My family and I have had a vacation planned with our trailer we bought new in September. Because of schedules, we haven't been able to use it till this last weekend. We left for a 5 1/2 hour drive, got there, set up, and...no A/C. Tried everything to no avail. We called Coach.net which is a roadside assistance/mobile mechanic that our trailers warranty includes. He said the unit could not be serviced "in the field". Due to it being very hot and humid, having 2 cats that were panting, we packed and hooked back up, and headed back home with a very disappointed 6 year old. What a great day. My question to you folks is, what recourse do we have with the manufacturer? I basically want my day reimbursed: fuel, wear&tear on my truck, food, etc. Thank goodness the parks we were staying in all let us out of our reservations. I'm out all of yesterday, today, and then driving 30 miles to a dealer on Monday, not to mention trying to come up with a plan for the rest of the week. One other note is the A/C worked perfectly at my pre deliver inspection. What do you guys think?

Don't know about all warranties but mine specifically excluded mileage to and from dealer. I think that's pretty standard. Did you have a voltmeter with you at the campground? It could have been a problem with the park electric supply.

How were you powering the AC? Did you have the trailer plugged into 30a shore power? Check the breakers? Did anything else that uses 120v like the microwave work?Good luck getting your expenses covered.

I think they are going to say they are only responsible for the equipment not the incidentals. You can always try though. Its sort of like when a computer fails or a camera goes bad...they are not responsible for the content. Some people will probably tell you that you should have checked it at home first but working today does not guarantee it will work tomorrow. Two years ago we almost had to leave a campground because of AC issues. It was 105 degrees and no air and two dogs. Turned out it was a brownout that kept popping the circuit. Thankfully a couple hours later the temps lowered enough that there was enough electricity to go around and never had the issue pop p again that weekend. I don't think it was the campgrounds fault....the next day was just as hot and the AC worked.Sorry you lost that family time.

I guess now you'll know to check out all systems about a week before taking off on a trip. Re-imbursement - sorry, but not going to happen. Hope you're not fuming over something that may turn out to be operator error. Please let us know what the problem turns out to be. All of us that have traveled extensively have had to find a repair shop during a trip at one time or another - just part of the game.

What would you do? | Good Sam Community

facory
Explorer
Jun 09, 2014
If it worked fine at the dealer there was something that should have been quite obvious at the campground. Chances of a coolant leak is very very slim. Take it to a dealer to have it fixed. Be sure to find out what the cause was so you can handle it in the future. Repair should be covered under the mfgr. warranty. Forget about consequential damage recovery. No way.
Kittykath
Explorer II
Jun 09, 2014
Same thing happened to us last weekend. No cold air. The dealership called an independent local A/C tech to come test the system the next day. Turns out that the unit had low freon, but no leaks. I paid the tech and now have my fingers crossed that I receive the $149 reimbursement from the dealer.
2012Coleman
Explorer II
Jun 09, 2014
This exact same thing happened to me. First trip in the summer after purchasing, and the AC blows up. Had to leave after a sweltering night. I put in 30 amp service by my driveway so now I'm able to check everything out. You could also test your systems with a generator.
dpatt67
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
Again, thanks for the replies. The idea of buying a portable A/C unit never even crossed my mind, so I wish I had thought of that. We've been camping almost 15 years with 4 different TT's so we're not newbie's at this. I agree that not EVERY single thing was investigated, but I'm not going to carry a ton of diagnostic equipment with me on vacation, nor am I the type to go bother others on theirs to come over and help. We investigated every reasonable problem and let the A/C run for 2 hours. I'm also certainly not the type to feel entitled to having the manufacturer cow down to me, hey, I'm a nice guy! However, my time and my money are very precious, as I know a lot of others are, and I want more out of a product than what I was told on the phone by coach.net: "it is what it is".
Cottontop
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
Just think back when you was tent camping and didn't have air condition but enjoyed the outing anyway.
EcoBullet
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
I can sympathize with the OP. In summer of 2012, I was about 500 miles from home in 110 degree weather with my wife and grandkids. We were on our 3rd day of the trip and all was well until this afternoon when we set up. Like the OP, our blower would work, but not the AC. The digital thermostat was giving an error code. I looked through the pile of owner's manuals until I found one for the thermostat. It said that code could be a couple of things, one of which was "outside operating range". I wondered if it didn't know what to do when temps were over 100, so I held a block of ice next to the thermostat to lower it's temperature. In a minute or two, cool air was blowing. Whew!
BurbMan
Explorer II
Jun 08, 2014
Lantley wrote:
Having the ability to remain positive and be resourceful is the 1st rule of RV'ing

LOL How true. Anything that hasn't broken or gone wrong on your RV yet is just waiting for an inopportune time to do so. Ask Mr. Murphy.
BurbMan
Explorer II
Jun 08, 2014
Lantley wrote:
Having the ability to remain positive and be resourceful is the 1st rule of RV'ing

LOL How true. Anything that hasn't broken or gone wrong on your RV yet is just waiting for an inopportune time to do so. Ask Mr. Murphy.
2oldman
Explorer II
Jun 08, 2014
Feelin' surly?
Big_Love
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
bgum wrote:
Surly you jest.

Don't call me Shirley

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