Poor workmanship

smokjump · 08-18-2012, 04:29 PM

We love oue new Viewfinder but it seems every trip brings a new issue. First the outside cable connection doesn't work and the dining table bed collapsed. Next trip a large piece if trim over the couch popped off. Now as I check around I see the screws holding the door piston almost fell out, a cabinet door will not close, geesh I'm gunshy to look any further. Most of these are things that I can or have already repaired myself, not the cable connection, wires behind the walls. Wondering if anyone else has had things like this on a new Cruiser travel trailer?? Seems like really poor workmanship............

**LJAZ** · 08-19-2012, 10:10 AM

Workmanship and quality issues have been debated pretty extensively. In some cases the issues are with the component suppliers like the fridge or water heater, and in others it's intstalllation or assembly problems. Then there's a bunch of us with no issues at all.
IMHO a lot of the issues should have been addressed by the dealer as well, before delivery to the customer. But that doesn't always happen. And some dealers don't give much support after the sale.
I'd recommend that you find every issue that you can and take the list to your dealer to have them repaired while still under warranty.
Inherently travel trailers are maintenance intensive and things are always breaking, wearing out or getting shaken loose. It's not just CruiserRV, every manufucaturer has similar problems. The nature of the beast I guess.
And if you think trailers are bad, try a boat. There's 2 things every boat owner finds out sooner or later. 1 - a boat is a hole in the water you throw your money into, and 2 - water is bad for your boat!

profdant139 · 08-19-2012, 10:20 AM

In both boating and RVing, there is a reason the first trip is called a "shakedown cruise" -- you hit the open ocean (or highway) and see what shakes down! Some folks have said that you are not really buying a trailer -- it's a trailer kit! Some assembly (and reassembly) required.

A trailer is not like a car, where the pieces are metal and plastic and are bolted together in a seamless cage. The trailer is a box, a much less sturdy structure. The exceptions would be Airstream (an expensive aluminum egg) or Casita (a somewhat cramped fiberglass egg). Birds lay eggs, not boxes, precisely because eggs are stronger. (Plus they hurt less when emerging, I would guess.)

So yes, you are right that there is maintenance required. That is to be expected of all trailers. The cable issue is a warranty "pickup" -- make friends with your dealer's service writer!

jeepcruiser · 08-19-2012, 01:02 PM

Like everyone says , all rv's have problems, not just Cruiser, infact just spoke to a fellow this past weekend, last year he bought a shiney new Rockwood ultra fifthwheel, he said it was the biggest POS he'd ever owned, fridge didn't work, furnace quit, ceilingfan fell off the ceiling, tires were wearing quick, slide leaks and the list went on. So by having a piece of moulding fall off is not so bad , just glue it back on.

webslave · 08-19-2012, 07:29 PM

What everyone above says... It is part and parcel of RVing. Yes, it would be marvelous if the manufacturers provided super assembly and top-notch QC, and the dealers provided dedicated service on the products they sell, but, then you wouldn't be able to march in and "demand" 25-35% off MSRP (and get it). You wouldn't be able to afford such a trailer or the service. Airstreams were mentioned...the space and amenities of a $16,000 FunFinder for the ultra-low price of $65,000 and up. And next time you see one, ask the owner what that spiffy aluminum shell costs to repair

and don't look for slides and expansive storage. Even those "high end" RVs have their share of "issues"...not so much in fit and finish, but, they still use the same components; Dometic or Norcold refrigerators, Jensen stereos, etc. There are "ultra high end" trailers out there, not near as many now, in this economy, but, they have a very small market share and many are going out of business or cutting way back on output and model selection. Very few people can either afford to buy them or want that much money sitting around in the yard not being used and doing nothing but depreciating.

As for boats... Been there, done that; 33' Silverton cabin cruiser with twin fresh water cooled Chrysler 318 V8s. The two happiest days in a boat owner's life...the day he buys that beauty and the day he sells it

smokjump · 08-20-2012, 02:52 AM

Well, thanks for all the responses. Like I said we love our Viewfinder and I did expect a few "bugs" just that there seemed to be one or two each trip. I do realize that there is a lot to these units and that the normal shaking rattling and such going down the road would shake a few things loose. What I guess I didn't expect was things like the 3 small brads that held the supports for the dinette bed or the latch for cabinet doors to be mis-aligned but those were easy fixes for me.

And while we are on the boat thing I too did that. Funny lots of our friends had boats at one time, when almost broke keeping up with them and after a few years of recovery and saving moved on to camping. Once thing much better with camping, ain't dumping 40 to 50 gallons of $4/5 a gallon of gas in it each time we use it !! Hopefully things will keep getting better each trip from here on out.

profdant139 · 08-20-2012, 01:20 PM

Well, smokjump, it is true that the trailer takes almost no gas, except the propane. But then there is the tow vehicle -- I get 20 mpg with my Pathfinder not towing (and driving like Grandma) but just 10 mpg (plus or minus) towing my little FF. It's not the weight, it is the air resistance.

Oh, well. Money well spent, in my opinion!

LagoAZ · 08-20-2012, 10:34 PM

I purchased a new Fun Finder 210. This is my first RV purchase, but based on my research I kept my expectations low.... and those expectations are in now way close to being exceeded. I'm surprised by the lack of attention to detail and all the little trim items that get missed. Why do they use a material on the shower walls that buckles? every photo I've seen of showers show the wall liner puckering around the edges, and mine does too. But at least all the big stuff works.

