rtate

28 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

Probably a little late but there is information about the CO RV lemon laws from this link. 

Thank you, but that doesn't accurately reflect the law. I actually called that firm and was told that they were not currently accepting RV cases and that my camper would not be covered by the law regardless. I believe class A's with motors do fall under certain lemon law provisions in Colorado. But I have a truck camper and it does not. I called approximately 20 Colorado law offices and was given the same information repeatedly. Additionally, the consumer defect law in Colorado requires at least 4 consumers to have the same issue. I have a niche product and have not found 4 Colorado purchasers with the same issue. I have been attempting to resolve the issue with the manufacturer. My camper has been at the manufacturer for a few months and I am uncertain what is happening.

I'm the OP. Yes, this post is a year old. My issue is still not resolved. Yes, the laws of the state where you purchased the RV is the prevailing law - do not ever buy an RV in Colorado. 

20 hours ago, mptjelgin said:

Perhaps you could work something out with the manufacturer.  If they are willing to pick it up and fix it, perhaps they could help with a sale and split profits (if there are any) with you.

The manufacturer says that they do not involve themselves in any financial transactions (including buybacks or transactions with dealers, customers and banks). 

3 hours ago, mptjelgin said:

Once is it repaired and "signed off" on by the manufacturer, I would put it on the market as you had planned and sell it. Why do you say the you don't believe you could ever sell the camper now?   

I wouldn't buy a truck camper that had the basement fall off. I guess that's why I think I won't be able to sell it.

The issue is compounded by the fact that I don't have a truck anymore. That (plus medical issues) are why I was selling the camper originally. I have to buy a new truck in order to take possession of the camper again. 

I probably used overly specific language asking about a RV structural expert. I'm just looking for an informed (but not official) 2nd opinion.

1 hour ago, durangodon said:

Why don't you run it by here and get some experienced amateur opinions.

I posted about the situation last August right when the issue first occurred & got a few opinions at that point. There's more detail in this thread but, basically, the basement of my truck camper spontaneously fell apart. Thankfully, the camper was off the truck and I wasn't driving when it happened.

The updates:

1. The manufacturer sent a factory supervisor last fall. He replaced the original screws that held the basement together with larger bolts. He did not bring the bottom basement panels because he said the Warranty office forgot to tell him they were needed. At the time, the factory supervisor told us that at least one other camper had had a similar basement problem. He also told us that the camper was not designed properly to withstand the forces on a truck camper. He said he thought that manufacturing might be halted for a redesign. The manufacturer has indeed stopped producing this model but denies everything else that the factory supervisor said. 

2. I didn't realize until about a week after the basement detached that there was also a new bulge at the cabover junction on the opposite side of the camper from the side where the basement detached. I notified the manufacturer. The factory supervisor who came last fall said that was a separate known issue that was happening to these models and required the side of the camper to be taken off, the structure assessed, and a repair at the factory. However, he said that issue would require a separate authorization from the manufacturer's warranty office that he didn't have. The manufacturer acknowledges that there is a known fabrication issue that could be causing this bulge. The camper was left partially repaired at the same location.

3. After back and forth, the manufacturer is now offering to pick up the camper and transport it to the factory to be assessed and repaired.

I don't know anything about RV construction. Since the basement is the structure that supports the weight of the camper, I'm concerned that replacing the bolts isn't an adequate repair. I'm also concerned that the frame of the camper may have torqued. The worst of the basement collapse was on the rear driver's corner of the camper. The bulge that occurred at the same time or soon after is at the passenger's cabover junction. I'm worried that the camper basement will collapse while I'm driving. I was in the midst of selling the camper when it fell apart. But I do not believe that I could ever sell the camper now.

I don't know how to evaluate if the repairs that they do are adequate and safe.

Does anyone know an RV structural expert who would be able to do an assessment of my truck camper? I have a structural issue. The manufacturer did a minor repair. I'm not sure if it's safe or how to determine if the issue has been safely corrected. Is there someone who can help with this type of assessment?

Yes, I am aware how lawyers work. 

23 minutes ago, 2gypsies said:

This might get you started.... http://www.lemonlawcase.com/new-motorhome-lemon-law/

Great, thanks! This is helpful. A lawsuit is the last thing that I want to do but I may require some at least legal advice.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a lawyer with experience in RV manufacturing cases? I don't want to post details about the issue at the moment, just looking for a lawyer who can provide advice and possibly representation. Thanks!

Wow, I figured this was a pretty unusual problem but hadn't really considered how unusual. Having the weight-bearing part of the truck camper disintegrate means there's no way for the camper to be transported anywhere without destroying all the plumbing/basement systems. It's a mess! Thank goodness it happened while the camper was on the jacks and so the basement didn't take the full weight of the camper.

7 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

It looks to me like they are trying to make good on it. Perhaps you should give them a chance to see what they do? Remember that they are sending a factory rep to you at their expense and after the warranty has expired. If they thought that this was normal do you really believe that they would do that? 

Ah, no, I believe you misunderstood. I'm not saying anything negative about the manufacturer I'm dealing with. I was just struck that both you and 2gypsies implied that it could be expected that, in general, a manufacturer wouldn't respond to a structural failure in a 2 year old rig. I was surprised by that. 

I agree with you both - thank you for the feedback! It's a stressful situation because of the logistics and the location where the camper is stuck, but my impression was that the manufacturer is doing all that I can reasonably expect right now. I feel better now being able to tell that to the people around me who are even less familiar with RV stuff than me.

I'm surprised, though, that any company wouldn't care if a 2 year old rig disintegrated. Really gives me pause about buying a replacement camper. I never dreamed that any respectable company would walk away from that. Who buys a camper with a one-year lifespan?

I have a 2 year old truck camper. (I'm not going to mention the manufacturer by name because I don't want to generate negative publicity unnecessarily) I have been pleased with the camper and had no significant issues before now. But, on the 19th, the camper appears to have had a spontaneous structural failure. The basement fell off. Based on the photos that I sent to the manufacturer, the service manager agreed that nothing appears amiss or broken other than the structure that detached spontaneously. I can't tell if it was a design flaw (are others constructed this same way?) or whether there was a manufacturing error and the camper structure wasn't built to standard. The camper cannot be transported at all because the basement is unstable/off. I reached out to the manufacturer on the 20th and have been waiting for them to decide what to do since then. They e-mailed me this afternoon and said that they could send the truck camper factory line supervisor to the camper's location the first week of October.

The whole situation is compounded because I was in the middle of selling the camper. I have medical issues that have limited my travel during the past year. Then my truck got a terminal diagnosis in early July so I decided that I needed to sell the camper since buying a new F350 would be too costly for my current medical situation. I'm so glad that this didn't happen just after I sold the camper to someone! But I am $1200 out of pocket from having to stop the sale. Plus, I may not be able to sell the camper at all until next spring now. I had been intending to sell the truck camper and buy a small travel trailer from the same manufacturer that is towable by a vehicle I already own. The camper is also not where I live (thankfully, it fell apart while in a relative's driveway) so I'm going to have to go home for medical care and then return in October to meet the manufacturer's team. 

I've never had an issue like this before and was hoping to pick your more experienced brains. Is the manufacturer's timeline reasonable? Is there any other resolution that could be pursued? I'm grateful for any advice!