LTV schematics and parts store

TwoClinks if you are still following:
For the record I do not see any bashing. No one except you has talked about LTV, it's employees or how they do business. No one said LTV has done anything wrong. All the original post was supposed to do was to have those of us who want to work on our RV speak for the desire to have this stuff easily available to us. It is a suggestion on how LTV could help it's owners, instill perhaps more loyalty, and help itself to grow beyond the company it is today. There are lots of millennials who have money, could afford an LTV today and will have a longer life than I have to become 2, 3 or 4 LTV owners. And guess what, they are very computer oriented.

I'm glad you do not need any repairs, changes or updates to your 2016 UTB. I hope that continues. And while neither you (as you stated) or I could build the webpages for the details, schematics, wiring codes, etc and an online parts store, there are individuals who can.

Now may we get back to the original post and get some comments and votes? If LTV is following this they only see a small few of the users of this forum commenting.

EDIT for clarification: I see TwoClinks has edited a post above (even though it doesn't show it's been edited - how is that one?) and removed all of his discussion about LTV and it's employees. Maybe the post was deleted.

imstilllarry said:

"It's said that 10% of the new owners use up 90% of their (Brad and his team's) time"

So what do you propose as a solution? They can either stop taking these customer calls which in effect would end customer support. And basically this is exactly what is happening now a little at a time.

Or they can come up with some automated solution that would cut down these calls. If this new system is efficient and easy to use, then it would effectively cut down 90% of Brad and his teams workload to help make a better product. I would think this would make both LTV employees and customers happier.

2014 UMB 2013 Sprinter 3500

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It's seems counterintuitive that some argue that Leisure should do nothing to improve the fact that the most valuable people in the company spend 90% of their time physically/manually attending to their customers. It doesn't matter what % of the total population of customers they spend there 90% of time on, what matters is the fact that they choose to do business this way. Which means they don't have time to do their real job, presumably a very important job, and that to many customers are dissatisfied with not being able to get the Leisure support they need or want. It is a known fact that increasing Automation decreases labor. So if Leisure wants to return their workers back to their real job and away from dealing physically/manually with their customer then they must find more ways to automate so their customers needing support can help themselves. Leisure obviously is trying to move in those directions when they lead initiatives to add videos on operation/maintenance, hire someone to startup and maintain a FB page, hire Ambassadors, kick off the MyLTV page, etc., all in the hope that owners will use these resources versus calling them directly for personal attention. Some of these initiatives have fallen flat or didn't get the intended outcome. The MyLTV page concept was a very good one but it fell flat. Conceptually it was supposed to be as a lot of us expect, all the information pertaining to the individual owners rig would be made available, videos, diagrams, schematics, everything an owner would need to figure out parts and how things are installed. But it fell flat and probably because the person they hired for it didn't deliver. I'm guessing the Leisure Facebook page has yielded the biggest benefit because it mobilizes owners who can and like to help owners who can't or don't want to figure things out for themselves. I'm also guessing this Unity Forum is an even bigger help because it deals with topics that require much more time to address. IMHO, if Leisure wants to take a couple of more steps towards automation then they should make diagrams/schematics/parts lists available. Otherwise they should just stop answering the phone and become like many of the other RV manufacturers who just expect dealers and owners to deal, by any means possible, with their mediocrity. Leisure has always presented itself as trying to achieve excellence. If their goal is just to be slightly above mediocrity then they shouldn't even start concepts that they don't intend to carry to success. Their MyLTV page concept went flat, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect that they deliver on a concept they started. IMHO, if you are really trying to be exceptional, you don't start something and not deliver on it! Fundamentally, relaxing your expectations as a customer just enables manufacturing mediocrity and poor quality.

Surely when owners have issues there first port of call should be to their dealer and NOT to the manufacturer?

If you buy, say, a Ford and have issues you would call the dealer you bought it from (or a local dealer if nearer) and NOT Ford directly!

LTV should educate dealers and new owners on the correct procedures for obtaining help.

Keith.

I see you are in the UK and probably haven’t dealt with a US LTV dealer. I bought used directly from an owner and my dealings have been less than mediocre with the original dealer. I’ve been there for service a few times and was asked how could they help when I walked in the door. When I said I was there for service they took my name and keys and no one said a word after that until someone gave my keys back and then wanted payment. We aren’t talking minutes we ‘re talking hours. We sat in the middle of the showroom which was the waiting area with salesman talking to each other and walking pass as if we didn’t exist. I guess we didn’t because we weren’t buying a new one. When you call and get transferred to service you get VM and sometimes no call back. And let’s not talk about the long wait (weeks) to get an appointment or that sometimes what needing fixing or looked at wasn’t done correctly. Then you start the process over including another wait.

