Not a Happy Camper or consumer

Finally got to bring home the WC 313RE after being in the shop for 2 months to have the AutoLevel Panel replaced, Propane Regulator replaced, leak fixed in Santi-Flush fitting, some loose cabinet pieces...think that was it....

When I get home, battery has a dead cell, so get a replacement from the dealer as it was only 7 months old. Also had uneven wear on one tire, took it to the tire shop, swapped it out for the spare and made it the spare until at such time I can get a new one....well, new one came about 20 minutes later when the tire guy found the tire on the same side, infront, had a bubble and was seperating...tire under warranty, but such a hassle it would cost more to drive 100 miles to have it looked at and then they tell me it isnt their fault...so $145 later, new tire put on. All tires of Chinese origin.

Get it back home, wife wants to reload the linens and bedding she had taken out after we got home from that long trip and also do a good vacuum and floor cleaning on it before I took it to storage. She needed help to put on the bed linens, and I walked into the bedroom and what do I see....?..............a ceiling panel that had seperated from the next panel and hanging down...........hmmmmm..... looking at it, FR had used short staples to hold 2 panels plus trim into a 2"x2" ceiling joist...it ran all the way across from side to side.....so thought I would just hammer the staples back in....no soap...wouldnt even take hold, so went and got some Liquid Nail compound and put on, then tapped the staples back in again......nope...using existing staple location into that Pine just wont hold ..too much bow....... Now I didnt want to call the dealer again to take it down for a repair job, as didnt want to wait another 2 months, so to heck with it...........1-1/2" box nails into that 2"x2" along with the Liquid Nails will hold it for sure... now just have to dab some white paint on the nail heads...

Now....I have noticed in the past 10-15 years just what shoddy construction methods are being used by manufacturers, not just FR but all RV manufacturers. Hey, not only RV but just about 99% of all consumer products are of shoddy materials and construction. Course they do that so it wont last very long and you have to either get it repaired or hopefully, for them, buy a new one. I remember years ago, RV manufacturers used screws and nails, not Chinese staples which are too short to begin with. I will keep that box of nails and Liquid Nail handy in the RV for I am sure I will need it in the future.

RANT OFF !!

Holy Cow!! I think your post covered just about everything ever discussed here regarding poor dealer representation, shoddy workmanship and incredibly poor quality control.

TC

Your experience is why I do all my own stunts. The only one they wouldn't let me do myself was the Dometic Refr Recall a few years ago.

HD matched the white paint for me so other than my ceiling having no texture the color is the same.

I hope your problems are over now.

Wow! I don't remember reading about the ceiling panels coming down. Good idea to have some screws in the tool box to fix this potential problem if it ever happens.

Tater

Just wait until I get my story and pictures together. Major frame/pinbox rebuild. Still stuck in Grand Junction. Extended warranty people are ignorant! More later but quality in my Wildcat is non-existent. Love the floorplan but it stops there. This has truly been an Odyssey to remember.

Wish I had taken pictures before repair.....

I've made all repairs to our Cat and previous campers to avoid the wasted time of our camper sitting on a dealers lot.

Unfortunately, I've made more repairs to this new Wildcat this year than should ever be made to anything with this little of use on it.

I never realized until after we purchased ours, Wildcats have a reputation of sorts. The first season using our Cat, I would have argued anyone about the quality of Wildcats. After this season and all the repairs I've done; I can't say anything when I hear or read of poor Wildcat quality.

Its not just Wildcat though and its not only at this price point.
We have close friends who purchased a new 40' Open Range ($70k) the same time we bought the Wildcat. The Open Range has been back to the dealer at least a dozen times and is in fact there now again.

The larger RV manufacturers (Keystone/Forrest River) remind me of US automakers in the 70's and 80's. They need a Honda or Toyota to force them to upgrade their quality.

I never thought I would live to say this...but maybe the RV industry needs some regulation and consumer protection like the auto industry does. Some dealers are great, but it seems like most just want your money. Once you leave their lot, you're on your own.

John

Most RV dealerships have a huge overhead to contend with. And the larger percent of the RVs on their lots never gets sold. That translates into potentially millions of dollars worth of RVs that have either been purchased outright or on consignment from the manufacturers. Dealerships are under a tremendous amount of pressure to move inventory, whatever it takes short of taking a loss. It's a sad testimony, but being honest and forthright does not cover commissions. Caveat Emptor.

If it wasn't for their service depts., most RV dealerships couldn't stay in business. They bank on your RV needing something...on a regular basis. And anymore, a good percentage of their time is spent fixing something straight from the manufacturer that should have never needed fixing in the first place. But they usually don't mind, cuz they know its cheaper for the manufacturer to pay them to fix these mistakes than it is for the manufacturer to pay their union workers to do the same. So, whether fixing a manufacturer screw-up or otherwise, they make money hand over fist keeping us on the highways and byways.

TC

AVid wrote:I never thought I would live to say this...but maybe the RV industry needs some regulation and consumer protection like the auto industry does. Some dealers are great, but it seems like most just want your money. Once you leave their lot, you're on your own.

John

I have to agree. If the trailer industry had the same rules as the Caifornia rules for cars I would not have my cat. It would have been a lemon law return. Now I am, I guess, stuck in a way with a trailer that has given me a lot of good times with a price and things that are still not right.

They need a Honda or Toyota to force them to upgrade their quality.

This is so sad, but so true.

WOW!! Wish I had read this before I bought my Cat! My wife and I were talking about all the problems we have had with this trailer. We have owned three other trailers,a used 1976 Wilderness, and two new Jayco trailers and have never had any problems with either. We were very surprised after buying the new Wildcat. Main slide not adjusted, fresh water tank sags, front closet doors binding, clothes rack fell down, struts for the bed kept breaking loose, spigot for sink leaked, main slide leaks when traveling,bedroom slide leaks, some screws come loose under the front fiberglass and a slow leak in one tire. I have changed the tire and valve stem twice, I am sure I forgot something. Yes, I did forget! I replaced the hydraulic pump and valve assembly. It's a continual process to keep up with this Cat and it is only three years old. My other trailers were atleast 10yrs old, each! Very disappointed in the Quality. I agree, I some foreign manufacture comes along and make a quality unit for a reasonable price and the US RV market would be in the same shape as the auto industry. Then, guess what, yep, they would all be hurting and after the current buyers leave they woln't be back. Sorry folks! I guess after reading this post I just had to vent my frustrations.. We still love to camp but hate to face all this repair work to protect our investment..