Check new units carefully

[Redfour5]

OK, just noticed another quality control issue. there is NO caulking around my outdoor kitchen... Zero, nada, zip... I see the foam backing that establishes a barrier but it doesn't appear to be water "proof." From the inside, no leakage...but that would just be a matter of time.

Off to get Marine clear silicone or whatever it is... Gotta wait till I get a day at least in the 50's with the sun on it. Grrrr... So far, the rear light covers fell off, they "fixed" them with silicone as they would not "click" into place and they fell off again. So, I pointed it out and they put a new set of NON-OEM ones on. lots of little fit and finish things, and sealed up a hole where the water lines go into the belly of the trailer. It looks like a fix at the plant after manufacture and they didn't seal up the hole.

I expected these thing, to be honest, but still frustrating... I have a new Aspen Trail 2340BHSWE.

[sundancer 87]

Most definitely not standing up for the manufacturer but it is not always their fault when crap happens.
The tail light covers falling off isn't their fault, they didn't make the assembly they only bought a car load of the cheapest stuff available.


RVs and camping go together and that's nature. The manufacturer supports nature and its critters so they don't take special pains to seal all the penetration points on the units. When camping the mice and spiders and ants need an easy access point so there it is.


Also, keep in mind, if the unit is entirely sealed tighter than a bull's a$$ at fly time there wouldn't be anywhere fro the water to drain when a pipe breaks or slips off a connector.


Now see, don't you feel bad now that you understand?

[Redfour5]

Originally Posted by sundancer 87

Most definitely not standing up for the manufacturer but it is not always their fault when crap happens.
The tail light covers falling off isn't their fault, they didn't make the assembly they only bought a car load of the cheapest stuff available.


RVs and camping go together and that's nature. The manufacturer supports nature and its critters so they don't take special pains to seal all the penetration points on the units. When camping the mice and spiders and ants need an easy access point so there it is.


Also, keep in mind, if the unit is entirely sealed tighter than a bull's a$$ at fly time there wouldn't be anywhere fro the water to drain when a pipe breaks or slips off a connector.


Now see, don't you feel bad now that you understand?

Much better... I knew I would have..."issues." All the core systems are working fine and that was my main concern so, I'm good. I can fix the rest myself. As soon as it quits snowing and going down the the teens, yes, I live in Montana and it is April 19th with four or more inches of snow falling... I will pressurize the water system while I have the bed and under sink and under stove opened.

I noticed that the undersink storage on these is really kind of not well done. I'm working on it but found one from 2018 in a vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkGgWF8i9EQ

(look at 1:25 into the video) and they did a much better job with the under sink storage back then. I wonder why they changed it... They did put the stainless sink in, but there is still room for a drawer in there and the shelf and the door by the main door to the trailer.

I'm getting ideas and you can either build or buy drawers/internal doors and buy make facing.

[emezsets]

Ordered a 4225 and also lined up an RV Inspection at the dealer to be completed during the PDI. Especially in this environment with absenteeism high in manufacturing plants and laborers doing jobs they don't normally complete.

[Redfour5]

Originally Posted by Redfour5

Much better... I knew I would have..."issues." All the core systems are working fine and that was my main concern so, I'm good. I can fix the rest myself. As soon as it quits snowing and going down the the teens, yes, I live in Montana and it is April 19th with four or more inches of snow falling... I will pressurize the water system while I have the bed and under sink and under stove opened.

I noticed that the undersink storage on these is really kind of not well done. I'm working on it but found one from 2018 in a vid

(look at 1:25 into the video) and they did a much better job with the under sink storage back then. I wonder why they changed it... They did put the stainless sink in, but there is still room for a drawer in there and the shelf and the door by the main door to the trailer.

I'm getting ideas and you can either build or buy drawers/internal doors and buy make facing.

I did the door mod to improve access to the huge area under the sink and put in a second level and as part of this discovered "handles" that also work as towel holders. Very nice perfect match for the OEM handles.

[Coz1125]

Our 2021 Colman has been back to the dealer since September.
(4 months) Working on the LONG list of defects from the factory.
Nothing huge individually. Mostly hinges not lining up. Issues with the toilet, Lots of trim pieces not glued down, fixtures not screwed in all the way. Crap like that.
Seems like this is common.
The service tech when we took delivery said.
" Write it ALL down. Bring it back. We will fix it all. but you have to hit the window."

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by Coz1125

Our 2021 Colman has been back to the dealer since September.
(4 months) Working on the LONG list of defects from the factory.
Nothing huge individually. Mostly hinges not lining up. Issues with the toilet, Lots of trim pieces not glued down, fixtures not screwed in all the way. Crap like that.
Seems like this is common.
The service tech when we took delivery said.
" Write it ALL down. Bring it back. We will fix it all. but you have to hit the window."

Sorry to hear about your issues. Unfortunately, we always recommend a pre delivery inspection and tell everyone NOT to make final payments or take delivery until everything checks out. You will get it done MUCH FASTER . You will loose a few days at the beginning but it's better than a few months without your RV.

Hope all turns out well.
frank

[Redfour5]

Mine is now in since Oct. But it's Jan in MT. I'm OK till about April. The floor under the slide ripped up. That's holding up the repair.

