New 2013 Avenger 26BH TED - Poor QA?

[flydye]

We just finished our first campout with the new 2013 Avenger 26BH Touring and we had a great time. However, we had some problems that got me worried about the quality / quality assurance of the Prime Time. Has anybody else had issues like this with Prime Time? Should I be worried?

Issues so far.

- Gray water level indicator does not work. (Warranty work)
- TV power supply no longer works (replaced with Radio Shack power supply and called Legend for a replacement)
- DVD did not play on TV. Took DVD off the wall and found that the DVD video cable was plugged into the video IN instead of OUT.
- The door is really difficult to open / close. The handle seems to stick when closed and you really have to slam it hard to make it close. (Warranty work)
- The Velcro on the back of the dining room bench seat cushions came off the wood. Not a big deal, but adds to the poor quality worry.
- (edit) Missing screws on a few blind holding tabs.

Not really a manufacturing issue, but not sure how to fix. Any thoughts?
- The tub does not have any lip on the non-wall side so water just runs over the edge on onto the floor. I was thinking some weather stripping here may work on redirecting the water or I could always ensure I level to one side.

Thanks,

FlyDye

[kho6658]

My kids have a hard time opening and closing the door, but really not a problem for me or DW. Yes I have noticed that the Velcro was coming off but easy fix from home depot with better quality velcro. I'm still very happy with the quality of it. It took me 9 months of looking at others and very happy with my decision.

[flydye]

Originally Posted by kho6658

My kids have a hard time opening and closing the door, but really not a problem for me or DW. Yes I have noticed that the Velcro was coming off but easy fix from home depot with better quality velcro. I'm still very happy with the quality of it. It took me 9 months of looking at others and very happy with my decision.

Thank you for the info. We also looked around for a long time before we found the Avenger. We really do like it, but we ran into these problems. The more time it spends at the shop, the less time my family can use it for camping! Hopefully after I get these items fixed we will be problem free.

[kho6658]

Originally Posted by flydye

Thank you for the info. We also looked around for a long time before we found the Avenger. We really do like it, but we ran into these problems. The more time it spends at the shop, the less time my family can use it for camping! Hopefully after I get these items fixed we will be problem free.

I'm with you on loseing time camping when its in the shop. Unless its something that I can't fix myself, I won't take in for warranty because of the time that it takes for me to get it back to the dealer. My dealer is about an hour from my house and the time it would take me to get it out of storage to the dealer is a pain. I have been lucky that I have only had to make one trip back to the dealer.

[kozzy]

I had a similar issue with my bathtub in my lacrosse, got a drip guard from Home Depot, applied with some caulk, problem solved.


As far as the other issues , I think you will find little issues with any new camper, I know I did, but Prime Time went above and beyond to correct the issues and I have been extremely happy with the level of service I have received.

[flydye]

Update-

Got the trailer back from the dealer and they had to take the black cover/corrugated plastic off the bottom of the trailer to fix the gray water tank. They also said they found some water damage (I only use the tub once to give my son a bath) due to some sealant missing from the factory. Unfortunately, the dealership did a horrible job putting the bottom back on… (Missing foam, wires hanging around, sagging cover, etc.).

I didn’t accept it from the dealership the first time around and they patched it up better, but it’s still not right.

I have a call into Primetime (left a voicemail) to discuss what my options are, if I have any..


Kozzy - Thanks! I'll give that a try. sounds exactly what I'm looking for.

[flydye]

Update-

Talked with Roger from Prime Time. What an awesome guy! He made some recommendations that I’m going to try which involve following a nice escalation process. Basically try talking with the service manager, if that doesn’t work Roger will try to talk with the server manager and if all else fails I can bring the trailer to Prime Time's service center located in Elkhart, IN (Only 3 ½ hours away) and they'll make it right.

It is nice to know that Prime Time looks out for their customers.

[kho6658]

I'm having an issue with my shower. Now on two trips when someone takes a shower, the water that hits the front shower wall runs down the wall to the base on the tub and onto the floor. I'm currently camping and this morning I had to raise the right side of the camper to make sure the water doesn't drip out onto the floor. Anyone had this issue?

[flydye]

Originally Posted by kho6658

I'm having an issue with my shower. Now on two trips when someone takes a shower, the water that hits the front shower wall runs down the wall to the base on the tub and onto the floor. I'm currently camping and this morning I had to raise the right side of the camper to make sure the water doesn't drip out onto the floor. Anyone had this issue?

Yes. Myself and Kozzy (in his lacrosse) has had this problem. I have not had a chance to try it yet, but Kozzy purchased a drip guard from Home Depot, applied with some caulk, and it solved his problem.

[kho6658]

Thanks I'll give it try. We have another trip planned in a week.

