2016 Columbus 320rs new purchase review - Page 3

mikecwik · 06-20-2015, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tigerbug

Mike-We have a 2014 320RS and for the most part we are happy. Have we had issues, sure. If you buy an RV you should know going in they are going to happen. Any amount of research on your part would have filled you in on that. Hell we had a major issue with a new F350 Diesel that costs more than our trailer.
Should we get better workmanship on these trailer builds, absolutely! However you seem to be the type that will find fault in anything. The language and name calling you are doing in this thread is quite frankly a bit over the top! Name call & rant all you wait but where is that going to get you, still standing in your driveway being an angry man.
If you can build a better trailer then build your own to your own standards. Or better yet, get a business going, build the perfect trailer in the Columbus price range, and I will stand in line to purchase from you. I'll still want a warranty from you just in case you missed something, an you know you will.
Take the trailer back to your dealer or make arrangements to get it to the factory. Then show them your issues/concerns and build a plan to resolve. If that is not an option get our your tools and make the perfect trailer. When you have done that, please post pictures of every step of your from scratch build so we can enjoy reading/seeing the craftmanship you include. Also be sure to post every penny you spend to build this perfect trailer on every part and be sure to include labor hours in the build cost so it can be compared to the Columbus or any other trailer in that price range. I anxiously await your first trailer coming off the line. Be sure to include marketing costs, color brochure, and every other item needed to get it to market. I am excited to see what you come up with in full color photos.

Had I known it would be this bad I would have bought a used shipping container for a grand as my base and for sure would have had a better rv at less than half the price.

mikecwik · 06-20-2015, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johndeerefarmer

The camera should work off of your running lights not your backup lights. The camera is not only designed for backing but for seeing whats behind you while traveling

Camera simply did not work. I took it off the camper and hooked it up to power and it worked. The running lights on the camper function. I think they just did not hook it in to wherever they were supposed to.

I figured they call it a backup camera for a reason. My trucks only works in reverse but I guess that screen does a lot of other stuff more important than camera'ing.

mikecwik · 06-20-2015, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tigerbug

Mike-We have a 2014 320RS and for the most part we are happy. Have we had issues, sure. If you buy an RV you should know going in they are going to happen. Any amount of research on your part would have filled you in on that. Hell we had a major issue with a new F350 Diesel that costs more than our trailer.
Should we get better workmanship on these trailer builds, absolutely! However you seem to be the type that will find fault in anything. The language and name calling you are doing in this thread is quite frankly a bit over the top! Name call & rant all you wait but where is that going to get you, still standing in your driveway being an angry man.
If you can build a better trailer then build your own to your own standards. Or better yet, get a business going, build the perfect trailer in the Columbus price range, and I will stand in line to purchase from you. I'll still want a warranty from you just in case you missed something, an you know you will.
Take the trailer back to your dealer or make arrangements to get it to the factory. Then show them your issues/concerns and build a plan to resolve. If that is not an option get our your tools and make the perfect trailer. When you have done that, please post pictures of every step of your from scratch build so we can enjoy reading/seeing the craftmanship you include. Also be sure to post every penny you spend to build this perfect trailer on every part and be sure to include labor hours in the build cost so it can be compared to the Columbus or any other trailer in that price range. I anxiously await your first trailer coming off the line. Be sure to include marketing costs, color brochure, and every other item needed to get it to market. I am excited to see what you come up with in full color photos.

I am not sure how I got into the rv building industry but if I were you can bet I would walk the talk just like I have been doing since I joined the work force.

I am held to stringent tolerance and accountability in every job I have ever had. If I make mistakes work does not simply come back in a lot of cases people can be killed or seriously injured. I waste a lot of my time at work having to fix other peoples mistakes. I did not know I was buying a starter/project rv.

