D & R's Family Rv

We keep coming back! This is our 3rd time.

This is our 3rd time working with D&R Family RV. I guess when you keep getting top-notch service  from friendly folks, you want more. The previous year, Shane at D&R put in our entire solar system and other maintenance. We were impressed with how many things they are able to do.

Located in an industrial part of Glendale AZ across the street from the Police Dept, we felt very safe living and working in their gated compound, parked under a huge carport (RVport?) with 50amp service for 3 nights while Shane, and Ron the owner, whittled down our list of repairs and upgrades that I sent them in advance.

In addition to adding 17% more solar capacity to the roof, D&R installed Guardian Plates for our superslide floor that was starting to go bad, did some sticky refrigerator repair making our icemaker work for the first time since we bought our used coach, finding a propane leak that was giving us warnings, and replacing the 12 year old TV with a modern Smart TV. All with an eye on quality, and making it look great. They also cleaned out the outdated electronics wiring mess and got our antenna and cable working!

Shane is a great guy and cares about taking care of you. He has so much pride in his work, and it shows. Ron, the owner, has been customizing RVs since the 80s and was a pioneer in RV solar going back to the 90s. We met Ron after he was the Solar keynote speaker at an Escapees rally, and he did a couple of customizations to our then 5th Wheel. Ron knows more about complicated gas/electric refrigerators than the last 4 RV repair center "experts" who never quite got it right and left us with a constant "Ck LP" warning that was haunting through boondocking. Ron isolated the issue quickly.

If you're wanting to upgrade your rig with complete solar, or replace your entertainment system, or almost anything related to your RV (except for diesel or oil change stuff), you must make an appointment with D&R Family RV.

Being that this is the busiest time of the year for RV service, I found D & R's professionalism unmatched by most big shops in the Phoenix area. I had options as many of do, but if you want a boutique shop, this is the best option. Basically, Ron-owner, makes it a point to personally review and quality control the overall service. To me, his genuine interest to deliver the highest level of service and quality is my experience. I highly recommend this shop...

Admittedly, we went into our solar install with limited knowledge after getting a lot fo (unsolicited) advice from well-meaning people who had a far better understanding of Ohms and amps and gigawatts than we did. Ron was fantastic at answering all of our {annoying, newbie} questions and ensuring we knew exactly what we were getting prior to a single dollar being paid or part ordered.

With our minds at ease he proceeded to handle all of the ordering and coordinating of parts shipments to coincide with our appointment date and when we arrived he was ready to go to work with absolutely no delay. His technicians were super friendly (they even sang Christmas caroles to us while we hung out inside the rig) and very professional. They left no trace of dirt or dust either.

One thing we were so very happy about was that we were able to stay in our RV while all of the work was completed (at no additional charge!). We had 30 amp power (I believe he has 50 amp available if needed) and a nice safe spot to live for the 3 days needed to complete everything.

We are so happy with the work done and would not hesitate to recommend D & R to anyone needing solar installed, repairs or remodels done to their rigs. They get a huge thumbs up from us here at Tales From the Mutiny.

