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

[profdant139]

The coroplast issue is a very good point -- when my trailer came from the factory, the tanks and their supports were out in plain view. I scooted underneath at the dealership (to the amazement and amusement of the sales staff), and I could see that the tanks were not bombproof. After I added the metal support straps at home, I covered the tanks with reflectix.

But there is no reasonable way to inspect a new trailer if the underbelly is completely covered with coroplast. And it would be a real hassle to later remove the coroplast and reinforce the tank supports.

[hddecker]

gmw photos wrote:

hddecker wrote:

My feelings exactley. Too many people cut the RV industry too much slack, that's why this S|€# keeps coming out of the factories.

I am capable of repairing just about anything I own and the only time I take anything back to the dealer is during the warranty period.

I would be interested to know how many of the "oh well" crowd would just say, "oh well", when the wheels fall off or the transmission fals out of their nice shiny new TV and they're laying upside down on the interstate.

Yes be nice to start, talk calmly, look for commitment and make sure it is all in writing. Then when things aren't done the way they should be yell no, scream like hell.

It's simple really. I prefer to go camping and use my trailer, than have it sit at the dealers for weeks ( or longer ) on end. And I have tools, have the expertise to use them, and a large shop.
As to a comment made about me by a poster earlier saying I have "low standards"....that is laughable beyond words. I am a retired machinist, and am used to dealing in precision measured in ten thousandth of an inch. So when I fix things on my camper, my attention to detail, shall we say, goes considerably beyond what the boys in Indiana worked to.

As to "wheels falling off".....yes it could happen, to a tow vehicle or a trailer. But....you guessed it, I don't trust them on that subject either. I have a torque wrench, and I use it. My wheels aren't gonna fall off because someone else forgot to tighten them correctly.

Fix 'em yourself folks, buy tools, learn to use them, make 'em better, stronger. I've been fixing and modifying my cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats for over 40 years. And my camper.

Remember: some assembly required. It doesn't bother me at all to bring something like a BBQ grill home from the store, and have to "finish assembling it".

I prefer to go camping as well, that does not mean that I should just accept the******that the RV industry puts out and just fix a brand new camper.

Yes I service and repair my vehicles, including my camper, been doing so for over 50 years. I do so mainly because I enjoy doing it and it is more convenient to than to drive 50 miles to the city.

I sorry, but a BBQ grill is a far cry from a vehicle that is supposed to be road worthy. Yes there is "Maintenance required", but that $500k Class A should be able to get road the road a fair piece, before it needs maintenance. I would expect it would last several years before requiring an overhaul.

[gmw_photos]

Here is another thought for the OP just as a point of mainteinance. I just got up on the camper, pulled the cover off the A/C unit, and cleaned the condenser coils. Bear in mind these units are pretty small, so there is not a lot of surface area of coils, so they need to be kept clean, lest the A/C work very much harder to cool. Could lead to early failure.

Francesca Knowles wrote:

Fergot to capitalize my name there, Babaloo...

I had to look that one up folks. Apparently "Babaloo" means Father of the World ( note the capitalization )....so I will take that as a compliment. It also "can" refer to some other meanings that are rather unkind, so I am going to assume positive intent here, and thank the poster for the compliment :B

[gmw_photos]

qtla9111 wrote:
The problem goes much deeper. Unlike the auto industry, the rv industry is highly unregulated. It doesn't matter how much you pay or what you think the quality may be, it just isn't so.

We buy them, repair them, and hope they hold together long enough to enjoy. Like cars though, they also need constant maintenance and upkeep. The higher up the chain you go (pop up to Class A) the more expensive the rig and the more expensive the maintenance.

Very sorry to hear about your experience and I hope you get it taken care of. I don't know what the answer is because this has happened many times before and some (very few) end up with an exchange, others at the manufacturer for rebuild months on end, and others for repairs at a dealer.

Keep us posted.

Good point. And it will likely remain unregulated since it represents a pretty small market in the overall scheme of things.
We can only hope it will remain unregulated, because if it ever does get government oversight, expect prices to go up, as in way up. Far cheaper to get what we get right now, and fix it/upgrade it ourselves than to have to "pay for the results of" regulation by some government agency.

[qtla9111]

The problem goes much deeper. Unlike the auto industry, the rv industry is highly unregulated. It doesn't matter how much you pay or what you think the quality may be, it just isn't so.