Don and Elaine · 06-21-2015, 07:56 AM

Sorry to hear of all your problems but our Columbus 320rs has been great. We have had 6 other RV's over the years and this one has been by far and away the best. Other RVs we owned gave us so much trouble that we got rid of them within 3 years. All RV makers have had problems with their units, even top line RV's will have someone who has problems. One of the keys to having minimal problems is to have a dealer who goes thru a PDI with you and fixes any issues as quickly as possible and helps you thru the issues, this is called service AFTER the sale. Yes it sucks when your the one who bought the "lemon", I know because I have been there with other brands. Again, I would NOT hesitate to buy another Columbus RV as we feel its been the best RV we ever owned.

main · 06-21-2015, 08:47 AM

We purchased a 320 5th Wheel Columbus a few months ago. Took it out for just a weekend to get familiar with the camper. Everything worked fine. Short trip around the corner from home but we were excited and ready to go on a trip out of state. Yesterday we wanted to show it to my brother so we open the slides, go to turn the a/c on...NOTHING but a E7 Code. WTH? We used it for 3 days, everything was fine. What could happen between here and campground 10 min away from home to now to make the AC not work. Brand new spankin camper.
Very upset that we have to haul this thing all the way back to the dealer.

mikecwik · 06-21-2015, 10:41 AM

Hahahaha! It did not take me but a few hours to get kicked off a Columbus group on facebook.

I would say it was 50/50 with people saying they were junk vs liking them. To me that means no qaqc on a product and it is best to avoid it altogether. I have lived in two man mountaineering tents for months at a time, maybe 9 was the longest that served me better than this camper.

Smoker · 06-21-2015, 11:43 AM

HI Mike, great photos and sorry to hear about your issues. I want you to know that I think our units were made side by side. But you got lucky because I lost the coin toss for who gets the F@#ked up CAP!! BTW, Wait to see all that wonderful insulation they put in up front.

jw7128jw · 06-21-2015, 03:47 PM

I was on the site that he says it was 50/50 saying Columbus was junk. There was maybe 2 or 3 people that said they were unhappy with their Columbus. This is out of over 1,000 members. Several people tried to help this person and he just put down everything he could think of. Yes they kicked him off, just like facebook evidently did. He has to use his wife or girlfriends account to get into facebook. I believe he is trying to put down Forest River and Columbus. Yes 2 or 3 other people said they were not satisfied with their unit, one of them said that now everything was fixed and good. Probably 50 people said how they loved their camper and had very little problems. He did not want to hear this. When he finally advised who his dealer was, we told him that the owner was on our site, he did not want to talk with them at all. He won't let Forest River or his dealer help him. Let me ask, is it normal for a person to buy a camper and tear it apart to find even little things wrong. I fix mine when needed, and that has happened very seldom. There is something really wrong here. He is so proud that a group of 1,000 saw through him in only a few hours and kicked Mr. negativity off a great site. Forest River you need to look into what this guys motives are, because he is giving Forest River a very bad name!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Davidceder · 06-21-2015, 04:53 PM

You guys should lighten up on Mike a bit. He is just frustrated and angry. You don't need to add to his misery. He is right about them all being manufactured like a POS. I had 36 items on my punch list after being out a week. All but one factory caused. I expected better quality as well. It's been 2 years for me and I THINK I finally have my rig dialed in, but it has been on the dealer lot more than at my house.

I think FR should jump up and take the initiative to take care of Mike by whatever means available. If he declines, well that's his problem.

Just my opinion. I will wait for my hate mail as well.

jw7128jw · 06-21-2015, 05:17 PM

No hate mail from me David. I agree with you and a lot with Mike, but when he says 50/50 on the Columbus site hate their rig, that is a LIE! Unlike Mike you let Forest River and your dealer fix your camper. We were willing to get his dealers owner name and number and he would have nothing to do with it. Yes that is HIS problem, not ours. So he should not come to other sites and bad mouth one brand, without giving them a chance to fix his problems. He is tearing apart his camper looking for problems, and then won't even give them a chance to fix them! Yes Quality Control could be much much better in all RV's, especially concerning safety items, but give them a chance to fix these items!!!!!!!!!!!

lgray · 06-21-2015, 06:03 PM

If he has the ability to find and diagnose the issues, why on earth would he put it back together to take to a dealer, during camping season, let them sit on it for three months and maybe they will fix ½ of what was wrong. Not to mention he will need to open it back up just to make sure it was fixed properly…

jw7128jw · 06-21-2015, 06:13 PM

you are so right, he should do what he is doing. Lay down and cry like a baby to any site that will listen to him. For Gods sake don't do something constructive about it! He has already admitted that he does not go camping!

lgray · 06-21-2015, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jw7128jw

you are so right, he should do what he is doing. Lay down and cry like a baby to any site that will listen to him. For Gods sake don't do something constructive about it!