So doing things yourself gives satisfaction and gets the repair done faster and cheaper than at least my dealer. For TwoClinks I’m not bashing LTV or my dealer. I’m simply stating facts as they have occurred with me.

Sorry I too wanted to stay on topic which basically was who would like to see this stuff on the MyLTV page and why. Answers like I don’t need it because mine works, I like mine the way it is or I couldn’t do the maintenance because I don’t have the skills or confidence aren’t helpful. And if any of that is true why are you on this help forum?

The main reason why companies put in self service portals is to increase customer satisfaction and because it saves them an arm and a leg. Customers using your portal and ordering parts are placing orders and they are not calling your people who have better things to do.

Done correctly they do not increase your cyber risk profile as they are not connected to manufacturing systems, period.

Customer portals also keep your customers engaged and focused where you want and are an excellent avenue to facilitate upgrades and new purchases.

They are pretty cheap to develop, as they are really just big document repositories and order entry/ecommerce systems. We keep all our server farms on Amazon AWS so you won't need any investments in hardware either.

LTV if you are listening I'll give you a deal on the development and it will cost less than the RV you sold me recently. Just PM me. 30+ years doing this for Fortune 100's and smaller and medium sized companies like yours too.

RV2019 said:

TwoClinks if you are still following:
EDIT for clarification: I see TwoClinks has edited a post above (even though it doesn't show it's been edited - how is that one?) and removed all of his discussion about LTV and it's employees. Maybe the post was deleted.

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To RV2019: I haven't secretly edited the replies I have posted here on your thread. I do not own any administrative rights to this forum. I have only tried and failed to help you understand why LTV is the way it is. You never acknowledge whether you had ever visited Winkler. I am thinking not. I guess you won't be sending my comments in to Willie & LTV staff to get them to change how they do business. That's fine because some of them already know of my loyalty and acceptance as well as others who frequent this forum. You may have better results trying to contact Ryan with your concerns and suggestions. He's down to earth and will at least hear you out. There was and maybe still is an open IT position at Triplee if any of you are interested.

I happen to notice that you have no profile. Guess that gives you the opportunity to say anything you want on this forum and be undiscovered. The foundation of this Sprinter / Unity Forum is about sharing correct information and getting help here to resolve an issue. We don't always agree with each other here and that's fine and this should be accepted above all.

TampaSteve said:

..... LTV if you are listening ....

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I think they are as they Thanked me for my previous post.

TwoClinks said:

To RV2019: I haven't secretly edited the replies I have posted here on your thread.

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So where are your comments about LTV, it's employees, spouses and all being Mennonites and do business differently than other people? And that you have met them all and visited their homes?

And if you don't have RV issues nor want to improve your RV why are you here?

Why should I be "discovered"? What does that actually mean? Ok, I've added my first name, location and which Sprinter I have. Last answer is "None - Have a Ford Transit & Wonder". Under RV2019 on my posts it clearly states that I have a 2017 Wonder MB. I will not put my birthday or any private info on this or any other site. Does that help you DISCOVER me?

And nicely, please take your banter to FB with the others.

Lets agree to have different opinions and move on.

RV2019, sometimes on the forum it's best to just let things go. Make your points and move on. Fellow forum members will agree or not. What's the point of accusing another poster of deleting a post? I would hope that face to face we all would be non-confrontational.

I agree to disagree RV 2019.

I wouldn't have bought my first RV from Leisure if I didn't think they built a superior product. Leisure has features that are better than most, seem to be interested in constantly adding/upgrading features based on customer wants, have an excellent website, has many more owner support tools and more detailed owners manuals than most manufacturers. I believe Leisure wants to keep upping their business model and with the forced slowdown, because of lack of Mercedes Sprinter Chassis, this would be the perfect time to utilize potentially idle resources to add some self service automation so customers have easier access to parts and information they need. Finding ways to automate to reduce the burden on key staff from manual transactions and time consuming one on one interactions with customers should be a priority. Based on the quality of their products and things they already have in place, they have demonstrated they are very technologically capable. I have spent the past 5 years of ownership becoming an expert on my Leisure Unity and I really want to see Leisure continue to be an industry leader on the models they produce. With so much all ready invested with Leisure I would not hesitate to buy another. I would just be a much more satisfied customer if I could have access to the drawings/diagrams/schematics for my year/model and to either have a parts list reference guide or, even better, a parts store where I could buy anything pertaining to my year and model. I would love to be able to buy even things such as wall paper, faux wood laminate, fabric for my valances, ultra leather, cabinet doors, book shelf, etc. Then I would have access to everything it takes to repair/maintain/modify my Leisure product. I have contacted Leisure directly with my customer satisfaction suggestions. I hope they appreciate a thread where a collective of other customers, who are like minded, can post their support of the concept.

