Why I Dropped Camping World After Years of Loyalty
Camping World is a big name in the RV industry, so why would anyone drop them?
You can find their large stores and RV lots across the country. Positioned alongside major highways, they make it easy to swing in with your RV and get all the gear you want.
I was loyal to them for years, but that’s no longer the case. Curious as to why?
Keep reading.
Keep in Mind: This is only our opinion, based on our personal experience. We know many people love Camping World. Don’t take our word for it, try them for yourself before deciding your views on Camping World.
What Is Camping World?
Camping World Holdings, Inc. is a corporation that specializes in RVs, RV parts, services, accessories, and outdoor gear. Founded in 1966 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, it now has more than 160 stores across the U.S. They market themselves as a one-stop shop for everything RV.
Camping World sells new and used RVs as well as RV parts and accessories. They also have service centers throughout the country with more than 1,900 service bays and 1,600 technicians. In addition, they have more than 100 collision centers.
Who’s the CEO Camping World?
Marcus Lemonis is the CEO of Camping World. He’s famous for his business affiliations and his show, “The Profit,” which helps rebuild struggling businesses.
Why I Dropped Camping World After Years of Loyalty
I’ve been loyal to Camping World for many years. They’re easy to find in nearly any state when you need gear or want to browse RVs. Here are six reasons why I dropped Camping World.
Negative Press
Camping World has received a lot of negative press over the last several years. The owner, Marcus Lemonis, seems to be a bit of a loose cannon and has said a few somewhat controversial statements.
This is not the type of thing I’m interested in, especially when camping is a relaxing experience for me…not a confrontational one.
Steep In-Store Prices
Camping World’s prices are pretty high. Their in-store pricing for RV accessories, outdoor gear, and more seem to just keep going up. You can find identical products on Amazon, at Walmart, and in other big-box stores – oftentimes, for less.
Their RV pricing seems to run higher than other dealers as well.
Like many dealerships, we think that salespersons use tactics to get you to buy and finance. But it’s seemingly only for their benefit. I prefer to work with an RV dealer who I perceive as fair and forthcoming.
Good Sam Membership for Lower Prices
The Good Sam Membership at Camping World offers benefits and discounts to members. But is it saving us money? You have to have a Good Sam Membership to get their products for a lower price. The Good Sam Club starts at $29 a year, which may not seem like a lot.
But when you add in the mandatory membership and their high prices, it’s not worth it for me.
And, I just got frustrated when a checkout agent always pressured me to renew.
Customer Service
Based on online reviews, Camping World is becoming more and more notorious for its sub-par customer service. When we took our trailer in to get inspected (at the very beginning of our RV journey), our point-of-contact representative was short, rude, and condescending.
This may not be everyone’s experience. But, as it was ours, it doesn’t inspire us to come back.
Service Department Woes
I hear many reports of RVers having a terrible experience with Camping World’s service departments. Repairs or service can take much longer than promised, according to customer reviews.
Recently, a story was released about an RV being stolen while waiting for service on their lot.
I’m not very confident about leaving my rig there after reading that.
Profit and Growth Seems Like the #1 Priority
It seems that Camping World is in it for profit and profit alone. Unfortunately, they may forget customers in the equation. If I know one thing about RVers, it’s that we’re a community.
Camping World is missing that in their business model and is losing customers (at least us) as a result.
I Quit Camping World, and It’d Take A Lot To Get Me Back
As you’ve likely figured out by now, I quit Camping World. I’m not gone forever, but I’m gone for now.
I encourage the leadership team at Camping World to put more focus on the consumer and the community. Stop selling so hard. The RV industry is booming right now. We, as RVers, need more businesses with good intentions.
The customer service and high prices just aren’t worth it for now.
What do you think? Have you had negative or positive experiences with Camping World? What’s your take on the company?
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I had a slow radiator leak. They charged me $450 to replace, what they said was a bad radiator hose clamp. The sad part is that it didn’t fix the leak.
On camping world topic. My father brought his 40ft class A in for a/c repair and some paint work. They gave him a 3 week turnaround time. After 2 weeks he called to get an update and his service advisor would never answer the phone nor returned 8 messages left for him to call back. We had to drive 25 miles to get him face to face and ask what the update was. After 2 weeks the rig had not been touched, nor were any parts ordered after 2 weeks. Long story short 2 weeks later all they did was some minor paint touch up and said the parts that came in were the wrong part. Now we are in six weeks my parents have been staying with me in Texas and they live in Arizona. Once again numerous calls to service advisor, would not answer calls or return messages. Made the 25 mile drive again only to here more excuses. My father was so upset he asked for his rig back. By this time 7 weeks went by. He checked out after paying 4 thousand dollars, and only had the minor paint fixed. No a/c repairs had been made, but was billed numerous hours for a/c work. I had to buy them fans for the drive back to Arizona in the dead heat of summer. Once they returned to Arizona my father brought it to his local repair shop only to find out that Camping world had cut out all his A/C plumbing and left it like that, gave him his rig back in that condition and charged him thousands of dollars and did not fix anything but made it worse. Do not trust their service departments anywhere in the U. S.
I just completed a purchase with Camping World for no reason other than they had what I wanted. So far the experience has been OK in terms of friendliness and response but what I am not comfortable with is their push to sell warranties. It is a profit point for them and I get that but reading the small print, everything is up to their discretion. I did purchase the package, a very expensive package, and I hope it provides the benefits promised. As for their pricing, I do a cross comparison on everything. They’re good on some things, not so good on others so do your due diligence. Time will tell. There are plenty of smaller dealers in the country that need support as well.
Totally agree with poor customer service and leadership! The sign or logo reads ” if your not happy we are not happy” is a joke ! If your a full time RV and need service they don’t have skilled techs or manager to properly schedule or relay honest answers. I’m done with them also!
I also found Camping World to be high priced, no service and not worth being a Good Sam member. I also had RV insurance thru Good Sam. I dropped it after one horrible experience and the Good Sam membership too. Then my R V got struck by lightening and it caused major battery fries and electrical problems . No one would work in my RV or even check it out. I was finally referred to Hector who works at the Las Vegas Camping World. Because of my experiences I was hesitant but also desperate for help. Long story short: He got me in the same day, he and the technicians traced the problem and fixed it all in the same day. He took the service fee and rolled it into my final bill which was under $150.00 total including labor and taxes.
I was a happy camper to say the least.
I’m unimpressed with Camping World, their business model and poor service. While I pop in on occasion for sealant or a hose piece, I would not trust them with my Tiffin. I just don’t get the impression that they care about anything more than my wallet. We RVers are a community, and it’s wrong to exploit any community.
I needed tires for my 1996 Itasca class A and went to the local Camping World in Oregon. My rig takes the old narrow 8R-16 tires and after researching the issue, it recommended not using the metric sized replacement wider tires. The two sales people kept telling me that the 8R-16 wasn’t the tire size and I needed to look on the sidewall for a metric size. After several minutes of this discussion, I left in frustration. A week later I stopped in again and talked to the parts manager, got the same story. Finally after pinning him down about the running tempurature concern of the wider tires, he finally admitted that they no longer carried the narrow 8R tires and he was trying to sell me the metric tires they had in stock. That could have been a safety issue, so beware of their selling practices!