Camper is back from factory - worse shape than it left - camper is home!

[RhoZeta]

Sorry to hear of this! What a frustrating experience, I can not even begin to imagine how pissed you must be!! They wasted what should have been the perfect opportunity to make things right by you, not only that things are possibly worse!
Nobody is perfect, people make mistakes but when you take the time to have them remedy those mistakes and they still don't.... man what a bummer. Bubba I hope this gets straightened out, not only for you but as an industry as a whole it is stuff like this that really gives it a black eye and makes sane people shy away from camping.

[ohio xlite]

i was just wondering what factory it went back to. Mine is at total rv in goshen indiana. Hope you get your problems resolved quickly

[ChooChooMan74]

Reading stories like this makes me want to really investigate before buying my next trailer. I hope the best of luck Doug.

[Seasonal]

This sucks for you and I hope everything works out. What is the next step for you? Where do you go from here?

[golfmedik]

Doug, I am very sorry to hear about this and do not feel bad about getting pi$$ed. It is your right. I wonder, being that it was there so long, that they actually forgot who it belonged to, and lost the list of repairs that you sent in with it! I've heard of this happening a time or two. I hate it when things like this happen. It infuriates us all because it could have been us! You know my dealings with FR over my axles, and I tried very hard to remain calm during the process but my dealer finally knew I was serious when I laid a business card on his desk and told him I was through talking. He knew then, that he was going to be in the middle of something he didn't want to be in. My suggestion. Take a video of everything that was wrong before, and now, demonstrating how long the wait was for this to be repaired, and show exactly what was NOT done. Put it on YouTube and link it here so all of us can see it. Then send a letter(with web address) to your dealer and rep at the factory so they can watch it, and then know exactly what is wrong with the unit and why it is back at their facility. That way, they should be embarrassed and a little peeved that it had resorted to this. Obviously time and lists aren't going to get it done. May as well give them a step by step in a video that they can reference! You should also be compensated more than just another year of warranty for this.
As stated in a previous post, these units are rushed out so quickly, and the quality checks suck! It is one thing to push it through manufacturing quickly, but another to send it through quality that fast as well. Those people make decisions that ultimately result in the customer seeing or not seeing a problem. Maybe they should take note and do quality checks WHILE building them instead of at the end. Sorry for the rant, and good luck buddy.
Monty

[French]

For someone like myself about to pull the trigger on a FR five. It is gratifying to see the reach in terms of people reading and reacting to this situation. FR are you paying attention? This is exactly the type of issue that if unresolved will lose me as a potential customer forever. I doubt I am alone in feeling this way

[DDC]

Originally Posted by LKicklight

Know its not a 40M Gulfstream, but quality is the same no matter what you build. Drop by the Bowling Green Covette Factory, lots of happy people, all make a good salary, and the cars are as close to perfect as you will ever see. Spent the whole week going down the line with my 05' Vette, then did what they call, CARE-A-LINE, found nothing wrong. Like you Coot, I would give them a week of my time also, free of charge.

It makes a difference when employees are paid a decent wage to.

[iceblaze580]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

With being both in mfg and the quality field my entire career, I would love to donate a month to act as technical advisor to the PDI dept and assy area to increase the quality, etc. for FR. I firmly believe I could improve the products and decrease the mfg costs for any of the FR plants.

That's why when I took my columbus in to the dealer yesterday I sat in the rig the whole time they were working on it to make sure it was to my liking

[MillerTime]

Hey Doug, I was going to call my dealer this week and start my order process on a 36qbok. I will wait a little to hear what they are going to do to make things right with you. You can say that at least one guy is waiting to order till your took care of, if this helps.
I can always order a sandpiper/ sierra instead of the sabre if it comes to that.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Forest River Forums mobile app

[cwblaylock]

They'll have some litigation to process if ours comes back anything less than correct. Keeping ours since mid- October and getting it back any other way than perfect will be unacceptable. We've been like you, patient, kind and slow to react, until I get it back and it's not right. I sent them a hard copy list and a USB Drive with photos and videos of the items that needed repairing.

[Pirates55]

Yeah this thread is making me consider looking a little harder for a 5er. Kinda scares a prospective customer off. What order floor plans do you recommend that is similar to the sabre 36qbok

[BigBaron]

Originally Posted by cwblaylock

I sent them a hard copy list and a USB Drive with photos and videos of the items that needed repairing.

I had to send them a DVD of all the problems on mine, there were so many pictures.

I don't get it. FR is so good at customer service. How/why do they drop the ball so often?
It's a bummer...

