Two days ago, I received an e-mail from the dealer where we bought our Roadtrek Class B van - they were just letting us know that if we have any questions or concerns with the new van that we purchased one month ago, we should contact them, and they hope we are enjoying the Roadtrek.
Last night, on the Roadtrek group I belong to on Facebook, someone posted that LaMesa RV was no longer a Roadtrek dealer, could no longer get parts from Roadtrek, and could not do warranty service work on Roadtreks! Checking the Roadtrek website, LaMesa has been removed from their "Dealer List." A couple people who had service appointments at different LaMesa outlets received a call, telling them that their appointment had been cancelled.
No idea what happened for this fast divide. LaMesa is a big RV dealer, with a dozen or so large dealerships around the country... Roadtrek was just one of the many lines they carry. They won't likely notice Roadtrek disappearing from their lots. Roadtrek, on the other hand, is a relatively small RV manufacturer, located in Canada. I have no inside information regarding their operation, but I've read that they make about 600 units a year; by any measure, that is a small RV operation. Roadtrek will feel the loss of LaMesa more than LaMesa would feel the loss of Roadtrek.
For those of us who own a Roadtrek, this is a loss. There are two LaMesa dealerships in the Phoenix area, and the local service played a part in our purchase decision. Now, to be fair, LaMesa doesn't have a stellar reputation for their service department... but, now, the next closest Roadtrek dealer service is in Las Vegas, over 300 miles away... IF that dealer will take on warranty service for a rig they didn't sell (RV dealer service is not the same as car manufacturer/dealer service).
We didn't need dealer service for our Aspect, after the initial shakedown service appointment... which was at LaMesa in Tucson, and they were downright worthless. We went to Winnebago (in Iowa) a couple times for service (and the hail repair). I'm really hoping there won't be a need to go to Canada with this Roadtrek. Each component in the Roadtrek is covered by a separate manufacturer warranty (fridge, air conditioner, water heater, lithium batteries, etc, etc) - a big dealer like LaMesa is also a service center for those different components. But, without the Roadtrek connection, that may not continue to be the case.
So, we'll see how this shakes out. No issues with the limited use we've given the van. Rather than take the van to LaMesa to see if there was anything they could do about the rattle we had with the window blinds, we just took the wall panel off and handled it ourselves; I really didn't want to go to LaMesa for what I consider a minor issue. RV dealers will usually tell you to "Drop it off and we'll look at it as soon as we can and get back to you." Could be a few days, could be weeks or even months. We have made it a point to avoid those situations.
It will be good to know what our options are, though. I'm guessing there will be more on this situation in that Roadtrek owners' group in the coming days.
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A sad note...
The female grizzly bear known as 399 was killed when hit by a car. We saw 399 and cubs several times when working in the Grand Teton National Park. She was known for having multiple cubs, having given birth to 18 cubs over her 28 years. She was well known ("Queen of the Tetons") and a "399 sighting" was a big deal for guests visiting the Tetons. RIP.
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