I went into the purchase of my first living quarter trailer with extreme excitement. How cool it was going to be to have room for a party with ac and a full bathroom, kitchen, bunk house. Big enough to sleep six. When I went to the dealership to pick it up, nothing had been done to prepare it. It is a 2004 model which needed to be cleaned up and checked out. I waited about an hour while 2 of their guys dusted a bit. Still dirty but I could clean it at home. What really frustrated me was the way I was treated while I was there. I had never had a RV type of vehicle so I had questions on how everything worked. Where is the hot water heater? and how to use it for example. No one was willing to take the time to answer my questions. When I asked about battery life, they looked at me like I was an idiot and told me that there was no way anyone could tell me how long the batteries would last if I used them to open the slide out. I point blank asked the Sales Manager if the propane tanks were full and he said, "of course." I checked before I left and one of them was empty. Anyway, turns out the dealership never checked to see if anything worked and told me to take it home and bring it back if something was wrong.
Well, right away the refrigerator was not working. I brought it back to the dealership and they looked at it for about 1/2 hour (on the surface only) and sent me back home and told me to let it run all afternoon and to call them if it still didn't work. Well of course it didn't and I shut it off and notified them. Where am I going with this? Last week, I came home to my trailer on fire in my driveway. It was totaled and would have spread to my house if I hadn't of stopped by to check on something quick. Needless to say I'm a bit dissappointed that my 19 day old trailer has been destroyed. This would have been completely avoided if the dealership would have taken my questions seriously and not been to lazy to check out their products. The State Fire Marshall concluded that it was definitely the refrigerator and could have been avoided if they had fixed the fridge in the first place.
I don't normally live life by "what ifs", but my 5 year old daughter, friend and I were going camping 2 days later. What if the fire started then, what if I couldn't get to her in time (I'm in the gooseneck and they're in the bunkhouse), what if the horses were tied to the side of the trailer while we wereout walking? What if I hadn't stopped home and my home was destroyed also?
I guess my lesson in this is take into consideration how the dealership treats you in the beginning. If you are made to feel rushed and the service is below your expectations, walk away. I now have a 10,500lb piece of burnt out junk full of the new bedding, dishes, tack, towels, etc purchased for our summer fun sitting in the yard while the insurance companies duke it out.
Will I buy another LQ? Of course! From the same dealer? Nope, and if the new dealer can't take an extra 15 minutes to answer my questions I won't purchase from them either.
PS. Ironic (and kind of funny) that I made my first payment the day before the fire.
Posted 2008-07-20 9:03 PM (#87787 - in reply to #87784) Subject: RE: LQ Trailer Purchase Disaster
Member
Posts: 14
I am the friend that was supposed to go camping in this trailer this past weekned with Carmel00 and her daughter. I just returned home from taking pictures of it and it is unbelieveable. Although we can laugh about it now - it could have turned out far worse. Funny thing is this same dealership (who will remain nameless on this forum) was the cause of many a headache with my trailer. I can most definately vouch for the treatment she received as I got the same.
Has anyone had anything happen with their trailer due to faulty wiring? Just curious.
There was a post a while back about someone being concerned w/a certain brand catching on fire (which happens to be this brand). I'm reluctant to post too many details as it is not my place. I will let the OP post if she desires.
Posted 2008-07-20 9:45 PM (#87793 - in reply to #87791) Subject: RE: LQ Trailer Purchase Disaster
Elite Veteran
Posts: 792
Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth
Annie...send me the link to your Face Book, hey....here's my link to MySpace, but I really need to work on it. HA!http://www.myspace.com/iceponygoddessBTW....how's your truck doing? Let me know when you guys are going to ride/camp. I'd love to join ya.
Posted 2008-07-21 12:31 AM (#87799 - in reply to #87787) Subject: RE: LQ Trailer Purchase Disaster
Expert
Posts: 2615
Originally written by busterchops on 2008-07-20 9:03 PM
I am the friend that was supposed to go camping in this trailer this past weekned with Carmel00 and her daughter. I just returned home from taking pictures of it and it is unbelieveable. Although we can laugh about it now - it could have turned out far worse. Funny thing is this same dealership (who will remain nameless on this forum) was the cause of many a headache with my trailer. I can most definately vouch for the treatment she received as I got the same.
