Problems with 2013 Crusader 320 RLT

[lt88]

Not a happy camper. We bought a 2013 Crusader 320 RTL about 3 weeks ago and are now on your first trip out (annual vacation). Here is a list of things that have went wrong. 1) on the way here made a stop and walked around the trailer to make sure everything was ok and noticed the spare tire tilted. Took off cover to find the flat piece of metal in a V shape and the nut loose. Took it off and beat it flat with a hammer and put it back on, glad I didn't loose the spare tire (it wasn't like that when I left home). 2) in the middle of the night the air conditioners keep going on and off, the camper smelled like hot wires inside so I turned them off and burned up the rest of the night. Next morning noticed the power would go off in LR on in the BR & then it would go off in the BR and on in the LR back and forth. Airs would not run kept cutting off and finally neither would come on at all. Call dealer talked to a tech that walked me through things to look at to fix the problem. After having the camp ground change their breaker & plug (that was not the problem)I check voltage on the power cord, checked lugs on wall plug on camper, pulled cover off of inverter and there was a ground wire that was not connected. I fixed that, checked all the breaker wires, the 50 amp breaker had the wires in it but they were not even snug had to tighten them a 1 1/2 to 2 rounds to get them tight. That seemed to fix the problem for now. 3) In the process of the wiring shorting out back and forth, the RCA entertainment center, new washer/dryer combo, & a portable ice maker is now shorted out and does not work at all. 4) The next morning smoke filled up the camper coming out of the inverter. Turned off the breaker opened the windows and let it air out. Let inverter cool off. Turned power back on later (after the camper inside was like an oven) run both airs and it seeemed ok for now. The main air sounds funny in runs fast then slows and picks up again. I don't know if this is normal of if it is messed up due to the power problem. 5) The air mattress my boys are sleeping on seems to loose air in the middle of the night, so I had to go buy 2 sleeping mats at Costco $100 + tax. 5) I have noticed some frayed edges around the carpet and in the bedroom around the bathroom wall it looks like it was cut short and doesn't cover well all the way to the wall. 6) The hot water heater goes on and off all day without even using the hot water even with the electrical switch on and the light between the switches never comes on is this normal? 7) This is a bump in the floor in the bathroom where the floor covering was put down over something on the floor now there is a bump in the floor that will eventually wear through.
I have already took the camper back to dealer once to get a bedroom light fixed, check the water heater and redo the gasket around the main air (there was an exposed bolt through the side of the gasket and the roof was puckered up and exposed to the weather. They had previously removed the factory air to put on another crusader that someone had bought and had a problem so they could go on a trip. So this was there install and it was corrected, I think.
Don't get me wrong, I love this camper its beautiful, the layout is great. But I paid alot of money for something that has been a pain in my butt ever since we got to our vacation spot. I'm sure the dealer will work to correct these problems when we return. But you know I'm afraid to go off and leave anything on including the airs. I'm afraid I will come back to a pile of ashes. Does the lemon law apply here? I'm thinking a new camper might be in order. Is anyone checking quality control on this campers before they are shipped??

[Crusader]

That was my world last year.....I will tell you this much. If I were you you, I would send it back to the factory for repairs. Thats what I did. They seem to be the only ones, that know how to fix it right. My dealer had my 270ret all messed up !!!!

[WEMig]

I had the same issue with the spare tire. Luckily it didn't fall off. It had come loose and the bolt was stripped. It was loose enough to bend the back plate into a "V". I've had other issues also with the camper, but all in all, I've been very pleased with the dealer and Prime Time's response on getting things right.

[grayfox]

I have a 320 and have been very pleased. My dealer has been the best and Prime Time has been good as well. Call Prime Time and give them your details then follow up with an e=mail outline. I'm sure they will be very attentive to you problems.

Good Luck

Rick

[southernsky]

"But I paid alot of money for something that has been a pain in my butt ever since we got to our vacation spot."

Huh....Seems like I heard that somewhere before....

[grhodes50]

A few things I might can help you with.

One is the air mattress. It's not uncommon to experience what you have. Sometimes the mattress needs to be "broken in". They will stretch a little the first few uses making it seem like they're loosing air. Also the end cap at the foot of the mattress might be loose. Some have added a piece of cling wrap under the cap to help it seal.

The red light on the water heater switches will only come on if it doesn't light properly.

When using the AC, in the Auto mode the fan will run on high when the room temperature is 5º or higher than the thermostat setting.
When the room temperature drops to within 4º or less than the thermostat setting, the fan will stop for a few seconds the start again in the Lo mode.

Contact PT about your problems. They are excellent at getting things fixed quickly and correctly. Here's a link to their contact page;
Prime Time Manufacturing, Manufacturers of travel trailers and fifth wheels

Good luck and I hope this helps.

[lt88]

Thanks everyone for your input. RV is back at the dealer, tomorrow will be a week they have had it. Contacted customer service and they said it would be taken care of. I guess we will wait and see!

[lt88]

Quick update, still at the dealer. New inverter installed, new shore plug and cord, bath room floor fixed. Now waiting on the new washer/dryer and entertainment center. I guess they didn't beleive me and the dealer when we said it didn't work. Will be another week I guess. Still making payments, still no camper, and yes still frustrated!

[lt88]

Update on camper. We picked it up from the dealer late friday evening. They replaced the following 1. new washer/dryer combo 2. new entertainment center 3. new inverter up graded to a 900 amp. with dual vans from a 600 with single fan 4. new shore plug in on the side of the camper 5. new 50 amp power cord 6. frays on carpet fixed (I think this is a cheap grade of carpet for what the camper cost) 7. bump in bathroom floor fixed 8. all electrical system tested seems to be working for now 8. was told to run water on electrical only unless taking back to back showers, light is not suppose to be on unless there is a problem. 9. supposeably fixed gasket on main air (I havn't been on top to confirm that) 10. tested battery system all ok 11. waiting on a check from Prime Time for the replacement of the ice maker 12. was told mattess was not leaking just stretching out because it was new, it will take a few times of use to break it in (we will see)

They did not fix the metal piece on the spare tire (guess they forgot) I will fix this myself. The RV was at the dealer for 2 weeks and 4 days. During this time had several calls from service rep and warranty manager at Prime Time. They said they would ensure the problems were corrected. Also this went all the way up to the president of the company. I guess now we use it and see what happens. Brought it home and hooked it up to 50 amp service and turned both airs on, so far so good. I will keep you posted on the out come.

[southernsky]

As far as the metal piece on your spare it will continue to happen. If your trailer is a little nose high, when you go through a little dip the spare will drag. I finally got tired of having to stop to check my spare. I made me a spare tire carrier under the front of my trailer. Cost me arround $120.00 bucks, we'll see how that works.

[AeroScout]

I took my spare tire off and placed it in the rear middle of my pass-through. Put a bicycle rack on the back bumper. A lot better use of the bumper and don't have to worry about the spare. All is good! Still have plenty of room in that big pass-through. (290RLT)