I took my toy hauler to D&R's Family RV on 06-24-2016 because my slide out was rubbing on my linoleum floor. I told the owner Ron on the phone when I was scheduling my appointment that I would like rollers installed under my slide out so it doesn't touch the linoleum floor and damage it anymore. When I dropped my toy hauler off Ron was not there and I was told by the technician to pull my trailer in their yard. I explained to the technician I wanted rollers due to the rubbing issue. The technician looked at the slide and said it would need 3 rollers and he would look at the alignment first. I was called and told the RV was ready to be picked up. When I went to pick up the RV I noticed there was no rollers and was told that they placed carpet under the slide out edge and it works as it should. I paid the bill and took it home and called a linoleum repair professional to repair the floor. When I opened the slide the carpet that was installed rolled out half way and I noticed my linoleum had been ripped a additional 6 inches. I was told there is too much friction on the floor and it would do the same thing.
   The next day 06-26-2016 I took the RV back and told them I came to them because I was looking for a solution not a band aide. I again said I think installing the rollers are the only way to go and if they could apply the $162.16 towards the cost of installing rollers. The technician then said he would have to speak to the owner Ron reference the issue first. I then said I will wait for Ron then and I was told he was in Jackrabbit AZ getting permits for his new home. The technician then told me to leave the RV and he would see what Ron says. I was called by the technician and he said Ron was still in Jackrabbit AZ and he was not sure when he would return but I could leave my RV and Ron would look at it when he returned. I asked when would Ron return and I was told he was not be certain it could be 1 to 3 days he was not sure and Ron did not tell him.
  I was called again and told that there was nothing they could do and they would suggest my upgrading the floor in front of my slide out. I then again asked about the rollers and I then was told they didn't have the equipment to remove the slide out. I then explained that I could have replaced the flooring prior to bring the RV to them although I wanted the slide out modified because I didn't like the design and I felt it would do the same thing to the next floor installed. I then requested a refund because I had the same issue as when I took it to them although I did have a 3 inch rip of carpet under my slide and my floor was in worse shape now.
   The technician then said he would again need to speak to Ron about a refund. I was called by the technician and told that Ron said he was not willing to refund my money that he felt they had adjusted my slide out and I just needed to replace my floor.
   I would not recommend this company to anyone. I don't believe they are professional nor believe they performed any work on my RV. I gave them the option to repair the RV proper and I was told they didn't have the equipment. They should have never accepted the job if they didn't have the equipment.

Recently had D & Rs fix some intermittent electrical problems that have been plaguing my rig. Ron demonstrated outstanding technical expertise and truly fair pricing. A month later they did a 2000 watt inverter and battery installation on my rv. He had the best pricing on the hardware and batteries that I have been able to research anywhere. They removed my two flooded cell house batteries and mount and custom fabricated a very sturdy battery mount for the 4 replacement batteries. They fabricated a platform in one of my compartments for the inverter and all new high capacity cables and performed an outstanding professional custom installation of the remote and monitor systems. I did not think capable technicians like this still existed.

I have a 2015 teardrop trailer and had D&R do numerous modifications: install an access door, upgrade my 12-volt battery to 2-6volt batteries, install a battery cutoff switch, create a diamond-plate storage compartment on the tongue and build a custom cabinet for storage and to house my microwave. They know what they are doing and made improvements to my plans. I was very pleased with their workmanship and their pricing.

Actually would not even give this business a star at all.  We wanted to install a solar system on our RV and starting in Nov. 2013 we consulted with Ron.  He was very informative, but opinionated, with his knowledge of solar installation.  He noted that he was an Interstate battery distributor and was not pleased that we wanted to order Crown batteries.  After multiple discussions, we came to an agreement with Ron in which he agreed to install our preferred components and set a date for the install for 18 Feb 2014.  This was not an easy decision due to the logistics of us living in San Diego, CA and Ron being located near Phoenix, AZ and the fact that we would have to bring the RV to his shop for the install.  After we had decided to hire him, planned the solar install, and even received a parts and labor estimate (essentially an online handshake),  we made one final phone call to finalize two of the parts that Ron did not normally use but that were a better price and had excellent reviews. Following the phone call this is the email we received from Ron:

"After our conversation yesterday I realized that you have been researching alot of information from people that think they know everything but just want to sell you equipment that you have no knowlege of how to use. And for that reason I cannot be the one to install a system on your RV.I have done over 8000 systems in 24 years and have never turned down anyone till now. Let whoever has been feeding you this information be the one to install it."

We tried to reach out to Ron via email asking him to reconsider and take our business but we have not received a reply back. Since we now know that he is not a man of his word, we would not give him our business or recommend him to any of our friends or family.

One final note.  We have been researching a quality RV solar install now for months and the people that had been advising us are experts in RV and off-grid solar and were NOT trying to sell us anything - they don't sell items or do installs anymore, just give advice.