Mason-Dixon Bunch 2014 fall rally

[sola123]

Tommy, when you leaving for Nashville? Stopping in Virginia?

[mark5w]

Stan, we just came by your place today, but on 81, 66, 17 and 95. On our way to Myrtle Beach.

[anaro]

Well hopefully I'll still have the 5er for the trip.... we have some major issues and I am thinking of trying to get it sent back to the factory for repairs. guess I should've kept the zinger.

Mark enjoy myrtle beach.
Tommy enjoy Nashville

[mark5w]

Tonight we're at Selma NC, RVacation campground right off 95. Was a long day with heavy traffic. Tomorrow: Myrtle Beach by 1pm.

[accordionman]

Hi Mark and Susan , nice place to stay . we have stayed there a few times on our trips to and from Florida . ez off and on . hope the trains don't keep you awake .
have a great time at Myrtle Beach .we have stayed at Ocean Lakes .nice place
see you in October .

[mark5w]

We'll be at Lakewood in Myrtle Beach.
Looking forward to the Mason Dixon rally. Aileen, will you make the rally? What type of problems are you having with the Sabre??

[RKamperRV]

Originally Posted by anaro

Well hopefully I'll still have the 5er for the trip.... we have some major issues and I am thinking of trying to get it sent back to the factory for repairs. guess I should've kept the zinger.

Mark enjoy myrtle beach.
Tommy enjoy Nashville

Aileen - be kindly demanding and set expectations, with consequences should they not be met. You are the customer and they need to meet your needs, not the other way around. Example: "Thank you for taking care of this. I expect to have the unit back by Sept. 30 to get ready for an early Oct. outing. Should this not happen I expect you to reimburse me for lost reservations as well as pay for a cabin rental in the campground or a nearby hotel should a cabin not be available. Alternatively, you can deliver a loaner unit to the campground for us to use for the reserved weekend."

[anaro]

Well- it started with the bedroom slide getting stuck. It turned out the slide actuator assembly had sheared its bolts and then messed the wiring up. That issue plus the non-working microwave were quickly resolved. We knew there were some trim issues and a crack in the shower fiberglass to be addressed after the season. Last week we went out to do some prep for this weekend's trip. I noticed the sofa slide (I have 4 slides) stuck a little but then fixed itself. I went around to check on it and discovered my slide seals were torn and pulling off the side of the camper. Further investigation revealed the same issue on the kitchen slide and dinette slide. Snapped a couple of pics and sent them on to the dealership. The service manager looked at them and said yes you have a problem but I want to know what the cause is. The plan was to take it in to the dealership after the Oct trip (my choice to wait) because he wanted to take everything apart and see what was causing this to fail. In the pictures he also noticed a small dent by the bottom of the kitchen slide. He was concerned. I told him I pointed out the indentation on pdi and was told that was supposed to be there, it was part of the slide design. He got really quiet but left it alone.

On Friday we were hooked up ready to go, just loading cold food. I noticed the fridge hadn't gotten cold (had been on overnight @ this point). Not good. A walk around revealed a clicking noise from the fridge. It was trying to light but couldn't. Why? The propane line had gotten bound up in the slide and caused a hole in the line. That same propane line has been getting pinched unnoticed and caused the dent.

We had a mobile rv guy at the campsite on Sat and he immediately figured out the root cause of the propane line and the slide seal issues. The holes cut in the trailer wall for those 3 slides were not cut correctly. It is wider at the top then the bottom. The bottom is too tight causing the slide to bind the seals when moving. We bought this 5er July 12 (build date was 2/11/14) and we have had 2 trips and 5 nights in it so far. I'm literally wondering what the next issue will be. I'm thinking of pushing for a factory fix rather than a dealership bandaid on this issue. Any thoughts on dealership vs factory for this? Or is this even fixable? Depending on what happens with this mess will determine my place at the rally this year.

Rick the dealership has been great. When the first slide failed they talked me through disassembling the slide to get it in. They got me in right away and kept it 2 weeks for the repair. Fri I called the dealership 5 min before closing and the service manager again talked through a possible quick fix. I have been fortunate to have a good dealership who is just under an hour from home.

[sleepyT]

Originally Posted by sola123

Tommy, when you leaving for Nashville? Stopping in Virginia?

Stan....leaving 9/11 stopping at Fort Chiswell in Va. about 1/2 way for us.

Mark...Have a great time at Myrtle beach. We did not make it to the shore this summer. Not happy about that. Next year.

Rick...Good advise, but if I were Aileen I would have it all done at the factory..

Aileen.. Sorry to hear about the trouble with you camper...

