Save bucks on RV parts

If you do your own RV repairs, you know that RV parts can be pricey. It seems the minute those two letters, R and V are added to any kind of part, the price goes up. How can you squeeze your buck when part shopping?

First, don't be afraid to do a bit of comparison shopping. We have our "favorite" parts supplying guys, but we've found that our favorites aren't always the least expensive on everything. A recent foray into shopping on an RV toilet project illustrates it well.

We've had to "flush" our cranky old bathroom throne with a tin can of water ever since we bought the rig – a couple of years ago. Call it stubbornness or just not enough time, but getting around to replacing the flush valve just wasn't high enough on the priority list. Finally, after we had to do a floor job in the bathroom and the toilet had to be removed "anyway," we decided the flush valve just ought to be replaced. At the same time, we decided to stick a riser under the pot to make it a bit easier on tired knees when ascending from the throne.

In Quartzsite RVers flock to a "discount" RV parts seller called The Gambler, and we've been happy to do the same thing. A quick call to the outfit quoted $35 for the flush valve. This is the first half of the comparison part of the story. We'll put that on hold on roll out the second part: Think alternatives.

Knowing the specific part number we needed (looked it up on the Thetford web site), we then poked the part number in our Google search engine, hitting the "shopping" tab, and what came back? The usual RV-parts-on-line vendors, but a different contender. Amazon. Who would've thought the Internet bookstore would offer RV parts? Folks at The Gambler told us we'd better hurry to get their $35 "bargain," as they only had two left, Amazon called their bluff and offered us the same valve for $19.93. They also listed the toilet riser we needed for $40.00.

The price was right on that valve – if we could wait to install it for a few days. Now here's the second part on comparison shopping. Having been stung before by another local RV parts dealer, RV Lifestyles, we weren't so keen on another fruitless trip down the lane with them. But again, what's a phone call cost? "Lifestyles" had the flush valve for $17, and no waiting for delivery. We'd already abandoned the idea of the riser, deciding we could "wait" before spending another $40, but on picking up the flush valve at RV Lifestyles we found that riser for $29. 

And that "think alternatives" idea? Those little ancillary parts we needed for the install, the RV plumbing elbows, connectors, etc? Rather than buying them at an RV specialty dealer, a quick trip to Herbs Hardware Store found all we needed for excellent prices.

Customers say this half-off RV park membership a rip off

Looking for $10 a night or 50% off RV park camping? Be careful before signing up (and paying) for a service that claims to provide such deals that many RVers say does not deliver what it promises. A Wilmington, Delaware firm that bills itself as RVParkSuperpages.com as well as UltimateRVcamping.com finds itself repeatedly denounced as a "rip off" and "scam" by RVers who say they've laid out money for a "membership" but found the RV parks said to be giving 50% discounts to "members" never heard of the service.

Here's a sampling of comments from various RV forum members:

"I ordered the RV Park SuperGuide a month ago and have had a number of problems with their service. I have emailed, left messages on their voice mail and have yet to receive a response.

"To date I have not received the $25 Camping World card they promised.

"It appears as though they are interested in communicating with you until you buy their product and then nothing."

"I paid $97/ a year ago and never got access to anything. They do not answer the phone or return messages. Do not join!"

"After doing quite a bit of research I have found that not only are the listing they promote [are] inaccurate, the parks they promote are unaware of the membership program. The listings they have for local parks in our area are mapped 1000s of miles away."

"We received an internet invitation to join a new discount camping club, similar to Passport America, for a special price of $39 for three years. The name is 'RV Park SuperGuide'. It sounded legit, and being the trusting souls we are, we took them up on the offer. BIG MISTAKE!! It is a SCAM! We have contacted several campgrounds on our intended path on our way to Gillette, WY, and none have ever heard of this club and will not honor the discount rate. One has even been closed for several years. It appears they copied campground descriptions from some other discount camping system and published them as their own."

The Internet website, www.scambook.com notes 11 complaints against SuperGuide, the most recent from this August. That complaint had the same earmarks as those written about in RV forums: "I sent them $67 for a two year membership. When I called some RV parks, they had never heard of the outfit and wouldn't honor any discount based on my 'membership' in RV Park SuperGide. My emails to them have been unanswered. I will dispute the charge with my credit card company but must wait 30 days."

When rvtravel.com editors attempted to contact this outfit earlier when doing research, our calls too, went unanswered. Here's a good case of where being a frugal RVer means keeping a death-grip on your wallet.  

RVtravel.com editor Chuck Woodbury said he joined the club to see what it was all about. "I found the information worthless," he said. "I asked for my money back, which to their credit they did refund." Woodbury also noted that when he researched the testimonials recently on the Ultimate RV Club's website, the photos of the "satisfied customers" were actually different people with no connection to the club. "One couple pictured was actually in the news when the woman returned from being stranded in the Nevada desert for 49 days. Her husband was never found, at least at the time of the news report." Woodbury reported that a check on Friday revealed all the photos have been removed including that of company chairman Walter Thompson, which a Google image search revealed was a Wisconsin neurosurgeon with a different name.

What have been your experiences? Leave a comment in our forum.