Matthews couple bought RV to go on dream trip but say they had problem right away

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Barry and Rochelle Price always wanted an RV to hit the road for months and travel the country. But it wasn’t practical with work and school. Then, like so many families, the Prices started doing work and school remotely. So they figured: why not do it remotely from the road?

“We were sort of going to do a loop of the U.S.,” Barry said.

They planned to spend the fall doing that loop, before it got too cold in certain states. “We really felt like it was something we could make happen,” Rochelle said.

They bought a new RV from General RV in Richmond, Virginia. They said it cost more than $20,000.

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They said as soon as they got it -- what’s called -- the slide out didn’t work right. Basically, the wall is supposed to slide out to create more living space. But they said it only went out a few inches instead of a few feet.

They say the dealer told them it would take 6-12 weeks to fix which would have been most, if not all, of the fall.

“We said goodbye to friends. We got released from our church responsibilities. We quit all of our extracurriculars and piano lessons. We were ready for this trip and then it was all for nothing. All those months and money for nothing. It’s just over,” Rochelle said.

That’s when their friend emailed Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke, asking him to get involved. Stoogenke spoke with the dealer. It promised to speed up the process -- get the RV fixed sooner -- and it did, in about two weeks instead of 6-12.

“We can’t thank you enough. The mountains of time has been saved because of you,” Rochelle told Stoogenke. “There’s not a doubt in my mind had you not contacted them, we would have been right up to that 10, 12 weeks to get it addressed,” Barry added.

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General RV said in a statement, “The Price’s RV was thoroughly inspected and tested prior to their purchase at our Richmond dealership. After their slide room operational issues, we communicated with the manufacturer and helped facilitate the completion of repairs as quickly as possible. General RV is committed to creating a premier RV experience for all our customers, and we are pleased the Price family is back on the road.”

Action 9 also emailed and called the manufacturer, Forest River, multiple times. The company didn’t respond in time for this report.

Advice:

Do your homework and, in this case, go one step further. Join forums -- like Facebook groups -- to really pick other RV owners' brains.
Think about buying a used one. RV enthusiasts say it’s not always like buying a car. A used one may have the kinks worked out.
You may even consider RV sharing sites instead of buying, at least at first, to learn more and make sure you really enjoy it. KOA recommends one called Outdoorsy.