Dutchmen Customer Service

[BYTchick]

Originally Posted by Brown Lantern

You could also try this:

www.usa.gov/consumer-complaints/

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TY It's worth a shot! I agree with you about trading. I'm not sure I'm ready to hear that bad news. We may not be able to stomach those numbers. And...like you said, what the heck do you risk buying next? But it would be so nice unload all of the problems this camper has brought us.

[Brown Lantern]

Originally Posted by BYTchick

... Looks like they cut the side to test them.

OMG, they did destructive testing on your RV and didn't repair it? Did you give them authorization to do it? For me, that would be a game changer if you didn't.
This is only my opinion cause I'm a business manager and not an attorney by any means. I would get a police report for property damage and contact my insurance company. If it is financed I would also contact my bank and tell them that their collateral was damaged by the dealer. You guys really need an attorney. I completely understand the don't worry be happy attitude but reading all these stories makes me want to fight for my fellow RVers.


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[franktafl]

Originally Posted by BYTchick

The service dept guy said we need a new roof, but he couldn't get Dutchmen to approve the warranty work for it. When our Dutchmen case file manager called us, she thought there was only one leak that was fixed 5 days after purchase. She didn't realize there was a 2nd leak. By the time she called us we'd already picked it back up from the service dept cause we were tired of waiting. Since then the whole passenger side is delaminating. It started out as maybe 3 spots. Looks like they cut the side to test them. Now there's probably 20+ bubbles. Anything emailed to Dutchmen got no response.

time for a phone call.

[Brown Lantern]

Look at this poor guy:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=362441

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[BYTchick]

Originally Posted by Brown Lantern

Look at this poor guy:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=362441

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Yikes! I have a feeling most of our RV's look like that. Shoddy work. IDK if it was considered damage when they cut the bubbles. The delamination was on the long, long laundry list of problems to be fixed. My dad thinks we should go drop it off at the factory!

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by BYTchick

Yikes! I have a feeling most of our RV's look like that. Shoddy work. IDK if it was considered damage when they cut the bubbles. The delamination was on the long, long laundry list of problems to be fixed. My dad thinks we should go drop it off at the factory!

I think your dad has a great point. They are the ones that are the most well equipped to handle rebuilding from scratch and correcting their mistakes. If it is close enough, do it!

[Brown Lantern]

Originally Posted by BYTchick

...My dad thinks we should go drop it off at the factory!

That should work if they'll accept it. My TT problems seem so minimal when compared to your's.
I'm gonna check my DICOR again today before the hurricane rains get here just to be safe.


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[snakebitten]

Originally Posted by Brown Lantern

<snip>

I completely understand the don't worry be happy attitude but reading all these stories makes me want to fight for my fellow RVers.

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The don't worry be happy is a qualified don't worry be happy. It came with a disclaimer.

[Brown Lantern]

Originally Posted by snakebitten

The don't worry be happy is a qualified don't worry be happy. It came with a disclaimer.

Amen!

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[Brown Lantern]

I went out to put more DICOR on the SS Minnow before the storm hits and I took a pic of what really bothers me. I'm a conservative, gun toting, Chevy drivin', Dallas Cowboy cheering, southern boy that buys everything he can from American workers and I just don't understand why they let so many American RV buyers down.


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[franktafl]

Originally Posted by Brown Lantern

I went out to put more DICOR on the SS Minnow before the storm hits and I took a pic of what really bothers me. I'm a conservative, gun toting, Chevy drivin', Dallas Cowboy cheering, southern boy that buys everything he can from American workers and I just don't understand why they let so many American RV buyers down.


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so... which dicor do you use? apparently, there are several types. 501? 502 ?

[BYTchick]

Originally Posted by Brown Lantern

I went out to put more DICOR on the SS Minnow before the storm hits and I took a pic of what really bothers me. I'm a conservative, gun toting, Chevy drivin', Dallas Cowboy cheering, southern boy that buys everything he can from American workers and I just don't understand why they let so many American RV buyers down.


