Phoenix After Sales Support

Posting this a bit late because of trouble logging into the forum this past week (which Aimee and her team helped with tremendously!). 

I wanted to put something on the forum for the record regarding Phoenix's after-sales support.  I had my rig into their shop last Friday so they could take care of fixing things that went awry over the past year.  They did a fantastic job.  Bob took three hours working on everything from my house door handle/lock, which broke the previous week and needed to be replaced, to trying to diagnose an odd electrical hookup problem I've been having.  We weren't able to figure out the electrical problem (mostly because we could not replicate the problem while in the shop--things decided to behave!), but I have a workaround so it's not going to be an issue.  He also checked my roof and resealed the seams, fixed the hinge on the drop-leaf table (that is built into the bottom section of the closet behind the passenger seat), checked the plumbing, provided me with equipment and instructions on how to bypass the built-in SurgeGuard should that ever be necessary, and gave me a fresh supply of those cabinet latches that seem to only last so long.

For anyone considering buying a Phoenix, or anyone who has one but isn't aware of this, once you are out of your warranty period, the shop is happy to continue to work on your rig at a super reasonable rate ($50/hour).  I've found many RV shops easily charge double that, and do not have the same level of expertise and knowledge that we can get from Phoenix itself.

Bottom line, it's pretty great when you drive out from the factory with a lovely, quality-built RV.  It's even more awesome when you can drive back in and be treated with the kind of respect, care, and competency found at PhoenixUSA!

Hear! Hear! We have had the same experience with Phoenix. We have also talked to many owners of other brands of RV and while I am sure that there are other manufacturers out there with good service records, none of the stories we've heard have come close to describing the service and quality we get at Phoenix.

Another point is that many RV owners told me that they are constantly fixing things "but that is what being an RV owner means, something is always breaking". They seem to think a constant cash bleed and life at service centers is part of the deal. Once we got past the initial items that needed fixing, we haven't had hardly any problems (and most of those were user error). Sure, there is a certain level of maintenance due to the large number of mechanical items woven together into one unit, but not the "consistently falling apart" issues some other people talk apart. I feel kinda bad during these conversations. They are looking to commiserate with another "poor RV owner" but we can't relate. Strapping things back together and finding service centers on the road seems to be their hobby. Our hobbies are hiking, touring, lounging and reading... and replacing one or two of those stupid door latches every so many months. They definitely have a finite life span and opening and closing them a couple hundred times sort of helps them along. Of course I keep the spares and a little screwdriver in a baggie so after my 5 minute repair job, we are off to play again. We love our Phoenix!

Oh yes, most certainly, Phoenix is one great company to buy a rig from.

The reason why motor homes in-general require so much fixin all the time is because they are houses dealing with massive earthquaking all the time.  It's hard to keep it all together.  Phoenix units stays together better than the typical but I don't believe there is a rig out there that can withstand the punishment completely unless the chassis has a puffy-soft air-ride suspension, and the owner puts very few miles on it.

As strange as it sounds, the way to soften the ride of your PC to keep it together best is to load each axle to capacity, and set the air in the tires to that load.  Or.....take it to a specialty shop and have them install a full air ride suspension at a whopping price tag.  They replace the rear leaf springs with something completely different.  And that is something I would not do with our PC.

It is always good practice to go around and tighten all the screws just before or after a long trip.  I find that the face of our microwave oven loosens up most.  Once it's tight again, lots of rattling noises go away.

I suggest to buy a nice dedicated square head screwdriver at any home improvement center and keep it in your RV tool box so it is always with you.

I am curious....What do the rest of you need to tighten back up most often?

Ron Dittmer:  I am curious....What do the rest of you need to tighten back up most often?

reply:  ... the cabinet door latch to the wine cellar.  

I wish I could say I had the same experience as everyone else. late last summer we where near Elkhart visiting a friend. And being a Saterday I didn't expect anybody would be working but left a message about replacing the luggage rack on the roof of our 2350. I never heard back from anybody the next week while we where out there. I've been checking rv junk yards that we come across in our travels maybe someday I'll find a rack and ladder  that will fit our rig. Or if we are near Elkhart in the future I will try calling again.

I believe they shut down for a week or two in the summer so employees get a vacation. It's possible you hit that week, but I'm surprised you didn't get a call back once they returned. Definitely give it another go. If you know you are going to be there at a certain time, call before hand so they can schedule you in. While they are very accommodating of short notice service, I know we've messed up their schedule by doing that - but they managed to fit us in and take care of everything anyway.

Making that "Honey Do" list mentioned elsewhere is also a good plan. There are lots of little things that we break or want to add that they can handle all in one appointment IF we have them on the list. Sending the list in advance helps since they can get any parts that they may not have in stock.

If you are a "Do It Yourself" kind of person, Phoenix ships parts quickly. We broke our door thingy (the hydraulic type tube thing that keeps the door from slamming open - cannot handle gale force wind - knew that, forgot, broke it). One phone call and a couple days later and we had a new door thingy with instructions for installing it. We sent Carol pictures of what we had and how it attached and she matched it perfectly. You might want to give her a call and see if she can ship a new ladder and roof rack.

Joe R,

I agree with 2 frazzled.  I would call the main number at 574-266-2020, get a quote, and setup a visit.

I would sell you my brand new 9 year old roof rack and ladder (never installed) for mine just take up space in my basement.  But then you will need to install them yourself.  I think you will do so much better buying the rack & ladder from the factory and have them install everything properly for you.  The factory will charge a reasonable price and do the job properly.