Tdoherty
02-29-2012, 06:35 PM
We bought a Keystone Springdale 294BHSSR travel trailer From Colton RV in March of 2011. We wanted a new camper because we were looking for something bigger than what we had. Buying this trailer from Colton was the biggest mistake we ever made. We have had nothing but trouble with it since we bought it. Our old 2003 trail bay never had any problems in the 3 years we had it.
First the salesman ( Jason) didn’t know about this trailer, and told us stuff about this trailer that we later found out were not true. He had told us that an electric awning was no different than a manual awning except it was easier to put in and out. He told us the electric jacks were the best thing out there, and they hardly ever any issues with them. He told us this was one of the most reliable trailers out there. He also told us that if you put a DVD in the DVD player you could watch it back bed room. He told us that the Willkie’s, who recommended Colton to us would receive a $50 referral if we bought the trailer. He told us after we negotiated a price, if we did not sign that day, the offer would not be good, (so we could not think about it or do any research on the camper).
We found out on our very first night camping with this brand new trailer that this was not true. When we went to set up the camper, the back jack would not work at all. After we set everything up, my daughter was walking past the arm of the awning when a slight breeze lifted up the awning about 3 feet and then the awning slammed down with arm just missing my daughters head ( she was afraid to even go near the trailer after that). The bunk bed came loose from the wall, and we were afraid to let the kids use the bunk. The bunk room got a lot hotter than the rest of the trailer, especially the front bedroom. In the morning the windows in the bunk room full of condensation but the rest of the windows were not.
We called Colton’s service dept the next morning, and they said that it should not do that, and that we should bring it in as soon as possible, so we brought it in the next day. They told us it would be three weeks before they could even look at it. With a lot pleading with them they were able to get it in within two weeks. After looking at it they said that the jack needed to be greased, and that I should have greased it ( this is a brand new trailer that had never been out before and I don’t think I should have to grease it before it was ever used ). They said there was nothing wrong with the awning, that you can’t use the awning if there was any wind ( our old manual awning never had any problem with wind or anything), We asked if there was anyway to get a manual awning , Tim Nelligan said no problem, but it would cost us $500, we said we didn’t think we should have to pay to downgrade. The bunk bed they had to put an angle bracket on it to support it. They said there was nothing that could be done to the heater, and to just deal with it. The condensation they said was normal caused by the heater. They said that we should not have any more problems, that they checked everything over and it was all good.
The second time we took it out, We went 3½ hours away to Ohio for memorial weekend. When we were setting the trailer up the back jack was making a squealing noise. The hot water tank would not light and I had to call the manager of Colton at 10:30 at night on Friday , to get it to work. The hot water tank ran out of hot water real quick. The bunk room was a lot hotter than the rest even with the air conditioner on. There was still a lot of condensation on the windows even without the heater on. When we went to hook up the trailer to truck, the tongue jack would not work and we had to call the manager again on Memorial day in order to figure out how to manually work the jack.
When we got home I called Colton RV, I said I was not happy with this trailer at all, and that we would like a different trailer. We were told that it would cost us $6000 to exchange for the same trailer. We E-mailed Jim Colton to let him know how displeased we were with Colton Rv and Keystone. Jim called me and said they would do what ever it took to make us happy, and that he was putting us in contact with the vice president John Santalucia. We called John he changed our rep from Tim Nelligan to Tim Renzoni .
We called Tim R. and he told us to come in look at a different one. We came in and looked and found a couple that we liked in the same price range that we had bought. We were then told that the trailer that we bought for $26,000 was actually only worth $18,000, so we could not get any of them without paying about $10,000 more. We were then told that they would work with Keystone to see about exchanging our Trailer with a new one of the same .
We met with John in the beginning of June 2011. He told us that it would cost us $3,000 to exchange ours with a new one. We told him we didn’t think we should have to pay for something that was not our fault, especially when there was no guarantee that the knew one would not have the same problems. We asked if these problems were normal or did we just get a lemon. He told it was normal to have all these problems, and once these problems were fixed , we wouldn’t have anymore trouble for along time.
We made arrangements to have the trailer fixed. Colton said the electric part on the hot water tank had burned out from me leaving it on ( but in fact it was shut off before we even left the campground before taking it to Colton the first time, so if it was left on it was when they were working on the trailer.) The tongue jack was fixed. The back jack they told me once again that I had to grease it,( again they had just fixed it, so why should I have to grease before I even use it. The bunk room being hotter, they said there nothing that could be done.