[powhatanone]

Hello folks, I am new on here. I was excited to pick up our new Coleman LT 202 rd this coming Wednesday but am now a little bummed after reading some of the comments and threads on here. Are Dutchman Coleman very poor quality or is that inherent with most brands.
Any suggestions for our walk through? Does anyone have a list they can recommend or share.
Thanks much, fingers crossed that we don't end up with the lemon.
Regards,
Rich

[franktafl]

Hello Rich and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new camper! It’s true that the manufacturers have issues with quality but I think that is industry wide. We have posted PDI lists here several times. The BEST information I can give you is to do a complete and thorough walk-through BEFORE taking delivery. If you take delivery, you may need to wait a very long time to get things fixed while they usually give first priority to fixing items found in the initial PDI before you sign on the dotted line.

Do a search here on the site for pre delivery inspections. Not all campers are bad campers but they are rushing to get product manufactured since the demand for campers is amazingly high right now and they may be casting a blind eye to some flaws thinking they can be fixed when they get to the dealership. The dealership seldom does any repairs or inspections. Where did you purchase your camper since some dealerships are better than others.

[dsol]

Agree with Frank. They are not all bad but they almost always have initial issues.

Manufacturers assemble the nicest looking but least expensive components they can source. The installers/builders fairly quickly assemble these things and aren’t super thorough in their quality control.

I think for the most part your issues will be evident on initial inspection and then maybe after a trip or two. Things will always continue to break as you own but I rarely have things break anymore now that I made so many repairs and upgrades in the 5 or so years I have owned mine.

As Frank said do not take delivery until it is dialed in. Once you leave the lot good luck getting back in for repair work.

[Rwerkheiser1]

Do check everything. I'm a newbie and have had issues with my 2921fkds kodiak 2021 from day 1. I knew I would have some issues, but not this many. I guess it could be worst. It's been at the dealership now a week. I live it it full time, thank goodness for friends to take me in.

[kjlarson]

We have been trailer camping sense 1972, had several Dutchmen brand trailers over the years. Purchased a Kodiak 201QB in 2020 in which the quality has tanked. Do they really need to create an opening for a wall socket using a hammer? What has happened to taking pride in one's work? I have had to make major and minor repairs due to sloppy workman ship. Don't think our next trailer will be from Dutchmen.

[twertsch]

Just an FYI- if you have bought a kodiak recently, check the microwave mounting before it falls out on you! Ours was held in with 2 screws. Thankfully we caught it before it had fully departed its mount, and properly screwed it back in. I had seen recent posts on the same issue, but neglected to act proactively. My bad.

[audettd]

Hello..
Just picked up our 2022 LT 202RD last weekend. First thing we noticed was glue on the ceiling that we weren't sure where it came from. The tech tried to wipe it off but it was staying lol. We noticed a few other small details too like things not level or lined up etc. We didn't really pay to much attention because we did like the layout and it was priced right. We took the camper out for the first time this past weekend, we are not new campers so we knew what we were doing. Everything hooked up well and seemed to be okay until i noticed water on the floor between the bed area and the bathroom. I wiped it up and it came right back which meant leak! I put down a sweatshirt that was already wet and that stopped the water from running all over the floor. This bothered me all weekend of course not knowing if it was going to turn into a HUGE leak (thankfully it didn't). After packing up our campsite and returning home we decided to bring it back to dealer and drop it off. We weren't happy about this because its an hour away. The dealer didn't seemed as concerned as we were which surprised me a bit. For the price you pay for a new camper I would have thought they'd be as upset as we were. To go along with what's being said in this forum I think there's a bit of an issue with workmanship coming from the factories. Quality inspections seem to be a thing of the past, there's NO way inspector 6 didn't see glue on the ceiling or the fact that clear silicon looks like it was put on by 6 yr old. We'll wait to hear what the dealer says about the leak but we haven't made our first payment yet either.

[franktafl]

Most of us here feel your pain!

[ATCguy]

Originally Posted by franktafl

Most of us here feel your pain!

Yeah, we do... but we're also continuously amused by how many people don't do their research, and THOROUGHLY inspect their units PRIOR to signing on the dotted line, and towing their new rigs off of the lot.

As was noted... considering the amount of money people are paying for new RVs, you'd think they'd REQUIRE the dealer to take a few HOURS to connect & demonstrate that EVERY single component on the rig works as it should before committing to thousands & thousands of dollars. But most just seem to be content with taking the dealer's word that everything works... everything's good... take a 15-minute walk thru while they tell you "this does this, and that does that"... and then tow it off the lot

It's only after they get it home, or out on a trip when they discover something's amiss do they finally decide to do some research... and are then amazed by what they find.

[sdw215]

Originally Posted by ATCguy

Yeah, we do... but we're also continuously amused by how many people don't do their research, and THOROUGHLY inspect their units PRIOR to signing on the dotted line, and towing their new rigs off of the lot.

As was noted... considering the amount of money people are paying for new RVs, you'd think they'd REQUIRE the dealer to take a few HOURS to connect & demonstrate that EVERY single component on the rig works as it should before committing to thousands & thousands of dollars. But most just seem to be content with taking the dealer's word that everything works... everything's good... take a 15-minute walk thru while they tell you "this does this, and that does that"... and then tow it off the lot

It's only after they get it home, or out on a trip when they discover something's amiss do they finally decide to do some research... and are then amazed by what they find.

A lot of this is due to the idea that they can trust the dealer to not screw them over. I mean, what dealer in their right professional mind would screw over a customer?! Right?! We have an Aspen Trail LE 25BH and even though we made a (in my mind) pretty thorough walk through with the service manager we still came across things after the first couple of trips. Workmanship and pride in one’s craft has fallen off especially since covid happened. It’s sad to see.