If I knew then what I know now

[Quintonsrv]

So here is a consumer warning straight from the street about a shifty, fly-by-night business that you want to avoid when it comes to 5th wheel/travel trailer and portable storage manufacturing, sales and service.

I made the huge mistake of hiring Bill Wyrick at Auto Mate out of Los Banos, California to build a fifth wheel for me in which I paid thousands for. Since completion and pulling my rv off the lot, I've experienced numerous problems ranging from fundamental design flaws to unserviceable fused circuit boards sealed inside the walls of my rv. For the first few months of warrantee, anytime something went wrong, I would have to drag rv back to their shop (120 miles round trip) to leave it there. I had to do this for ridiculous corrections that were missed missed during manufacturing and upon completion of rv.

Example: an adjustment to a slide that wasn't installed correctly. Then go back to pick it up and slide still did not open and close as it should. I had to apply a five dollar can of insulation foam to fill a gap where the slide wouldn't close all the way.
A couple camping trips later and I'm headed back to Los Banos for more corrections and repairs for my brand new multi thousand dollar 5th wheel.

- One of which was squeaky floor boards during maiden voyage.
- Air bubbles developing in the rubber floor of my ramp door. Shortly after,
- the support springs installed on ramp door broke off one at a time due to improper placement.
- Delaminating rubber roof.
- Exterior molding that rotted off inside of 9 months.
- Incompatible LP hose connectors.
- Improper generator instillation that started to melt my rv.
- Over tightened hose clamps that caused oil leaks and a $600 shop bill.

I discovered by accident and before an accident, that the hitch provided by Auto Mate and used to haul my rv was grossly underrated. The list goes on. To ad insult to injury, each event that was supposed to be covered under warrantee, was like pulling teeth that always included some elaborate excuse or story. Recently and long after manufacturing warrantee has expired, more problems that have earned my rv it's name, Just Bill Me. Nick named after the slimy fast talking owner, Bill Wyrick. For each set of problems this guy always has a shpeel that results with either more money, more inconvenience, stalling and talking in circles to avoid any responsibility.
Then, Auto Mate went out of business. I remember feeling like I'm on my own with this rv and hoping for no further problems.

Recently one of my slides stopped working. Brought rv in for repair of my slide to two different dealers and both couldn't find why my slide wouldn't slide out. Slide motor working fine. No breakers or fuses out. No sign of a bad ground or a short. Then when I got rv back to storage, late at night, I noticed a strange noise coming from inside a partition while pressing the button to the broken slide. The service yards where I brought trailer were too noisy and you couldn't hear the noise coming from inside my wall. Desperate for answers, I reached out to the rv manufacturer again despite last hearing they had went out of business. Much to my surprise, Mr. Wyrick and Auto Mate, or, Los Banos rv Center, had somehow managed to start up shop again. I confronted Mr. Wyrick about my failing slide and the odd noise coming from an inaccessible and unserviceable portion of the rv wall. At that point he vehemently denied any practice of construction or installation of anything in his 5th wheel and trailer walls or partitions. Since then I have documented via video camera of the extraction of a Power Gear circuit board with a replaceable fuse attached to it. The circuit board apparently stopped working and as a result, I can't get the 12 volt power to my slide to open and close it. I've sent the video clip to Mr. Wyrick at Auto Mate and followed up with a phone call in which I was able to speak with him. His response was he had decided to claim that I was verbally abusive and hung up on me. I've tried to contact him since to no avail.

This slide takes up half the rv and the rv is literally inside of itself when it's inoperable. I've taken steps to contact Power Gear for a replacement circuit board. Power Gear has been very helpful.

For a brief moment I was relieved when I found out that Auto Mate was back in business. Soon after and faster then I could put it into words, I quickly discovered that not much has changed and I am still on my own with this 5th wheel. My last words with the owner at Auto Mate or whatever name they might be doing business as, was vowing to warn as many consumers, rv'ers and applicable authorities about his questionable workmanship and his gross and blatant lack of concern to stand behind his product.

