What Is An Ambassador?

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by Bud

I'm not on facebook. Someone on the fb 'Ambassador' forum might want to tests the 'waters' with this video:
Bud

Either LTV is a seriously flawed company or something else is going on.

Shower Broke
LTV is in Canada and has an active production line. How can LTV not have the shower part she needs at the factory? It seems insane. It is not as if LTV has 50/60 different models in production. The model she owns is still in production.

Say what you will about Winnebago, but this would never happen.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

Either LTV is a seriously flawed company or something else is going on.

Shower Broke
LTV is in Canada and has an active production line. How can LTV not have the shower part she needs at the factory? It seems insane. It is not as if LTV has 50/60 different models in production. The model she owns is still in production.

Say what you will about Winnebago, but this would never happen.

Her issues, including picking the wrong floorplan for what she needs, seem to include a lot of personal preference issues. The customer service problems seem to be a big anomaly given the overwhelming positive reviews of LTV. Not sure what to make of her experience with LTV?

[Rdean925]

Originally Posted by TerrierTude

I'm still surprised they don't reach out to Robin at Creativity RV. She's one of the most engaging RV YouTubers out there with really good, well presented content. She's fulltiming in an LTV.

Robin doesn’t have her Unity LTV anymore.
She will be posting in her next video what she traded her LTV in for.

https://youtu.be/kCVe81Wc9fo

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Rdean925

Robin doesn’t have her Unity LTV anymore.
She will be posting in her next video what she traded her LTV in for.

https://youtu.be/kCVe81Wc9fo

It will be interesting to see what she got to replace the LTV...

[Rdean925]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

It will be interesting to see what she got to replace the LTV...

She mentions not made in Canada, but the US

[B Eventually]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

It will be interesting to see what she got to replace the LTV...

If she's planning on not having problems, she probably shouldn't have traded it in for another mass produced RV.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Her issues, including picking the wrong floorplan for what she needs, seem to include a lot of personal preference issues. The customer service problems seem to be a big anomaly given the overwhelming positive reviews of LTV. Not sure what to make of her experience with LTV?

If you have not seen the video posted in the 'Logan' thread, it should assist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Brdeizkxoc

Could this be required watching before joining this forum? Probably not.

Bud

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Bud

If you have not seen the video posted in the 'Logan' thread, it should assist.

Could this be required watching before joining this forum? Probably not.

Bud

Okay, I watched it...

90% of the issues she has are with the dealers she used, not with LTV. We all know that, in general, the RV manufacturer does not bad mouth one of their dealers, they will send you to the closest dealer to where you are to get service. You need to connect with actual owners to find our the service places that do a good job and don’t screw you on quality or price for service.

Now she knows that the vast majority of RV dealers are not very good at either being honest in the sales dept or excellent in their service department. Live and learn and tell about it on YouTube or do a lot more homework before you take your RV in for service someplace...

I do have sympathy for her and it is good that she is spreading the word about her problems but if you read the comments on her last video you see a lot of prospective buyers turning away from LTV and that probably doesn’t make sense based on her experiences. It will be hard to find a manufacturer that is better than LTV but in her case it just didn’t work out for her...

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Now she knows that the vast majority of RV dealers are not very good at either being honest in the sales dept or excellent in their service department. Live and learn and tell about it on YouTube or do a lot more homework before you take your RV in for service someplace...

in her case it just didn’t work out for her...

There are no villains... Simply people doing the best they can with the resources available to them


When I finished my motorcycle training courses and was ready to by my 1st motorcycle, the instructor suggested to the class to buy a used bike and not a new one. The rationale being, we did not have enough seat time to know what we really wanted and our wants will change as we get more ride time. For most first time RV owners, one does not have enough knowledge to understand how RV ownership differs from owning a car made and serviced by Toyota.

As I always have, I dismissed what was said by the instructor and bought a brand new motorcycle. After visiting several motorcycle chains that sold many (8-10) different brands, I felt uneasy. The Honda warranty was only one year and the service model was unfamiliar (not like buying a new car from a Honda exclusive dealer).

