Camper follies ---REALLY, really..........

[TwinStick]

So, camper has been in 2x already for warranty work. The fixed everyting but the front window (which was the only thing on the recall). This is the second time they sent the wrong window. So, this time they told the service people "you must be measuring it wrong" !!! So, he took pics & sent them to the starcraft warranty people. Pics of them measuring, with close ups of the tape measure readings. Still not fixed. Camping trip #3 is fast approaching. I told them you have had my camper all G-damn summer !!! Luckily, they have not taken out the window yet. So, I can pick it up & use it AGAIN, if i have to. They are clever with warranty too. We have a 2 year warranty on the camper, but their trick is this: they sent the warranty recall to us in December & it says on it, you only have 12 months from the date on the letter to have it covered. They know no one wants to hook up & pull their camper in WNY winters, to haul to dealer for warranty work. If you do, it will rust.

They did replace the radio, outside vent for stove & replaced the propane hose. PITFA is what warranty work is.

[Mule]

heh, "Why would you ever want to tear a trailer/camper/whatever all the way apart and build it up all over again?", they said...
Maybe so it doesn't leak, and the lights work for more than 4 months?

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/h ... n.1101752/

[azracer]

I had a 1996 Safari Class A diesel pusher and after almost 3 years of careful documentation and 7 vacation warranty trips to Bend Oregon (the rain and mud nightmare of the US) We finally won our Lemon Law claim. They settled out of court for full purchase price plus all interest paid and all added permanent accessories.

I had to impersonate a highway patrol traffic fatality investigator to the Spartan Chassis engineer to get the down low on the real modifications to the original design that cause the failure of the water pump and fan causing the immanent failure of the radiator transmission cooler and power steering cooler, causing the traffic fatality we were now investigating. I made the fatality investigation idea up after dutifully warning drivers of my spills on the highway that one fool ignored and hit the guardrail because of his stupidity, I figured I could not be the only one who had these issues and if one idiot crashed due to this type of failure others may have died.

After repeated logistical games with all the different manufacturers who were deferring to the makers of other individual systems for this motor home and placed the blame on the others for the responsibility of the failure. I decided to play hardball and used my plan to discover that GM was the ultimate culprit due to being required to conform to EPA noise regulations, because they manufacture more than the minimum production for those regulatory requirements that Spartan chassis did not have to comply with. I presented CAD drawings and other evidence exonerating Spartan Chassis engineers of any wrong doing. Can you guess why and how I got those documents?

I won without a lawyer or even going to court but I'm sure it will be far tougher in the new digital age!

[RustyPW]

Everytime I take the motorhome out. I have to fix something. Last time out. Had water leak in the faucet for the outside kitchen (fixed it). The waste water pump for the outside kitchen sink quit working (fixed it). One of the lights for the outside kitchen broke (fixed it). Devolved a death wobble from 45 to 60 mph. The inner rib of the left front tire, and the outer rib of the right front tire are worn in a cupped fashion. Only have 26,000 on the motorhome. Have to take it to Freightliner. It's a Freightliner chassis. Before our trip. I had to replace the washer/dryer combo. The combo sprung a water leak. The housing for the drum rusted through. That cost me $1,900.

2 years ago, in Nov. Took the motorhome in to General RV in Canton Ohio to be winterized. They called and said the motorhome is ready to be picked up. So...I made a date to pick it up in early Dec. They called a day before I was to pick it up. And said they had wrecked it in their storage lot trying to get it out. The damage was that they had ripped off the rightside mirror. So they they ordered a new mirror and installed it. They paid for it. I picked up the motorhome in late Jan. Too cold to really have a good look at things at that time. So when the weather warmed up. Noticed that there was spider cracks in the fiberglass around the mirror mount. Took the motorhome back in, and bitched!!! They fixed everything. Cost them over $5,000. Went to pick up the motorhome. Everything seemed fine. Didn't noticed at the time, but the camera in that mirror didn't work. It's comes on when you put the turn signal on. Took it back this spring, before our trip. They replaced the camera cable, and charged me for it. Never going back there again, if I can avoid it. But they are the nearest Fleetwood dealer to me, and it's a 3+ hour drive one way.

[azracer]

Yea Rusty that's the norm unfortunately.

On one of my vacation trips to the Safari Factory there was a retired couple who sold their home and bought the then top of the line Panther 425hp Cat flagship motor home. Seems that in under 3 months of full time in the RV they had spent 2 of them at the Factory in Bend Oregon. Their first trip was to spend 2 weeks at the factory as the selling dealer could not do the required repairs and offered to pay their expenses to go to Bend for the repairs. Less than two weeks after that they were back at the factory because the hose to the hydraulic fan had developed a leak at the fitting and burnt the entire back 1/4 of the coach. They were put up in a local Motel 6 while the factory rebuilt their coach as the cost to fix it vs replace it was far less than half. So the Safari factory insurance company was making them fix it. They were livid and had a lawyer working on it for them. I don't know the final outcome but I sure felt their pain and wished I could help in some way.

