Tony’s RV Service

ny’s RV is the definition of the “Rip Off Artist”. I dropped my motor coach off at Tony’s for repairs on my HWH leveling system at Tony’s. While 3.5 hours away from our home, because of their website listed as being a certified HWH repair facility it seemed to be the best place to have the work done. On 7 August I dropped off the coach and I described the issues I wanted corrected with repair of the HWH leveling system being the primary issue. (Note: My coach was slated for an Aug 13 start work date, I finally picked up the coach on September 25th.) On 13 August I received the below email. From: Parts Manager Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2024 10:02 AM To: rick.merritt Subject: Slide-out repair Mr. Merritt, We have looked into your leveling system and deemed that the leveling system pump and motor need repairing. This calls for part to be sent out for 4-6 weeks for repair. The cost of the repair of the part would be between $2000-3200. We won’t know the cost until they repair it. We would also have 4-5 hours in labor ($160.00 per hour). Please reach out with any questions or concerns, Mark Smith Parts Manager Tony’s RV Parts & Service, Inc. 130 Pond Branch Rd Lexington, SC 29073 (803) 894-3071 Knowing this was not the truth because on the HWH website states: “Repair Part Questions: There are several options available other than new components. Most parts can be sent in for repair. Sometimes, certain parts might be available as a remanufactured part. Remanufactured parts are sold at 70% of the cost of a new part.” Also, after checking the HWH website, I found out that a new pump assembly from HWH is about $1,150.00. Not $3,000.00! Based on their response I sent the email appended below: Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 4:00 PM To: 'Parts Manager' Subject: RE: Slide-out repair Thank you for the update. I do have some questions regarding the diagnosis. The pump motor does run, you can hear it when activating the leveling system. However, it does not seem to be under any load / freewheeling. What are the indications that the motor has failed? Did the voltage to the pump motor meet specification (when running +9v or greater)? Is the motor spline and the pump receiver in good condition? Did the 50-psi pump pressure switch on the manifold show the appropriate ground when closed or did it stay open? What was the status (on or off) of LED 33 on the control box when testing the pump? What was the pump pressure when tested? (I was thinking it might be the 50 psi or shuttle valve initially). I’m told it is rare for both pump motor and pump to fail at the same time and because I can hear the motor running, I’m trying to understand the diagnosis. Lastly please provide part numbers for required parts. I may be able to resource them quicker or possibly find used parts. Thanks, Rick I followed up the email with a call to Tony’s RV asking about the specific items I requested that they check. I was connected to the Owner (Aaron Langenburg). Per the HWH troubleshooting guide, I was asking about step 1, “ensure that there is at least 9 Volts at the motor”, Aaron Langenburg started yelling and cursing at me, saying who am I to question him or his technicians. I tried to deescalate his outrageous behavior by reminding him that, I was his customer and not his adversary. Bottom line I was unable to get answers to my questions. Note, that in the above email I asked specifically to have the 50psi valve and the shuttle valve checked. On August 14 the parts manager sent an email stating that the coach now needed a new starter which cost $563.00 plus 2-3 hours labor (Labor rate is $160 per hour) to install it. However, I did a quick search and found several starters for $200 - $400. Because of all the discourse and lack of information from the service manager, and in an attempt to smooth things out, I went ahead and authorized the repair, albeit $150 to $250 more than I should have paid, I just wanted to get my coach repaired and on the road. In an effort to save time and money, I did a parts search on the HWH website, and located a new replacement pump assembly. I purchased the pump assembly and had it shipped to Tony’s. The pump was installed and after it was tested, I received a call from Tony’s RV saying I needed a new Shuttle Valve, an item I specifically asked to have checked as an initial troubleshooting step prior to replacing the pump but, as previously stated never received an answer for, other than getting cussed at by the owner. Fortunately, I asked for and received the old pump when I picked the coach up. Later I had the old pump checked out and it was working, making pressure etc. So, in summary I paid for a pump I did not need, along with all of the labor hours associated with the removal and replace process. Turns out and I suspected the problem was actually the Shuttle Valve that cost about $100.00. with about an hour of labor to have it replaced. Tony’s RV is dishonest, unprofessional and has no understanding of customer service

I took my RV to Tony?s RV Service to install a rubber roof, repair interior water damaged ceiling panels, replace the slide-out and main awnings, replace a broken awning leg and move the passenger seat back. Tony quoted $8,384 for these repairs and indicated the repairs could be completed in two months, depending upon availability of parts. I paid Tony $3,950 for parts. One month later, I paid an additional $3,500, allegedly accrued labor for installation of a rubber roof and one slide-out awning. Tony then stopped all work on my RV and virtually stopped all contact with me. My calls went unanswered and any messages left went unreturned. I filed a complaint with the New Mexico Better Business Bureau, sent a ?Notice of Intent to Sue,? and filed a complaint with the New Mexico Attorney General?s Office. In each case, Tony did not respond. After six months I retrieved my RV and took it to a reputable repair shop to finish the job. My insurance agent inspected the job and concluded that it was the worst repair job he had ever seen: 1) the front slide-out awning was put on crooked, 2) both the bedroom and bathroom skylight moldings were broken, 3) the light above the sink wouldn?t switch on, 4) the exterior porch light wouldn?t turn off, 5) the rubber roof leaked, and worst of all 5) the structural integrity of the coach roof was so badly compromised that it sagged downward, requiring extensive bracing to return it to its original shape. To complete the work and repair the damage caused by the Tony?s poor workmanship cost $6,300. Tony took my money, had my RV for 6 months, didn?t complete most of the work, what was completed was shoddy, caused considerable damage, would not receive my phone calls, ignored all my formal complaints, and repeatedly lied to me (e.g., The parts are en-route and we will have your RV finished next week.). Neither Tony nor Tony Jr. can be trusted; their level of workmanship is abysmal and they are just plain crooks. DO NOT GO THERE!!

