Ongoing RV and RV parts shortage?

The parts store manager at our local Winnebago, Thor, and Forrest  River dealer just told me that they still can’t get common RV parts because the distributors are struggling to supply the coach builders and Camping World  first.  The dealership  still has no new class A, B, or C’s to sell  because they are sitting at the factories waiting for air conditioners.

I’m guessing it’s only going to get worse  since it looks like more lockdowns are coming. Good luck if you have a new rig on order, or are planning a winter project to get ready for 2021.

It took 3 months for the repair shop to get marker lights and just the shroud for the a/c unit  that were damaged from hail in the beginning of June.   

There’s a dealer just a few miles from me.  They carry class A, C , super C and 5th wheel. Mostly I see class A on their lot.  The place is so jammed full that they even have units parked in the aisles. Maybe their just too high priced?

I just checked Amazon and they have a few diff brands snd models of ac units in stock like the low profile penguin. All with delivery within a week. Some in less than that.

I’ve been trying to find a highly rated upholster to redo our front seats. No one with any good ratings would do it. All said just go buy new seats as it would cost too much to rebuild. Kept searching and found a dealer who is retiring due to flex steel shutting down and the pandemic. Selling off his inventory. I picked up a new set of flex steel seats for 800 all in. Thankfully not in faux leather.

My nacerator was also failing and I picked up a new unit on Amazon on sale for $29.   Been using it for some time and it works flawlessly. So much so I picked up another as a spare. Funny thing is the unit itself and label reads the same as the previous one that cost several times more.  I’m guessing they all come off the same line for the most part.

And after I left the above, I got a call from the repair shop, my RV is now 100% done.    So... Hailstorm was June 4th, took it to shop in middle of June, just got it back today (we did take it on a 3 week trip in the middle while they were waiting for parts).  So.. Mid June to July, August, September, October and mid November.   5 months to get the hail damage fixed and it wasn't that extensive, most of that time was waiting for parts!

So they made you wait 3 months to get a shroud you can get on Amazon in 2 days? 

My macerator was also failing and I picked up a new unit on Amazon on sale for $29.   Been using it for some time and it works flawlessly. So much so I picked up another as a spare. Funny thing is the unit itself and label reads the same as the previous one that cost several times more.  I’m guessing they all come off the same line for the most part.

Could you provide a link to that $29 macerator?  For that price I am tempted to buy a spare.

Joseph,
Oh, they had a lot of other work to do, like replace the roof, fill and finish dents, replace the TV antenna head, replace a roof vent and the shower bubble, get a new slide topper with an aluminum cover, etc.

They got the a/c shroud about mid September just before I took it for a 3 week trip.  It wasn't available from any RV parts wholesaler even Dometic for quite a while.   It:s the Penguin 2 low profile shroud.   The replacement slide topper got there the day we left in mid-Sept.  When we got back in late October, we had a cold snap and they spent 2 weeks winterizing the RV's they had at the shop.  I had already winterized mine.

......fill and finish dents.....

Ouch!  There is a dent-removal process that does not require filling and painting.  They simply push from behind with special shaped tools and adjust from the front, an art form for sure, but it's cheap, permanent, and no paintwork.

I use that mobile service on cars I flip.  The guy comes to the house and removes every ding and crease in the body so the car is back like new, and at a price of only $300.  The key is polishing the car to perfection prior to his arrival because he works off the reflections.  He prefers working in my garage using his own light source strategically placed for ideal reflection.

Don, wow that must have been one He$$ of a hail storm!

Don, wow that must have been one He$$ of a hail storm!

It was!

Don, ok now your just showing off!   

Kidding aside, I can see how that would do a lot of serious damage. Did it take your windshield as well?

The hail was part of that "derecho"  (a new word we learned the hard way) that was approx. 700 miles long.  We were lucky in that the windshield  wasn't facing the storm.  It did break the mirrors.  We were able to duct tape them up enough to get home.  Many others weren't as fortunate.

The hailstone above was after three hours, still solid ice.  Most were between golfball and tennis ball size.  The hail that was baseball to softball sized was made up of smaller stones so somewhat less damaging.  I was in the living area and ice cubes were breaking up across the floor.  It came thru the bathroom vent cover.  Being from Colorado, I've seen a lot of hail but nothing like that.  Nobody at the campground was hurt and everything was fixed (plus we added some upgrades) .  I heard that Iowa lost most of their crops from this storm.

Patti

Ron , no doubt I grew up where we lost our entire crop to hail and it wasn’t anything that large just a lot of it.