Over the summer we went on four more trips. Each trip another issue popped up, but we decided to make a list and wait until the winter to get everything fixed. We took it in Jan for the following: Keystone Springdale 294BHSSR
1) Awning leaks over outlet
2) Outdoor kitchen roof leaks
3) Outdoor kitchen drawer broke
4) Bedroom door keeps coming off track
5) Kitchen drawers broke
6) Outdoor kitchen door seal coming off
7) Back of trailer gets about 10 degrees warmer than rest of trailer
8) Electric jacks don’t work all the time
9) Back bedroom cabinet shelf broke
10) Couch pulled away from wall
11) Bumper cap keeps falling off when driving ( have replaced it 3 times already)
12)Was told that the Willkie’s would get $50 for referring us, and they have not received anything.
13) battery box was full of water, and I had to drill holes to drain it.
We got the trailer back in the beginning of Feb, and was told everything was all fixed, and they also found the wood around the shore cord cabinet was falling apart and re-assembled the box. We picked up the trailer and looked it over quick, being that is still cold out. The switches on the jacks is sticking now. We won’t be able to really make sure everything is good until we take it out camping in the spring. I went out yesterday to get something out of the outdoor kitchen and even though it was only a light rain, the outdoor kitchen door was leaking through the hinge. I also noticed where it is leaking that the rivets are rusted. If the rivets are getting rusted, what’s happening to the wood under it. Also the outdoor with the refrigerator how can you get the shelves out when the door doesn’t open far enough. We are concerned that these repairs or if anything else goes wrong with this trailer that it won’t be under warranty.
We also mentioned in the beginning of June, to John that the Willkie’s Who referred us to Colton still had not received there $50 check. He told us not worry he would make sure they got it within 1 week. In late July, Mary Wilkie called to find out about the referral, and was told that instead of Colton sending them a check, they had a $50 credit in parts the dept. Burt Wilkie went in August to pick up supplies from Colton’s part store, and was told there was no credit. It’s been almost a year, and they still have not received anything.
We are very unhappy with Colton and Keystone about this situation. We went to the WNY RV show in Jan, and had a hard time not telling everyone looking at Keystone’s about our experience, and how we would not recommend buying from Keystone or Colton.
Tim & Phyllis Doherty
First the salesman ( Jason) didn’t know about this trailer, and told us stuff about this trailer that we later found out were not true. He had told us that an electric awning was no different than a manual awning except it was easier to put in and out. He told us the electric jacks were the best thing out there, and they hardly ever any issues with them. He told us this was one of the most reliable trailers out there. He also told us that if you put a DVD in the DVD player you could watch it back bed room. He told us that the Willkie’s, who recommended Colton to us would receive a $50 referral if we bought the trailer. He told us after we negotiated a price, if we did not sign that day, the offer would not be good, (so we could not think about it or do any research on the camper).
We found out on our very first night camping with this brand new trailer that this was not true. When we went to set up the camper, the back jack would not work at all. After we set everything up, my daughter was walking past the arm of the awning when a slight breeze lifted up the awning about 3 feet and then the awning slammed down with arm just missing my daughters head ( she was afraid to even go near the trailer after that). The bunk bed came loose from the wall, and we were afraid to let the kids use the bunk. The bunk room got a lot hotter than the rest of the trailer, especially the front bedroom. In the morning the windows in the bunk room full of condensation but the rest of the windows were not.
We called Colton’s service dept the next morning, and they said that it should not do that, and that we should bring it in as soon as possible, so we brought it in the next day. They told us it would be three weeks before they could even look at it. With a lot pleading with them they were able to get it in within two weeks. After looking at it they said that the jack needed to be greased, and that I should have greased it ( this is a brand new trailer that had never been out before and I don’t think I should have to grease it before it was ever used ). They said there was nothing wrong with the awning, that you can’t use the awning if there was any wind ( our old manual awning never had any problem with wind or anything), We asked if there was anyway to get a manual awning , Tim Nelligan said no problem, but it would cost us $500, we said we didn’t think we should have to pay to downgrade. The bunk bed they had to put an angle bracket on it to support it. They said there was nothing that could be done to the heater, and to just deal with it. The condensation they said was normal caused by the heater. They said that we should not have any more problems, that they checked everything over and it was all good.
