A Guide to a Successful Airstream® Service Department Visit

RV owners will eventually need to take their Airstream RV to a professional, either for routine maintenance or for repairs. It can be stressful trying to find a professional you trust, so we've created the following guide to ensuring a smooth Airstream service department visit. If you have any questions or need to visit an Airstream dealership, head over to Airstream of Utah. Our dealership is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and we also serve those in Park City and Provo.

1. Determine Whether You Need Professional Help

The first step is deciding whether you actually need to visit an Airstream dealer. There are plenty of maintenance tasks that even beginners can tackle on their own, such as using a silicone sealant to patch up holes in a seam. But it's important to leave the more complex tasks to the professionals. Fiddling around with something that is beyond your area of expertise can end up causing further damage to your Airstream RV and result in a more expensive repair bill.

2. Try to Schedule Your Appointment in Advance

Whenever possible, try to book your service department appointment far out in advance. Airstream dealerships and repair shops can be quite busy. You can try to stop by, but you may not be able to be seen that day.

Stay on top of routine maintenance tasks by checking the maintenance schedule found in your Airstream RV's owners manual. Use this schedule when planning out your service department visits. Of course, if you encounter an unexpected problem with your RV, you won't have the luxury of planning a repair weeks in advance. When that happens, call and ask for the next available appointment.

3. Decide Where to Take Your Airstream® RV

We recommend always going with an Airstream dealer's service department. The repair staff is more likely to have specialized training and equipment to handle your given Airstream model. They spend all day working and studying Airstream RVs, giving them valuable insight about how the models work. If you go to a general RV repair shop, the workers may not be as experienced or knowledgeable about your rig. The more complex the repair, the more you will want to go with an Airstream dealership service department

4. Find a Reputable Airstream® Dealership

Of course, not all Airstream dealerships are of the same quality. Spend some time researching the customer satisfaction of the various dealerships. Are people satisfied with the repair fees, the quality of the work, and the length of time the repair took? Or do people comment on bad customer service, poor quality repairs, or unnecessary delays? Use others' experiences to help you make an informed decision.

When you find an Airstream dealership you are interested in, consider doing a "test drive". Have the dealer handle a small repair job or maintenance task. Observe their customer service and job quality to see whether you can trust them with a larger, more expensive project.

5. Clearly Articulate What You Need

Go into the service department appointment able to clearly identify what you need. If you want a few maintenance tasks tackled, make a list of everything you want done. It can be easy to forget to mention something to the dealer, so having a list you can reference helps. If you are needing an RV repair, have a list of the problems you've noticed (such as odd sounds or performance changes).

6. Have Reasonable Expectations

The dealership can give you an estimate about how long a project will take, but remember that it is an estimate. Maybe a worker comes down sick and leaves the department understaffed. Maybe the dealer uncovers a separate problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. There are plenty of situations that can cause a project to take longer than expected. It's wise to plan on the RV repair taking longer than you think just in case. You don't want to plan an RV trip an hour after the repair is supposed to be done, then have to reschedule or cancel your trip due to an unexpected repair delay.

7. Make the Most of the Waiting Time

You may end up waiting at the Airstream dealer for your RV to be finished. Don't just sit there watching the clock. Talk to others in the waiting room and share RV tips. Tap into the WiFi to plan your next trip's itinerary. If you are out of town and waiting on a repair, ask the locals for their trip suggestions. You can use this time to improve your RV trips.

We hope you found this guide useful! If you need to book a service appointment, talk to the friendly staff at Airstream of Utah in SLC. Our parts replacement and service department can get your RV back on the road where it belongs. We also offer RVs for sale if you are looking to buy. Whatever you need, you'll find with us—so visit us today! We proudly serve those in Park City and Provo.