Northwood Manufacturing's Defective Trailer

[windstrucklady]

My husband and I purchased a brand new 2010 Northwood True North OSV trailer in May, 2010.

In April 2014 we pulled back the floor to find extensive water damage. We could wring the water out of the floor insulation and the pressboard was so soft and wet we could push our finger through it. There was also mold.

We had used the trailer less than 20 times and we took very good care of it.

When I spoke with Northwood in April, they said that the only thing Northwood could offer was to fix the trailer cheaper than anyone else (though could not provide a quote), if we got it to Northwood ourselves (5.5 hours away) and the waitlist was at least 2 months out.

I understand that the trailer only had a one year limited warranty on it, and at the time of purchase my husband and I figured that would not be a problem as we thought Northwood was a reputable company that makes high quality products.

I guess we were wrong. 4 years later and with ligher pockets we are left with a destroyed trailer that our insurance company deems a write-off and that the leak is due to a manufacturer defect. As I mentioned we did not know of this issue until we pulled back the floor and saw the damage (our insurance covers flood but it does not cover anything if there is damage due to the flood, yet another example of a corporation not caring about their customers).

I am so disappointed that Northwood would produce something this poorly made and not help the people that purchased their defective product. I feel there is little to no decency left in the corporate world and no one cares about their customers. Northwood just proved me right once again.

[Oakman]

Sorry for the damage you have on your trailer. Things like you experienced make me sick to my stomach. However, your trailer is four years old and Northwoods Manufacturing has no idea where or what your trailer has been through. I doubt that any RV manufacturer would be willing to fix water damage free of charge on a 2010 model. A lot of things can happen to a trailer in four years.



I’d be more upset with the insurance company. It seems to me insurance companies are always looking for a way to avoid their obligations. The manufacturing defect sound like an insurance cop out. That’s just my opinion.

[westend]

Do you know what the defect is? It may help others that own the same trailer so that they can repair or replace a defective part.

[windstrucklady]

Also, we LOVED that trailer and took good care. It is hard to do maintenance when you don't know there is an issue.

[windstrucklady]

A quick summary:

1. No plumbing in the unit.
2. No sign of leakage at all. I wanted to add a nicer floor and that is how we found the damage.
3. Our insurance is not covering it because there was mold, even though they cover flooding, not damage caused by flooding...thank you for being polite who mentioned insurance.
4. Insurance deemed it a manufacturer's defect and have talked to RV dealers who have said this is a wide spread issue.
5. I am not American.

Thank you all for your support and kind words. 🙂

[rhagfo]

I see that back hatch as a high maintenance item!!
It looks like the seal is on the body and not the door, just saying that you should have noticed the leak sooner.

[n7bsn]

Apparently most people have no idea what a Northwoods True North is

You Tube Video

No plumbing, not a single pipe.

That means the water came in from the outside.

That certainly hints at some poor maintenance as a possibility.
At least to the possibility of not noticing something like a failure in the underside sealing.

[rugermark2]

Op we need more information. As you can tell you aren't going to get a lot of sympathy here if you don't tell a better story. Also if your 1st post is a complaint you won't get sympathy either.

[ScottG]

After the lynch mob attacks on the OP I would understand if we never heard from her again.

[CavemanCharlie]

I do feel I need to join in here and say the OP's post was not very informative. If they would have provided more details about the problem and the steps they took to fix it then we would have a better idea of what is going on.

[mich800]

I would just be happy at this point the insurance will pick up the tab for water damage. It is not every day that happens. If deemed lack of maintenance it's on you to foot the bill. I would be curious what they considered the manufacturing defect.

[calamus]

Could you not hear the pump running or water dripping out of the bottom of the camper? Was it stored inside or outside covered or not? We have a 2008 we bought brand new, the second year we had it 1st trip out washing the back tank I see water dripping out of the floor a pex fitting had not been crimped their fault yes but out of warranty and I caught it I hate to jump and bash you but Im not really buying this. This sounds like someone was not paying attention while camping.

[uglybear11]

we do not have the facts to determine if this was a owner or manufacturer fault. so why does the crowd jump to conclusions?

We do have to admit that trailers are built of cheap materials. I bought a used trailer with known defects. i fixed it. but if good materials and design were present, there would have been little to no issues to be fixed.

look at the use of the plywood just under the roof - get it wet and it comes apart.

look at delamination when the plywood gets wet

the faucets, etc are CHEAP

i can go on and on ------ after tearing into a trailer, i doubt that i ever buy another unless it is a vintage unit that i can rebuild.

back to the original posting - who gives all the right to make such rude comments without knowing the facts? Or is this the basis of this forum? helping others or to throw stones
?????? yes, i say what i think.

[fla-gypsy]

If you followed the makers maintenance schedule it may have been avoided. If plumbing was leaking in a hidden area maybe not.

[westend]

Just because the insurance company deems it a write off and you feel the damage is too much to repair, I'll assure you that it's not. I've rebuilt a TT and anyone with some limited construction skills can repair damage like that. It will not be fast and it usually amounts to a lot of labor but the materials are not that expensive.

I have no idea about your skill sets and maybe the idea of recovering the trailer is not what you wish to do. If you are interested in following along with that, you can search on the Forum for others that have done these kinds of repairs.

This is the second rant post this week about a damaged RV and the other owner decided to do nothing about it but wring hands. I'm posting to find out if this will be a one-and-out or if the owner will take some action.

[Francesca_Knowl]

If it's just the floor I find it hard to believe this water intruded through seams...plumbing problems seems more likely to me. Especially given this part of your opening statement:

windstrucklady wrote:

(our insurance covers flood but it does not cover anything if there is damage due to the flood,

Was there such a "flood" event somewhere along the line and you didn't catch it in time or what???