Petite RV Sales aka Lakeside Auto N Sheridan Beach Park IL

We would like to bring our experience with this company to the attention of your readers. We purchased a Dodge Pleasureway RV from them late August 2013.
We were told and shown that the air conditioner worked. It doesn’t. We realise now the cab air con was on full during the demonstration. This does work and therefore it was cooling the van whilst the air con proper was just circulating air.
We were told a generator switch needed replacing. We were told that the company would locate the necessary switch and post it on to us. This didn’t happen. On calling they said they had posted it and had the package returned. The address we gave was a valid one and no parcel or parcel notification was ever received. It now also turns out that the labor involved in this replacement is likely to be high.
The water tank leaks. After purchase we flushed out the tanks at a nearby dump station (a job which hadn’t been done) and filled up with fresh water. The fresh water tank leaked. We were not far away so we went back to the yard. We were told that we had over-filled the tank and the safety pressure valve had released the excess water. We believed what we were told. It was not true. The tank needs to be repaired or replaced.
We were told the vehicle had been pressure tested and had no leaks. We now find 3 window seals have major leaks.
The company advertises that all their vehicles are checked before sale; that everything that should work does work. This is not true and moreover when the company is told of various failings our experience is that you get no response: emails are not replied to; phones are not answered. The company also advertises that ‘We do not buy these RV's from auctions! We take our time with the owner and ask very specific questions about the RV.’ The autocheck report on our vehicle, which we were given after conclusion of sale, shows no owner since being traded at auction.
There a similar post on rv.net (now closed) about this company, when they were known as Lakeside Auto Sales.
We realise some will say we were naïve and too trusting. We will certainly never do business with Petite RV and Auto Sales again. If readers decide to do so we suggest they thoroughly test what they buy before parting with any cash because, based on our experience, you will be smoothly sold a lemon but you will get absolutely no after sales service whatsoever.

Class B

kiwi_abroad
Explorer
Oct 29, 2013
Thanks Kimbopolo and NCWriter. Great tips for the Keys NCWriter - I have more or less given up on the idea of doing the half marathon in the New Year (whoop, whoop! no training now required!!!) because there were never ever any cancellations coming up for Bahia Honda or any of the State parks at that time and with a 7.00 am race start I did want to know we was sorted for somewhere local. Will keep checking but now have persevered with earlier dates and have picked up 3 nights booked mid November at 2 different parks. There is a one night gap in the middle of the 3 nights but if we don't get one of the sites they supposedly hold for strays we will stay at the BPK rustic camping as you suggested. Meanwhile we have been 'resting up' in South Carolina. Back on the road today with all leaky windows glued and patched. Not that I am looking for rain but the proof that it has worked won't come until we get some - we were not game to turn the hose on to check! All good stuff and we love the thought of escaping the cold by simply getting in the van and driving away.
Kimbopolo
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
So sorry to hear that you have had such a bad experience with these people. And, I don't care what the terms of the deal were, if they are not returning your calls or emails, they have no integrity.

But thank you so much for posting your experiences. It's a very generous thing to take the time to do and I hope that your story can help someone else avoid the same shady business practices.
NCWriter
Explorer
Oct 25, 2013
Re the cheapest place to stay in/near Key West, as you already may know, there are limited choices at high prices. The closest I know of from past experience would be Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge (telephone 305-872-2351), Mile Marker 33 on Big Pine Key, ocean side, not far from Bahia Honda State Park, located between Key Marathon and Key West. No web site.

However, Big Pine Key is not exactly cheap at $42 in the winter months for the "rustic camping" dry camping section. No hookups, no pets allowed, and no generators permitted, but OK for a couple of nights. The full hookup sites are reasonably-priced, very close together, but are impossible to get - fully booked by returning guests each year. We requested one far in advance but could not secure one.

Suggestion #1 would be to check the web site often for Bahia Honda State Park in case of a cancellation; if not, go see the office early(check out time is 1 p.m.) to see if there are any sites open that night. Probably not, so then go to Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge. We stayed in the BPK rustic camping section last year during peak season for a couple of nights and it had plenty of empty sites.

