Best manufacture response

[rickhise]

Can you share a manufacture story that
stands out in your experience.

[bailer6334]

I have a Grand Design TT. The slide has been giving me problems from day 1. In the first failure GD stood behind their warranty and replaced one slide motor at their expense. The only delay was getting the unit from Lippert (3 weeks). This last issue was during a GD Rally, Lippert inspected my slide and determined the entire slide mechanism needed to be replaced. The dealer, Lippert and GD replaced it under warranty (another 6 weeks). Have to commend GD and Lippert for stepping up to the problem, even though I did not like the length of time to get it in and out of the shop. It was still under warranty at that time.

[csjag1]

The LCI power tongue jack on our Grand Design 315 had a top cover that had cracked and was coming apart, exposing the electrical switches to the elements. Our dealer contacted Grand Design and we had the whole power tongue jack replaced the next day with a different model. Kudos to both our local dealer (Southaven RV) and Grand Design!

[djsamuel]

Curt: My 4 year old Curt inertia brake controller was acting strangely during a recent trip. I realized one of the adjusting sliders wasn't making proper contact. I called Curt to see if anything could be done and was told the unit has a lifetime warranty and they would send a replacement unit out. Received it a few days later.

[Community Alumni]

Coachmen - One of our Dexter entry door locks got stuck in the locked position. I dissembled the lock and found the problem. I called up Coachmen and explained what I found. A dealer was several hours away and we didn't want to pack up and head over there. Instead of requiring us to get to a dealer, Coachmen just sent us a the entire lock assembly from the factory directly to us. From experience a lot of manufacturers require that you get to a dealer to fix any problem and make no exceptions.

Blue Ox - I called up Blue Ox because I noticed that the powder coating on my bars and latches was flaking off in a few spots. They FedEx'd me new bars and latches free of charge and no questions asked. They even included a return label so they could get the old parts back. Considering how heavy Blue Ox parts are, quite a bit of money was spent in shipping parts to me and returning the old ones. It's pretty amazing considering that it was mostly a cosmetic issue.

[Ralph_Cramden]

myredracer wrote:
Our story: On a previous TT, the day after we towed it home from the dealer, we discovered there was something very wrong with the suspension. Dealer took photos and measurements and sent it to Lippert and Lippert responded by saying "it's within spec."

Not willing to just roll over, we then took it to a government certified inspection facility who did a thorough evaluation and found even more issues than we thought. The owner said it was the worst frame he'd ever seen on a trailer (in his 30+ years in the biz). We sent the report to the dealer and TT manufacturer. Mere days later, the manufacturer agreed to replace the entire TT under warranty. Good thing we found the problem a day after ownership otherwise Lippert would have pulled the "the owner overloaded the frame" BS on us.

Best manufacturer's response we've ever had on anything. I really think we got plain lucky...

That's the Lippert M.O. They wrote the book on using lies, red tape, and delay tactics in an attempt to get you to go away, so they don't have to stand behind the junk they push out the door.

[myredracer]

Our story: On a previous TT, the day after we towed it home from the dealer, we discovered there was something very wrong with the suspension. Dealer took photos and measurements and sent it to Lippert and Lippert responded by saying "it's within spec."

Not willing to just roll over, we then took it to a government certified inspection facility who did a thorough evaluation and found even more issues than we thought. The owner said it was the worst frame he'd ever seen on a trailer (in his 30+ years in the biz). We sent the report to the dealer and TT manufacturer. Mere days later, the manufacturer agreed to replace the entire TT under warranty. Good thing we found the problem a day after ownership otherwise Lippert would have pulled the "the owner overloaded the frame" BS on us.

Best manufacturer's response we've ever had on anything. I really think we got plain lucky...

[GrandpaKip]

Passin Thru wrote:
Bought a 2006 Chevy Duramax. At 35000 miles the dealer said it had a bad Glow Plug and recommended we replace all 8 for $900.00. It was supposed to be under warranty but they said we had to pay it and then collect from Chevy. They didn't pay and I wrote to people as high up as I could. Now I tell every one what a POS Chevy makes, don't buy one and I was driving truck cross country at the time. I think that by word of the CB radio and on different forums it has cost Chevy thousands of dollars just for not paying 900.
I don't recommend a Chevy to anyone.

That is a terrible dealer. I have had warranty work done on several vehicles over my driving lifetime and never, ever was asked to pay for it first. The whole point of a warranty is so the owner does not put out any money.
Sorry, I seriously doubt that you have cost Chevy much of anything. For example, I feel the same way about any Chrysler product after my experiences with 2 Jeeps and 2 Dodge trucks and will recount them wholeheartedly to anyone who will listen. I don’t believe I have cost them anything. Though, Chrysler manages to do that all on their own. (Sorry, couldn’t resist).

[SoundGuy]

SoundGuy wrote:
... but he continued to press the case and recently I received an email saying that frame repair on my trailer will now be covered. My dealer's efforts in this case made all the difference. :B

Ralph Cramden wrote:
Realistically you'll wait until one of Lipperts traveling band of gypsies is in your local area to apply the band aid. It may behoove you to dump that unit in short order. If that's not an option I'd insist the running gear be professionally aligned afterwards and not trust Lipperts flunkies with a tape measure and string. Have you ever dealt with Lippert? Good luck. Your dealer may be your friend, but I assure you Coachmen / Forest River and Lippert are not. Their main focus will be to get you to go away using the cheapest method they can devise to make it happen.