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You lost me at Dallas Cowboy cheering!
I agree with the rest.

[Brown Lantern]

Originally Posted by franktafl

so... which dicor do you use? apparently, there are several types. 501? 502 ?

I was using 501LST (self-leveling) today on the roof. When I worked on the corners near the black trim insert I used 551LSB


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[Brown Lantern]

Originally Posted by BYTchick

You lost me at Dallas Cowboy cheering! [emoji38]
I agree with the rest.

I went to the same high school as the greatest tight end in the history of football so I can't help but be a Cowboys fan. [emoji3]

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[TonyB]

BYT Chick

We are going through the same problems. we finally were able to get a sched from our dealership - after 4 1/2 months of leaks and 25 other problems. It took a lot of fighting to get this far. brought it in to dealership last week and supposed to pick it up this coming Fri morning. Dont know how well they will fix it, but can only hope for the best.
It is very frustrating and angering. We lived full time on our boat for over 20 years and decided on a change. We bought new thinking that we should be able to cruise through the last few healthy years of our life. It has been more than a disappointment. No telling how much sleeep i lost. I cant talk to nobody about it because if I do, my wife starts crying.
She feels guilty because she is the one that talked me into selling our boat so I no longer bring up the conversation. She is 76 and I am 70. We are both in very good health but that could be brought to an end at a moments notice at our age.
Anyway, it has been a struggle. We too have been accused of poor maintenance by customer service. I asked them how I could be guilty of poor maintenance when I reported the roof leaks after the first rain, which was only days from taking the RV home.
If this trip to the dealership dont work for us, I will be going into phase 2. that will be an all out war with the dealership on in internet and local newspapers. but thats another story.
Anyway, I am afraid to fix anything myself because if I do, that ends my warranty as far as that item is concerned. We bought the additional 5 year extended warranty for almost $3,000 so I am not a happy camper. What good is a warranty if no one will fix it?.

It is easy for others to say be patient. No, its not easy. These manufacturers only want to sell RV's, they have no real committment to servicing them,

i figured out their overall business strategy. Sell to the retired community and then simply wait for them to die off. Sounds like a good business plan to me.

Wishing you the best of luck.
If it will make you feel better to vent, feel free to e-mail me at SailorTonyB@yahoo.com and I can possibly give you more helpful info.

[franktafl]

^^^ TONYB, I applaud you for sticking to your guns in attempting to deal with them. The stupid things they say to you when attempting to transfer blame are amazing. I was told that I used my slide out when the RV was not level and that's why it failed. I was also asked if it ever worked correctly. They currently use folks that have NEVER been near an RV to work on them so they would not know the inandout of being on the road (cheap labor). Some of the things my CW service writer said to me were lies and you could clearly see that she did not know what she was talking about. Finally, I took command and went in and embarrassed the service manager for not doing his job (I did that job once upon a time) and not following up with the " unskilled mechanics" when the job was finished.

Tell your wife it will get better and you will soon be on your way to explore this amazing land.

[Brown Lantern]

One thing I don't believe I've mentioned and it goes along with this thread.
The last time I was at CW to supposedly have my TT evaluated for its supposedly planned upcoming service visit the service writer asked about roof leaks. I told him we had no roof leaks cause I resealed everything and he said, "boy you are lucky with a Dutchmen, almost everyone we get here leaks".
That's not all.
When I was at my local RV store to buy some DICOR the guy asked me what it was going on. After I told him he said, "we assume every Dutchmen we get here leaks, so it goes straight into the shop to be sealed before going on the lot". He also said they stopped selling new Dutchmens 6 years ago because the quality got so bad.

We need to band together people , there is strength in numbers.