We buy them, repair them, and hope they hold together long enough to enjoy. Like cars though, they also need constant maintenance and upkeep. The higher up the chain you go (pop up to Class A) the more expensive the rig and the more expensive the maintenance.

Very sorry to hear about your experience and I hope you get it taken care of. I don't know what the answer is because this has happened many times before and some (very few) end up with an exchange, others at the manufacturer for rebuild months on end, and others for repairs at a dealer.

Keep us posted.

[gmw_photos]

hddecker wrote:

My feelings exactley. Too many people cut the RV industry too much slack, that's why this S|€# keeps coming out of the factories.

I am capable of repairing just about anything I own and the only time I take anything back to the dealer is during the warranty period.

I would be interested to know how many of the "oh well" crowd would just say, "oh well", when the wheels fall off or the transmission fals out of their nice shiny new TV and they're laying upside down on the interstate.

Yes be nice to start, talk calmly, look for commitment and make sure it is all in writing. Then when things aren't done the way they should be yell no, scream like hell.

It's simple really. I prefer to go camping and use my trailer, than have it sit at the dealers for weeks ( or longer ) on end. And I have tools, have the expertise to use them, and a large shop.
As to a comment made about me by a poster earlier saying I have "low standards"....that is laughable beyond words. I am a retired machinist, and am used to dealing in precision measured in ten thousandth of an inch. So when I fix things on my camper, my attention to detail, shall we say, goes considerably beyond what the boys in Indiana worked to.

As to "wheels falling off".....yes it could happen, to a tow vehicle or a trailer. But....you guessed it, I don't trust them on that subject either. I have a torque wrench, and I use it. My wheels aren't gonna fall off because someone else forgot to tighten them correctly.

Fix 'em yourself folks, buy tools, learn to use them, make 'em better, stronger. I've been fixing and modifying my cars, trucks, motorcycles and boats for over 40 years. And my camper.

Remember: some assembly required. It doesn't bother me at all to bring something like a BBQ grill home from the store, and have to "finish assembling it".

[Atlee]

Which is why it's just as unreasonable when others have suggested buyers of new TT's should do their due diligence and check out the supports for the tanks. Many of today's TT's have the tanks covered with coroplast. Can't be taking all of that stuff off just to check out the tank supports.

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Keep in mind this was NOT the dealers fault. I seriously doubt that any dealer is going to remove the Coroplast underbelly to see if the tank is mounted properly. I also wonder how many of our water tanks might fall out if we tried to travel down the highway with them full. Not saying this should ever happen but I bet there are a lot more this could happen to. No reason to blast the dealer, they're stuck in the middle and can only try to fix it. They didn't build it, they only sold it. If you have to get mad at someone, get mad at the manufacturer. They're the ones that cheaped out and didn't put in enough supports for the tank. Just get it fixed, it will be fine and get on with camping..

B.O.

[B_O__Plenty]

Keep in mind this was NOT the dealers fault. I seriously doubt that any dealer is going to remove the Coroplast underbelly to see if the tank is mounted properly. I also wonder how many of our water tanks might fall out if we tried to travel down the highway with them full. Not saying this should ever happen but I bet there are a lot more this could happen to. No reason to blast the dealer, they're stuck in the middle and can only try to fix it. They didn't build it, they only sold it. If you have to get mad at someone, get mad at the manufacturer. They're the ones that cheaped out and didn't put in enough supports for the tank. Just get it fixed, it will be fine and get on with camping..

B.O.

[hddecker]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
What's up with all the "oh well, it's just a trailer- fix it yerself" posts???

This is one of those times that I feel like I'm in some kind of weird "never-never land" where ordinary rules of conduct don't apply. The O.P. paid big money for something that began to fall apart the very first time he used it! I can just about imagine anyone settling for a...let's say, a house that started to shed its siding five minutes after escrow closed. Would y'all be advising the victim to just grin and bear it??? I doubt it.

Get down there and tear off a piece of you-know-what tomorrow, O.P.!

My feelings exactley. Too many people cut the RV industry too much slack, that's why this S|€# keeps coming out of the factories.

I am capable of repairing just about anything I own and the only time I take anything back to the dealer is during the warranty period.

I would be interested to know how many of the "oh well" crowd would just say, "oh well", when the wheels fall off or the transmission fals out of their nice shiny new TV and they're laying upside down on the interstate.