[just4fun]

We just took a two week trip in our 2013 Avenger 26BH... love it, but we too have some small annoying issues. Both our gray water and black water tanks say they are full, even though we know they are empty. One of our interior electrical outlets is coming out of the wall, and our dinette seat is coming apart where it should be stapled. Most importantly, for some reason, our cable does not seem to work when we hook to a cable outlet at a campground. After hooking up the cable, we have ran the auto scan on both cable & air and get nothing... any ideas? I have read the directions and it appears as if we have done everything correctly.

[flydye]

Originally Posted by just4fun

We just took a two week trip in our 2013 Avenger 26BH... love it, but we too have some small annoying issues. Both our gray water and black water tanks say they are full, even though we know they are empty. One of our interior electrical outlets is coming out of the wall, and our dinette seat is coming apart where it should be stapled. Most importantly, for some reason, our cable does not seem to work when we hook to a cable outlet at a campground. After hooking up the cable, we have ran the auto scan on both cable & air and get nothing... any ideas? I have read the directions and it appears as if we have done everything correctly.

Sorry, other than making sure the TV settings are on antenna or cable based on what you are trying to do, I don’t know why it wouldn’t work. The power supply for our TV died on the first trip and I called the number that was on the power supply. They were really nice and mailed me a new power supply on their dime.

If you can’t get it working I recommend giving the manufacture a call; they were very helpful when I called them.

[just4fun]

Thanks - I decided to schedule it for service on all my "issues" in a couple of weeks... hopefully they can figure it out!

[flydye]

Originally Posted by just4fun

Thanks - I decided to schedule it for service on all my "issues" in a couple of weeks... hopefully they can figure it out!

I hope your issues get resolved better than mine did! The dealership made it worse .. Still trying to get it resolved.. I recommend taking pictures of the problems, and anything you think they need to take apart in order to fix the issues, before bringing it in. I'm not saying you will have the same experience that I did, but I wish I had taken pictures prior to bringing it in for service.

[Mikedboyd]

Originally Posted by just4fun

We just took a two week trip in our 2013 Avenger 26BH... love it, but we too have some small annoying issues. Both our gray water and black water tanks say they are full, even though we know they are empty. One of our interior electrical outlets is coming out of the wall, and our dinette seat is coming apart where it should be stapled. Most importantly, for some reason, our cable does not seem to work when we hook to a cable outlet at a campground. After hooking up the cable, we have ran the auto scan on both cable & air and get nothing... any ideas? I have read the directions and it appears as if we have done everything correctly.

Make sure the power booster on your coax connection is turned OFF for cable.

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by just4fun

We just took a two week trip in our 2013 Avenger 26BH... love it, but we too have some small annoying issues. Both our gray water and black water tanks say they are full, even though we know they are empty. One of our interior electrical outlets is coming out of the wall, and our dinette seat is coming apart where it should be stapled. Most importantly, for some reason, our cable does not seem to work when we hook to a cable outlet at a campground. After hooking up the cable, we have ran the auto scan on both cable & air and get nothing... any ideas? I have read the directions and it appears as if we have done everything correctly.

We had a similar problem with cable on our first trip. To check it, we ran our cable directly from the pedestal, in through the camper door and hooked directly to the TV. Perfect cable service. So we knew the problem was somewhere between the hookup on the outside of the trailer and the place where it comes out near the TV. Took it in and they had to replace a "cable board."
We had to borrow a piece of extra-long cable from the campground to run that test because our regular cable was not long enough. Might be worth a try to eliminate some of the other possibilities.

[flydye]

Finally was able to schedule a meeting time with the service manager Mike. He was very polite; took the time to look at my problems (even crawling on the ground in his business casuals). He apologized for the problems I was experiencing and said that he will get them resolved.

So, the trailer is back at the dealership; hopefully third time's the charm.

[chris1911]

Originally Posted by Mikedboyd

Make sure the power booster on your coax connection is turned OFF for cable.

Yep. On the left side of your tv, where the cable goes into the wall, there is a small green light and button. Push that little button and it should work.

[Platokidd]

Originally Posted by flydye

Finally was able to schedule a meeting time with the service manager Mike. He was very polite; took the time to look at my problems (even crawling on the ground in his business casuals). He apologized for the problems I was experiencing and said that he will get them resolved.

So, the trailer is back at the dealership; hopefully third time's the charm.

Only 3 times ... hope they get it right..good luck

[flydye]

Picked up the trailer today.

The dealership ended up taking the corrugated plastic underbelly off again and mounting some cross members under the trailer. They then mounted the underbelly to the cross members. They did this only over the axle. It’s still saggy everywhere else, but at least the underbelly isn’t touching the axle anymore

I need to add some more expanding foam to a few places where they didn’t put enough, but over all I guess it’s as good as it’s going to get.

Camping time!