Not wanting to bite off more than I could chew, I researched and saw that my BMW motorcycle dealership made the ownership processes better for one simple reason - A single point of accountability and certified BMW service technicians.

Just like the BMW / MINI vehicles we had owned, the warranty was strong (3yr/36K mile), standard road side assistance during the warranty period, and automotive levels of on-board diagnosis on the bike.

So, when the new battery failed and the fuel pump had to be replaced the service was straightforward but was more expensive post warranty.

------------------------------------------------
All this to say, a lot of RV quality / ownership problems stem from not having the service and support network owned by the RV manufacturer.

I am willing to bet LTV and others do not pull sales contracts from dealerships who provide miserable post sales service (i.e. franchise model).

There are solutions (if the manufacturers took warranty service seriously). Identify preferred regional service centers and subsidize having a dedicated (LTV, Roadtrek, etc.) service technician available. I would pay an annual subscription fee to gain access to this higher level of service.

One should not have to pay Prevost $$$ to get decent service and support during the ownership period.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

There are no villains... Simply people doing the best they can with the resources available to them


When I finished my motorcycle training courses and was ready to by my 1st motorcycle, the instructor suggested to the class to buy a used bike and not a new one. The rationale being, we did not have enough seat time to know what we really wanted and our wants will change as we get more ride time. For most first time RV owners, one does not have enough knowledge to understand how RV ownership differs from owning a car made and serviced by Toyota.

As I always have, I dismissed what was said by the instructor and bought a brand new motorcycle. After visiting several motorcycle chains that sold many (8-10) different brands, I felt uneasy. The Honda warranty was only one year and the service model was unfamiliar (not like buying a new car from a Honda exclusive dealer).

Not wanting to bite off more than I could chew, I researched and saw that my BMW motorcycle dealership made the ownership processes better for one simple reason - A single point of accountability and certified BMW service technicians.

Just like the BMW / MINI vehicles we had owned, the warranty was strong (3yr/36K mile), standard road side assistance during the warranty period, and automotive levels of on-board diagnosis on the bike.

So, when the new battery failed and the fuel pump had to be replaced the service was straightforward but was more expensive post warranty.

------------------------------------------------
All this to say, a lot of RV quality / ownership problems stem from not having the service and support network owned by the RV manufacturer.

I am willing to bet LTV and others do not pull sales contracts from dealerships who provide miserable post sales service (i.e. franchise model).

There are solutions (if the manufacturers took warranty service seriously). Identify preferred regional service centers and subsidize having a dedicated (LTV, Roadtrek, etc.) service technician available. I would pay an annual subscription fee to gain access to this higher level of service.

One should not have to pay Prevost $$$ to get decent service and support during the ownership period.

Your selective editing of my post created something that makes my comments seem a little more harsh than they actually were. Maybe something you could avoid in the future...

[Davydd]

Warranties are just state obligations. It is a lot different than what is performed by the company and how far they want to go to satisfy you. For instance will they fly a company man across the country to look at your van and trouble shoot in a Las Vegas strip parking lot and then arrange service at your convenience at the local (MB dealer in this instance in Phoenix the next destination) and provide them with replacement equipment and instructions so you can be in and out in 2 hours on an agreed date then that’s a warranty worth having. No hassle and satisfaction.

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Your selective editing of my post created something that makes my comments seem a little more harsh than they actually were. Maybe something you could avoid in the future...

Not intended....

I wanted to speak to the dealer / service network and did not include the other paragraphs.

For the record.... None of what was said in the original post was altered / transposed.

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Warranties are just state obligations. It is a lot different than what is performed by the company and how far they want to go to satisfy you. For instance will they fly a company man across the country to look at your van and trouble shoot in a Las Vegas strip parking lot and then arrange service at your convenience at the local (MB dealer in this instance in Phoenix the next destination) and provide them with replacement equipment and instructions so you can be in and out in 2 hours on an agreed date then that’s a warranty worth having. No hassle and satisfaction.

What warranty does Advanced RV offer on their products and how do you get functions repaired that are custom to Advanced RV without taking it back to the mothership?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_rQlKtoaIs

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Okay, I watched it...