[Pirates55]

What are the most common issues to be looking for? If i do order mine when I pick it up I would like to me educated on the most common issues to be aware of and get them right before taking delivery.

[Badlands]

Just a thought on the subject, but first, sorry anyone has to go through this. For forty years, I ran manufacturing companies in the US and abroad, and always had a team of corporate lawyers at my beck and call.

However . . .

When an on-going or unresolved issue arose with another firm, instead of heading to the legal staff, I often turned to the internet, and brought up The Better Business Bureau. Free, no hassle, and they serve as the mediator. It takes five to ten minutes to state your case in writing, and a second to hit the send button. Once you do, a case number is created, and the BBB contacts the other party on your behalf.

The offending party then submits, in writing, their response to the matter. This process will go back and forth until it's either resolved, or, resolution is not met, and the complaint can be posted on their website for the world to see. No reputable firm wants to see their name out there with unresolved issues.

Further--and very important--you have made a documented effort for corrective action, and later, if you need to seek legal counsel, this weighs heavily in your favor--it supports a 'good faith' effort on your part.

The BBB has no binding authority, and cannot force any resolution, but their name carries a big stick in the world of business.

I just went through this with US Cellular. In the changeover of their billing system, our phone number was inadvertently locked out for three months and their IT department couldn't resolve it. Promises were made and broken, but once I got the BBB involved, the matter was resolved in days. Furthermore, my account was credited for several months forward, due to my inconvenience.

I'd start this ball in motion today, for all the reasons noted. And, I'd certainly go for a free extended warranty, at a minimum, as well as cost of travel, etc.

Wishing you the best!

[Tiggerdad]

Originally Posted by CMSgt Charlie Brown

We'll guys, we have a 2014 Crusader 330 MKS and, knock on wood, have had no issues. Sorry to hear about other campers frustrations.

Keep an eye on the bottom of the slides. If it has Darco wrap, it is a know issue with it being damaged. Six months and FR has yet to comment on a fix.

[SaskCampers]

Sorry to hear of your troubles Doug. Just out of curiousity do you have a Good Sam membership? If you do they are very good at helping members with issues like you are having.

[ourflat]

Plus 1 for Good Sam membership! I honestly feel this industry needs to be regulated like the automotive industry to a large degree. For example, what a load of cr@p that the new warranty doesn't transfer to the next owner or if the next owner purchases the RV and it is only a year old why doesn't the rest of the two year warranty on appliances go to the next owner. Total BS in my opinion.

I don't want anymore regulation then the next guy but we need a stronger arm to hammer those who choose to provide inferior service or products!

Frank

[cwblaylock]

Great information BadLands, We'll definitely keep that in mind when ours gets back from the factory. Hopefully we'll see it sometime this week.

[DDC]

Originally Posted by Badlands

Just a thought on the subject, but first, sorry anyone has to go through this. For forty years, I ran manufacturing companies in the US and abroad, and always had a team of corporate lawyers at my beck and call.

However . . .

When an on-going or unresolved issue arose with another firm, instead of heading to the legal staff, I often turned to the internet, and brought up The Better Business Bureau. Free, no hassle, and they serve as the mediator. It takes five to ten minutes to state your case in writing, and a second to hit the send button. Once you do, a case number is created, and the BBB contacts the other party on your behalf.

The offending party then submits, in writing, their response to the matter. This process will go back and forth until it's either resolved, or, resolution is not met, and the complaint can be posted on their website for the world to see. No reputable firm wants to see their name out there with unresolved issues.

Further--and very important--you have made a documented effort for corrective action, and later, if you need to seek legal counsel, this weighs heavily in your favor--it supports a 'good faith' effort on your part.

The BBB has no binding authority, and cannot force any resolution, but their name carries a big stick in the world of business.

I just went through this with US Cellular. In the changeover of their billing system, our phone number was inadvertently locked out for three months and their IT department couldn't resolve it. Promises were made and broken, but once I got the BBB involved, the matter was resolved in days. Furthermore, my account was credited for several months forward, due to my inconvenience.

I'd start this ball in motion today, for all the reasons noted. And, I'd certainly go for a free extended warranty, at a minimum, as well as cost of travel, etc.

Wishing you the best!

Excellent advice.

[ependydad]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I'm taking it all in and will be prepared for a discussion Monday or Tuesday.

I've definitely cooled down that I'm able to talk politely instead of the ^#~%}{}%^}{]}#%^^^^%#%##}^ that would have come out on Friday.