Not impressed with 2014 Arctic Fox (VIDEO INSIDE)

skydiver31 wrote:
UPDATE:

It looks like it's going to take a while to get booked for the repairs with my dealer. On top of that, they have told me that it can take awhile to get NW to act because of their claim form process. I have decided not to let the cosmetic stuff bother me. I'm going to use the trailer for a season and then trade it in for something else, at which point I will do a full inspection on it.

The dealer thought i was being very confrontational and was upset that I was upset (??). He got very defensive about my frustration rather than being sympathetic, it seemed. He said there was nothing they can't fix though but from my earlier impression it will definitely take some time (due to delays with NW and booking as explained above). Although the conversation with the owner got both of our heart rates up, I am happy he gave into my persistent request to have the insulation replaced and patched up. His worker screwed some "shark skin" over it with some of that grey gasket stuff and I was very pleased with his work.

Meanwhile, I have sealed the crack in the ceiling with a white silicone to prevent humidity transfer between the inside of my trailer and the space between the ceiling and the plywood (it also looks less obvious now). I couldn't get a straight answer on whether or not this will void my warranty, so I just went ahead and did it.

In the meantime, I e-mailed NW a week ago with the link to my Youtube video, and all I have gotten back so far is "I will share this with the management team".

Am I bashing NW? Hell no. I am just sharing my experience with other people so they take the time to inspect a trailer before they buy it. Maybe they have some really good crews and this trailer just happened to get put together by the new guys. I don't know. I have mentioned numerous times that the materials of this RV are high quality and its the final assembly I'm not happy with. That doesn't mean the next trailer they make will have the same problems, although to make this observation fair I will admit I am getting a few responses which indicate that I'm not the only one seeing these problems (from PM, forum, and other sources).

I have discovered a new problem after I left the dealer the other day. Not really sure if this is serious or not, but it would be nice to get some opinions on this:



Behind the oven, you can see the board which has opened up. At first I didn't think this was a big deal, but I do have a small concern about it:



When I look inside the oven, there is a square cut-out where the thermocouple comes in. Behind the cut-out you can see the wooden board from the first picture. Normally this would be okay because there would be significant space behind the oven, but now that the door is starting to make contact with the heat I am getting a little nervous. If the other side of the board pops out against the open cut-out, that board would become subject to 350+ degree heat when the oven is on. At what temperature does that type of wood ignite at? Maybe it wouldn't be enough to burn, but I sure as hell want to fix that.

I am going to back the oven out and see what I can do to minimize the hazard. If the board can't be attached properly because of all those cables pushing it out, I may end up spraying it with some form of fire rated barrier (any suggestions?)

On top of this, I have also noticed that the rubbers on top of the shocks underneath the trailer are chipped and cracked. The worker at the dealership said I should be able to spray these with WD-40 and they will be okay. They did take pictures of them though and sent them to NW as well. When worker #2 walked by during all of this and I asked for his opinion, he seemed quite frustrated that I was worried about them at all. "Customers just normally don't see this little stuff, and those rubbers shouldn't be a big deal. Your shocks will be fine" were his last words.

Okay, maybe this is all little stuff.. but it all adds up. My list is now exceeding 20 issues, some of them I haven't even brought up in this thread or the video. For example, I never mentioned that there was a felt marker streak on the leather portion of one of the dinette seats. Luckily I have been able to clean most of it away, but you can still see it.

This is my favorite youtube comment by the way:

"Your complaints are stupid. It is a camper, not a damned piano. It is utilitarian, not a work of art.?"

Okay, I get it. Cosmetic stuff isn't a big deal. But when you see this many cosmetic problems, then I start to worry what's inside. This is why I peaked by head around the oven... and of course, lo and behold..That wood is hard for me to reach so I probably have to back the oven out which won't be easy.

So far the dealer has been helpful (by patching that insulation back up) and the manufacturer is still looking at pictures and watching my video. I will follow-up with more updates as they come up, but in the meantime I can't just sit around and worry about what's going to happen. I will be fixing what I can by myself, thanks to the suggestions from a few forum members. At least if I fix it, then I know I can be happy with the result.