Yes be nice to start, talk calmly, look for commitment and make sure it is all in writing. Then when things aren't done the way they should be yell no, scream like hell.

[Francesca_Knowl]

gmw photos wrote:

Now then, franscesca, if you are not handy with tools, and don't have a good place to work on things, then yes, I could see where you might need to take it to someone else for repair.

Fergot to capitalize my name there, Babaloo...and misspelled it to boot. Never mind; folks with low standards-of-performance tend to forget such details. I, on the other hand, am of the opinion that if I buy something brand spankin' new and advertised to be road worthy, it should go down the highway without major components like tanks falling off. And this without any upfits/repairs performed at my expense.

My point to the O.P. is and remains that so long as we buyers of RV's continue to accept and repair (at our own expense) such obviously defective goods, this kind of nonsense will continue.

Stand up and fight back for the NEXT victim, O.P.!

[myredracer]

That's terrible to have happen on a new TT and shouldn't happen, but things like this do happen, and even worse sometimes.

I think the reason they have so many enclosed underbellies these days is that it hides all sorts of poor workmanship. Then they throw in a duct off the furnace and call it an "enclosed and heated underbelly" like it's worth a ton of money and a it's a BIG feature.

Being sarcastic, but I do think if owners pulled off their underbelly coroplast, they'd be shocked at some of the things they'd find.

Owner's manuals don't say not to travel with anything in your holding tanks and many do, but I've read a lot of reports of tanks falling out or poorly supported. Personally I wouldn't want to travel very far with anything in our tanks, but we don't dry camp and that's easy for us to do.

When you buy your first RV, there's an expectation that they are reasonably well designed, reasonably well-built, have QC programs at the plant, that there are codes and standards that have to be complied with, etc., similar to the automotive world. Not the case though. Doesn't take long before one starts to find out what the RV world is really like. In just 3 years of owning TTs, we've had to deal with things I could never have imagined in my worst nightmares. All is good now fortunately.

[gmw_photos]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
What's up with all the "oh well, it's just a trailer- fix it yerself" posts???

Because I would rather have the use of my trailer, instead of it sitting at the back lot of the dealers for the rest of the camping season. Especially since the issues can be easily fixed in an afternoon.
Now then, franscesca, if you are not handy with tools, and don't have a good place to work on things, then yes, I could see where you might need to take it to someone else for repair.
However, the OP indicated he is a tradesman, so this would be easy for him.

Francesca Knowles wrote:


Get down there and tear off a piece of you-know-what tomorrow, O.P.!

Yeah, right, that's going to be a real prescription for success. Sure thing.

[Francesca_Knowl]

What's up with all the "oh well, it's just a trailer- fix it yerself" posts???

This is one of those times that I feel like I'm in some kind of weird "never-never land" where ordinary rules of conduct don't apply. The O.P. paid big money for something that began to fall apart the very first time he used it! I can just about imagine anyone settling for a...let's say, a house that started to shed its siding five minutes after escrow closed. Would y'all be advising the victim to just grin and bear it??? I doubt it.

Get down there and tear off a piece of you-know-what tomorrow, O.P.!

[gmw_photos]

...snip....
....Would think requesting the selling dealer coordinating with the manufacturer to return it to them for repair is an appropriate course of action. Hopefully, the manufacturer would get it right the second time.........

This always leaves me wondering though. I guess my thought is if they couldn't get it right the first time, what hope would I have they could get it right the second time ?

Numerous folks over on the Airstream forum have taken their camper back to the Mothership at JC,OH, only to have poor repairs done. Ugh. I'd rather keep it at home and fix it myself.

[mark1228]

thomasmnile wrote:

B.O. Plenty wrote:
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.

Indeed, the manufacturers' warranty (if the OP read it) likely says they are not liable for consequential damages, loss of use, etc. But, sure does make you wonder about what kind of inspection the selling dealer performed on that unit when it was received, or, what in hell kind of QC inspection was done at the plant when it left the line.

Demanding a new unit? Can try anything, but not likely. Would think requesting the selling dealer coordinating with the manufacturer to return it to them for repair is an appropriate course of action. Hopefully, the manufacturer would get it right the second time.........

Seriously? You think ANY dealer takes the belly off to inspect what the manufacturer did prior to the owner picking it up? Of course they don't and the dealer should not have to. This is not a dealer issue, this is a manufacturer issue. Screaming at the dealer with the threat of an attorney will get you no where fast.