It's quite possible that Mr. Wyrick will be watching his P's and Q's around future prospects once he finds out this review is public,... just like he did before he got my money.

Quinton Hayes,
Not proud Auto Mate owner

[Quintonsrv]

Thanks for all the feed back. Most of the comments have been a humbling education. Must say that I recognize and appreciate information and support that is offered to me by strangers and at no cost to me. Makes me realize that there are others that have been pursuing the adventure of the open road longer than I have and that there are others that have seen situations like this much more than I have. I'm grateful and didn't expect the response covering a variety of perspectives.

On the other hand, there's that small eccentric percentage that somehow seems to turn everything into a conspiracy theory. I have nothing to gain by going public with this perpetual inconvenience and might ad that it's taken me ten years and a very heavy straw to say boo about it all. I've labored for weeks to get his side of the story. I would love to hear his side of the story. I can only guess that I couldn't get his side because one can't Make Up a story that warrants building around a motherboard like a brick layer trying to hide evidence that controls a 3rd of an rv. How does one explain away an entombed slide relay with a ceramic fuse on it in my walls? In which triggers a two month long investigation in order to crack the case and then damage my wall to remove for replacement?
What's baffling to me is that not a one person has commented directly on this bizarre practice of installing serviceable circuit boards in the deepest, darkest part of Any rv. That's what this is about for me. And it Is my rv. And I really wasn't under any obligation to warn anybody about it. I'm not looking to get a refund. It ain't CostCo. I don't expect a string of retroactive repairs to be done to correct what I think are design flaws. I don't even want my fellow human being to suffer from what might've been a technicians bad judgment to save on wire. What I do want and what I think I deserve, is an answer... An explanation as to why I'm tearing out electrical components from the bowels of my 5th wheel. By stating the facts, whether they favor him or me, I hope to find this answer.

And yet somehow I attract the type of member that would walk into a fish market and exclaim,
"hmmmm,... somethin sure smells fishy around here,... and I'm gonna get to the bottom of this.. Yes this is my chance to show the intranet what a clever sleuth I can be."
It's not a Nancy Drew Mystery. All my cards are face up on the table and I stated my agenda to inform as much of the rv community as I can. I stated it clearly and bluntly. It's not a cloaked underlying inyuwindow. I'm not claiming to have seen a UFO here. I'm not running for congress. The video that I posted on Youtube does not depict me in a good light but yet I posted it anyway despite and to document and show irrefutably what took place. The video is unedited and obviously not shot for a baby kissing commercial. This is not a campaign to win others over with deceptive smoke and mirrors. I'm not winning any friends by disclosing that owner of dealership thinks I have an abusive manner. (Don't know where he gets that BTW. Might be that I'm furious after he swore to me that he doesn't put circuit boards in the walls of his coaches. I'm kinda funny like that.) And by volunteering events that are not in my favor, had hoped to defuse the keen scrutiny of the objective personality by blatantly snatching that ham bone from their plates. But, I should've expected a subtle glossing over a brick through a window in order to vent a deep seeded frustration for people who voice their legitimate grievance online.

I also should've expected these unprovoked and hypocritical retaliations from what sounds like surfers who've become charged with a false sense of bravado and come across as if insulated and sheltered under mom n dads roof as they vent their pet peeves online while the cable tv washes over them. Case in point, I got a comment from a member insinuating that my contention with this dealership is a result of boredom due to business being slow. This fool doesn't even know me! Then laces his, or her, statement with carefully selected animated Emoticon GIF's for extra flavor. Then I noticed at the very bottom highlighted with an asterisk, automated documentation that user edited their comment a few minutes later. Prolly cuz they got second thoughts about the cute lil animation scratching it's head at the end of the carefully thought out sentence. Yeah I should hand it to them for figuring out on their own that littering their reply in which they think is profoundly unique, with cartoons tend to take an element of seriousness away from their off the cuff retort. While I'm sure they find Whiley Coyote and that kwaaayzee wabbit thoroughly amusing, cartoons er not appropriate in every context while tossing under informed opinions all over the web. Too much time on Facebook shows in brief fits of text despite cautiously investing a great deal of thought and ultimately, is proven to be translucent and counterproductive. And they're criticizing me about failing time management skills due to a bumble bee that got stuck in their bonnet.

