2016 Crusader with delaminated floor under warranty

[Edawn]

Hello all,
I'm not sure what to do at this point so I thought I would ask for opinions. We bought a 2016 Crusade 321RES in April of 2016. The floor became soft- most of the door side of the RV and the front cap faded. We took it to the dealer- Camping world in April of this year while it was still under warranty to have it fixed. They've had it two months now. CW has gone back and forth with Forest River trying to get the floor fixed. Forest River said the floor looked good after numerous attempts to fix it with it still having soft spots. Now they have decided it is delaminated and needs a whole new floor. The front cap still has not been addressed and we've been told that the decals are on a three month back order. We would like to have an RV to use this summer but it seems like that isn't going to happen. We've lost two weeks due to someone at Forest River being on vacation and another week with them trying to decide if it should go back to the factory. I ready to get an attorney involved. Anyone have other suggestions?

[Fred H.]

I would suggest you phone Prime Time, the manufacturer of the unit like I had to. Talking to them directly will get better attention than having CWorld do it for you.

Note: there is a time limit on the cap fade. After speaking to them on the phone I found that I was within a few weeks for a claim to have it covered under warranty. I'm taking my Crusader to Indiana to a local RV paint company that Prime Time recommended.

[Edawn]

Originally Posted by Fred H.

I would suggest you phone Prime Time, the manufacturer of the unit like I had to. Talking to them directly will get better attention than having CWorld do it for you.

Note: there is a time limit on the cap fade. After speaking to them on the phone I found that I was within a few weeks for a claim to have it covered under warranty. I'm taking my Crusader to Indiana to a local RV paint company that Prime Time recommended.

Fred, thank you for the reply. The 5th wheel is is under warranty. We took it in within the one year period. Now the manufacturer has come back saying what will it take for you to live with the soft spot that is still in the floor close to the door and island? I know they are looking for a dollar amount and I have no idea what figure to give them. This soft spot will hurt trade in or resale value. The dealer said you'll never fall through the floor. He said they've added so much metal to reinforce that the floor will last longer than the rest of the camper. BUT I might not ever be able to get a fair trade or resale price.
I've tried calling and emailing FR and have had no response. I guess I need to come up with a dollar amount or be prepared to wait however long it takes to get the camper repaired at the manufacturer ,which was the other option. My concern is that if repaired, they will cut around the floor instead of lifting the shell to repair floor. That would leave the whole camper weak. The other concern is that we'll lose another season to use the camper.

[Brewhedd]

I wouldn't ever consider buying an RV with damage from a leak. If it were me I would tell them I can't "live with it" and want the floor repaired and the source of problem fixed. One thing not mentioned is mold, which will happen, if it hasn't already.

[Edawn]

Originally Posted by Brewhedd

I wouldn't ever consider buying an RV with damage from a leak. If it were me I would tell them I can't "live with it" and want the floor repaired and the source of problem fixed. One thing not mentioned is mold, which will happen, if it hasn't already.

Thanks for the reply. The floor issue isn't from water damage. It's a design flaw where no support was used over the tanks and this caused the floor to delaminate. But if I were buying an RV, I would never buy one with a soft floor because I would assume it's water damage. And it's literally the first thing you would notice about the camper because the first step you take, you'll feel that floor. On the other hand, what are they willing to pay me to live with it? $2000 or $20000?

[Brewhedd]

Oh ok, that's different. Still would want it fixed. Who designs a floor with no support? Do they hire chimps to design their trailers? Unbelievable.

[Tiggerdad]

How much money do you have invested in it? Payments, down payment, modifications, interest, insurance, fuel, other expenses, etc.? That is how much I would need. Then I could purchase a new one to gget me back to where I was.

[Tiggerdad]

Originally Posted by Edawn

The dealer said you'll never fall through the floor. He said they've added so much metal to reinforce that the floor will last longer than the rest of the camper. BUT I might not ever be able to get a fair trade or resale price.

If that was true you wouldn't have a soft spot or flex would you?