90% of the issues she has are with the dealers she used, not with LTV.

That was exactly my thought when I watched it. Having had an LTV and a nothing but sterling experience with both the factory and my dealer, I would still put LTV at the top of the list of affordable small Class C's... no competition at all. And I've never met an LTV owner who didn't share my experience... none that had hers.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

What warranty does Advanced RV offer on their products and how do you get functions repaired that are custom to Advanced RV without taking it back to the mothership?

As I mentioned in my post. They came to me when I was in Las Vegas. I thought I was special until talking to many other owners and finding out that was routine. It was there they diagnosed a problem I was unaware of which was a Nations alternator just after a week was faulty. They then did arrangements to overnight it to a Phoenix MB dealer and we went in and got it replaced in under 2 hours. That was a second alternator furnished by ARV not MB. There warranty is a 3 year warranty bumper to bumper on absolutely everything and make arrangements with any available local repair shop. I don’t have to make those arrangements. I had a similar arrangement with a VB Air Suspension leaking bag that a Shreveport MB dealer replaced under 3 hours which ARV overnighted with instructions. Whatever ARV does in arranging it sure gets results and fast response. Of course whenever I do go to the mothership I get the van checked over and repaired such as a faulty macerator, leaking skylight, etc. It is fortunately on my route to visit our daughter in Washington DC whenever we get the chance.

I’m out of warranty now so will have to pay out of pocket for any future repairs but they do offer their own extended warranty if one so chooses. We have ordered a new ARV and we will trade ours back in to ARV. So far they have bought back every ARV but one I’m told, refurbished them, updated them and resold them or put them in their rental fleet in Ohio and Southern California.

We put in a deposit for a new van. Our new van is a shorty Sprinter. We have a name, “Mies” for the architect Mies van dear Rohe whose famous quote is “Less is more.” That’s what I expect to achieve with a 5 foot shorter van and there is no one that can execute my design other than ARV. It is radically different than the six short Sprinters I know of they’ve built.

[gregmchugh]

I don’t think we would think anything less than that type of support would be reasonable for owners of the epitome of Class B van production in North America, would we?

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

I don’t think we would think anything less than that type of supporter would be reasonable for owners of the epitome of Class B van production in North America, would we?

They also have a private owner’s forum for information, explanations, experiences shared between owners, updates and troubleshooting advice from ARV employees.

When you go to the “mothership” you pretty much have free reign of the plant and access to the employees. Sue Valentine even volunteered interning on the build of her short Sprinter, Bucky.

As that video showed you have a high degree of design input in building your van. You can’t make a YouTube video complain with all that. I guess ARV “ambassadors” pay top dollar for the privilege.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by Davydd

They also have a private owner’s forum for information, explanations, experiences shared between owners, updates and troubleshooting advice from ARV employees.

When you go to the “mothership” you pretty much have free reign of the plant and access to the employees. Sue Valentine even volunteered interning on the build of her short Sprinter, Bucky.

As that video showed you have a high degree of design input in building your van. You can’t make a YouTube video complain with all that. I guess ARV “ambassadors” pay top dollar for the privilege.

I enjoyed my visit to Advanced RV to get the quiet AC installed in our truck. They are clearly a high step above other builders...

https://www.facebook.com/AdvancedRVC...4ZiA&__tn__=-R

[ClassB4Me]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

I enjoyed my visit to Advanced RV to get the quiet AC installed in our truck. They are clearly a high step above other builders...

Can your 'truck' be easily driven? It looks massive compared to a Class A.

I think I have seen one before /s

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

Can your 'truck' be easily driven? It looks massive compared to a Class A.

I think I have seen one before /s

Appears larger than it really is. Smaller than a lot of Class A’s, 30 ft long, 8 ft wide, and 12’6” high. No problem getting into most places, the brush deflectors keep the branches away but we have some scratches on the sides as you might expect when you use it the way it was designed. Can go off-grid for several weeks until we run out of water. If there is a water source nearby we can go longer...

Very easy to drive and a nice view from up in the cab. Have 33,000 miles on it and it goes pretty much anywhere you might want to go...