Customer Service

[rooksroost]

parts discounts

As I told all TB directors after my meeting with the the new owners back in 2011 TB will still get a 10% discount.
Note from TM
"The discount for TrailBlazer members has not been discontinued.

We believed that we would have had the parts out to dealers by now but things have a way of being more involved than one expects - we are getting close though. But please assure everyone that members of TrailBlazers will continue to get their discount.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Cleo Eickhoff"

 

[moaboy]

My understanding is the floor has 3 inches of insulation vs one inch for the roof. The structural integrity doesn't come from the insulation does it?
Perhaps they wanted to limit the height as much as possible as I know several have very little clearance in our garages.

 

[scrubjaysnest-TMO]

My understanding is the floor has 3 inches of insulation vs one inch for the roof. The structural integrity doesn't come from the insulation does it?
Perhaps they wanted to limit the height as much as possible as I know several have very little clearance in our garages.

Yes, three inches of Styrofoam in a sandwich is a lot stronger then one inch in a sandwich IMO. But it could also be the height issue.

 

[P and B]

Mcd

I bought my 3124KS from Debra. I get all my parts from them. Tried to screw around with TM directly but realized quickly that MCD had an "in" to them and appropriately so. I personally don't think TM should deal with parts directly. They should leverage their dealers. Too many owners for them to deal with properly so I think you need to distribute this functions to your dealers. They make a little money and you get your parts faster (oh and don't forget usually good advice too)!

I agree with Bill. MCD should get a lot of credit for being very customer focused. So if you're buying a TM...go see MCD! Or else!

Phil

 

[Shandysplace]

Implementation of the TrailBlazer Discount

How will the TM discount be implemented; at the factory at the time the parts are shipped to the dealer; will dealers be able to drop ship parts orders to TB members with the discount applied; if all parts must go to the dealer first before being shipped to the customer, how will the dealer know if their parts customer is a TB member? Since the markup charged by the dealer to cover their costs is probably at least 10%, the TM discount is moot, since it is offset by the dealer markup.

 

[PopBeavers]

When my son buys bicycle parts, for race mountain bikes, he pays dealer cost plus 15 percent. That is a good deal.

He buys a lot of parts because he breaks a lot of parts.

Bu Sharon makes a good point. If dealer mark up is to double the wholesale prices, then the point is moot.

Perhaps dealers pay half of what customers paid for parts direct from the factory. Then by the time the dealer doubles the price it is back to where we started.

In seven years I have bought 3 parts from the factory:

1. switch under bathroom wall. I could not find one locally.
2. exterior corner latches.
3. Over stove cabinet. But I got that from Custom RV and I had them install it.

I also replaced the awning fabric. I do not know where Custom RV obtained that. Perhaps the factory. Perhaps a local supplier.

In the end, the price of parts does not matter very much, as long as they are not exorbitant.

 

[T and C]

Folks,

Back in the 60's I worked for a couple of years as a claims adjuster. As you know Homeowner's policies frequently cover personal property against fire, theft, and some other things. The adjuster's job in such cases is to arrive at the actual value of the lost/damaged product. In those days insurance usually paid the "actual cash value" of things. Nowadays most folks who buy Homeowner's policies elect to pay the extra premium for full replacement cost. In those days this was rare.

In establishing the ACV or the Replacement Cost one has to deal with the markup issue. There is usually quite a large markup added to wholesale prices to establish the retail price. One example is when we get our vehicles fixed by a local mechanic.

If a part must be obtained from the manufacturer's dealership, the mechanic gets it for "wholesale" and marks it up 40% to establish the price you pay for it. But remember, the Ford, (for example) agency also bought it from the manufacturer for another version of "wholesale" and he is still making plenty of money when he sells the part to the mechanic for 40% less than you would have to pay.

The worst markups I encountered were in furniture and Jewelry. Since the policies always give the insurance company the option to repair, replace, or pay in money in settling the claim, many folks are very upset when they discover what their lost/damaged object is actually worth. Furniture markups in those days ran 300 to 500%, and Jewelry up to 1000%. When folks find out that a ring they paid $1500 for can be replaced with an identical one for $400 they aren't thrilled, to say the least. In the case of cars and jewelry, and I suspect RV's, what folks usually want is the cash.

How does this apply to discussion of TM? Simply to say that a 10% discount is peanuts for a dealer or the company. So it should not be a big deal for dealers to adjust their prices accordingly.

Tom

 

[PopBeavers]

Folks,

<snip>
When folks find out that a ring they paid $1500 for can be replaced with an identical one for $400 they aren't thrilled, to say the least. In the case of cars and jewelry, and I suspect RV's, what folks usually want is the cash.

<snip>

Tom

So if I was looking at a ring for my wife that was $1500 at the local mall jewelery store, where should I go instead so that I can buy it for $400?

 

[moaboy]

A diamond wholesaler who will also sell retail, not many of them around,but they do exist. That is how I bought my wife's engagement ring nearly thirty years ago in St. Louis.

 

[T and C]

So if I was looking at a ring for my wife that was $1500 at the local mall jewelery store, where should I go instead so that I can buy it for $400?

Wayne,

We had relationships with jewelry manufacturers that would duplicate anything that they could get an adequate description of. Especially if there was an appraisal by a jeweler, and those usually had a photograph included. Private individuals could not get the prices the insurance company could.

As to who they were and how to contact them...well its been 43 years. Sorry.

Tom

 

[T and C]

As I posted a year ago, I split one of my wheel well covers. I did a temporary fix with duct tape and that has held since. However, I wanted a new one for cosmetic purposes, so I began to try to get one. I did not work at it with any urgency, just made calls when I thought of it.

First, I thought of calling Trailmanor. But then the company shut down so I figured I was out of luck. Then I heard about the reorganization and reopening, so I waited. Next I read here that dealers were going to handle the parts.

My next move was to call Custom RV in Anaheim. They said that they would order one and give me a call. A couple of months later I called again and was told that the parts would be in in a week.

About a month later I read that the idea of dealers handling parts was not going to work, so it was back to ordering from the company. So last week I put in a call to TM and got a phone message. I then called Custom RV again and talked to Matt.

Matt told me "let me look in the boxes that arrived from the factory last week". He found a set of wheel covers in one of the boxes, so I drove down and picked them up.

The next day I recieved a call from Eddie in parts from the factory in TN. He was very nice as always, and told me that ordering from them was the way to go in the future.

BTW, it isn't hard to tell Eddie grew up in the South. I was born in West Texas and my mom's folks came from East Texas, so it was old home week to be talking to Eddie. If you stand in Marshall, TX and throw a rock, it lands in Shreveport, "Loosiana". An exaggeration? Maybe, but then I was born in Texas.

Tom, aka "Tawmy" by relatives.

 

[moaboy]

I ordered a set of hanging brackets for a cabinet last week from Eddy in parts at TM and they arrived likety-split.
Way to go TM! Dealing with "the factory" works for me.

 

[rvcycleguy]

I spoke with Ed on Monday and ordered the repair kit for the Hold Down clamp bracket. Asked for 4 of them and I received them on Friday to my door. Fast service and fast delivery. I hope to get to the job later today or next weekend.