Full paint job, repair of frozen water lines and fixtures. The paint job and repair work was done properly. We like it. However, they had used our awning while doing the paint job and ruined it! We were in Branson when we tried to extend it for use and it was totally inoperable. My husband and a friend tried everything. They also had left faucets on and lights on which we didn't notice until a week or so later. We trusted them, came home parked and set up the unit and due to bad weather didn't go back in until time for travel prep.

Furnace was suppose to be worked on. Installed a separate thermostat for just the furnace, because they told use that the one thermostat couldn't run both air conditioner and furnace (BS the one thermostat has worked since it was bought in 2005). Furnace is still not working! Taking your RV to Tony's was the worst thing anyone can do! I'm just amazed how this place could have good reviews. We bought are RV in January knowing that the Furnace needed some work. So we had taken it to Tony's they had done some work on on my father in-laws RV. First off are RV was taken in on Thursday and was to be done on Monday at noon. When we arrived back from Vancouver WA on Monday they hadn't even started on it. They stared on it at 2 and we picked it up at 5 in the afternoon that day, when we got to our RV spot at Isleta it was hot so we tried to turn on the air and it didn't work, we called Tony's back the air worked fine when we took it to them. They told us they would be out the next day by 10:00 o'clock to work on it. Didn't show up called 4 different times finally showed up about 4:30,5:00 worked on air conditioning when I walked by the RV over heard the other man with Tony Sr. say to Tony Sr is it your fault that their Freon was low, he said to the other man no. But they never crawled up on top of the RV to check the Freon. Then they came out of the RV and said the air was on and that they were finished and left. I walked in air was not cold and they never talked to me about the Freon. I feel that Tony's RV repair is not worth the time or money wasted to have your RV worked on by these so called professionals. We ended up taking the RV to Tom's RV all that as wrong was a bad thermostat and our air works. When we got up here to Hoquiam WA we kicked on the furnace by the thermostat that Tony's installed, just for the furnace, and the air is operated by the thermostat that Toms installed, the first night and now we are back to square one. So to all of you that need your heating and air worked on go some where other than Tony's!

Tony's guys came to my RV site at Kirtland AFB three times, patiently going through the hassle for me to sign them in each time. First, Joe came out to check for the source of the leak, and re-did all connections in a effort to avoid the cost of removing/replacing the water heater. When that didn't cure the problem, Joe & Tony Jr came out and removed the old water heater. Inspection showed pin-hole leaks on the bottom of the tank. When a replacement could not be found in town, they temporarily plumbed around the water heater so we could continue to use the RV until they could get a replacement water heater. (They offered to re-install the old water heater so we would have hot water but I told them that was not necessary). A week later, Joe & Gabriel came out and installed the new water heater, then tested both gas and electric functions to ensure all was working right before they left. Joe, Tony Jr, and Garbiel were easy to work with, even through some frustrations in getting them signed in through military security, and also in finding a replacement water heater. They kept me informed on what they found along the way. They seemed to take their time to ensure all was right before they departed after the installation. However, a couple of days later when wondering why we had less hot water than before, I discovered that the plumbing was hooked up backward with the cold inlet to the top port on the water heater and the hot outlet to the bottom, exactly opposite of what the manual indicates. I was no longer in the Albuquerque area, but was able to correct the reversed plumbing myself. An email for clarification of the plumbing problem to the address on their website went unanswered. Price for the new water heater was much higher than my normal supplier would have been, but was driven by their supplier. In my experience, parts prices in the Albuquerque area are higher than normal other areas. Tony's labor charges were extremely fair.

Tony Jr. and Joe showed up at our RV Park less than an hour after we called and helped us with various electrical, plumbing, and steering problems. These guys are true professionals and really care about helping people. Without a doubt, this was the best service we've had from an RV repair company in all the years we've traveled. 5 stars (at least!)

Replaced shear pin and drive shaft on living room slide. Came out to RV park and replaced shear pin. Could have stopped there, but mechanic continued to exercise the slide and found that the site of the shear pin on the drive shaft was reamed out. Glad he did because drive shaft had to be repaired also. Service call is $129.00 but he only charged that amount even though the mechanic was here over an hour. Extremely courteous and anxious to please.

Furnace would not work, another RV repair facility wanted to replace entire furnace. Went to Tony's RV Service and found a loose wire, He repaired it at no charge. Very Very honest and knows his work, will recommend to all our friends