2013 shadow cruiser poor quality customer service

[wyzguy2001]

purchased a new 2013 shadow cruiser 280qbs. we had a used Jayfeather before and thought buying a new one would be great. I have heard from several owners of the axle issues. but I have had lots of little problems from shoddy construction but I just figured it was due to the lightweight and assembly line construction. I had to align the entry door which was hitting the frame. The inside trim fell off. Panels falling off and then recently water leaks. I finally said enough and went to campers inn where my trailer has been for 4 weeks. I was told that my warranty has expired!! a month ago and Cruiser said too bad. I have black tank leaking out under frame. Terrible customer service and attitude by warranty manager for the cruiser company. I liked the looks of the trailer but don't be fooled by its appearance. Campers inn said they are getting rid of the Cruiser line because of the issues with Manufacturer..... BEWARE>>

[NC_Roamer]

I've read in several forums of problems customers have had with their dealers and/or manufacturers covering many brands of motorhomes and travel trailers. But I have never seen where any customer has tried to involve their state attorney general's office. Now I realize that each state is different, but North Carolina's AG has a pretty strong Consumer Protection Division.

Years ago I was in a dispute with an out-of-state company that had customized a Ford van which was sold to me through the local Ford dealer. When the custom paint job began flaking off due to poor surface prep, Ford said, "Not our problem. We didn't paint it." I contacted the Georgia firm, offered to drive it to Athens, and stay in a local motel (all at my expense), if they would repaint it. Their reponse was literally to cuss me out over the phone.

I filed a complaint with the NC AG's office which sent a letter to the firm, cc'ing me, asking for a reply. After a few weeks with no reply, the AG sent a second letter telling them that ignoring this complaint would result in their firm begin barred from selling their products in the state of North Carolina. I received a very polite phone call a few days later asking if they could pick up my van at the local Ford dealer, trailer it to Georgia, repaint it, and return it to me. I agreed and they did just that.

So I wonder if any of the buyers of really troublesome RV products have ever checked into their state's AG's office? They certainly aided me.

[wyzguy2001]

love2tow wrote:
We just bought a 2014 Shadow Cruiser 313 BH and a 5 year extended warranty. Looks like that might be money well spent.

I have made one trip with it. That was from the dealer to my storage spot and it was about a 15 mile drive. When I went inside to prop the fridge open for storage, I noticed the bunk support had pulled out of the wall. So my second trip with my trailer will be back to the dealer.

Good luck, My dealer stopped selling because they wouldn't cover their product up here in NH area. I wish I bought the warranty also but never thought the axels and assembly problems would be an issue. They wont even cover their own assembly mistakes...

[wyzguy2001]

I am so disgusted with Shadow Cruiser... I have a 2013 shadow cruiser 280. I too have bent axels. I liked this trailer with its options and layout but over the last two years of owning this. We have had a leaking toilet which was determined to be faulty assembly at the plant. Of course Cruiser RV would not fix but split it with me... Cost me over $300. this year along with that I noticed that the cheap tires are bald on inside. I suspected last year but no one seemed to think it was the axels or they didn't want to say. I just brought up to local NH camper place and they tell me that the axels are bent and that they would notify Lippert.. Still waiting to hear. I am holding my breath on whether they will fix. I don't know what to do??? the leak so far in the shower drain which has to be related to last year is costing me another $500. I haven't spoken to them yet but why isn't Cruiser doing anything about this???????? Someone actually called me back from Cruiser but had nothing to say.. He said that they put the 3500 pound axels on the trailer and its not the axels its the tires!... He said that they stopped using the cheap tires and went to radials. I told him if that was the case, why did the technician at the camper place tell me not to put tires on with the bent axels. I then asked him if he would help me out with the tires since he admitted the tires were no good...He said that he wouldn't.

I wonder who we can all call to report this to?? I cant believe a 2013 trailer with 1500 miles could have such problems and no one will step up to fix their mistakes..

[love2tow]

Oh, I almost forgot. I emailed the manufacturer/warranty dept. to ask a couple of questions.

1st question: Can I drive with my Fresh water tank full?

Their answer: "You can travel with your unit with the tank full but we highly do not recommend it. The vibrations due to traveling with a full tank create risks of support bracket breakage. If it was me from what I have heard of I wouldn’t to be on the safe side."

Second Question: Can I put load range E tires on the factory wheels? I have the upgraded 15 inch aluminum rims that you offer in your packages.

I am not 100% sure about putting E rated tires on 15” rims, but from bits of information that I have heard you may need to 16” rims. The best thing to do would be to call a tire company like a Discount Tire.

I was a little disappointed with these answers.

[love2tow]

We just bought a 2014 Shadow Cruiser 313 BH and a 5 year extended warranty. Looks like that might be money well spent.

