The horror story begins on or about June 22, 2012, when we took delivery of our new Coleman CTU289RL from Camping World of Vacaville, CA. One of the sales managers, Stan, quickly took care of the first of many issues we would have with CW but the fun just began. First, the top "swoosh" decal on the cap of the TT was damaged so they removed it. Not a big deal but I believe the tech that removed it, used a heat gun to do so and in the process, damaged the fiberglass. I don't know for sure but I know enough to figure out that delaminating fiberglass doesn't just happen by peeling off a decal. Now were looking at a new front cap to be replaced. Tom, the warranty claims coordinator there ordered up a new one. It's on its way. Tom has been very good at trying to meet our needs and we appreciate that. We asked them to install a Fantastic Fan in the bedroom vent. Easy enough, right? Wrong! They removed the vent in the bathroom which already had a fan (not a Fantastic Fan) but a fan none the less and replaced it with the Fantastic Fan. The sales advisor tried to snow me by saying I didn't want a fan in the bedroom anyway that I need it in the bathroom. He just couldn't acknowledge that they screwed up. I was so mad, I walked out of there fuming mad. It still irritates me that I will now have to go through the expense again of purchasing and installing a Fantastic Fan in the bedroom due to their negligence. As a result; I will not have them (CW, Vacaville, CA) replace the cap. I'm having CW of Roseville, CA replace it as I have lost all confidence in the service dept. at the Vacaville store.
The other issue was the thermostat. When it gets too hot, it flashes an E2 error code and won't operate the AC. CW replaced it but the issue is still present. E2 flashing and no AC when it's 104 out. Dometic is sending another thermostat to me directly. There are other, issues with the unit that I have addressed with CW of Vacaville but they were just brushed under the carpet. The other issue we have with this unit is the cheap quality materials they used in the manufacturing of it. MDF and paper laminate for the cabinets, walls and trim. The issue of some trim falling off, etc., I will deal with myself.
About Coleman - Dutchmen Manufacturing (Thor; I have attempted to contact Dutchmen Manufacturing (Thor) multiple times only to get a recording that says to the effect," due to high call volume, my call cannot be answered." I have left my name and phone number with Dutchmen several times as well as a couple of e-mail's with a request that someone from Customer Service call me but that too seems to be a waste of time. Are they really having that many unhappy customers calling them? CW and Dutchmen Manufacturing (Thor) just have no Customer Service. We are sorry we ever purchased this Coleman (Dutchmen) from CW. Our advice is to stay away from a Dutchmen (Thor) product. You will get no after sales support from either CW or Dutchmen (Thor). All we can do at this point is warn fellow RV'er of the issues this unit and the manufacturer and seller have put us through.
First get your original fan back and use it. Didn't you look at the construction materials before you bought it? That's on you. I would not let CW touch the front cap. Either a new rig or a qualified body shop.
rolinhome; your right about the quality of construction. We also looked at the Keystone; Powler and the Forest River but they were all about the same. I think the only rigs out there that use somewhat decent quality components/parts are the Winebago's but those were too heavy for our Suburban to tow. Unfortunately, the original fan is long gone. I'm sure they don't have it sitting around the shop after a couple of weeks. My point is that it doesn't matter if you pay $20,000 or $200,000 for a rig; they (CW) should take care of it just the same and the manufacturers need to listen to what consumers want/need and focus on that as well as providing good customer service. I guess I'm asking for too much.
Unfortunately, according to their website, Dutchmen doesn't have any other dealers local to us to make the warranty repairs so we are stuck with going through CW.
* This post was
edited 07/22/12 02:24pm by kckettridge *
UPDATE....Well, CW of Roseville has our unit and will be replacing the front cap and fixing a few other items. Since my first writing; I still have not had anyone from CW Corporate call me to discuss the chaos that I have gone through even though I have e-mailed and called them requesting someone there to call me back. Typical case of Customer NO Service!
Stay tuned...
Well....we received the unit back from CW of Roseville last week. Screws were left sticking out of the headboard, white caulk and liquid nails were used to secure the trim to the panel and smeared on the molding and looks horrible. The front cap that was replaced looks horrible with caulk smeared on the fiberglass where it doesn't belong. My 12 year old could do a better caulking job. I have made multiple attempts to contact CW Corporate offices this morning and no one there at the exective level will answer their phones. I have literally called, Mr. Lemonis; Mr. Siemens, Mr. Rahe, Mr. Erickson and Ms. Martin only to either get their voice mail or in the case of Mr. Lemonis his phone rings continously. I have left voice mail messages with Mr. Rahe and Mr. Siemens to call me to discuss these issues but no return calls. Truly customer NO Service at it's best (or worst) you pick. With all the RV's we have purchased over the years, this is the worst experience we have encountered. The TT is going back to address the 16 issues it has and we are entertaining the idea of contacting attorneys that specialize in such issues with vehicles. Because it is not a motorized vehicle, it doesn't fall under the states Lemon Law.
Well, we got the TT back again from CW of Roseville.....it appears that they fixed all but a couple of minor items which they are waiting on parts from Dutchmen. Brad and team there at CW Roseville seem to be doing what they can to right a wrong and I can appreciate that. I'm still very displeased with the way Dutchmen Manufacturing has handled this whole ordeal. Going forward, I cannot and will not recommend Dutchmen products. I know, all of the manufacturers have issues of some sort but it seems like everyone we have spoken with that has or had a Coleman or Dutchmen product has had major issues with this or that. One thing they won't warranty is the stabilizer jacks which keep loosening up after a day. Each day we are parked and camping, I have to tighten them up as they keep coming loose and the TT rocks. I guess I will have to replace them myself at some point. They (Dutchmen) are so proud of the "quality" components they put into and on their units, that the parts have a sticker that says, "Made in China" on them. How about that for cheap quality components. I'll be putting on B.A.L. US made stabilizer jacks. It's what my last TT had and we never had a problem with them. That's all for now.
We love our Dutchmen 287re 2013. However, I would NEVER go back to Camping World for any type of service. Sad to say. I applaud Mr. Lemonis but I have no faith in his personnel after our ordeal with them.
Bear, I wish I could share your sentiment about Mr. Lemonis but if he really wanted to right a wrong, he would have contacted me after I called his office several times trying to get this issue resolved. Instead, a field manager called me and we are working out the problems but to save face (and integrity), Mr. Lemonis should have given me the courtesey of a phone call. There is no such thing as "Customer Service" any longer. It's "Customer NO Service"
Never again....
Thank you for your posting, please accept my sincerest apologies as I know this chain of experiences was not what you had hoped for and leave a lot to be desired. It seems like the issue is being resolved for you, but please, if there is anything else now, or in the future, that Marcus' Rapid Response Team can help resolve for you, please call and ask to speak to a representative of Marcus' Rapid Response Team, and we will be there for you.
Thanks again,
Jeral Huson
Marcus' Rapid Response Team
goodsamcs@goodsamfamily.com
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