Some of you may remember my problems with simply getting a camper. I should have known then not to buy from Adventurer, but I did anyway. You can read my post about that here.
So here I am, nearly year into ownership of a brand new Adventurer 86SBS. When it was finally delivered last summer, I immediately saw manufacturer defects, poor construction quality and several blemishes on the TC. I asked the fella who delivered the TC from Princess Craft if these would be taken care of. From the looks of this guy, I knew he had no authority, but I did find comfort in is assurance that all campers have similar defects and it shouldn't be a problem to get these fixed. So I took pictures and documented all the problems I found. I emailed PJ at Princess Craft and told her about everything. She forwarded my email to Greg at Adventurer who assured me I would be taken care of. He then forwarded my email and pictures to Brad in the warranty dept at AMLRV (Adventurer and Eagle Cap). Brad also assured me I would be taken care of. I asked if it would be a problem to wait till the summer was over to take in my camper for the warranty work. I was told that would be fine.
So the season goes by and we enjoy using our camper. Finally in January, I find a repair shop and Adventurer approves them. I take the camper to drop off and go over all the issues I had previously sent to PJ, Greg and Brad. I left the TC to the shop and the warranty of Adventurer to take care of me. I NEVER got a call from Adventurer, never got a call from the shop. I started putting the pressure on the shop, calling and asking what the hold up was, when it would be done and if Adventurer had any problems with any of the repairs. Finally, I called and was told the reapirs were complete and Adventurer had to pay $1200 before the camper would be released to me. My reaction was less than pleasant. I couldn't see how $1200 would fix everything. I was right. I went to TAKE my camper from the shop. Upon inspection I found that only four of the issues had been addresses and one of them fixed properly. I was irate!!!
I spoke with the shop manager and was told that Adventurer had refused to fix anything else. They did replace my lights with LED's because the old lights burnt a hole in the ceiling liner 18 inches from where my 1 year old daughter sleeps. However the lights are smaller fixtures so the holes and outlines of the previous fixtures reamin int he ceiling. The other issues they had tried to fix were simply a joke. You will see examples in the pictures below.
Now it is May and I am still trying to get Adventurer to fix these issues. I've been denied on three major problems. Brad tells me they cannot fix these issues due to the way the camper is built. The others, I still do not have a straight answer on why they were not taken care of properly.
I am asking for opinions on what I should do here. Some have told me to get a lawyer. Some say small claims court. I don't know what to do. I am tired of fighting and just want my amper to be right. I think I am being treated unfair and left to hang by Adventurer. Please tell me what my options are.
Below are pictures of the problems, the attempted solution and or lack there of.
Here is what they did fix:
The door frame had a gap between the body of the camper. Light, air, water and bugs could easily get through here.
Here is what they tried to fix:
Sloppy silocone. They removed the silicone to find that the wall covering was damaged. So they put seam tape over the damaged areas. The seam tape is already coming up.
Leaking storage compartment door. The door is too big for the opening and does not close properly. It bows in the middle.
Adventurers approved solution.
Adventurer has since agreed to send me a new door, but I have to leave my camper at an approved shop again.
Light leaks above bed. I thought a simple bead of almond silicone would do the trick.
The instead put seam tape over it which is, surprise, peeling up already.
They also damaged the screws that hold the head board up.
And striped the screw holes that hold it up. So now it hangs off the wall.
Adventurer told me to take it back to the shop, the warranty for the repairs is on them.
Sloppy Silicone at base of Refrigerator.
They did try to clean this up... Mostly. You can still easily see some silicone. The carpet needs to be replaced. Adventurer refused to do that.
The panel covering the seam to the slide was damaged. They replaced it, but you can still see the marks from the packing tape and scratches all over it. The color also changes where they tried to clean the tape marks off with a solvent.
Adventurer had agreed to send me another panel. Again to an approved shop for repairs.
Finally what Adventurer refuses to repair PROPERLY.
The waste tank plumbing is loose. They say it comes from the factory like this. I told them forget it, I throw some adhesive on it and be done.
Razor mark over dinette. They want to put seam tape over this. The shop refused to do this as they said the tape would not stay and could not be placed flush against the ceiling liner. The wall panel should be replaced, Adventurer refuses to do so.
Damage to the front side of the slide. This seems to be getting worse over time. The panel needs to be replaced. Adventurer refuses.