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[BYTchick]

Originally Posted by TonyB

BYT Chick

Anyway, I am afraid to fix anything myself because if I do, that ends my warranty as far as that item is concerned. We bought the additional 5 year extended warranty for almost $3,000 so I am not a happy camper. What good is a warranty if no one will fix it?.

It is easy for others to say be patient. No, its not easy. These manufacturers only want to sell RV's, they have no real committment to servicing them,

i figured out their overall business strategy. Sell to the retired community and then simply wait for them to die off. Sounds like a good business plan to me.

Wishing you the best of luck.
If it will make you feel better to vent, feel free to e-mail me at SailorTonyB@yahoo.com and I can possibly give you more helpful info.

TonyB
My heart is breaking for you and your wife. Tell her not to give up hope. I imagine that's hard to do if you're full-timing in it tho. Dang, it's so disgusting the lies the dealership tells people!! Just curious...did you buy thru Camping World?

We've also been afraid to fix anything ourselves to give those idiots any reason to void our warranty. I applaud Brown Lantern for taking matters into his own hands and rebuilding his camper. Our strategy isn't working out so well if they don't give warranty approval at Dutchmen. The leaky roof they won't approve is leading to 50 more problems they won't fix. I don't know who's to blame anymore? Dutchmen who won't approve warranty work w/o "enough" proof or CW who sold us a piece of crap and won't take responsibility? Makes me sick.

Thankfully, we didn't buy the extended warranty. So many reviews say it's worthless too. My husband was on the fence and I was against it. After we said no, the warranty salesman kept saying things like "Honey, how can I make you feel better about this?" Talking down to me, which in turn made my husband angry. We wrapped up the deal after a long and tiring day. You could tell the salesman was angry. While my husband was outside getting things ready to roll, I was buying things we needed in the store. The warranty salesman intentionally passed by me 3 or 4 times with less than a foot of space trying to intimidate me. When we brought it back 5 days later for leaks, he was in his glory over our problems since he couldn't bully us into buying his warranty. Needless to say, he was one of the many guys in that tiny little office enjoying the show, waiting for my husband to go postal.

It's very frustrating. My husband left a review on Camping World Headquarters site and there's literally 100's of reviews just like ours. Sometimes it does seem hopeless.

[BYTchick]

Originally Posted by Brown Lantern

One thing I don't believe I've mentioned and it goes along with this thread.
The last time I was at CW to supposedly have my TT evaluated for its supposedly planned upcoming service visit the service writer asked about roof leaks. I told him we had no roof leaks cause I resealed everything and he said, "boy you are lucky with a Dutchmen, almost everyone we get here leaks".
That's not all.
When I was at my local RV store to buy some DICOR the guy asked me what it was going on. After I told him he said, "we assume every Dutchmen we get here leaks, so it goes straight into the shop to be sealed before going on the lot". He also said they stopped selling new Dutchmens 6 years ago because the quality got so bad.

We need to band together people , there is strength in numbers.

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The CW idiots told us they quit selling Prowlers for awhile because of quality issues.
We had a friend buy a brand new Forest River from a local dealer, and they wanted to keep it for 3 weeks after purchase to make repairs and get it ready for him. So crazy. Seems bassackwards, right? BUT at least they were willing to fix things!!! LOL

[Brown Lantern]

Two really big issues with new Dutchmens are screws that miss the roof deck when they install items like vents and skylights. They cover them with DICOR but as the unit flexes the screws work their way through the DICOR and leak. The black trim insert is installed too tightly, I'm sure to use as little trim as possible. Over a short period of time the over-stretched vinyl trim shrinks and breaks loose causing several places for water to enter.
My TT did have both but I found them before any water intrusion. We've been blessed with some very dry weather or the trim insert would have gotten me.

My previous TT was a new 2013 Forest River and it was great. My one issue was with the awning and they fixed it. But they have their problems too.

I'm sure that CW and Dutchmen are well aware of these issues but once you drive off the sales lot they become your problem and their excuse to deny a warranty claim.

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