On my initial shake out trip, I found my dinette window can barely be opened and the screen can't be moved. The upgraded convection microwave was black while all other appliances were stainless. The factory is going to mail me one and I'll ship the old one back to the dealer. My Cable TV doesn't work, it's like none of the wires are connected behind the walls or some thing. I get all channels when I run cable from my house to the TV. I put that same cable into the RV, and with the TV in cable mode, and booster set either on or off... I don't get cable reception. 12V outlet under the TV Doesn't seem to work either

When you by and RV it's just a box with a ton of aftermarket components built in and hopefully they all get connected correctly.

So I have some projects to keep me busy on the weekend. I think I'd rather do some exploring to find the source of my Cable issues rather than hoping the dealer will take the time and care to take it apart and put it back together correctly.

Maybe I'll start saving for an Airstream.....

profdant139 · 08-20-2012, 10:49 PM

When you say the walls are puckered, do you mean the vinyl fabric that covers the wall inside the shower? That should not be puckered -- that is annoying. But not crucial, as long as it does not leak. Is there a way to find out if it is watertight?

roy · 08-21-2012, 04:25 AM

I agree with everything said. I am dealing with plenty of poor workmanship issues right now. It is frustrating. It is almost like Cruiser is willing to let the dealer fix their screw ups and doesn't worry about it or care. The dealer however sides with me, it should not come to this.

Eagle · 08-21-2012, 01:32 PM

It would be nice if the manufacturer had everything perfect when it left the factory but they don't in motor vehicles, campers, farm equipment, construction equipment, etc. etc. etc.

I would "ASSUME" the travel trailer industry is much like the manfactured housing industry regarding their mfg/dealer contract relations.

The manfactured housing mfgs allow x number of dollars per unit to the dealer for dealer adjustments/repairs, aka 'warranty work.'

If the dealer can get by spending x dollars times number of units minus y dollars over the year, the dealer gets the y amount for their pocket at the end of the year.

Some dealers value their customers and some value their pocket more.

profdant139 · 08-21-2012, 02:47 PM

Eagle, I am not sure that the Cruiser dealers get a fixed sum per year to cover warranty work. First, my dealer will do warranty work on any Cruiser RV, even if sold elsewhere -- so that could not be included in the fixed sum.

Second, I thought I needed warranty work on my fridge, and the dealer said he had to do some tests before he could get Cruiser to pay for the work. He did the tests, and it turned out that the fridge was working properly -- I had not let it cool down long enough before measuring the temperature. (My bad, as the kids say.) But my point is that the work would be paid by Cruiser, rather than coming out of a fixed pot of money.

Again, I don't have first-hand knowledge of all of this -- but I am just reporting what I heard and saw.

Eagle · 08-21-2012, 04:07 PM

Of course you may be correct. That is way I put "ASSUME" in caps.

And it's been some years ago but as I recall the manfactured housing dealers I was familiar with, only serviced products they sold ~ and therein may be the difference.

It is entirely possible Cruiser has a totally different set-up with their dealerships.

LagoAZ · 08-22-2012, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by profdant139

When you say the walls are puckered, do you mean the vinyl fabric that covers the wall inside the shower? That should not be puckered -- that is annoying. But not crucial, as long as it does not leak. Is there a way to find out if it is watertight?

I'll try to find a picture. It's watertight, but looks like crap. Imagine you hung wallpaper up and tacked it up with a few nails, but no adhesive on the back. eventually the paper would not fit flush with walls and there would be waves where the paper wasn't stuck to the wall. That's what I 'm referring to in the shower liner. When I look at pictures online you usually notice it at the bottom where the vinyl liner hangs over the floor pan.

I just find it odd that something that looks so bad and would be relatively easy to correct by using proper adhesive seems to be standard in most lower end RVs.

LagoAZ · 08-22-2012, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by profdant139

When you say the walls are puckered, do you mean the vinyl fabric that covers the wall inside the shower? That should not be puckered -- that is annoying. But not crucial, as long as it does not leak. Is there a way to find out if it is watertight?

Found a pic. Go here and enlarge image #17. You'll see on the right how the shower liner pulls away from the wall

http://www.holmanrv.com/inventory/21...r-S_261BH.aspx

profdant139 · 08-22-2012, 11:26 AM

I could not find the spot in that shot that showed the glitch, but I am sure you are right. The dealer should re-do that, I think -- this is not just an issue of appearance. The wrinkles could allow water to penetrate, especially if the wrinkles eventually lead to pinhole leaks.

My guess is that this would be pretty easy for them to fix -- remove part of the old vinyl and glue on a matching patch that slightly overlaps the remaining vinyl. I would use a waterproof aerosol spray adhesive. Not a very tricky project, unless there is a huge area that has to be replaced.

Eagle · 08-22-2012, 12:52 PM

Good picture.

The shower surround does the same in mine.

The temperature causes the difference in expansion/contraction due to the different expansion/contraction rates of the surround compared to the wall it's fastened to.

roy · 08-23-2012, 06:27 AM

Same on my XT276 and really got wavy in 108 degree Texas heat. So far no leakage that I know of. Looks pretty shabby though. I'm not going to even mention it on my up coming dealer visit as we got way more bigger fish to fry on this thing than that.

profdant139 · 08-23-2012, 04:11 PM

Gee, you'd think that the glue they chose would resist heat -- these things are made in Indiana, and it gets hot there in the summer.

On the other hand, I tend to get wrinkled in hot weather, too.

Eagle · 08-23-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by profdant139

Gee, you'd think that the glue they chose would resist heat -- these things are made in Indiana, and it gets hot there in the summer.

On the other hand, I tend to get wrinkled in hot weather, too.

I don't know if they use any glue at all. On mine, there are what appear to be fastners that go thru the surround into the wall. The fastners are covered with what looks like 'plastic caps or buttons' and the 'buckling' of the surround happens between these fastners.

Therefore, I conclude it's caused by a variation in the expansion/contraction difference of the plastic surround material and the wall material. The plastic surround expands more than the wall material.