I have made one trip with it. That was from the dealer to my storage spot and it was about a 15 mile drive. When I went inside to prop the fridge open for storage, I noticed the bunk support had pulled out of the wall. So my second trip with my trailer will be back to the dealer.

[breeno]

I'll chime in as well -- we have had a 280 QBS (still have it in addition to our new Heartland 5th wheel) and have had nothing but good experiences with it. Sorry for the folks that are having troubles, hope they get sorted out quickly.

[skwid]

I just saw this and I figured I'd chime in. We have a 2013 280qbs as we'll and no trouble here at all. No weird tire wear or anything to report after 2000 miles or so we've put on it. Only thing that happened is a signal lamp cover fell off and cruiser mailed us one right out. I'll report back if anything happens but so far so good.

[Montana_Mike]

Well after reading this I better get mine in before warranty runs out. I thought it was just cheep tires but maybe axles? 1000 or so miles and the tires are wearing badly.will need replaced soon. Love the rest of the trailer!

[KayeBratton]

We are having the same axle and tire issues. The axles and tires have been replaced once. And we are still having the same problem with the tires wearing out on the inside. Our dealership has bent over backwards to help us to get Shadow Cruiser to fix our camper and make it right. When I called Shadow Cruiser the gentleman that I spoke with admitted to me that they know that they have problems with their axles. He told me that they won't do anything about it because our Warranty expired last month! This is our first camper and the poor quality along with horrible customer service from Shadow Cruiser has made this a less than pleasurable experience. I would not recommend a Shadow Cruiser product to anyone.

Not sure if anyone can answer this or not, but, if this is an ongoing problem why hasn't there been a recall on these axles?

[Mooreagreen]

Sounds like a dealer problem - how do they keep your trailer for 4 weeks and not inform you ahead of time that you warranty is expiring? The issues you mentioned should not take 4 weeks to fix.

I also see this is your very first post ever? If you do not respond one can only assume you were laid off by Cruiser.

We have a 2013 280QBS and have only had minor issues fixed by dealer with no hassles. The equipment, decor, weight, layout, etc.are hard to beat for the price point.

We have had no issues with axles, leaks, or anything else major.

After reading all of the bad comments about the Cruiser products it appears to be about the same 5 people posting over and over.

Please respond and post pictures.

[profdant139]

Yes, there have been some problems with Shadow Cruiser quality control. But just to set the record straight, not everyone is unhappy, and I am not even sure that Cruiser has had more problems than other manufacturers. Remember that unhappy folks are much more likely to post than are happy folks.

I am on my second Cruiser trailer -- we bought our first one used in 2005, put thousands of miles on it for seven years, and then sold it and replaced it with a new one, which we have also used very heavily. We have had a few warranty issues -- Cruiser and our dealer (Family RV in Pomona, Calif) have been great. I would not hesitate to buy another Cruiser product.

But I am sure that Cruisers are not better than other makes -- probably about the same. And I think that the really high end trailers are probably better built. You get what you pay for, usually.

[ReferDog]

Clonefan, they was a wise decision, you can't polish a turd. Same type of issue with Forest River product, Flagstaff, It was a lightweight things just don't stay together.

[Clonefan]

The list of people having had problems with Shadow Cruisers is growing. I'm sorry about your troubles, you are not alone. I sent mine back and got a refund on my 280QBS.

[michigansandzil]

Sorry to hear about your issues.
We have a 2012 280 QBS. I love this camper. There really is nothing else on the market with the same size, weight, and price. Everything else was either too heavy, too small, or cost a minimum of 10K more.

We have had the exact opposite experience with the manufacturer. They have been so amazing that we decided we'd keep on purchasing their products due to good customer service.

We did have the axle issues which I agree, should NOT happen with a new camper (but hey, even the car companies have faulty/cheep equipment they try to let slide). They replaced those without batting an eye and we got new tires out of the deal too.
We also had a misunderstanding about our hot water heater. We thought is was electric/gas, and turned out only to be electric. We complained to our dealer and they notified the manufacturer. Cruiser RV installed a new hot water heater and paid for the labor as well.

It was actually the dealer that was giving us more trouble than the manufacturer.
Have you tried calling the manufacturer directly yourself or are you hearing through the dealer that the manufacturer won't cooperate? It's so odd that they are being so difficult that it makes me wonder if the dealer has something to do with it. I know that Cruise said they would pay for our hot water heater, but our dealer didn't want to pay for labor so they argued a bit and eventually it was resolved. But if your dealer didn't want to work with you they might spin it around that Cruise is being difficult. Just a thought, but I would call the manufacturer yourself and complain about poor service and see if they come through.