On one of our factory warranty trips, while out for a bike ride we saw what looked like 50 or more of the GM P72 pusher chassis sitting in a gated lot looking very weathered. When I got back I asked the factory rep about it and they said that GM had decided to no longer produce the P72 pusher chassis and was repurchased any that were not yet converted into a motor home. I should have realized then that there was a problem and they were doing damage control.

While not mine it looks just like it. I haven't seen a pusher model of the Trek on the road in years. The only difference externally is the radiator grill in the back instead of the storage compartment.

[FirerescuePW]

I used to work for a Safari dealer. Oh my, the stories... Impossible to deal with them for warranty in a logical and fair manner. We lost our asses more often than not on warranty claims.

The RV industry isn't as, um, advanced (?) as the auto industry qhen it comes to repairs and customer satisfaction.

Oh, and I have the front clip from a Trek in my basement. I'm going to turn it into a firetruck bar, someday.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

[TwinStick]

All the above are just some of the reasons we downsized. I still love camping, the adventure, the scenery, etc. & so does the wife. But at $14,500 I will not lose my ass as much if I ever get a new one & could sell it much easier than a large one, as more people own a vehicle that can tow it. No need for a $60k diesel truck for this one. Plus the high ground clearance will prob help it sell quickly too. Still glad we got it. I guess it depends on how you look at it.

I priced up an X-Venture by Schutt Ind. It is STILL the most HD trailer I have ever seen & i love them. But, For what I wanted it was about $28k+ & we would still be sleeping in a tent. No way, no how could I justify that. With this one, We open & close 2 doors & we are sleeping (truck door & camper door). No slides, can still use the entire inside without deploying any slides. No animal worries unless they are determined. 2 burner stove, vent hood, microwave, small fridge, storage, toilet, sink, hot water, tiny tub/shower (prob only good for hair washing), A/C, furnace, 15" rims & 235/75/15 tires. For the price, it works awesome for us. I will be getting a new queen short bed shortly.

But yeah, campers. 5'ers, motor homes can all be a big PITA. I could not afford an airstream. Looked at a used one today & they wanted $60k for it. It was a huge triple axle one, travel trailer, like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=triple+ ... 40&bih=791 . Don't even remember what year it was, but DAMN, $60k used !!!

[MSCH2112]

RV=ruined vacation.
Too damn small to live out of and too damn big for the road.

that being said i do enjoy our 06' Damon 35' rv. doesn't get used much anymore and i'm always a fixin' things. crazy thing is the class c diesel i want is 200k. yikes.

mike

[RustyPW]

RV=ruined vacation.
Too damn small to live out of and too damn big for the road.

that being said i do enjoy our 06' Damon 35' rv. doesn't get used much anymore and i'm always a fixin' things. crazy thing is the class c diesel i want is 200k. yikes.

mike

This what you want?

[RustyPW]

The last rv show we was at. I fell in love with one of these. 20,000 lbs towing cap. The down side is buying 10 tires for it.

http://www.buyamotorcoach.com/2016-haul ... v-PNQ.html

[azracer]

Rusty there are a ton more downsides! I have a racing buddy who hates his unit but can't seem to sell it. It won't fit most campgrounds and high centers constantly. Has no real basement storage and worst of all it is way over $1500.00 + in monthly payments for 20 years. Not a good plan if you ask me! His was about $500,000 new. It is in the shop quite often too!

[RustyPW]

Rusty there are a ton more downsides! I have a racing buddy who hates his unit but can't seem to sell it. It won't fit most campgrounds and high centers constantly. Has no real basement storage and worst of all it is way over $1500.00 + in monthly payments for 20 years. Not a good plan if you ask me! His was about $500,000 new. It is in the shop quite often too!

I know about the other downsides. A motorhome is not an investment. It's a money pit. I write mine off as a second home on taxes..

[cruz]

Kinda' like the definition of a boat , "a hole in the water that you throw money into".
Two of the happiest moments in a guy's life are the day he bought his boat and the day he sold his boat.

[OffroadTreks]

All I can say is, I've lived in mine and towed it all across the country for a year and half and I've had zero problems.

That totally sucks though. I'd be pretty pissed to have so many issues right off the bat.

[cruz]

Like Firerescue said , it's their warranties that suck. for example , when something goes wrong with the heater, the RV manufacturer says "go deal with the heater manufacturer". And so on and so on with all their other outsourced components.

[OffroadTreks]

Yup, most are assembled like garbage too. American made means nothing in the RV industry.