I applaud his objective well documented issues posts. You really can’t argue with what he is finding and likely that all 320RS’ are built the same. His posts benefit the current owners and hopefully will cause Columbus/Palomino enough heartburn to take a serious look at quality.

jw7128jw · 06-21-2015, 06:37 PM

He has not really fixed anything yet, just taking it apart and complaining. I think he is with a competitive company trying to put Forest River in a bad light. How do we know he did not set this all up. I have worked on mine and have not found these problems. Of course I did not take off my door handle, duh. I am done with this guy!

Goukcats · 06-21-2015, 06:51 PM

I have never seen anyone take so much apart to check quality; but I agree this guy found many QC issues with his 'C'. I would hate to have half that many issues with ours. I would love to see several improvements, such as real insulation in the front cap; which Palomino hasn't changed after several yrs of complaints. The guy may have a lemon but he does loose credibility with distorting the dissatisfied 'C' owners & name calling. I would be frustrated with those issues also, but calling anyone a liar that says they're satisfied with theirs is not needed. He needs to fix it himself or work with the dealer/factory instead of crying about it on the internet for days. RV's have more than their share of lemons & I feel sorry for the next person who gets this one, unless it has a lot of fixes.

RubysRig · 06-21-2015, 08:51 PM

OP complained about not having a battery cover on the clock? Every wall clock in my house has the same mechanical piece on the back with space to pop in a battery without having a cover over it. I think many people would have taken him seriously if he wasn't so fixated on minutiae like that.

His entire thread sounds too prepared, almost scripted to me. He sounds like an RV building insider to me, whether competition or a disgruntled employee or ex-employee. There is nothing organic about his process.

RubysRig · 06-21-2015, 09:00 PM

I'm in the Facebook group he was removed from. He was rude. He was condescending. He was belligerent. He was contradictive. And he was thoroughly dismissive of any and all offers and suggestions of action and recourse. He also grossly inflated the ratio of happy C owners. A few discussed their major issues, but the overwhelming majority expressed their satisfaction with this brand along with their regrets regarding his apparent misfortune. He wanted nothing to do with any of that, which he made clear in the way he conducted himself in the group, which resulted in him being removed from the group. It's ironic and amusing he found his dismissal so noteworthy considering he wasn't interested in what anyone had to offer.

mikecwik · 06-22-2015, 08:14 PM

It now looks as if the mold has migrated inside the rv to the living quarters. I believe that it is black mold on the flooring. At least in places it seems to have the same circular pattern. Now it's in the bathroom sink drain. I figured it would end up inside but for whatever reason I never though of the sinks. I am waiting to hear back from a mold Testing facility. They asked me why I wanted it tested if I knew I had it. I figure the type can make a world of difference when it finally comes down to a lawsuit.

mikecwik · 06-22-2015, 08:40 PM

The unit is now going back to the factory. As I said before the reason I was doing the work is that I did not want the same bozo that built it fixing it but not really an option when the floor needs replaced and who knows what else from mold damage.

Since the factory will not answer my question on if they are certified to do mold removal and what kind of warranty that their works comes with it sounds like that are not certified nor is there any warranty. I would not put it past them to send a guy to Lowe's for some juice to spray on the mold and button it back up.

I liked how the factory rep had to probe and ask what I did for a living.

I don't care about the Facebook group. You k ow it's funny I offered to sell my csmper and a good price because all you columbus lovers know that the factory is going to make this rv right as rain. I don't have anybody beating my door down though.

I have to say that only a fool would buy an rv,any rv if there us a chance you could get one like I did. If you're happy with your rv maybe you got a good one or maybe you are just ignorant.

Some are suggesting that this rv is my fault for not researching, finding a reputable dealer or that it's karma.

You guys handle your problems your way and I will handle mine my way.

mikecwik · 06-23-2015, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jw7128jw

you are so right, he should do what he is doing. Lay down and cry like a baby to any site that will listen to him. For Gods sake don't do something constructive about it! He has already admitted that he does not go camping!

Who the hell thinks they are camping in an $80,000 unit on wheels? I don't sleep in my truck and think I am camping.

I find your logic to shall we say rv logic. You don't think I am doing something constructive about my problem? Telling people not to make the same mistake I did is my number one priority. My message is clear never buy an rv.

No You will not find me thinking I am camping in a mold filled house on wheels. I still don't have a buyer lined up for this quality made in America product. I wonder why?

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