Thread: factory tune-up
View Single Post
Old 03-25-2014, 07:20 PM   #17
Bill
Site Team
 
Bill's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,088
Default

Moaboy –

The term “tuneup” implies that there is a pre-prepared list of things that they will do and things that they will check. By that definition, I did not have a “tuneup” done, and I should not have used that term. I have no special knowledge about “tuneups”, factory or otherwise. but let me tell you my experience. And let me say again that this experience relates only to The Car Show, and not the factory, and that it was some lift system work, not a “tuneup”. The following is taken from a PM that Tentcamper and I exchanged.

Over several years, the front shell of my TM had gotten progressively harder to lift. There was no adjustment available in the torsion bar settings - it had come from the factory with all adjustments set at max lift. Since I was going to be passing through Colorado Springs, I called the Car Show, described the problem to Will, and asked if he could fit us into his schedule to fix the lift problem. He agreed to do it, and commented that I might need two new torsion bars, since the old ones were at max lift and still too weak. On the appointed day I brought the TM to Will, we looked it over quickly, and discussed the work he would do. As I was leaving the shop, I realized that neither of had used the term "tune-up", although "system tune-up" was listed on the labor rate placard behind the service desk. I went back in and asked Will what I was passing up by not doing a tune-up. He replied "Most of it is stuff that you can do yourself if you are handy and have time. We check out at the basic systems in the TM. Does the charger work, does the battery have proper water level, does the door open smoothly, are the brake magnets OK, does the refrigerator run, does the water pump run, does the ceiling vent open and the fan run, does the toilet leak - a ton of that kind of stuff." Since I consdier myself to be handy, I opted not to sign up for the system tune-up, and let them concentrate on the lift system work.

I left, and he got his guys working on the lift system. As they were fixing it, they also (with my permission) did a lot of small stuff as they found the need, such as replacing the center hold-down latches (which were badly worn), greasing the slide-out wheels, adjusting the pocket stops, tightening the wall bracket near the entry door, routing the power cables properly, and many others. My TM has seen a lot of miles, and needed everything he did.

At the end of the day, we picked up the TM. He walked me through everything they had done, and my wife and I were VERY happy!

You need to be aware that his labor rate is $100 an hour, which is about average for the industry, I think. So don't ask him to do anything that is not worth this amount to you. I have no idea what goes into a "lift system tune-up", or a regular "system tuneup", but if the cost is $300, you can do the math. Anyway, I didn't do the "system tune-up", and didn't need it.

But I have a feeling that the factory in Tennessee uses the term "tune-up" to mean something different. Be sure you know before you go. At the bottom line, all I know is that The Car Show, where I have never been before, did a wonderful job on our TM.

Bill
__________________
2020 2720QS (aka 2720SL)
2014 Ford F-150 4WD 5.0L
Bill's Tech Stuff album
Bill is offline   Reply With Quote