New Fifth Wheel

[RickandLou]

On June 21, 2014 we purchased a 2015 Coachmen Chaparral Signature 343 RLTS. It is beautiful but in the 30 days that we have owned it, we have found numerous issues. Kitchen faucet spewed water everywhere, shower leaked into the floor, both sets of landing gear broke when we brought it home and parked it. There is a small hole in the corner of the main slide at the floor when slid in. The worst thing is after bringing it home yesterday from the dealer(repairs), driving in rain, when we got home and slid out, we had water inside on the floors and the slide carpet was wet. I am sick about the money we spent on this rv and the problems we have already encountered. Has anyone else experienced this many problems in a new rv??

[ReneeG]

WeBeFulltimers wrote:
Have been full timing for 3 years in our Montana and have not had a single problem!

There are quality products out there. Same for our Bighorn, except for a cabinet hinge.

[WeBeFulltimers]

Have been full timing for 3 years in our Montana and have not had a single problem!

[RickandLou]

You are right. It is just so frustrating to spend that much money on an inferior product and I am a very proactive person---hard to take my hands off!! I am just going to have faith that the dealership will do their part.

[shadows4]

While I feel your pain, I think you need to give the selling dealer a chance to fix this. Then if they are not able maybe see if you could take it back to the factory to have them go over it. Is this a pain? You bet it is, but you have to go through the proper channels. I know you may want to scream and yell, maybe do bodily harm to someone but try to resist. You will get better results by being nice. IMHO. Good luck, and if that fails, then get mean. Please keep us informed.

[1oldtruck]

Camping world of Tampa removed the slide out of our Coachman Apex to remove the screws that had been broken off during assembly and caused it to leak profusely. The slide works great after the new screws were installed.

[ReneeG]

Our local news has a consumer hotline and they air stories like this and get resolution. Also, Good Sam Highways magazine has a consumer hotline you can write in and they will help you with consumer issues like this. This may be too big for them to handle but the exposure would help, if you don't get satisfaction.

[RickandLou]

Basically,no. Not in Ohio anyway. Only if you purchase a motor home & then, only the motorized portion. We're stuck.

[ReneeG]

Is there a lemon law for RV's?

[RickandLou]

The saga continues--today our dealer, who has possession of our rv, attempted to fix the slide problem. They did what Coachmen told them to do which was to drop the wiper seal one inch. It did not fix the problem. So now Coachmen is overnighting new and improved seals which are supposed to fix the problem. Why didn't they just use these in the first place?? Our dealer also told us they just wanted to put silicone over two holes that are in the vertical seal put there by improperly installed screws. My husband said no--we're not going to just start patching a brand new rv. Dealer said they would have to remove slide to fix this seal. This worries me a little bit--has anyone else had their slide removed and was it put back satisfactorily?? I also e-mailed the president of Coachmen, the quality control head, and the CEO of Priority 1 which is Forest River's financing company. Did not receive one reply. But, we are pressing on with hope for some sort of resolution.

[rugermark2]

tahoemc wrote:
Your sig suggests you unloaded the '12 Dutchmen Denali for a '15 Cougar. That concerns me much as we have a '13 Dutchmen Denali and have experienced a whole host of problems to the point I could be convinced to unload it. Are you any happier with the Cougar

Yes I unloaded the Denali, it just had a lot of problems.

But even after all the problems I still enjoy Rving. Op you will to but only when you get through working out all the bugs.

[tahoemc]

rugermark2 wrote:
We bought a brand new 2012 Dutchmen Denali, and on our 1st trip we had 17 things that needed to be fixed. Unfortunately this isn't uncommon. I think the production workers try to hide known defects from the inspectors just so they can meet there output numbers. There culture seems to be quantity over quality.

Your sig suggests you unloaded the '12 Dutchmen Denali for a '15 Cougar. That concerns me much as we have a '13 Dutchmen Denali and have experienced a whole host of problems to the point I could be convinced to unload it. Are you any happier with the Cougar?

After all of the reading throughout RV.net and owner websites, it is abundantly clear QC is severely lacking across most, if not all, manufaturers. Sad, sad, sad.......

To the OP, best of luck in getting your issues resolved. I feel your pain.

[Stefan]

Rick and Lou, I think you will find that Forest river will step up way better than a lot of other manufacturers when it comes to repairs, just keep hounding and documenting.
If you have not done so yet ( as mentioned earlier) get over to the Forest river forums, lots of great info from people who had similar issues

[Sturgeon-Phish]

The lack of quality control in the camper industry is appalling. The workmanship just is not there in the mid to entry level units, and only somewhat better in the high end units. The industry has gotten by with shoddy workmanship because we continue to buy what they produce.
The typical dealer’s lack of response just perpetuates the condition. The auto industry had similar issues in the ‘70s and ‘60s and until the pressure from foreign manufactures woke Detroit up, their products, and dealer post sale support and service stunk. Unfortunately the decisions made in the front offices for the profit/production/quality balance puts the guys who build the units as well as the dealer who have to patch them up in a bad place.
Personally I would rather spend more on a camper that was built so well that there would not be a need to return it to the dealer, and the dealer would be obligated to offer a comparable loaner while the new unit was out of service due to defective issues. I also believe the dealer should provide pickup and delivery of the unit to the buyers point of convenience. I’m sure those two actions would exert a little incentive for manufactures to build a quality unit, and ensure that when service would be needed, the work would be done right the first time.
Was that a rant?
Jim

[RickandLou]

Thank you, Lyle for that helpful information about the higher ups at Coachmen. I have a feeling we might need those names.