Why Does It Take So Long to Repair an RV?

We are excited to report that our little Aliner Camper is back in business!

You may recall that a blowout left our rig out of the game. We were surprised by how long it took to get the little popup camper trailer back in service.

Here’s a recap of what has taken so long.

The Blowout Disaster

Step 1: Insurance

We were pleasantly surprised by how quickly State Farm received our claim and processed it, sending us an estimate of the cash required to cover the repair, net of our deductible. That entire process took only a week.

Step 2: Find Someone to Do the Repairs

It took about three weeks for us to find someone willing and able to do the repairs. One challenge for us was that there are no Aliner dealers in our area. Not only wasn’t there a dealer with a repair shop we could automatically call, few of the repair shops around were familiar with Aliners or interested in the sort of repair we needed.

Step 3: Find Parts

Of course, finding parts wasn’t our job, it fell to the team that agreed to do the repairs. Not having done much Aliner work, they didn’t have a good supply chain in place for those parts. It took about a month for them to get the parts ordered and then another month for the parts to arrive.

Step 4: Get Permission From the HOA

The next challenge, with parts in hand, was to schedule the work. We hadn’t fully appreciated when we found a team willing and able to do the work that they didn’t have a facility to do the repairs. Their plan was to use our driveway. Our HOA didn’t think that was a good plan, so we had to apply for a waiver of the rules. That application process pushed the repair out another month. The HOA was gracious and quickly approved the plan.

Step 5: Do the Repairs

Last week, in our driveway, the team did the repair. They did a great job cutting out about 10 percent of the floor of the trailer and replacing it. They sealed everything up good and tight. Critically, they took out all the solar power electrictronics and put it all back in. Not surprisingly, it looks like they did a better job than we had done as novices.

Next Step: Go Camping!

With our trailer repaired, we’re planning a little excursion for next weekend!