I really don't place much stock on the fact that this individual of dealership is in and out of business however many times over. I was speaking with him by phone and If he wanted to resolve this, being under a different fictitious wouldn't get in his way.

It's only my opinion when I say I think too much emphasis was placed on the fact that the original post was my first post as a member. It takes away from and belittles the real point. Because of what followed many users powers of observations was extremely helpful,... useful, It would've been insulting and tacky to ease in as a new member with light conversation about the advantages of 100 psi diaphragm pump over an interlocking Cuter-built and then launch into a beef.

I don't expect a metal for that uncensored and straight shooting approach posted to a forum. Correction,.. I can't say that post was uncensored. But it's an odd feeling to have to defend my character after publicly bearing this burden. Yeah!.. I'm pissed. And I don't think it takes 9 years to piss someone off, it takes 10!

To those users who feel compelled to fire back with judgmental rebuttals, try to picture this experience as your own first. Sure, maybe I should've taken action a long time ago. I didn't... could be because I'm a nice guy. That'll surely learn me.
To all users who genuinely believe that anyone could possess such a wild imagination in conjunction with a twisted sense of malice to fabricate what I've documented over the years, I welcome and encourage you to challenge the evidence... and get some therapy. In that order if you're up to it.



Again I appreciate the knowledgable input from the following users. Whether it be constructive criticism or whether it be tips and support:

JRS&B
tandkj
navegator
WyoTraveler
northshore
JJBIRISH
homelesshobo
cjoseph
Ron3rd
Chris Bryant

In case I failed to mention, has anyone ever witnessed such a spectacle of discovering a component in an rv, or, in an HP E-Machine that's hidden better than Jimmy Hoffa's body?? That belongs behind a fuse panel or breaker door?? In other words,... if you bought a new car would it be considered normal or common practice to find out that the buttons that control the electric windows are sealed inside the dashboard?


Thank you for you time,
Quinton

[JJBIRISH]

so Bill Wyrick's is in business apparently as some sort of consignment dealer but not as much into RV mfg. any more…
as a mfg. he was Auto-mate and apparently toy-mate for a while… in the early 2000’s he touted the virtues of factory direct one of a kind mfg. all while working on a dealer to sell mass produced Auto-mate and Toy-mate units through a multi dealership named I believe Gamel RV, that apparently is no longer around under that name either… www.gamel.com automatically redirects you to another website….

Bill Wyrick’s RV Sales seem to be consignment models and a service center, but still owns and will build an Auto-mate trailer, as I said the automaterv.com web domain that I have been told is/or was his, seems to be for sale… their mfg. at present seems mostly limited to portable storage and offices… I don’t know if or when their regular production of Auto-mate RV’s stopped (I understand to have been between 2000 and 5000 units annually), and I don’t know if they have or are accepting any responsibility or commitments they had for previously made Auto-mate units… this seems to be the OP major complaint…

What I am wondering is how far out of warranty is his unit and what he expects from the mfg. (especially if the mfg. had gone out of bus)…
He stated he wasin touch with Mr. Wyrick who refuses to talk to him because of verbal abuse… this I believe was most likely true, if the language in the video he sent him is an example…

[JJBIRISH]

Even a stellar reputation gets tarnished real fast when you can’t get a line of communication… I know nothing about the company or the man but the apparently he is having problems in the economy of the day…

While all rants are suspect and especially first post, I don’t know that OP isn’t the victim of bad timing with a good company that was failing in some rather tough times…

Does this company have an active website, or phone listing???
The only thing I could find has nothing on it, and it says the web domain may be for sale…

[Ex-Tech]

This being the first post by a new member speaks voluums about this thread. There are two sides to every story and lawyers that love libel suits.
BTW, this same poster placed the same review on Yelp. ?????:h

The carpet cleaning business must be slow right now. :W

[navegator]

There are a lot of shaddy caracters that do shaddy buisness, today they call them selfs A&A RV, a few months latter they close shop and next day open as
A&B RV, the authorities can not keep up with them, since each time they close and then open they are basically different "buisnesses".

