"Anyone with experience in how Eclipse is doing quality-wise during this "boon to business" time? My target is an Attitude or Iconic 28-32-foot 5th wheel."
Sir,
My wife and I have owned an RV of one type or another for close to 40 years. In 2014 we bought a brand new Eclipse Attitude 32Ak 5th wheel from a dealer in Sacramento.
It has been the worst RV experience of our lives. The quality control on these units is abhorrent. I bought an extended warranty and since the problems were, "manufacturing defects" they bowed out.
Problems include a window installed in a hole cut improperly, causing premature failure of the window seals, unsealed and covered exposed plywood edges the entire length of both sides of the coach, improperly installed cabinet hanger rods, Coax run throughout the trailer not connected to anything I can find, the list goes on.
I had the dealer install a second battery and an underbelly seal. Before I had 10 miles on the road the underbelly seal was falling off.
it was screwed to air...no backing.
The second battery was attached to the first via romex.
Based on this there was no way I was going to allow them to tackle the window repairs and fixing the subsequent delamination.
The convertible sofa on the side wall is screwed into the aluminum studs via #10 sheet metal screws. They fell out within two months. I would up putting 1/4-20 nut-serts into the studs and using grade bolts to fix the problem.
I had a local RV repair facility that has a reputation for outstanding work take pictures of the problems and write up an estimate for repairs. The estimate came in at $2500. I sent all of this to Eclipse, via Email.
They wouldn't cover it.
They wanted me to bring the coach to their facility in Riverside, Ca.
This is about 700 miles one way, plus my time, $, etc.
Ultimately we agreed to have one of their drivers take the coach down, then they notified me they would not warranty the repairs they were going to perform...
In the meantime, I heard from another Eclipse product owner that this was a classic ploy, get your coach down there, open it up, claim the problem was not their fault, and demand payment for repair to put the RV back together.
I wound up paying out of pocket.. to my local tech, who warrants his work. I asked Eclipse that they please send me the decals that would be necessary to match up after the repairs were made.
3 months later they sent the wrong "bigger" decal, and when I told them that they said it "was the best they could do, and o by the way, the second smaller decal was "unavailable".
Mind you, this coach was less than 16 months off the lot, and had been towed less than 500 miles.
Last spring I walked into the coach and found the convertible sofa on the wall laying on the floor. The only weight ever on that couch was our 40 lb. dog. The sofa is attached to the side wall via screws into the aluminum studs using #10 sheet metal screws. I would up putting 1/4-20 nut-serts into the studs and using grade 8 bolts to fix the problem.
There is my Eclipse Story. I have all the pictures, all of the emails, and will save them forever.
I've been tempted mightily to buy two large decals of a Lemon, and put them on the ramp door and the nose cap...but the wife says no.
2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad cab 4x4 dually, 5.9 Cummins, 6-speed manual, Jakobs Exhaust Brake, Air Bags, trans coolers, Redline in everything.
Towing a 2014 Eclipse Attitude 32AKLG 5'er on a B&W Turnover Ball 5'er Hitch
