First of all, let me say this is a great site. I just stumbled upon it for the first time and thought I would offer my 2 cents.

I bought what I thought was real nice Sundowner 8012 Grand sierra at last years congress. Brand new trailer with a great interior. I have ended up having nothing but problems with it and I can't get any help from the Sundowner Dealer here in Columbus. Every time I work with someone, when I call back the next week they no longer work there!! Very frustrating. I have had electrical problems with the trailer lights and my trailer brakes have locked up on methree different times for no reason while traveling down the road. It has a great electrical jack until the electrical problems poped up. Since there is no manual option, the trailer is pretty much stuck where it is until I can get it fixed.

I thought I was getting a great deal. The guy selling it to me was one of the owners I htink (John???) He was pretty much in the bottle while we were working out the deal. The fact that the guy selling the trailer was drunk should have been a good indication of the service I would get.

Basically I'll never own another Sundowner. Not from the problems I've had, they are pretty minor, but the service is pretty much non-existant!

The good news is, I've already ordered a brand new Sooner and it should be here in about 3 more weeks.

Well it sounds like your problems are solved then, buying a different trailer. Who knows, Congress is a great time and I'll admit, when you can walk all over the fairgrounds with a drink in tow and no questions asked, hey its fun! And then there are places to buy beer in the buildings.  LOL! Sorry your salesman was having tooooooo much fun as well. It may just be that particular dealer has bad service, I am only hearing one side of the story here too. Electrical problems do happen and CAN happen with just about any trailer. Don't single out Sundowner just because it is a Sundowner. Could just be a lemon trailer and we all know what lemons are. I say, when you get lemons, make lemonade................

true,  i saved my pennies and bought my first new trailer a while back.  i was extremly disappointed when i finally recieved it. had numerous problems, mostly QC and a few other larger problems, however i will not openly bash the trailer company, or dealership (which i was not impressed with either) as i realize for the one(me) unhappy customer there are 100 other satisfied customers.  of course, i personally will never buy another trailer of that make or give my business to the dealer.

If you can get it to Cincinnati you might try Trailers America.  They are  a Sundowner dealer.  I've had good luck with their service, but they do get busy and it can sometimes be a wait to get an appointment.  Everything should be under warranty.

http://home.fuse.net/trailers/

Call Sundowner headquarters too.

H&D master ...Are you speaking about the Sundowner dealer you bought the trailer from ??

If you're complaining about your local dealer, while you bought the trailer from some other dealer, I can't muster up a lot of sympathy for you.

If you want a good dealer, you have to be a good customer. 

Call the Sundowner customer service, They were most helpful to me.

I don't think that’s the issue here, the OP mentioned the salesman should have tipped them off to future service..... but regardless I do not agree with your comment.

As a dealer they are the main face of the brand to the public/consumer and that should be upheld - whether they sold the trailer or not. Imagine if car dealers worked that way... if your tranny went 1000 miles from home you'd be crap out of luck. Or what happens if you buy a trailer then move half way across the country - do you think you should have to drive back for service? Giving good service creates good word of mouth advertising - and that's how businesses get a good name....

I know we don't have both sides here, but they obviously didn't please this customer - and now not only will the OP never buy another Sundowner/or from that dealer - but it's likely none of their friends will either. Sometimes all it takes is a few seconds to explain it better to make a customer happy. Unhappy customers are bad for business - it's worth the time IMO.

 Edited because we NEED spell check on this thing  or I just NEED to use it 

MBRA, I think you are right on about that.  In my case, the Featherlite dealer went out of business in my town.  I truly hope that I could go to any Featherlite dealer and expect service, should my trailer need it.

But I also think Hosspuller has a good point.  If the local dealer is not doing what they ought to do, please contact Sundowner headquarters and give them a chance to make it right.  We own a business and know that our employees may do something wrong at an install, and there's no way we can try to correct the problem and make it right unless the customer tells us that something is wrong.  We always appreciate feedback on what our employees are doing, whether it's good or bad.  It's just something to consider when you are dealing with an employee of a business rather than the business owner.  If the owner won't make the problem right, then there is truly a problem.

Happy Trails,

Michelle

You know what's so funny here that's not been pointed out yet-

A) You bought the trailer from the owner of the company, who was in the sauce at the time.

B) You bought the trailer from the company owned flagship store. This is a store, operating in direct competition to the Sundowner dealer body, that is held up as example of how a trailer dealership should be. And to boot, the man that owns the store "did the deal".

If the flagship store can't keep help, the owner is in the sauce when dealing with customers, and the "best factory service department in the country" can't fix your trailer, I'm not sure where to tell you to turn from here. I understand your purchase decision and feel for you. But now you understand why a dealer might not be doing backflips to fix your trailer after having his factory become his competitor. Sometimes what goes around comes around and unfortunately you are caught in the middle.

H1

If I buy a new truck in New York they better take care of it in Oregon! I bought a F*********e from a distant dealer had some brake problems when I got it home! The local dealer jumped right on it like he sold it to me! That is service! If the dealer looks the other way, the manufacturer is going to hear about it! Go to the top and raise hell! I'm not going to drive my truck to New York to get it Fixed!

You could just write letters to the company offices and trash their name in the mean time...if they won't give the customer service then let the customer service their name.  Tell everyone it's a lemon and check out your state's lemon laws, and yes they will cover the trailer!

I don't think a company that wants to stay in buisness can treat a customer the way you have been treated.  I don't think you have to buy your truck/trailer where you want it serviced.  Warranty work pays the same(and well I might add)!  That dealer should be happy to service your trailer and then bill the holy snot out of Sundowner...I would!  I've even had a dealer break a part on one of my cars only to drive accross town and have another dealership bill the first dealer for parts, travel expenses and labor.  I smiled the whole time, even after the second dealer gave me some more freebies.

Don't give Sundowner the power in this situation, it's your dime and your mental happiness!

I agree, call Sundowner headquarters.

I don't often browse these posting, but I happened to log on today.  I own Trailers America in Cincinnati and would like to thank you for recommending us.

I know how frustrating trailer problems can be and while sometimes customers have to wait for an appointment here, we try our best to make sure your problems are solved the first time.  We service all brands

For this specific issue,  please call me directly and we will get you into our schedule if you want to have the trailer fixed before you trade it in.  Otherwise, let the Sooner dealer know about it and they should be able to fix the problem. 

Risa Prince   Trailers America (800) 466-4470