The second time we took it out, We went 3½ hours away to Ohio for memorial weekend. When we were setting the trailer up the back jack was making a squealing noise. The hot water tank would not light and I had to call the manager of Colton at 10:30 at night on Friday , to get it to work. The hot water tank ran out of hot water real quick. The bunk room was a lot hotter than the rest even with the air conditioner on. There was still a lot of condensation on the windows even without the heater on. When we went to hook up the trailer to truck, the tongue jack would not work and we had to call the manager again on Memorial day in order to figure out how to manually work the jack.
When we got home I called Colton RV, I said I was not happy with this trailer at all, and that we would like a different trailer. We were told that it would cost us $6000 to exchange for the same trailer. We E-mailed Jim Colton to let him know how displeased we were with Colton Rv and Keystone. Jim called me and said they would do what ever it took to make us happy, and that he was putting us in contact with the vice president John Santalucia. We called John he changed our rep from Tim Nelligan to Tim Renzoni .
We called Tim R. and he told us to come in look at a different one. We came in and looked and found a couple that we liked in the same price range that we had bought. We were then told that the trailer that we bought for $26,000 was actually only worth $18,000, so we could not get any of them without paying about $10,000 more. We were then told that they would work with Keystone to see about exchanging our Trailer with a new one of the same .
We met with John in the beginning of June 2011. He told us that it would cost us $3,000 to exchange ours with a new one. We told him we didn’t think we should have to pay for something that was not our fault, especially when there was no guarantee that the knew one would not have the same problems. We asked if these problems were normal or did we just get a lemon. He told it was normal to have all these problems, and once these problems were fixed , we wouldn’t have anymore trouble for along time.
We made arrangements to have the trailer fixed. Colton said the electric part on the hot water tank had burned out from me leaving it on ( but in fact it was shut off before we even left the campground before taking it to Colton the first time, so if it was left on it was when they were working on the trailer.) The tongue jack was fixed. The back jack they told me once again that I had to grease it,( again they had just fixed it, so why should I have to grease before I even use it. The bunk room being hotter, they said there nothing that could be done.
Over the summer we went on four more trips. Each trip another issue popped up, but we decided to make a list and wait until the winter to get everything fixed. We took it in Jan for the following: Keystone Springdale 294BHSSR
1) Awning leaks over outlet
2) Outdoor kitchen roof leaks
3) Outdoor kitchen drawer broke
4) Bedroom door keeps coming off track
5) Kitchen drawers broke
6) Outdoor kitchen door seal coming off
7) Back of trailer gets about 10 degrees warmer than rest of trailer
8) Electric jacks don’t work all the time
9) Back bedroom cabinet shelf broke
10) Couch pulled away from wall
11) Bumper cap keeps falling off when driving ( have replaced it 3 times already)
12)Was told that the Willkie’s would get $50 for referring us, and they have not received anything.
13) battery box was full of water, and I had to drill holes to drain it.
We got the trailer back in the beginning of Feb, and was told everything was all fixed, and they also found the wood around the shore cord cabinet was falling apart and re-assembled the box. We picked up the trailer and looked it over quick, being that is still cold out. The switches on the jacks is sticking now. We won’t be able to really make sure everything is good until we take it out camping in the spring. I went out yesterday to get something out of the outdoor kitchen and even though it was only a light rain, the outdoor kitchen door was leaking through the hinge. I also noticed where it is leaking that the rivets are rusted. If the rivets are getting rusted, what’s happening to the wood under it. Also the outdoor with the refrigerator how can you get the shelves out when the door doesn’t open far enough. We are concerned that these repairs or if anything else goes wrong with this trailer that it won’t be under warranty.
We also mentioned in the beginning of June, to John that the Willkie’s Who referred us to Colton still had not received there $50 check. He told us not worry he would make sure they got it within 1 week. In late July, Mary Wilkie called to find out about the referral, and was told that instead of Colton sending them a check, they had a $50 credit in parts the dept. Burt Wilkie went in August to pick up supplies from Colton’s part store, and was told there was no credit. It’s been almost a year, and they still have not received anything.
We are very unhappy with Colton and Keystone about this situation. We went to the WNY RV show in Jan, and had a hard time not telling everyone looking at Keystone’s about our experience, and how we would not recommend buying from Keystone or Colton.
Tim & Phyllis Doherty