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Old 03-17-2016, 10:33 PM   #1
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Angry Kodiak trailers are unsafe

One week after I bought a 2014 Dutchmen Kodiak trailer, a friend noticed my brake wires were completely chewed . It appears that Dutchmen is too cheap to protect the brake wires and approximately 1 ft of the wires are exposed to the road and animals. What's worse is that the wiring is the colored wiring with a plant based insulator. It's going to cost me $1,000 to have everything re-wired and my magnets replaced. I'm just glad I didn't get killed!

Of course Dutchmen gave me the finger about repair costs. It was "built to spec". An unsafe spec! $5 of protective plastic would have saved me $1,000. Thanks Dutchmen!
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Old 03-18-2016, 12:03 AM   #2
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If you really believe you have a case in re faulty wiring... then get in touch with an attorney, and let them advise you if you indeed have a case. If so, file suit to be made whole. Don't just be content with their (Dutchmen's) reply if you feel you've been wronged.
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Old 03-18-2016, 01:20 AM   #3
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There is NO way that chewed wires could cause your magnets to go bad. 30 minutes and a couple of bucks of wire will solve the problem. Welcome to RVing..... Fix the problem and forget about attorneys and suing Dutchman...



Quote:
Originally Posted by smutchler View Post
One week after I bought a 2014 Dutchmen Kodiak trailer, a friend noticed my brake wires were completely chewed . It appears that Dutchmen is too cheap to protect the brake wires and approximately 1 ft of the wires are exposed to the road and animals. What's worse is that the wiring is the colored wiring with a plant based insulator. It's going to cost me $1,000 to have everything re-wired and my magnets replaced. I'm just glad I didn't get killed!

Of course Dutchmen gave me the finger about repair costs. It was "built to spec". An unsafe spec! $5 of protective plastic would have saved me $1,000. Thanks Dutchmen!
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Old 03-18-2016, 01:43 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smutchler View Post
One week after I bought a 2014 Dutchmen Kodiak trailer, a friend noticed my brake wires were completely chewed . It appears that Dutchmen is too cheap to protect the brake wires and approximately 1 ft of the wires are exposed to the road and animals. What's worse is that the wiring is the colored wiring with a plant based insulator. It's going to cost me $1,000 to have everything re-wired and my magnets replaced. I'm just glad I didn't get killed!

Thanks Dutchmen!
I can see why you are upset but I cant believe anyone would pay $1000 due to the wires being damaged. Splice in some new wire and do it right, I think $20 should cover the repair parts. Should be a very simple wiring job and as mentioned above, you magnets should be unaffected.
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Old 03-18-2016, 03:49 AM   #5
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All of our trailers have exposed brake wires. There's tens of thousands of trailers on the road. Educate me on the plant-based wire insulator. Why would the magnets be an issue? Call me skeptical.
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Old 03-18-2016, 10:32 AM   #6
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I use Meguire's products on all my toys. Nu-Finish is cheaper and easy to take off, but I don't think it lasts as well. Ice is easy on and off, and can be used on anything. Great thing is it doesn't leave any white residue. Doesn't hold up well at all though.
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Old 03-18-2016, 02:20 PM   #7
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I use Meguire's products on all my toys. Nu-Finish is cheaper and easy to take off, but I don't think it lasts as well. Ice is easy on and off, and can be used on anything. Great thing is it doesn't leave any white residue. Doesn't hold up well at all though.
Rusty
Did you post this on the wrong thread? Does not seem to fit here, or am I missing something?
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Old 03-18-2016, 04:32 PM   #8
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$1,000 to repair brake wiring ...........I'm in the wrong line of work.
I do have some ocean front property out here in the desert I will sell you.
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Old 03-19-2016, 10:03 AM   #9
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Did you post this on the wrong thread? Does not seem to fit here, or am I missing something?
Yup, it was supposed to answer an inquiry on what wax to use. Sorry about the confusion.
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Old 03-19-2016, 10:04 AM   #10
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Welcome to the “chewed wires club”. For whatever reason some critters have a taste for wire insulation. I’ve had it happen years ago and know many other members of the club. I’ve also read where Honda was having rodent problems with soy based wire insulation in their cars, but didn’t know it was being used in other applications, quite possibly so...

I am curious about a couple things though. Was the $1,000.00 estimate for repairs given to you by a service facility? If so, I would never, never again go there. Your magnets are most likely still good as was pointed out by others, I can see no possible way they could be damaged from that since they were effectively disconnected from the circuit. Also replacing some wire is usually pretty simple to do; and if you are not comfortable doing it yourself, not that expensive at a reputable service facility. Nowhere near $1,000.00.

If you have already paid a shop $1K for this repair, I would consider taking them to task for that bill and ask why the magnets were replaced (if in fact they were). Way over the top for a couple hours work worst case, and a few dollars’ worth of wire. My thoughts for what it’s worth. Hope all is well now and time for a camping trip!
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Old 03-20-2016, 12:56 AM   #11
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Critters chew wire and it doesn't matter WHAT it is made out of. I have replaced about every type of wire know to man at some point or another due to rodent damage, including some that was encased in lead. Yes they chewed through the lead outer sheath.

I also agree, $1,000 is way out of line and I don't understand why they replaced the magnets either. You can buy a complete brake assembly for ~$50 and the replacement magnets for around $35. Labor to replace brake assemblies is 45 minutes per wheel if that, about he same for magnets.

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Old 03-20-2016, 09:33 AM   #12
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Critters chew wire and it doesn't matter WHAT it is made out of.
So very true. I don't understand what the attraction is? It couldn't possibly be the flavor My wire chewing incident was way before the soy based insulation debacle too. Honda had a real problem when they went to the soy based insulation in their cars. There were so many rodent destruction issues that they had to come up with a fix. They used a "rodent repellent tape".

Amazon.com: Honda 4019-2317 Rodent Tape: Automotive

It's just one of those things that happens I guess...
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Old 03-20-2016, 11:44 AM   #13
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Had to replace a magnet once due to critters eating the wires, they nawed it all the way down to the grommet, didn't leave enough to splice.
Agree with others, $1K way too much.
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Old 03-20-2016, 03:50 PM   #14
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Had to replace a magnet once due to critters eating the wires, they nawed it all the way down to the grommet, didn't leave enough to splice.
Agree with others, $1K way too much.
If you remove the hub, you have plenty of wire inside to splice into; I've done it, no problem.
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Old 03-20-2016, 08:47 PM   #15
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If you remove the hub, you have plenty of wire inside to splice into; I've done it, no problem.
True
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