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by Edawn

Hello all,
I'm not sure what to do at this point so I thought I would ask for opinions. We bought a 2016 Crusade 321RES in April of 2016. The floor became soft- most of the door side of the RV and the front cap faded. We took it to the dealer- Camping world in April of this year while it was still under warranty to have it fixed. They've had it two months now. CW has gone back and forth with Forest River trying to get the floor fixed. Forest River said the floor looked good after numerous attempts to fix it with it still having soft spots. Now they have decided it is delaminated and needs a whole new floor. The front cap still has not been addressed and we've been told that the decals are on a three month back order. We would like to have an RV to use this summer but it seems like that isn't going to happen. We've lost two weeks due to someone at Forest River being on vacation and another week with them trying to decide if it should go back to the factory. I ready to get an attorney involved. Anyone have other suggestions?

Most dealers put you off by placing the blame of lack of communication/back orders on the manufacturer. When, in fact, they (dealer) are lax in contacting/following up/ordering parts with the manufacturer. Since you brought the unit back to CW before your warranty expired, make sure you tell Prime Time this.
That's another thing. Prime Time is a separate division of Forest River and any and all contacts should be through Prime Time. Contacting "Forest River" warranty dept. will NOT get you to the right people to get your case handled.

Originally Posted by Fred H.

I would suggest you phone Prime Time, the manufacturer of the unit like I had to. Talking to them directly will get better attention than having CWorld do it for you.

Note: there is a time limit on the cap fade. After speaking to them on the phone I found that I was within a few weeks for a claim to have it covered under warranty. I'm taking my Crusader to Indiana to a local RV paint company that Prime Time recommended.

I would start with this link; Prime Time Contact Us

You will get a return email from your assigned warranty manager.



There was an industry wide problem with colored caps that has since been addressed. As such, Prime Time's warranty on the front caps only, was extended to 30 months. If you notice something wrong with the color fading on the front cap and document it with correspondence and pictures within the 30 months, they will cover it.

[walaby]

As far as the front cap and decals are concerned, I had cap fade as well, that I the discovered just after my 12 month warranty expired. PrimeTime is covering the repaint. I did have to wait a while for the decals, but I still used the TT while waiting. Decals came in, the dealer set me up with local paint guys (who do good work.. used them before),and it's in repaint now. Don't leave it with the dealer while waiting for the decal. It won't hurt to continue using the RV.

If the floor issue is a bad design, I assume all 2016 Crusaders have the same issue?

Mike

[Comanchecreek]

I have a 2017 Crusader 315. Floor is solid, at least so far. My bet is your problem is with CW. I see more issues on warranties with them, only to see later that Prime Time took care of it. Contact them directly and remember the problems you had trying to get CW to take care of things, and be sure to tell everybody you know.

[OnyxSky]

I am with you, I have a 2015 321RES and have had a soft spot since the first season, dealer tried and it was better for a little bit but it failed to fix it, so it went back and spent the next 7 months between the dealer and PrimeTime, they told me they had to try 3 different fixes before they got it right. But it's now finally fixed. They did the reinforcement but that wasn't enough, they had to put in an overlayment on the wood under the lenolium and carpet to re-bond the floor. The factory reps said it was an insufficient glue between the layers of the floor that cause the issue. The dealer told me of the design fault with the tank area.

[OnyxSky]

I would force the factory to fix it, but be prepared to wait, once they finally got mine into a bay it took 3 months to fix it and countless delays, and I finally went to the factory to pick it up myself.

I know if I have any further issues the factory will be buying this back, check your local lemon laws and the Magnusson Moss Warranty Act, most lawyers are hesitant to touch these as they can be protracted battles.

That being said Primetime did step up and take care of my issue without having to go that far. I too have the faded front cap and they are repainting mine. I was told it was due to not having a UV inhibitor in the paint of sufficient grade.

[kohai]

Offer to let them give you a new RV with a new warranty. Just trade. They can fix it and sell it as used on their own schedule. I would guess you're taking a 50% valuation hit accepting it as-is.