We ordered a 5th wheel 8-10 weeks ago and it arrived today. The unit was not PDI'd by the RV dealership and from what we could see without the slides extended out and in a 15 minute period was a dissapointment. The Shurflo fans had been installed and one was not installed in the right vent area. It was in the bathroom not the kids room beside the shower. The moulding was coming off of the wall on the corners, the white ceiling was scratched to the brown paper like backing in the living area all over. It was enough to see in 15 minutes. I called the salesperson from my cell and told him to keep it another two weeks to fix the all the problems and to deal with the manufacturer. The QC sticker from the factory was on the wall, hmmm they didn't forget that. Anyhow I did not pay them the balance of the 5th. I have to vent..........Lets see how well the manufacturer handles this issue.
* This post was
edited 05/05/12 02:16pm by The Black Pearl *
2010 F-150 XLT-XTR - Max Tow
2011 KZ Durango 305BH
Husky Airbox Revolution 16K Hitch
Teddy Rufus (Standard Schnauzer)May 8, 2010
Top Pop Rails -3 bikes
That has to be a bummer. I think I'd have kept it for another hour or so, opened the slides and done a complete inspection before turning it loose. They may or may NOT see the same problems you might have seen.
Good luck / Skip
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR - 2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles) 2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
The manufacturer at this point will leave it to the dealership to do a complete inspection and catch all these and probably more items.
You weren't really supposed to see any of this until the dealer did their PDI checklist.
But now you know to be extra diligent when the actual PDI involving you occurs.
If it's any consolation, I've never heard of a KZ right out of the factory have even that many issues! You should be good to go after the Dealer get it prepped.
My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data. They are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes and should not be constituted as actually related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, spiritual or practical advice. Amen.
I think that this may be a one of from KZ. KZ seemed pretty good to talk to on the phone before we bought this unit. The dealer was going to do just a gas test and give us the unit for the week end. The delivery was delayed and we had already booked our camp sites for this week end on the word of the slaesperson that it would be ready. Not the salepersons fault since the transport company had dropped it off 4 days late and other internal dealership issues. Anyhow I told the dealership I am going to take the week end as a loss and I want the unit properly PDI'd by them and they have two weeks to do it. My wife and I felt that since we have invested so much into it we do not want anyone pointing fingers at us if we take it prior to full dealership inspection. The manager at the dealership was a bit surprised that it had so many concerns. The dealership I bought it at was not the delivering dealership (complicated). Lets see how they fix it......
TBP -
You handled it well.
give them a chance to make it right.
QC is a hit and miss thing at/from the factory.
(Sooper - that includes Jayco, LOL!)
Unfortunately some of the minor (easy to fix) things are so obvious, you have to wonder if the factory Amish QC person has let his apple cider ferment.
Nicely done. Let them make it right before you take it anywhere or give the final payment. I recall a dealer locally getting a few units from brand "X" and they actually told the drivers to take them back, they didn't even make the sign-off for delivery, nevermind a PDI!
2013 Jayco Eagle 334RBTS Disclaimer for the daft: Don't confuse my opinion with facts.
Sorry for about the problems,PRIDE in building anything has gone bye-bye! With the remaing rv mfg's out there,its tough to get good help,(with any brains)simular things when we bought our new 5th in 09,doors not on stright,guess its becoming a standard now.
I've had similar experiences with trailers I have oredered. It disappoints me that trailer manufacturers allow units to leave the factory knowingly needing repairs before the customers dealership gets the unit. There really is no creditable excuse to release a trailer from the factory until all cosmetics and systems have been thoroughly tested and inspected. It just points out the lack of quality control many of these manufacturers build to. It is almost a mentality of we build it you deal with the aftermath, because we already have your money!
My wife and I presently have a 2011 Coachmen North Ridge and are going through similar issues. The unit was ordered at the Hershey Pa. show last fall. It took me three weeks to get the buld date for the unit, as I wanted to go to the factory to film the unit in production. I was given the start date, but when I arrived, the unit was alreday 2/3 built! Fortunately, I caught three major things that needed correction. Two deletions and one add on item. When the trailer was delivered to us, the bedroom decor was not what we ordered. The dealer had to pull the bedroom decor out of a lot trailer and install it in ours before we could leave to come home!
The trailer was brought home in November and winter stored until mid January, when we left for a three month trip south. First thing to crop up, a flawed alluminum wheel. It had a pin hole in it and required airing up every morning! The company replaced the wheel, but it was the aggrevation of having to find a dealership on the road that would handle the exchange of the tire and wheel.
Next, the wrap around wood under the interior steps split. Once the broken wood was removed, it was obvious there was NO framing behind it. I made my own and delivered it to the dealership that is repairing it.
The OEM matress has also been exchanged by the matress manufacturer. The original was supposed to be a "pillow top premium matress", according to the literature. Well, it was niether premium, nor pillow top! The fact is, it was the cheapest piece of junk they could have put in the trailer. The interior of it was nothing more than dacron batting layered up to fill the space between the cover material. No inner springs, and no foam pillow top!
The morning we left to drive home from South Carolina, the black tank valve jammed in the OPEN position. Another well engineered snafu, as the valve is inside the enclosed belley and is cable acctuated! No way to do a quick service and according to the dealer doing the repairs, the valve and cable have to be ordered from Coachmen to get the correct cable length! You can bet an additional manual slide valve will be installed at the cap, as an emergency shut off!
Then there is the issue of the basement cabinet style access doors with the new "slam latches". First, there is no way to hold the doors open. When the wind blows and you are trying to get something out of the basement, the doors are constantly closing, or hitting you in the behind! Of a more pressing issue, they don't seal! When it rains, the basement carpet gets soaked. The dealer doing the repairs made a last ditch effort to fix the problem after calling the factory for help. He had tried a couple of things and nothing worked to keep the water out. His comment last week, if the factory can't help, I donn't know what else to do! That's great news!
There are some other irritating things that will be fixed as soon as I have the trailer back from the warranty repairs. I'm fortunate to both have the tools and knowledge to do the work, rather than having to pay and wait for a dealership to do these things, but it still bothers the heck out of me that the manufacturer did not do a better job building the trailer. We pay a lot for these trailers and should expect to get a quality product.
If you dont take delivery, the rig is still theirs. You may have to battle to get your down payment and other funds returned, but I wouldnt accept it until is meets your expectations.
Anyone in the discussion loop is representing the business whether it is the dealer or mfg and any statements they make should be honored by that business.
Hold your ground and make them get it right. It wont get better by taking "temporary" possession.
I was born in Great Falls, Mt. My parents moved when I was 5. I found them when I was 10 - they were in California.
QC is a hit and miss thing at/from the factory.
(Sooper - that includes Jayco, LOL!)
~
I speak VERY highly of Jayco but you are right, it is a hit & miss. We are on our third RV & this is our first Jayco, the QC on this trailer is way above the other two we owned.
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