New travel trailer expectations

[TC_campers]

Hello fellow campers. Purchased a new travel trailer last week. First trip for the 4 the weekend. Fresh water tank fell out at mile 105 and was drug down the interstate until fellow motorist flagged us down. Hole in the bottom skirting, many wires wore completely through, hole in water tank. None of the camper electrical works. Trailer lights seems fine. Home we went.

My question to the experienced rv crowd. What should I do? Insist on a new one, settle for repairs, be compensated for my loss of use

[BassinDmax]

profdant139 wrote:
No big deal. A little duct tape, and problem solved.

Did you fill the tank fully before leaving? Our service tech told us not to do that. In response, I went under the trailer and reinforced the supports for the tank. I still don't travel long distances with the water tank full, but I am less concerned about the tank falling out.

I guess my expectations are in the clouds. Because I expect my 60 gallon fresh water tank to hold 60 gallons of water and not fall out going down the highway! Why should we as consumers settle for less?

[profdant139]

No big deal. A little duct tape, and problem solved.

Just kidding. This is a very big deal. Who knows what else in the trailer was damaged as a result of the tank drop? Did you fill the tank fully before leaving? Our service tech told us not to do that. In response, I went under the trailer and reinforced the supports for the tank. I still don't travel long distances with the water tank full, but I am less concerned about the tank falling out.

[Tequila]

call a lawyer, say it almost caused a serious accident.

[gmw_photos]

TC campers wrote:
Hello fellow campers. Purchased a new travel trailer last week. First trip for the 4 the weekend. Fresh water tank fell out at mile 105 and was drug down the interstate until fellow motorist flagged us down. Hole in the bottom skirting, many wires wore completely through, hole in water tank. None of the camper electrical works. Trailer lights seems fine. Home we went.

My question to the experienced rv crowd. What should I do? Insist on a new one, settle for repairs, be compensated for my loss of use

First of all, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your troubles.
You are now experiencing what many consumers of the RV world have, and that is, poor assembly and quality control. If you are going to continue in this hobby, then get used to, and learn to be handy with basic tools.
Should you have had to inspect the frame members that hold up the water tank ? Well, no, clearly, the end consumer should not have to do this. But as you found out, it would have been easier in the long run if you spent a solid saturday afternoon crawling under, over, inside and outside your trailer, and fixing some things "right". As I often say, these things comes to us, "some assembly required".
It's easier to deal with things during a trial run in "camp driveway".

As to the suggestion to "take it back right now and park it on their lot", that is very poor advice. You own this camper. Why would you take something that you own, and without any return authorization, just take it someplace and park it on property that you do not own ? That is not the way a business transaction works.
If you want the dealer to work this issues out, you need to talk to them in a calm and professional manner, schedule an appointment, etc. In other words, go through all the normal business steps. To just take it back there and abandon it is childish at best.

Personally, if it were mine, I would fix the issues myself, make sure it's all done right, and go enjoy the camper.
Welcome to the world of RV'ing.

[Dog_Folks]

Sorry you folks had such troubles.

Makes me want to forget buying a new one.

I'll stick with what I have.

[westend]

Scrap, you should really start your own thread on your trailer issues. The OP in this thread has enough to deal with beyond what you've experienced.

Sorry to hear you have had some problems, too. There is really nothing from your post that can't be fixed at the dealership and that's where I would be heading. I would get some fans going and keep some vents and windows open to get rid of any residual moisture in the carpet. Once the water is gone, there will be no mold.

[scrapnread]

We just returned home from our very first trip with our 2014 Forest River Salem. We went to the Grand Canyon. Very enjoyable trip.
Not so great experience with trailer. Stabilizer jacks broken before we brought it home along with inside cover to a/c, rocking chair broken, missing venetian blind rods, screws missing from microwave shelf. The dealer said he fixed these. Three days before leaving on our trip, the fresh water tank leaked water all over the trailer. I used a shop/vac and sucked up about a gallon of water from the carpet. The dealer said it was because there was a loose hose clamp inside the water tank that I had neglected to check. I would have had to dismantle part of the trailer to do so. We left on our trip Saturday morning and stopped to stretch our legs after several hours of driving. My husband noticed that the diamond plate skin on the front of the trailer had come unscrewed and was flapping in the breeze while all of the insulation was hanging out and looked like some had fallen away. We screwed it back together and continued driving. The water pump never worked the whole time we were on our trip. In Las Vegas, it was over *100 degrees and in the middle of the night our a/c quit working. We took it to an RV place and they worked on it. They also worked on our water pump/fresh water tank problem. Turns out the hoses couldn't get water through them because of kinks and being stapled to the floor. The repair guys figured all this our by slicing through our insulated underbelly and the fresh water tank. They fixed it by applying duct tape and running the water lines under the underbelly and now the duct tape is coming unstuck.
We contacted FR and they are sending a transport to pick up our trailer to take it back to the factory to have everything fixed on Wednesday.
My concern is that the floor under the carpet might mold. I don't know how long the water was leaking, not more than 4 hours probably. Also, the vent cover on the refrigerator blew off driving down the freeway and the black rubber strips that cover the screws along the seams of the trailer.
Are we being naive to think that all of these things can easily be fixed?
By the way, I tried to post all of this as a separate topic but for some reason, it kept getting deleted.

[B_O__Plenty]

It doesn't usually work that way. You bought it, you own it. They will fix it under the warranty that's all. Sorry, no new trailer, no compensation for loss of use...You can scream and stamp your feet all you want but I would be willing to bet nothing else will happen..

B.O.

[hddecker]

X3 on take it back.

If you settle for repairs, you can kiss the rest of this year off and maybe part of next year. It will be months of haggling between you, the dealer and the manufacturer on what repairs are needed and will be covered under warranty.

Most importantly do not accept verbal communications, put everything in writing and require the same from the dealer and factory.

[MarkTwain]

Hook it up, tow back to the dealer, demand a new one!!!!!! or look for a different brand all together:) If the water tank fell out, what will fall out next? Do you really trust the dealer to fix all the electrical damage?

[Francesca_Knowl]

Take it back right this minute. I kid you not- hook it up, drive to the dealer, and park it in the lot.

Every day it remains in your possession is a strike in their favor- you will gain the maximum advantage if you simply return it, demand a full refund, and leave it there. Then wait for offers/apologies/promises of reparations...

In plain english: let them call YOU beggin' for mercy.

[westend]

I'd ask for (in this order) the sales contract cancelled, a different trailer with a thorough inspection, the trailer brought back to it's original functionality immediately.

[rjf7g]

There are horror stories all over this and other forums about brand new trailers having issues like this. My advice is to work with your dealer to see if you can have this one completely repaired to showroom condition or a brand new one built faster. If you get this one repaired, have your dealer agree to a third party inspection, arranged for by you and paid for by them. Without it, I would have little if any confidence in the built and quality control on the camper. I am curious as to the make and model. I hope your second trip is better than your first. Sorry!

[OpenRangePullen]

What brand did you get. Thats messed up.

[loulou57]

I would suggest a new TT. How long is it going to take for repairs? Are you willing to wait or do you want to go now? This should all be warranty, unless you did something wrong, not saying you did.
If the electrical was not caused by the tank falling off then I would think I would want a new trailer for sure. Sounds like a lot wrong and you haven't even used it to see what the normal little things there are wrong with a new TT.
Make sure they check the frame, axle and everything underneath for damage if you keep that TT.
Good luck... We really feel for your family.