Hoppefully you have kept all of the documentation, take this documents to your locall Sheriff's fraud divission and enter a formal complaint not yust on the company but also on the individual running or owner of the company, that way they can go after the company and the individual separatelly this way they can go after both.

These individuals are always one step ahead of the paper work, once they detect that a person has entered a lawsuit they go out of business and day latter start a new one with a new name, old buissnes is gone, and city hall has nothing on the new one, fast talking scammers.

Good luck.

navegator

[Chris_Bryant]

Very odd first post, and the only one I have *ever* seen that was unhappy with an AutoMate RV.

[Ron3rd]

Interesting first post. Disturbing, if true.

[cjoseph]

Find yourself a good RV shop. Thankfully, you have a replacement board. I would try to isolate the wires going to and from that old board and abandon them in place. Wire the new board in a better location.

Power Gear may be able to help you find a place to help you fix the problem.

I didn't know there were still small makers out there. I can understand the allure of buying local and enjoying a working relationship with the people or person that actually built your rig. Sounds like this guy was a better salesman than builder.

I don't blame you for going public and warning people. Just make sure everything you say is true and you can back it up. He may fire back at you. I would look into any CA government agency that could back you up like a consumer protection agency or something like that.

Good luck

[homelesshobo]

Strange, I purchased a used Auto Mate, lived in it fulltime for 7 years , still have it, and it is without a doubt the finest rv I have ever owned. I do understand that mfgs do go downhill, but I sure love my Auto Mate..

[JJBIRISH]

Buying from any custom builder can be problematic for the buyer… many dealers and mobile service techs are gun-shy about working on them, because the problems of the shoddy builder becomes theirs if the repair takes a left turn…

This is similar to but worse than buying from a distant dealer for some warranty items… custom built usually means (except from known reputable builders) one of a kind built, and that means who knows what you got built…

My recommendation is to cut your losses and sell it now… while I don’t understand the mentality, there are always some that will buy it just because it is custom built…


if he is out of and back in business I doubt any lemon laws are going to help you anyway

[northshore]

Thanks for the Heads up, will pass this info along to my cousin who wanted to do the same thing.

[WyoTraveler]

Especially in CA you would have been protected by the lemon law. He was probably giving back money to other customers under lemon law that filed the papers. Suspect that is why he went out of business.

Back in the 60s there were many small companies building RVs. Back then RVs were basic boxes. Far less complicated than RVs today.

[tandkj]

I don't understand having someone build a 5th wheel.
Have you talked to anyone about the lemon law? Did you start the paper process from the start every time something? Pictures also? How about a lawyer? Have you contacted the CA Better Business Bureau?

[JRS___B]

Bummer.

But some businesses are just like that.

I had a similar experience on a much smaller scale with a new Nissan outboard motor and my closest "Nissan Authorized Dealer"(denied warranty work, poor workmanship, over-charging for what was done, and refusing to return my calls). I complained to Nissan in an email, and they said they would take care of it.

Well, much to my surprise, this dealership blew off Nissan as well, and would not return Nissan's calls either. So Nissan solved my problem directly, and also sent me a refund check for the full amount I had spent.

I guess some businesses can provide horrible customer service and still make money.

Since your RV is off warranty, I would try to establish a positive relationship with another dealer (does not matter what make they sell) or even an independent RV service outfit. Some off these guys that work out of their homes and come out in their vans to perform service can be very good at what they do. Because this RV sounds like a bit of a lemon that will need more attention in the future.