[TwinStick]

Yup, for sure. Wish we could afford an Airstream, but we cant. Some of their t-trailers cost 2x or more, than what I paid for my house. I started modifying & strengthening ours the day we got it. I started by having to relocate the LP Gas regulator. It was touching the battery box top & there was no way to get the top off of it to check the battery !!! Epic Fail. BI-Law sat down (all 400 lbs of him) on the dinette cushions & I heard a loud crack. The support for the cushions was what I would call veneer, not even ply wood. That was my second mod, 1/2" birch FBS plywood support. Then to add more vertical supports & horizontal supports for cushion plywood. Next was an added 1/2" birch FBS plywood on top of factory support for the bed. Then a 2nd set of gas struts to help lift the extra weight of the bed plywood. Then add protective wire sleeves over brake wires that were rubbing on the leaf springs & same for the propane hose. Shouldn't have to do all these things to a brand new camper but, it is what it is. We looked at a new 16' Airstream Bambi............$45,000 !!! We are still waiting for a call that our camper has had the warranty work completed, but that has not happened yet. Prob gonna have to go pick it up again (3rd time) not fixed, use it for our trip & bring it back when we are done.....again !!!

And they wonder why people like me go on their ass & say .......................although, I had gotten much better about that since I retired, but those fu... bring it right out of me !!!

Does NOT APPROVE of these shenanigans !!!

[cruz]

... although, I had gotten much better about that since I retired ...
Yup, for sure. Wish we could afford an Airstream, but we cant ....

I agree, you have mellowed
You could go vintage Airstream for about half that price...

[OffroadTreks]

Yea mine is a 2007 and I didn't pay full price, but it's new body style. Hint, I paid less than that 16ft Bambi. Depreciation. They haven't changed much in the past couple of years. They have their own issues, but for the most part, the trailer itself is solid. Not to gloat, but the big difference is a used some other box is complete trash by the time it's 10yrs old. Mine you can't tell. However not everyone can live without slides and outdoor TV's and stuff. Plus if you want to haul toys, you pretty much only have one choice. I went for simplicity.

We want to pick up a used truck camper, but everyone I've seen is completely shot. I might just buy one and try to restore it, see how it goes.

[Reloaderguy]

Like Firerescue said , it's their warranties that suck. for example , when something goes wrong with the heater, the RV manufacturer says "go deal with the heater manufacturer". And so on and so on with all their other outsourced components.

Warranty regulations change state to state but all parts fall under the single general manufacturer's warranty. If your furnace stops working and the RV is under warranty, it is the RV manufacturer's obligation to fix the appliance.

[Reloaderguy]

Yea Rusty that's the norm unfortunately.

On one of my vacation trips to the Safari Factory there was a retired couple who sold their home and bought the then top of the line Panther 425hp Cat flagship motor home. Seems that in under 3 months of full time in the RV they had spent 2 of them at the Factory in Bend Oregon. Their first trip was to spend 2 weeks at the factory as the selling dealer could not do the required repairs and offered to pay their expenses to go to Bend for the repairs. Less than two weeks after that they were back at the factory because the hose to the hydraulic fan had developed a leak at the fitting and burnt the entire back 1/4 of the coach. They were put up in a local Motel 6 while the factory rebuilt their coach as the cost to fix it vs replace it was far less than half. So the Safari factory insurance company was making them fix it. They were livid and had a lawyer working on it for them. I don't know the final outcome but I sure felt their pain and wished I could help in some way.

On one of our factory warranty trips, while out for a bike ride we saw what looked like 50 or more of the GM P72 pusher chassis sitting in a gated lot looking very weathered. When I got back I asked the factory rep about it and they said that GM had decided to no longer produce the P72 pusher chassis and was repurchased any that were not yet converted into a motor home. I should have realized then that there was a problem and they were doing damage control.

While not mine it looks just like it. I haven't seen a pusher model of the Trek on the road in years. The only difference externally is the radiator grill in the back instead of the storage compartment.

The Safari factory was in Coburg, the Beaver factory was in Bend.

[TwinStick]

I ain't gonna lie, I like modern stuff. The vintage stuff is almost as much as new around here. Maybe some day.

You have peaked my curiosity though. What issues with a-streams ?

[Ducky's Dad]

About 15 years ago I had a client company that built moderately high end motorhomes. First time I visited their plant, I thought I had walked into a Model T assembly line. "Primitive" would be a generous description.

[OffroadTreks]

The big issue with Airstreams is they don't tell anyone that they need to be resealed. So most go thru life never being sealed, a few years of use and a leak develops between seams. Most common place is the windows. But worse, because of the aluminum shell, most leaks go on the inside walls, between the outside and inside wall. You never see it in the Airstream or outside. And slowly over time the floor will rot as the wood absorbs it. And it can be totally hidden and unseen problem until the floor has been soaked a dozen times over the years and it gets really bad.

Sad thing is it's totally preventable. Airstream puts a two sentence blurb in the owners manual about needing to check seals regularly and reseal as needed. But I'd argue 80% of owners have no clue. Caulk on windows only lasts so long, especially on something going down the highway.

[Ducky's Dad]

And the Airstream Basecamp is back.
http://newatlas.com/airstream-basecamp- ... 6/pictures