Find Hard to Get RV Replacement Parts

Once again the Professor is on the road in RV-ONE today traversing the great Sierra Nevada Mountains on his way to Arizona. I've heard the call to come to Quartzsite and that's where I'm headed this week. I trust that everyone is back in the saddle after the holidays and ready for a great new year of RVing. Maybe you need to do some upgrades or repairs to your RV before you head out on your next trip.If your RV needs a a replacement instrument cluster, head-lights, cabinets, strip of molding, fabric, cook-top, sink or some crazy part that you can’t find at your local RV dealer I have good news for you. There are several parts vendors that purchase excess parts from RV factories for resale to the public. Northwest RV Supply is one of these places.Located in Eugene, Oregon they purchase from the Monaco factory and the Country Coach factory. So if you have a need for a specialty part from one of these companies, chances are they have it. You may contact them at (541) 746-9092.There are also many other vendors like this who have parts from other RV manufacturers as well. If you’re having trouble finding a replacement part for your RV call the manufacturer directly and ask them for a contact phone number for a vendor who sells surplus items from that manufacturer. If you have contact information for some of these other vendors, please double click on the blue “comments” section below and tell us. Helping you keep your RV looking good as new - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Membership Warehouse Stores are Great Places to Find RV Supplies

RV stores and rallies aren’t the only places to find products that enhance your RV lifestyle. In fact, Costco had a booth at the recent Good Sam rally in Redmond, Oregon. Warehouse stores like Sam’s Club and Costco are great places to find RV stuff. For instance, I like to use microfiber towels when I wash and dry my RV. They cost a small fortune at the hardware store and $10 bucks for five at most RV rallies, but you can buy a 36 pack of micro fiber towels for $13.89 at Costco. These towels are high quality and are not only great for washing, waxing and drying your RV, but they're good in the kitchen and many other house cleaning chores. Here's another example, you can buy these puck lights at a rally for $50 or you can pick them up at Costco for $13.29.They come with batteries and are wireless, so you just stick them up wherever you need extra light. I’ve been a satisfied member of Costco off and on over the years (I had to switch to Sam’s Club when we moved to Texas because they didn’t have a Costco there at the time). It currently costs $50 bucks to join, but you will save money. I saved 34 cents a gallon over the local 76 station when I filled up at the Costco gas station yesterday. I’ll be highlighting more RV related items at the “Great RV Gear” blog at RV travel here: Great RV Gear
Helping to save you money and steer you to great products – Jim Twamley

Get Your RV Makeover in Junction City, Oregon

Driving down Oregon’s Highway 99 you eventually come to Junction City. This little burg is like hundreds of other Oregon towns except that it has just about everything you need for your RV needs. Home to the Country Coach Factory and Guaranty auto and RV sales, Junction City has attracted vendors who cater to the RV industry. Places like Countryside interiors where Terri Penrod (in the center of the photo) will help you find just the right furniture, carpet, tile or fabrics for your RV. Brian Hanavan from Elite Coach Care can have his team spruce up your coach so it looks like new. They do detail work to include wash, wax, spot removing and carpet cleaning. You can have just one thing done, or you can go for the whole ball of wax. Innovative Audio is co-located with Elite Coach Care and can install audio, TV, Tracvision, navigation systems and much more. Tiffany (left) and Jennifer (right) will greet you at Davis Cabinets where you can have custom built cabinets installed, or a TV retrofit, tables, desks, dog-house covers, racks and anything you can imagine made out of wood. There are many more service centers located in and around Junction City like Carrier and Sons, Pacific Service and Repair, A-1 Auto Glass, Cummins Northwest and many more. Your chances of getting your RV fixed or updated in a timely and satisfactory manner are very good in Junction City, Oregon. Jim Twamley

RVers Waiting Longer at Camping World?

As an RVer I’ve spent a couple thousand dollars at Camping World over the years. I’ve also spent several nights in their parking lots as I’ve traveled across the country. I like Camping World, but the last few times I’ve gone in the store I’ve had to wait a long time for service at the service desk and in the check-out line. I’m not complaining, just making an observation. Last week I had to wait in line while one worker talked on the phone and another employee looked through paperwork and another worker played around on the computer. As I stood there I looked around the store and saw other employees doing other stuff but were not assisting customers. After I waited in line for about 12 minutes (I was the first person in line), I was helped. The service person found the part I needed which meant I now had the privilege of waiting in line at the cash register to purchase the item for which I just waited in line. (Murphy's law says that there is no one in line at the check-out until you are ready to check-out yourself.) You meet a lot of nice and interesting people while waiting in line, so it’s not a complete waste of time. I’m not sure I could make things any better if I was the store manager, but I would sure try. Maybe I'm just getting impatient as I get older because this seems to be happening not only at Camping World but at WalMart, Target and other stores as well. Could it be that "customer service" is declining everywhere in our society? What has been your experience lately? Let us know good or bad in the “comments” section below. Jim