together, this had nothing to do with Phoenix.
Before Kyle left he gave a quote for a full load, in other words my coach was the only load on the flatbed. At that time it was about $2.50/mile. The 2350 model allowed some room on the flat bed for other cargo, being a partial load effectively shared the cost with the other load.
Hiring drivers to drive your coach, towing there return vehicles, seems to be the RV norm.
After just spending too much energy fighting a premature transmission failure in a passenger car I did not want to leave myself wide open in a possible warranty battle with Ford. And wanted the vehicle to be handled with respect.
Passenger car tranny $8000, give the manufacturer any reason to not warranty and they will shove it down your throat.
My good friend and a lawyer has always said Disclaimers and Warranties should be printed on toilet paper, at least you will get some use out of them.....
If anyone wants the name of the transport broker send me a PM, I was happy with the results.
Doug
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I have never felt the milage rate is out of line. The concerns I have are towing with a new motor, I don't know what Ford specs say, we just bought a new Toyota and are not suppose to tow for the first either 500 or 1000 miles,can't remember which, but I suppose this could be used against you in a warranty situation. The other concern is getting a driver who has little respect for your coach, in other words just two speeds. I'm still weighing all options.
Doug
Most motor homes bought at a dealer are delivered by driver picked up at factory...how Ford would determine if it was broken in properly is darn near impossible. Having said that, we picked ours up at the factory and wouldn’t do it again...not much to gain from 4200 miles of driving.
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not much to gain from 4200 miles of driving.
We put 4,700 miles on our new coach from the factory to home. First RV, first camping experience. Honestly, we had the time of our lives. It definitely did not all go well and the story is amusing if long. But would do it again in a heartbeat. We learned so much about both the coach and ourselves. And we were still married when we got home! roflol