Eagle cap 960 falling apart?

[COboondocker]

So this morning when I walked into the camper the floor had an awful creak in it that wasn't there previously. I looked underneath and I find one screw has worked it's way completely out and the others are about 1/3 of the way out the whole length of the camper floor! I've contacted EC to see what they have to say but I'm not too happy. Just bought the camper brand new in Feb. Has about 6k miles on it, been down some FS roads but this seems unacceptable....should this be expected? (god i hope not).
here's a higher res version of the image https://goo.gl/photos/gEp2m9UpvbHFZEUz5

[RICKIM]

I wonder if quality control issues is one of the reasons B. Penny stopped carrying the EC line at his New Hampshire dealership.
Sad to hear of problems like this...good luck and keep us posted on
the outcome please.

Rick

[Camp_woof]

Sorry for your pain but please keep the updates coming if you can stand it. You help educate newbies like me who are still looking for a camper.

(btw, wonder if your fridge cooling unit is level with rest of fridge/camper).

[COboondocker]

av8rds wrote:

adambeck7 wrote:
After two or three visits they said the insulation around the fridge was incorrectly installed and that should fix the problem. Lo and behold it didn't. Back at the shop. It's overheated several times (inside fridge was 20 degrees warmer than ambient temp outside)

Thats also some of the diagnosis I got and it didnt help. As didnt making the fan have a full-time switch option to run when it was hotter out. As well as an added baffle at the top to help the hot air get out better. None seem to work.

I feel mine is also related to how level it is too. Yeah I know fridges have to be level to work right. I'm talking degrees. Or less than 2" of blocking under the front tire(low side only) to make it go from 50 inside to high 30's. I used to park my last two campers in a less level spot(6"blocking for level) and didnt have any problems. Just coincidentally moved where I park to a more level spot and have an issue.

No big deal you say. Just keep it level when you're parked....that's all well and good till I want to drive down the street. I find on a 2 hour drive, on well, un-level streets the fridge drifts up to 50 again.

I got the email from the dealer yesterday. I have call him and see if we have any progress.

I'll add my slide frame has started backing out from the camper twice now in maybe, MAYBE 80 extensions and that is being very GENEROUS.
I have ripples under the rubber roof, lots of them, all down the sides.
I have ripples under the ceiling headliner, lots of them.
I have a curved bathroom wall. I thought the door was out of adjustment when I bought it so I didnt worry too much. No the wall has a NICE curve to it.
I have a mystery hole that appeared in the fiberglass under one of the slides. It looks like a screw? or something was pushed out from inside.
My water pump is bleeding down.
my stereo had one speaker that didnt work, and the others were wired wrong. one inside and one outside on both channels so it was always playing inside and out.
I have a mystery scratch on the side of one of my slideouts where something is rubbing as it goes in and out.

I'm sure there was more but thats the bigger items.

And for better or worse I am responsible for purchasing a camper with some of these faults. I was so blinded by the floor plan, the tanks, the reputation, lack of problems in previous campers that I didnt vet it as well as I should have. I would never have purchased this unit had I done a better job checking quality. But some of these issues would never have been seen.

Ours doesn't even have anything to do with being level. I had it dead level the last two times it has failed. If they agree to replace the fridge I'm going to try to get a 3-way fridge or just a 2way 110/12v if this is how the new dometic fridges act...that's an awful long list of woes you've got too.

[av8rds]

adambeck7 wrote:
After two or three visits they said the insulation around the fridge was incorrectly installed and that should fix the problem. Lo and behold it didn't. Back at the shop. It's overheated several times (inside fridge was 20 degrees warmer than ambient temp outside)

Thats also some of the diagnosis I got and it didnt help. As didnt making the fan have a full-time switch option to run when it was hotter out. As well as an added baffle at the top to help the hot air get out better. None seem to work.

I feel mine is also related to how level it is too. Yeah I know fridges have to be level to work right. I'm talking degrees. Or less than 2" of blocking under the front tire(low side only) to make it go from 50 inside to high 30's. I used to park my last two campers in a less level spot(6"blocking for level) and didnt have any problems. Just coincidentally moved where I park to a more level spot and have an issue.

No big deal you say. Just keep it level when you're parked....that's all well and good till I want to drive down the street. I find on a 2 hour drive, on well, un-level streets the fridge drifts up to 50 again.

I got the email from the dealer yesterday. I have call him and see if we have any progress.

I'll add my slide frame has started backing out from the camper twice now in maybe, MAYBE 80 extensions and that is being very GENEROUS.
I have ripples under the rubber roof, lots of them, all down the sides.
I have ripples under the ceiling headliner, lots of them.
I have a curved bathroom wall. I thought the door was out of adjustment when I bought it so I didnt worry too much. No the wall has a NICE curve to it.
I have a mystery hole that appeared in the fiberglass under one of the slides. It looks like a screw? or something was pushed out from inside.
My water pump is bleeding down.
my stereo had one speaker that didnt work, and the others were wired wrong. one inside and one outside on both channels so it was always playing inside and out.
I have a mystery scratch on the side of one of my slideouts where something is rubbing as it goes in and out.

I'm sure there was more but thats the bigger items.

And for better or worse I am responsible for purchasing a camper with some of these faults. I was so blinded by the floor plan, the tanks, the reputation, lack of problems in previous campers that I didnt vet it as well as I should have. I would never have purchased this unit had I done a better job checking quality. But some of these issues would never have been seen.