Suggestion #2 would be to consider staying further north for more selection. But nothing in the Keys will be cheap.
kiwi_abroad
Explorer
Oct 25, 2013
Well that is good news to hear it might be the gauge giving a false reading. We can live with it either way but Camping World and another RV company have looked at it and both say it probably does have a leak. They say it could be expensive to investigate and might require a new tank so as it will only be a problem if we are in the back country for a while we are going to leave it as it is.
We have had to replace the air con unit so that put a big hole in the petrol/gas budget. Hopefully the weather gets hot enough to need it!
We are undecided about the generator but I think we will live with that one too as both RV fixer men said it might end up expensive to investigate and fix. So far it turns on properly the second time you switch it on and they said it could just be a timing issue. As long as it turns on second time we don't mind it thinking about it first time!
Right now we are in some sunshine and warmer temperatures so we are going to try to fix the window seals. We do need to do something about them because they leak in the rain. If we can't fix the leak we will need to try to get new seals from a Dodge Dealer as Camping World didn't carry them.
One good thing about all this is that we have discovered an excellent website. Thank you all for your good wishes - I can feel the warm fuzzies coming through! Writing about our experience might help someone else and it has also somehow eased our pain. So all good and onwards and upwards. I should say onwards and downwards as we are in Southern Carolina and heading south. We have actually done BC and the Redwoods and Yosemite but thank you for the suggestions and we welcome any ideas for our time in the south. We would like to be in Key West for the half marathon on 19th Jan but have left it too late and all the State Parks in Key West are full. There are camp grounds (not sure if they are full) but they seem pricy. Seems like there is NO boondocking in Key West - can anyone suggest the cheapest place to stay for a couple of nights?
Sebtown
Explorer
Oct 24, 2013
Kiwi abroad, don't sweat the small stuff! It sounds like the B is running well and the problem, while inconvenient, is small. We have a ton of great things to see and do in North America and you can find fantastic weather any time of year. My suggestion is go west for the winter. And don't miss the Redwood trees in northern California and Yosemite too!
Fastpaddler
Explorer
Oct 24, 2013
kiwi abroad
We are all rooting for you and wish you happy travels. Vancouver Island, where we live, has a great selection of RV Resorts, Parks, by-ways and other locations for the Rvers who come from as far away as Germany(quite a few) and the USA. We dont keep our fresh water tank more than 1/2 full unless we are going to dry camp where there is no water supply.Reason: you are carrying a lot of extra weight. We mostly use hookups but try to empty our fresh water tank before winter--even though it is mild here. cheers
AL
RnRs-RT
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
My RoadTrek gauge jumps from 1/4 to full when it has only about 5 gallon in it so it is definitely not accurate and it will run out the over flow when it is full as the RT manual states.
My_Roadtrek
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
All fresh water tanks will overflow water if filled too high. If you are going by the gauge inside the van, to determine how much water is in the tank, they are notoriously inaccurate.
stan909
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
Have a great trip.
kiwi_abroad
Explorer
Oct 23, 2013
Apologies Bar_20 for not replying sooner. We have just driven the Blue Ridge Parkway for 4 days and now 2 days in Great Smoky NP. Fantastic views and great hiking but no internet access. Sometimes 2 out of 3 certainly ain’t bad!
We think Petite purchased the van from a contact in Connecticut who bought it at auction. But who would know? They mostly sell Class B’s and small cars. They panel beat and paint on site – we saw that being done to other vehicles.
There was some water in the tank prior to purchase. We did test the pump and the water came through OK. The leak does only occur when the water level reaches a certain level and we went back when we discovered this. I don’t know if they knew already but they looked underneath and said it was the overfill/pressure valve. They said we had filled it at too high a pressure and the implication was next time it would be fine. We have since learnt that there is no pressure valve working in the way it was explained to us. We reckon we get about 2/3 of a tank before it starts leaking.
Fast Paddler – you are so right in saying ‘Buying anything used, including a house is potentially fraught with a problem’. This is our ‘house’ as we are currently travelling in the US and Canada for a year, exploring and enjoying your vast lands.
Yes, in hindsight (a wonderful thing) we made quite a few mistakes in checking out the vehicle. Hopefully our tale will be a warning to others. Meanwhile we are not going to let this impact on enjoying our travels.