Has anyone had anything happen with their trailer due to faulty wiring? Just curious.
There was a post a while back about someone being concerned w/a certain brand catching on fire (which happens to be this brand). I'm reluctant to post too many details as it is not my place. I will let the OP post if she desires.
I don't remember a certain brand of TRAILER catching fire,after all,it's just a shell until the conversion folks get finished with it.What I remember was a recall from Dometic on some of the refrigerators that the conversions were using because they could start a fire.
Posted 2008-07-21 7:37 AM (#87804 - in reply to #87784) Subject: RE: LQ Trailer Purchase Disaster
Veteran
Posts: 195
Location: Atlanta, GA
If you can still see the make, model, & serial number on the refrigerator. See if it's a Dometic. You can call them @ 1877-898-8-7088 to see if it was on the recall list. Some 2 door units were recalled due to fire risk. Anyone that has a 2 door unit made between June 1, 2003 and Sept 30, 2006 is urged to call and check if your unit is under this recall. If it is you will be directed to a service center near you to have the recalled part replaced. I am so sorry for your trouble and your loss. Thank God you were not sleeping in it when it happened.
Posted 2008-07-21 9:50 AM (#87814 - in reply to #87784) Subject: RE: LQ Trailer Purchase Disaster
Expert
Posts: 2957
Location: North Carolina
Here's an outline of the Dometic fridge problem.
I wonder if Dometic is offering help to people whose fridge fails but DOESN"T catch fire. It seems to me that their fix prevents fires, not fridge failure.
Dometic has a new recall for refrigerators made between June 1, 2003 through September 30, 2006. Many of these are the same models as were in the older recall (Recall number 06E076000). (Technically, Dometic’s letter indicates an extension of the original, but NHTSA assigned a new Recall Number and the information is under that new number.)
Make / Models : Model/Build Years: DOMETIC / NDR1062 9999 DOMETIC / RM2652 9999 DOMETIC / RM2662 9999 DOMETIC / RM2852 9999 DOMETIC / RM2862 9999 DOMETIC / RM3662 9999 DOMETIC / RM3663 9999 DOMETIC / RM3862 9999 Recall Number: 08E032000 Summary: DOMETIC HAS REPORTED A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT COVERING 745,574 TWO-DOOR REFRIGERATORS MANUFACTURED BETWEEN JUNE 1, 2003 AND SEPTEMBER 30, 2006, WITH SERIAL NOS. 320XXXXX THROUGH 352XXXXX; 401XXXXX THROUGH 452XXXXX; 501XXXXX THROUGH 552XXXXX; AND 601XXXXX THROUGH 639XXXXX, INSTALLED IN CERTAIN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT AND SOLD AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT. A FATIGUE CRACK MAY DEVELOP IN THE BOILER TUBE WHICH MAY RELEASE A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF PRESSURIZED COOLANT SOLUTION INTO AN AREA WHERE AN IGNITION SOURCE (GAS FLAME) IS PRESENT. Consequence: THE RELEASE OF COOLANT UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS COULD IGNITE AND RESULT IN A FIRE. Remedy: THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECREATIONAL VEHICLES THAT HAD THE REFRIGERATORS INSTALLED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT AND DOMETIC WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF THE AFTERMARKET REFRIGERATORS. DOMETIC WILL INSTALL A SECONDARY BURNER HOUSING FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING APRIL/MAY 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOMETIC AT 888-446-5157. Notes: CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO http://www.safercar.gov/.
Posted 2008-07-21 12:29 PM (#87823 - in reply to #87784) Subject: RE: LQ Trailer Purchase Disaster
Elite Veteran
Posts: 781
Location: La Cygne, KS
This is a good example to make sure that you have a smoke dector installed in your LQ. I have one that also detects Carbon Monoxide. Can't put a price on safety. So sorry about your trailer loss and seeing your camping dreams go up in smoke. Hopefully, you will get this resolved in time for fall camping.
Posted 2008-07-21 2:29 PM (#87834 - in reply to #87784) Subject: RE: LQ Trailer Purchase Disaster
Elite Veteran
Posts: 644
Location: Odenville, Alabama
My Dometic fridge is on it's way to the fix-it-man to be "fixed". Trailers don't usually start on fire, but the conversions might. I'd really be wondering about that refrigerator.