The lights. Oh the lights. I had a light burn a hole in the ceiling. Smoke was literally pouring out of the light unit. Adventurer was happy to replace all the light units in the camper. However the units are smaller than the original ones. You can see the screw holes and outline pressed into the liner. You can also see screw holes under the cabinet where a light was replaced. The burn hole in the ceiling remains covered by a new unit. I asked for new LED bulbs in the original units but Adventurer refused. I then asked that the entire ceiling liner needs to be replaced. Adventurer refused.
Brad tells me he is looking for a solution.
I've since noticed a few more problems:
This is inside the under sink cabinet. The shelf is cut to the wrong size.
I ordered the camper without the stereo, but asked and payed for the stereo to be wired for me to install later. No wires were pulled to the overhead sleeping area. So I began to pull my own. This is what I saw when I put my head into the overhead storage area above the bed.
Adventurer has had no problem repairing the smaller issues. They have not done it right, but they have tried. They have been responding to me. But refusing to fix these major issues.
Again, I am at the end of my battle with Adventurer and am asking for any advice or opinions on what action I should take to have these problems resolved. Thanks for reading.
The Adventurer truck campers I saw at the big Louisville RV show a couple of years back looked very nice. But it looks like Adventurer dropped the ball on this camper in a few areas and their customer service doesn't seem to be doing anything to correct the situation.
Brad
Internet forums only exist to serve their members; never the other way around.
1996 Lance 500 and 2006 F-350 PSD 4X4 DRW Our Truck Camper Photos
wow. i am sure happy that i have had no issues like you have had with adventurer. in fact the complete opposite with everything. i can understand some of the issues with adventurer saying you need to contact the shop for the poor repairs that the shop did though. everybody has a lemon get through but customer service to make it right is key. sounds iffy with what you report.
I think Adventurer's management has changed a little recently. I assume that is the problem. I see great reviews of past Adventurers and it's customers are loyal. If I do have a lemon, I hope to get it resolved soon. As I said though. They had a chance to fix everything and not until I went to pick it up did I see they chose not to fix things. At the very least, I expected a phone call or email saying, Hey this is what we can do. this is what we can't and here is why. I don't understand the hesitation to honor their product.
It feels like your dealer is not going to bat for you like they should be, can you get another dealer? All of those issues are sloppy workmanship issues because they are busy at the factory and not taking proper quality control steps.
Sorry for your misfortunes and best of luck. You might be surprised just how far a phone call from a lawyer will go.....I am not a lawyer fan but sometimes due to the way our society and business ethics are these days its almost a necessary tool that must be used.
Great job on documenting the problems, this way it is not you saying one thing and the company saying something else. What I would do is find another unit like yours and do some comparison pictures. Then I would find a repair company and get them to quote on all the repairs and submit this to the manufacturer with the pictures. Give them a time line for the repairs so this does not drag out.
After that if they do not help fix the problems then I would get a lawyer (and this is from someone that tells everyone to stay away from lawyers).
Some of the items will probably not be fixed (silicone on carpet and other small things), but it looks like a lot of things should be fixed.
2002 GMC 2500HD 4x4 4 Door
1992 Northern Lite 9'- 6" Camper
Homemade Cargo Trailer for hauling supplies
Advanced Elements Kayaks
Border Collie Guard Dog
So sorry to hear of your misfortune with Adventurer. The workmanship you show in your photos is inexcusable. Where was the final quality control inspector?....asleep on the job it appears. The unit should of never left the factory in that condition. I would be p***ed off too. I hope you can get things resolved without costing you a ton of money. The factory needs to step up to the plate and make this right.
2009 Chevy Silverado 3500 dually D/A, Supersprings, Stable Loads, Bilstein Shocks, Hellwig Sway Bar, Front Timbrens.
2010 Arctic Fox 1140 DB, 220 watts solar, custom 4 in 1 "U" shaped dinette/couch, 59 interior and exterior mods to date and still adding
Sorry for your problems, I have had similar troubles in the past. I have decided to only buy from a company that has a factory repair center that is reasonably close to home. Also, it sounds like you are nowhere near the dealer you bought it from,of you would have them doing it.
SkipJ
1992 Airstream B-190 van
1989 Airstream 25' Excella Trailer
Outfitter Apex 9.5 Truck Camper Ford F-350 Diesel 4x4
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