A typically negative and ill informed post on your part, RC ... fact is, my dealer will be effecting the repair, not Lippert nor Coachmen which are simply covering the cost of repair. Yes, I have alignment measurements from several years ago on this trailer and will be able to compare them once the repair is completed. I anticipate no differences and no, I have no plans at all to "dump" this unit which otherwise has served us well over 5 seasons of camping. :B

[Lantley]

Passin Thru wrote:
Bought a 2006 Chevy Duramax. At 35000 miles the dealer said it had a bad Glow Plug and recommended we replace all 8 for $900.00. It was supposed to be under warranty but they said we had to pay it and then collect from Chevy. They didn't pay and I wrote to people as high up as I could. Now I tell every one what a POS Chevy makes, don't buy one and I was driving truck cross country at the time. I think that by word of the CB radio and on different forums it has cost Chevy thousands of dollars just for not paying 900.
I don't recommend a Chevy to anyone.

Sorry but the 2006/2007 LBZ trucks are some of the most desirable in demand trucks Chevy has ever made.

[Ralph_Cramden]

rickhise wrote:
Wouldn’t it be great if all the pros/cons off social sites like this
made it back to the manufacture s dealers attention.

I have had success when my complaints fell on
deaf ears, explaining my next step would be
reach out to the social media sites regarding the problem
also poor reviews. Has worked well

Keep wishing. Add the facts that way less than 1% of the RV buying and using public ever visit an RV forum, let alone actively participate, and the manufacturers edit or delete comments out on their Facebook pages and such, they don't really care at this point in time what people put up about them. At least that applies to Thor and Forest River, who hold about 80%+ market share. With the current sales what they are, they have no shortage of buyers and most are blind, which is what they count on. When this may change is the next economic downturn when they have their clocks cleaned........again. But I highly doubt it.

[Ralph_Cramden]

SoundGuy wrote:
Despite these success stories let's however be realistic - manufacturers often as not will not respond positively to issues until forced to do so. 😞 In my own case my 2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS has a cracked Lippert frame, on both sides near the rear tires. :E My dealer attributes this to Coachmen's use of a pressed together Lippert frame that isn't as strong as a solid steel I beam frame, I however suspect this failure may also have been caused by the weight of the fridge which is mounted along the rear wall of the trailer, which if true would be a Coachmen design error. On Oct 2, 2017 the NHTSA ordered this product recall on specific Coachmen Freedom Express models with Lippert frames manufactured between Feb 1, 2013 & July 31, 2013 due to a lack of "chassis stiffeners". My particular trailer was built in May 2013 but is not part of this recall because it does have the required chassis stiffeners - yet the frame has cracked anyway, on both sides. :M Once discovered, my dealer immediately stepped up to the plate, insisting that either Coachmen or Lippert cover the cost of repair. Both refused, but he continued to press the case and recently I received an email saying that frame repair on my trailer will now be covered. My dealer's efforts in this case made all the difference. :B

Realistically you'll wait until one of Lipperts traveling band of gypsies is in your local area to apply the band aid. It may behoove you to dump that unit in short order. If that's not an option I'd insist the running gear be professionally aligned afterwards and not trust Lipperts flunkies with a tape measure and string. Have you ever dealt with Lippert? Good luck. Your dealer may be your friend, but I assure you Coachmen / Forest River and Lippert are not. Their main focus will be to get you to go away using the cheapest method they can devise to make it happen.

[Passin_Thru]

Bought a 2006 Chevy Duramax. At 35000 miles the dealer said it had a bad Glow Plug and recommended we replace all 8 for $900.00. It was supposed to be under warranty but they said we had to pay it and then collect from Chevy. They didn't pay and I wrote to people as high up as I could. Now I tell every one what a POS Chevy makes, don't buy one and I was driving truck cross country at the time. I think that by word of the CB radio and on different forums it has cost Chevy thousands of dollars just for not paying 900.
I don't recommend a Chevy to anyone.

[SoundGuy]

Despite these success stories let's however be realistic - manufacturers often as not will not respond positively to issues until forced to do so. 😞 In my own case my 2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS has a cracked Lippert frame, on both sides near the rear tires. :E My dealer attributes this to Coachmen's use of a pressed together Lippert frame that isn't as strong as a solid steel I beam frame, I however suspect this failure may also have been caused by the weight of the fridge which is mounted along the rear wall of the trailer, which if true would be a Coachmen design error. On Oct 2, 2017 the NHTSA ordered this product recall on specific Coachmen Freedom Express models with Lippert frames manufactured between Feb 1, 2013 & July 31, 2013 due to a lack of "chassis stiffeners". My particular trailer was built in May 2013 but is not part of this recall because it does have the required chassis stiffeners - yet the frame has cracked anyway, on both sides. :M Once discovered, my dealer immediately stepped up to the plate, insisting that either Coachmen or Lippert cover the cost of repair. Both refused, but he continued to press the case and recently I received an email saying that frame repair on my trailer will now be covered. My dealer's efforts in this case made all the difference. :B

[GrandpaKip]

The TST 507 we had for over a year started losing the signal from one tire, then another, finally all four. I replaced the batteries to no avail. I called them, explained what was happening and 3 days later had a repeater delivered by FedEx at my house at no charge. A personal note to me said to install the repeater and let them know if it solved the problem. It did and I called to let them know. The lady said that was great and I could keep the repeater.
Great customer service.

Andersen sent me a new cone for my hitch at no charge after about 5 years of use.
Again, great customer service.

Just two more reasons to purchase made in the USA.