We recently bought a used 2006 26' Vortex Toy Hauler by Thor, from a private party. Finally, a shower that I can stand up straight in. I could tell, there would be some repairs in the near future... But, to what extent? It wasn't until our 3rd stop, that we saw the light. I wasn't just "hunting for bids" here. I was incredibly "uncomfortable" at the first shop. The guy in the Service Department gave my whole family and me, the creeps. On top of that, the quote was for $6500 (complete floor, bearings, leaf springs, re-wired electric and all new cushions, all around. Some I agreed, were necessary. But, the whole floor?!?!?! There was a soft spot near the restroom door, but that was it. A 24"x24" area. Now here's the kicker... The entire trailer, was only $3000.00!!! #2 was almost as bad, without the creepiness. Roughly, the same ballpark for price and condescending. "This is what happens, when you buy from Private Parties Buddy." ***Thanks for the words of wisdom there, Oh Travel Trailer God!!!***
After the last two encounters, we were preparing for the worst. Hoping that the 3rd time would be the charm, off to McClain's we went. We were greeted with a cheerful, friendly and energetic smile. "It's great to meet you, My name's Ramone." The wife and I looked at each other immediately acknowledging how cheery he was. Not some slimy "keep an eye on your wallet, around this guy, And, a closer one, on your kids" like we had, at the first place. I laid out the whole story and showed him the quotes. Ramone was shaking his head right away. Let's go take a look at this floor. As I mentioned earlier, there was only a small area of floor that seemed bad. Lucky for us, he agreed. Ramone went through the entire quote and kept "shaving away." Then came the wiring. I had already been told TWICE, that I was going to have to have the entire trailer re-wired. Come to find out, it was a faulty fuse. Everything else was fine. Already, this was shaping out to be a fraction of what we had already been quoted.
He did discover that all of the plumbing was in pretty rough shape though, which the previous two guys completely missed. Needless to say, after it was all said and done, the cost of the trailer AND the repairs that were recommended by Ramone, combined to bring the total to "only a few hundred dollars more than what I had been quoted for the repairs alone!"
No more shopping around for us! From Now On, it's going to be straight to McClain's and straight to Ramone. He's friendly, pleasant, detailed and honest. I'll recommend McClain's to anyone and will always be sure to mention "Ask for Ramone. You'll thank me later." read more