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Old 09-08-2012, 04:40 PM   #1
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New Kodak 300bhls

Had my new trailer for about 3 weeks now. I like the trailer but a lot of small stupid issues that should have been picked up during pdi

Leaky seal on toilet. Leaky slide (missing caulking). Outside light not controlled by panel switch. Etc. my biggest complaint is all the silicone caulking any good ways to remove it. Also. Did all the roof and slides with eternabond
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Old 09-08-2012, 04:47 PM   #2
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Re: New Kodak 300bhls

Welcome to the forum ! sunsetwood
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Old 09-08-2012, 11:10 PM   #3
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Re: New Kodak 300bhls

Welcome sunsetwood!
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Old 09-17-2012, 09:51 PM   #4
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Re: New Kodak 300bhls

hello sunset wood.
Yes, you will find if you read my posts we have had the same issues. Notice that there is a difference in the 2012 and 2013 models. My 2012 has black caulking. The 2013's have white. On ours, keep an eye on the caulking as it does and will shrink. Just take it to the dealer and have them fix it. they will bill dutchmen accordingly.

Now, I keep a spare tube of black RTV from NAPA in my tool box. Snip the tube dispenser with a smaller than usual hole. Apply the sealant so it isn't so much. Wiping it off, use water on a paper towel. FYI, it will take many paper towels.

If you are referring to removing old caulking, such as when I changed out my small porch light to the large round one found on toy haulers. Then it is just elbow grease, it will just rub off. No chemicals needed. The caulking doesn't stick to the siding too well. It just takes patients to remove it. Congrats on the purchase.
FYI, watch your living room slide on the bunk door. We are on our third brand new door. I'm not putting the new one on this time. I'm going to store it. We put up a teloscopic curtain rod instead.
What I may do is purchase a front door RV handle "paddle style flush mount" and install that into the door. That way the slide won't grade the door handle and rip it out of the door.
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Old 09-18-2012, 09:49 AM   #5
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Re: New Kodak 300bhls

thank you for your response. most of my caulking is clear silicone, i have started replacing with black 3m sealent/caulking. tim have you had many issues with your trailer. i have about 1.5 pages of issues ,some small some large. what is the ultimate package?
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Old 07-19-2013, 12:36 PM   #6
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Hi guys I am new to the forum and had recently purchased a 2013 Kodiak bhls. My wife and I went to the dealer in March and fell in love, and purchased right on the spot (not always the smartest decision, but to us it seemed like the nicest looking tt).

Anyways, we have had many problems with it as well. Our dealer has been great with most of the problems, and has slacked a little on some. Just thought I would list some of the problems and we all could compare and possibly create a list of what to look out for.

We got the trailer delivered to our house near the end of May, and started to use it in June... we have documented our problems...

June 10/2013

-water on counter in kitchen
-water on floor beside white fire extinguisher
-water on floor below skylight in kitchen (June 10/13)
-door frame to bathroom now cracked after being tacked/stapled in
-toilet paper holder installed incorrectly (should have been installed at full length, not compressed)
-screen for air vent in bedroom is letting bugs into camper
-is rubber on shower door installed correctly?
-in the bathroom, the bottom of the medicine cabinet is falling off
-the mini-baseboard in the master bedroom is falling off by door frame
-the door handle for the screen door was not tightened properly
-the mirror to the closet in the bedroom on the right side (when facing front of camper while inside camper) is ungluing
-the awning touches the kitchen slide when out – Should this be happening?
-the couch is not secured properly (the bottom right corner has a screw not attached)
-the add a room needs to be returned
-can see ground from inside camper when lifting rug on slide with couch
-can see ground from inside camper when lifting rug on slide in bedroom with bunks
-emergency brake cable needs to be re-crimped
-after a trip on gravel road a large volume of dust was inside the camper
-radio wasn't getting any channels, aerial wasn't plugged in
-rip in seat cushion
-light shades over kitchen island didn't match in colour -> is this supposed to be?
-marks on kitchen island as if it was crashed into table at one point
-chip in bathroom door from living room slide

Parts that were supposed to be on order in April

-two black plastic panels outside of trailer that were cracked (fridge vent, and other black plastic panel on that side of trailer)
-new cushion cover for table in room with bunk beds
-wall in entrance

Most of the issues were dealt with, however we do have concerns about the water. We just don't want it to rot.

Should water be brought into the camper say if you had the slides out in the rain and brought them in, and they were still wet? (I am just wondering, rain came in when we had them out at first when it was just in our driveway...)

Our dealer was going to give us a brand new trailer and admitted that the trailer should have never left the lot in the condition it was.... I was kind of scared to do a trade of this nature, just in case we got something worse... The dealer gave us a statement in writing that after this camping season they would fix whatever else was on our list....

