Mistake in buying a Salem

[threegr8katz]

hummmmm ,is the problem maybe that your talking about the Salem, Which when looking at Flagstaffs the dealer in Grain Valley Mo stated these are the bottom line of the FR's. The prices are lower and that has been discussed ie the lower prices = lower quality stuff. Last time I checked you can't get a new Mercedees for the cost of a new Ford Escort
This dealer went on to state that the quality is a lot better throughout on the flagstaff over the Salem, but you well pay more.. If you compare them you can see there diffences, a very simple one is how cheap the mattress is in the salem over the flagstaff/ rockwood. No they aren't top of the line but the one I sat on in the Salem was like a hard box with a stiff metal frame around the entire bed.
Also on the salem we were told a 27 ft was around $13K while a 27 ft Flagstaff was $20K...... you tell me if I am wrong but there is a diiference here and this might explain some of the poster problems.
I will add that nothing is perfect, nothing is going to be 100 % but every one knows furniture from walmart might look nice and have a great price but is still from walmart. No matter how you look at it it still isn't the same as furniture from a top retailer selling something similar but built with quality products and materials and a higher price.

I say call FR, ask for the work to be corrected or trade it back to the dealer you bought from??

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by eightrac

8. TT is overly heavy (empty weight is posted as 5660 and I expected at least 6000lbs but mine completely empty weighs over 9900 lbs.)

Wow, that is a huge difference.

[amarettl3]

I have been in the service business for years, and this is what I've noticed, peoples expectations are unbelievable...they want the best and yet don't want to pay for it...

[Mr. Black]

Originally Posted by amarettl3

I have been in the service business for years, and this is what I've noticed, peoples expectations are unbelievable...they want the best and yet don't want to pay for it...

So let me get this straight, you are telling me it is ok for manufacturers to not do stuff right, and that it's ok so long as you don't pay too much for it?

No wonder this industry sucks so bad. lol

[amarettl3]

Originally Posted by Mr. Black

So let me get this straight, you are telling me it is ok for manufacturers to not do stuff right, and that it's ok so long as you don't pay too much for it?

No wonder this industry sucks so bad. lol

Read again my post, it said expectations are too high and people are not willing to pay for quality stuff...ex. op was complaining carpet are coming out when she vacuums, that's because its the lowest quality carpet that is being used...why is that? because that's what the manufacturer has to use in order to lower the price of the trailer...cabinetry, same thing. if they started using higher end stuff, then the price of the trailer would go up and sales would go down...bottom line is, cheaper trailer sells, high end not as much...supply and demand. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying THE MAJORITY OF people doesn't want to pay for quality, especially right now. I don't remember mentioning it's ok for manufacturer to not do stuff right...reread my post again.

[Mr. Black]

Well color me a cheapskate then lol. It'll be a cold day in hell before I spend 60+ grand to still get mediocre quality. Or even spend half that really.

The OPs trailer is coming apart and by your standards it should be ok for it to fall apart because it's a "cheap" trailer? I am not buying it.

[capucine]

FASTMIXER; They dont build trailers like they did in the eighty's. Nowaday they try to runs as many trailers as they can on the assembly line and you have to almost rebuild a trailer when you buy it now. It has been the case with almost all my trailers I owned except my terry taurus 1984 30 feet. I can say that this trailer was almost perfect. I dont know too many company that build almost perfect trailers unless you pay the high price for superior quality.

[pondlady]

I have been mostly happy with my new to me Grey Wolf, bought from a private party. With the help of this fine crew of experts always at the ready, I have been able to fix whatever needed fixing.

[crocus]

Isn't the Salem a lower-priced model?
I looked at the Palamino 5ers when we were shopping, and wouldn't buy one of those either. You could easily tell that it wasn't made as good. The kitchen cabinet drawers didn't even have metal sliders, just the old sloppy wood-on-wood design of 30 years ago, except not as well made!
We love our Flagstaff, and the quality of construction is excellent.
You get what you pay for.

[revrnd]

Originally Posted by threegr8katz

Also on the salem we were told a 27 ft was around $13K while a 27 ft Flagstaff was $20K...... you tell me if I am wrong but there is a diiference here and this might explain some of the poster problems.