Echo what SSTraveler said. There are relatively few people commenting on this post, but judging by the hundreds of posts (maybe thousands) I have read here and in other places on maintenance and repair of LTV products there would be a lot of online users for sure of a self service parts and info website.

It can be a profit center because as everybody knows OEM parts sell for more than the aggregate when you buy the vehicle. But more importantly it would be a major differential factor on what make a great brand even greater.

I'm sure that LTV knows when we inevitable gripe about this feature or that workmanship we aren't losing sight of why we bought their RV in the first place - we came for their handmade quality they are famous for.

One thing to remember is that the Winkler area is predominantly Amish in nature. I think that influences decisions to maintain a more people rather than automated business model. A dramatic change in culture is difficult at best. LTV brag about the longevity of their workforce. Getting all these old dogs to learn new tricks is a task. It is really pretty cool, though, that have been building this cutting edge a product.

Not Amish! Russian Mennonite. Big difference.... but the resultant work ethic is the same. Quality workmanship, attention to detail, faithfulness and a desire NOT to be like the rest of the RV 'manufacturing world'. Personally, I vastly prefer small and personable. Besides, there are few actual LTV coach OEM 'parts' per se. Every light fixture, switch, appliance, electronics, latches, locks, plumbing fixtures/fittings, etc are third party and can already be sourced via the internet.

hotfudge said:

...Besides, there are few actual LTV coach OEM 'parts' per se. Every light fixture, switch, appliance, electronics, latches, locks, plumbing fixtures/fittings, etc are third party and can already be sourced via the internet.

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So maybe a middle ground between selling parts and providing schematics would be for LTV to publish lists identifying the manufacturer / source of the pieces and parts? That would also lighten the research load for SSTraveler, who historically has been the go-to source for that information.

aarpskier said:

So maybe a middle ground between selling parts and providing schematics would be for LTV to publish lists identifying the manufacturer / source of the pieces and parts? That would also lighten the research load for SSTraveler, who historically has been the go-to source for that information.

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The binder I got with my Unity appears to have every piece of literature relating to all of the supplier components that LTV installed in my Unity. It also shows all the component identification numbers too.
I had an issue with my awning not extending, needed to jog it a couple of times. Correspondence with LTV indicated they were not aware of an issue with this. I emailed Carefree, describing the issue and gave them all the serial numbers. They replied back and sent me the parts to do the fix myself.
Now,if I can get Mercedes-Benz Canada to honour their warranty I will be all set, but that is another story.

There are large number of parts LTV manufactures themselves such as trim and finishings, and thats what I think we are talking about.

In addition I have had to email Willie several times for schematics (propane line identification, roof support locations) and while he is always prompt I'm sure he has better things to do.

So in my view a customer portal just includes non proprietary info like wiring diagrams and schematics, and parts they manufacture themselves.

thats

Motordr said:

The binder I got with my Unity appears to have every piece of literature relating to all of the supplier components that LTV installed in my Unity. It also shows all the component identification numbers too.
I had an issue with my awning not extending, needed to jog it a couple of times. Correspondence with LTV indicated they were not aware of an issue with this. I emailed Carefree, describing the issue and gave them all the serial numbers. They replied back and sent me the parts to do the fix myself.
Now,if I can get Mercedes-Benz Canada to honour their warranty I will be all set, but that is another story.

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Well, the binder doesn't have everything.

I think I may soon be needing to replace some of the the push & click to close/push & click to open latches found on the closet doors, microwave door, freezer door and refrigerator door in my Wonder. I don't have literature in my binder on these nor literature on the little accessory bars and any options that might be available for those nor interior lights, switches, etc that can go bad.

When it comes time to fix something there would be a lot of research needed or a phone call to LTV. If those parts were online it would be click & order. Oh, installation instructions (like for the lights) would be useful too.