[sola123]

Tommy,....Ft Chiswell is good for an overnight stop...plus next to a truck stop for fuel...its too far to run by and visit to share a beer...so good luck and safe travels...

Aileen...sorry to hear about your troubles..hope you can get it fixed in time...Tony can also most likely provide you some advice for dealing with the factory.....

[sleepyT]

Stan...Thanks for the invite, but I think by the time I get to Chiswell I will be ready to pull up a chair sit under the awning and CHILLAX...Tell Emmy we said Hi...

Aileen...Yes Nancy & Tony have their camper brought back to the factory for warranty work...

[seabee]

Mark, How long at Myrtle Beach?
We will be arriving in N.Myrtle Beach on Sept.20...for 2 weeks.

[mark5w]

Aileen, that's a shame that you are having that much trouble. I vote for the factory repair. See if they can pick it up like they did for Tony, they even flew the both of them down to inspect it before they shipped it back.
Tommy, enjoy your trip. Maybe next year for us. Susan likes it down there.
Walt, we will be leaving here the 10th, so we'll miss you. It's 94 down here today and Susan is enjoying the heat and the beach.

[anaro]

Thanks guys. I played phone tag with the dealership today. My plan is to push for the factory repair. That's pretty cool that crossroads flew them down to inspect the trailer. That gives me something to push for.

Mark glad myrtle is giving you good weather.

Safe travels to all. I will update when I know more.

[sleepyT]

Mark
Thanks I am really ready for this trip, missed one in August. We beat you by five degrees, it was 99 here... just sayen...

[RKamperRV]

Aileen - keep everything documented. You are headed to "lemon law land". Hold the dealer AND the factory accountable. At worst case - DEMAND a new unit.

Originally Posted by anaro

Well- it started with the bedroom slide getting stuck. It turned out the slide actuator assembly had sheared its bolts and then messed the wiring up. That issue plus the non-working microwave were quickly resolved. We knew there were some trim issues and a crack in the shower fiberglass to be addressed after the season. Last week we went out to do some prep for this weekend's trip. I noticed the sofa slide (I have 4 slides) stuck a little but then fixed itself. I went around to check on it and discovered my slide seals were torn and pulling off the side of the camper. Further investigation revealed the same issue on the kitchen slide and dinette slide. Snapped a couple of pics and sent them on to the dealership. The service manager looked at them and said yes you have a problem but I want to know what the cause is. The plan was to take it in to the dealership after the Oct trip (my choice to wait) because he wanted to take everything apart and see what was causing this to fail. In the pictures he also noticed a small dent by the bottom of the kitchen slide. He was concerned. I told him I pointed out the indentation on pdi and was told that was supposed to be there, it was part of the slide design. He got really quiet but left it alone.

On Friday we were hooked up ready to go, just loading cold food. I noticed the fridge hadn't gotten cold (had been on overnight @ this point). Not good. A walk around revealed a clicking noise from the fridge. It was trying to light but couldn't. Why? The propane line had gotten bound up in the slide and caused a hole in the line. That same propane line has been getting pinched unnoticed and caused the dent.

We had a mobile rv guy at the campsite on Sat and he immediately figured out the root cause of the propane line and the slide seal issues. The holes cut in the trailer wall for those 3 slides were not cut correctly. It is wider at the top then the bottom. The bottom is too tight causing the slide to bind the seals when moving. We bought this 5er July 12 (build date was 2/11/14) and we have had 2 trips and 5 nights in it so far. I'm literally wondering what the next issue will be. I'm thinking of pushing for a factory fix rather than a dealership bandaid on this issue. Any thoughts on dealership vs factory for this? Or is this even fixable? Depending on what happens with this mess will determine my place at the rally this year.

Rick the dealership has been great. When the first slide failed they talked me through disassembling the slide to get it in. They got me in right away and kept it 2 weeks for the repair. Fri I called the dealership 5 min before closing and the service manager again talked through a possible quick fix. I have been fortunate to have a good dealership who is just under an hour from home.

[anaro]

Yeah, that is a good idea Rick. I was starting to think about switching to email communication to keep things documented easier. The only thing is the 1st slide problem was the bedroom slide. The issue now is my other 3 slides. I have to look into nc lemon laws to see if it will have to be the exact same issue 3 times or if we even have one that covers rvs here.

[mark5w]

Stan, getting back to the rally, do you know of any long range weather forecast for next month?? Hope we have good weather. Last year's weather was really pleasant.
By coincidence, my daughter and her family will be at Winter Green at the same time.

[RKamperRV]

Long range forecast for rally:

Each night - dark - VERY dark. Getting lighter toward morning!

[mark5w]

Thanks Rick. I really appreciate it.