[Kayteg1]

Any assembly that makes more than 100 units doesn't require craftsmen.
Well design parts take minimum wage worker after few hr of training to put the screw on marked line.
My sense is that this society grows in ignorance and starting on blocking the roads, to putting the screw not observing the line are the results.
Somehow my Mexico-assembled Ford hold better than his US-assembled sibling.
Maybe my luck? No ,don't think so.

[Mike008]

I have a hypothesis as to why the quality is generally not too good in the RV industry.

If you look at the auto industry, all the parts are manufactured, then shipped elsewhere to be assembled. The line workers in auto plants are not considered a skilled trade. Almost anyone can be trained to work on an assembly line.

In the RV industry campers are built for the most part from raw materials and components. This takes a skilled craftman to do a good job. Skilled craftman require a higher salary. I would imagine paying more then a factory wage to the people putting RV's together would probably drive the price up to a point where most people wouldn't pay for a TC. Just my opinion.

[kerry4951]

av8rds wrote:
I'm having huge quality control issues on my 2015 too. Seems like when Adventurer took over they dumped any quality control, regardless of what a recent TC magazine says.

I dont think any of us should depend on reviews done when the product being reviewed is a paid sponsor of the reviewer. I like TCMs articles as much as the next guy, so I will continue to read their articles as entertainment but I will never allow their reviews to sway my purchase decision.

[COboondocker]

jimh425 wrote:

adambeck7 wrote:
I thought that's exactly what I was paying for. Apparently that's just what I was being sold on. They constantly brag about how they're the highest quality camper in the industry.

Sorry, I think the posts in this forum will bear out that quality varies across all brands. It's very important to evaluate the particular RV not the brand since they are all essentially handmade and vary in build quality so much.

I understand that as well and if it were a problem or two I could understand mistakes being made but it just all seems like shoddy construction. Fridge improperly installed. Screws backing out. Screw heads all around the camper are stripped off. I'm starting to get concerned about the structural components I CAN'T see.

[COboondocker]

av8rds wrote:

adambeck7 wrote:
The fridge still hasn't functioned correctly since we owned it (been back to the shop 4 times for that issue which was an installation issue on Eagle Caps behalf)

really? thats one of my current issues also. If you get it fixed post up on the solution please.

There's been several issues. First the pilot was blowing out. Baffle was incorrectly installed. We previously thought that's why it wasn't cooling properly was it kept blowing out. After two or three visits they said the insulation around the fridge was incorrectly installed and that should fix the problem. Lo and behold it didn't. Back at the shop. It's overheated several times (inside fridge was 20 degrees warmer than ambient temp outside) so I'm pushing for a new fridge but we'll see what they tell me this time.

[jimh406]

adambeck7 wrote:
I thought that's exactly what I was paying for. Apparently that's just what I was being sold on. They constantly brag about how they're the highest quality camper in the industry.

Sorry, I think the posts in this forum will bear out that quality varies across all brands. It's very important to evaluate the particular RV not the brand since they are all essentially handmade and vary in build quality so much.

[av8rds]

adambeck7 wrote:
The fridge still hasn't functioned correctly since we owned it (been back to the shop 4 times for that issue which was an installation issue on Eagle Caps behalf)

really? thats one of my current issues also. If you get it fixed post up on the solution please.

[COboondocker]

mkirsch wrote:
People in general will not pay $1 more for quality. They will go with whatever's costs the least amount of money, period.

Really? I thought that's exactly what I was paying for. Apparently that's just what I was being sold on. They constantly brag about how they're the highest quality camper in the industry. If this is the best they have to offer it's truly a sad state of affairs. I feel like I'm fast approaching an rv lemon law case.

I also found that the tanks weren't vented properly so when we drove up to just over 10k' the tanks all bulged out.

Under 6k miles and 8 months on the camper and it can't hold together. The fridge still hasn't functioned correctly since we owned it (been back to the shop 4 times for that issue which was an installation issue on Eagle Caps behalf) now the floor is falling apart and the tanks are shot...needless to say I'm more than a little frustrated. We're probably going to miss our week long Thanksgiving trip. Not sure I trust the camper to take our two week christmas trip (if we even have it back by then).

[mkirsch]

covered wagon wrote:
It is a shame that so many think such short cuts are the only way to make a profit. I see it on my construction projects everyday as well.

Unfortunately, short cuts ARE the only way to make a profit in today's market. If you spend more time to do things right, that drives up labor costs. The only way to recoup the additional labor costs is to charge more for the finished product. If someone else has a similar product for less money, they will get the sale. Quality has nothing to do with it. People in general will not pay $1 more for quality. They will go with whatever's costs the least amount of money, period.

[av8rds]

I'm having huge quality control issues on my 2015 too. Seems like when Adventurer took over they dumped any quality control, regardless of what a recent TC magazine says.

[Kayteg1]

Nothing bad will surprise me when it comes to cutting corners in RV build.
On my top-end Fleetood, the generator was hanging on panel having 3/4 x 1" single piece of wood, with staple in the corner, frame filled up with Styrofoam and siding slapped on both sides.
I was surprised it did hold as long as it did as 8 years of use rotten that fir pretty bad.
Coming to the PICTURE again, I understand this is just mid-wall in the basement, so it doesn't have to be much holding and single plywood might do, but the screws stil suppose to hold.
I will not even go into electrocorrosion that aluminium with zinc used in galvanizing will develop in next few years.
I would not accept anything but stainless steel