We are a little concerned and are trying to make up our minds if we should just trade it in at the end of the summer and go a whole different route...
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Old 05-31-2014, 07:02 PM   #7
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Wow. I have a new Kodiak 284BHSL on order and I am scared to death! I have been printing every issue out on these forums and I am going to try and get ahead of it if we do have issues.
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Old 05-31-2014, 08:04 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsetwood View Post
Had my new trailer for about 3 weeks now. I like the trailer but a lot of small stupid issues that should have been picked up during pdi

Leaky seal on toilet. Leaky slide (missing caulking). Outside light not controlled by panel switch. Etc. my biggest complaint is all the silicone caulking any good ways to remove it. Also. Did all the roof and slides with eternabond
I know that this is an old thread, but for those big silicone removal jobs, there is a gel that brushes on and softens it up. Should be available at your building supply store.

Some rocket scientist decided they would slather silicone on the seams in the shower, problem number one they didn't properly clean it first, problem number two they didn't use a kitchen and bath silicone, so it was growing mildew.

After wasting one weekend trying to remove it and not even getting halfway, I went in search of an easier way. Got the rest of the silicone off in about 3 hours.

I am not a big fan of silicone to begin with, my personal preference is a Polyurethane Sealant. Similar to what is used to seal the windshield in your car.

I have had good success with polyurethane and find it much more forgiving where there can be flexing in the joints. The down side is it is harder to remove than silicone.

Another product that I found recently is Big Stretch. It's a sealant/caulk that cliams not to crack, just stretches. Been using it for a couple years now and had no problems.
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Old 05-31-2014, 08:26 PM   #9
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We have a 2014 240BHSL and as I've said before, we had a few initial problems.
Leaking toilet flush module
Bathroom door not lining up
plug wall socket pulled out.
cracked black tank
I think it's pretty clear there are going to be issues with any new camper so the key is to have a good dealer so your safe in the knowledge they will be resolved.
We've had our for just over a year now and LOVE it!
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Old 05-31-2014, 08:26 PM   #10
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The brainiacs slathered slicone on the inside of the shower base and then decided they should smear it all over the outside curb as well. The base should be sealed on the inside, where the water is, not on the outside where the water shouldn't reach.
Another attempt by the blind caulker to smear the crap on everything I suppose.
My next project, remove the caulk and DO IT CORRECTLY.
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Old 07-13-2014, 11:26 PM   #11
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Well I gotta say the dealer here in Sudbury (Leisure Days) came through for us. All of the problems were dealt with in a timely manner.

I gotta say though, more problems seem to arise. I never thought as mentioned by someone above that the living room slide out would rip off a door handle... This is exactly what happened after returning from a trip when I was opening it up so I could retrieve my kids' toys from their room. I ended up just changing the handle myself, although there is a small amount of damage on the door that is visible. I think I will do what Tim suggested above....

I kinda agree what Rcharrette mentioned above, a new camper will always have problems that need to be ironed out. My wife and I have come to the realization that some of these issues are going to keep on happening no matter what. We have paid good money for the camper, and want to enjoy it.

Poor engineering and poor quality control are blemishing the dutchmen name. We have accepted that we need to come up with some solutions on our own...

For instance, we had already brought the camper in to deal with the lazy suzie latches. For some reason they were not holding properly. After further inspection by myself the second time it let go I realized that it was being held my a small piece of fake wood that looks like a piece of cottage cheese. Now I could bring this camper back in and the dealer would be just as happy to fix it, but you and I both know that in a month or two the same thing will just happen again. So instead, I decided to put velcro in the old latches place. Seems to be a quick fix so far.... but we'll see how the rest of the season goes.

Another problem (I may have mentioned this previously) is that the awning rests on the kitchen slide out. This definitely will produce extreme wear, especially if it rains a lot. The dealer contacted dutchmen and no real solution was given. It was decided by my wife and I that we would just put pipe insulators (min-swimming noodles) on the kitchen slide out each time before we put out the awning to reduce the friction.

A final problem that we needed to come up with a solution for was the hot water heater exhaust. It works properly, however when the bottom bunk on the same side is in use, the exhaust finds its way back inside the camper. Probably not good for anybody's health. For this I think I am going to just put a little metal deflector to deflect the exhaust.

Again, the dealer has been awesome during all of this.... I have even suggested/recommended them to my parents who are thinking about buying a camper this year....
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Old 07-15-2014, 09:37 PM   #12
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Wow, compared to some of the issues listed here, our electrical problem seems minor. We camped at Klamath River last September and were hit with daily excessive rain. Many, many of the RV's in the campground put tarps on their RV's to keep the rain out. We didn't get any rain inside at all.

We were able to leave our awning out even though the rain was non-stop because our awning has a sensor built in that will empty the awning when a certain amount of weight is sensed on the awning. It was a feature that came with the trailer, but usually is an added expensive benefit.

Our little Kodiak is quite a nice trailer and after reading all of the problems on this site, I am almost thankful that the only issue we have is electrical.
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Old 08-19-2021, 04:35 AM   #13
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2015 Dutchmen Kodiak 300BHSL

I'm interested in this unit and looking for recommendations/reviews from those that have owned one for awhile. Pros and Cons please. Thank you for your help.
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