If the prices you mention are correct, how much can the OEMs cut costs? This is assuming (I know) that the major appliances (furnace, water heater, AC, etc) are identical.

[08flagvlite]

The age old saying "You get what you pay for" sort of applies here up to a point- We all know a new Pinto is cheaper than a new Lincoln, but you still should be able to expect reasonable quality control on both vehicles! They should both have everything that they are equipped with in good working order, and stay that way for at least a few years. And, just because you paid a premium price for the Lincoln, they both will have problems at relatively the same time, later on down the road. Randy

[calgarygringo]

An old saying in the sales field.
There are 3 things when you are a customer to consider.
Price/quality/service.
Pick at least 2 of the 3 when buying an item because if you get the lowest price you will probably get lowest quality or service as well. Mid price will probably get you 2 of the 3. The highest price means you get all 3 or you are getting screwed...most of the time it is true.

[amarettl3]

Originally Posted by Mr. Black

Well color me a cheapskate then lol. It'll be a cold day in hell before I spend 60+ grand to still get mediocre quality. Or even spend half that really.

The OPs trailer is coming apart and by your standards it should be ok for it to fall apart because it's a "cheap" trailer? I am not buying it.

A Salem trailer doesn't cost 60+ grand, from what someone posted, it's less than 15k...and op complains of low quality and defects which is different from coming apart...and good for you for not buying it...I'm not selling anything

[amarettl3]

It's as simple as this, don't buy the cheapest if you want quality... what we want as consumers are perfection, no hassle, great service, and people bending backward to please us, if we complain we expect immediate response, if they don't,we get aggravated, we expect the dealer to be perfect, we expect the salespeople to be perfect and nice and all that even if we nag them to death, if they don't act the way we want them to, we rant and post nasty things about them,we complain to high heavens that they're the worse, of course some dealer are exactly like that, I've had dealings with some of them...the thing is, anything that's man made are prone to defects, I don't know of anything that is man made and are mass produced that are defect free, look at a bentley, it's a labor intensive car to manufacture and they don't mass produce it, it's hand made but since the buyer expect perfection they can only produce several at a time and not mass produce it...you get the idea. As a consumer, of course I don't want it to be this way, but some people just don't get it. and some do, those that do are happy with their RV/trailer, those that don't get it are the one who's posting all these rants. Imagine a post complaining of a carpet coming apart when they vacuum it??? Why do people think we live in Disneyland????????

[amarettl3]

My point being, be objective when you complain, don't try to exaggerate things like what the original op posted just to get sympathy from others, others can see through it, if you try to make it worse and exaggerate, you come off as ranting and it irritates people. Not all of course, some like Mr. Black will believe anything and will quickly jump to conclusion even if a post doesn't make sense. Ex. blaming manufacturer for the carpet (falling apart)

[Mr. Black]

WoW, talk about looking at something from two different directions.

[The_Stuff]

i bought a salem because it seemed the most practical to me. $30k for a 42 foot TT that was on a soild frame, 2 slides, full kitchen with house appliances and was styled nice inside and out.

looked at some of the 60k rigs at minards in weyburn and they wanted 60k + for something with some fancier staples and counter tops in it.

[RhoZeta]

Originally Posted by eightrac

<snip>

8. TT is overly heavy (empty weight is posted as 5660 and I expected at least 6000lbs but mine completely empty weighs over 9900 lbs.)
<snip>

Holy Schnikes!!

How is that even possible?? How can the ultra lite frame and axles even hold that much?? I cant imagine those tires are rated for a weight anywhere near 5 tons!
There is something seriously wrong with that TT if it weighs 5 tons. You are talking about almost twice as much weight as the UVW sticker says it is.
Are you hiding bars of gold in it somewhere?

[grhodes50]

[QUOTE=fastmixer;53639]Thank you. I just want to get this thing fixed but that looks doubtful.QUOTE]

Hang in there. I've had my share of problems, but FR will help. Just in case, here's that ph# again, 574-642-2640.

It's okay to vent. Get some of that frustration out. When you feel ready to tackle some of thise problems, just ask some questions. There are some knowledable people on this forum. If you ask about a specific problem you can probably get some good info. Most people on here will do what they can to help to get you back to camping.

Welcome to the forum and good luck to you.

[BigRed]

Amen !!