Fuzion 301 - Chassis - Page 3

Escs36 · 02-01-2013, 10:56 AM

Lippert is flying into Los Angeles on Tues. Feb 5th to look at the trailer. Looks like it is going to be a couple more weeks. At what point should I fight to be reimbursed for my payments? Now I am irritated again. I was feeling pretty good that things were rolling forward and now more delays.

Does anybody know if Lippert Heat Treats their chassis'?

davidjsimons · 02-01-2013, 11:23 AM

I would not make mention of it yet. It seems that they are making efforts to solve the problem correctly. I know the frustration you are feeling, but I do not feel that you want to go that way with them yet.

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laidback · 02-01-2013, 04:50 PM

Escs. I just sent you a pm, let me know if you get it. Thats what worked for me. Just rember stay calm and don't use the L word. keep us posted. Wait to see what lippert has to say before you contact him.

IdahoSRT10 · 02-06-2013, 06:07 PM

In your first photos I don't see any signs of a weight distributing hitch attachment points. I bet they will ask you HOW you used your weight distributing hitch as it re-distributes hitch weight to the front of your truck. (also some weight to the rear of the TT)

I'm looking into buying a Fuzion 300, I hope you get to the real cause of the bending.

Escs36 · 02-06-2013, 11:36 PM

I had to remove the bracket from the trailer side of the distribution set up in order to get a flat surface. My "measuring device" was that piece of 2"x3" aluminum square tubing and a floor jack. I was just trying to capture the severity of the bend.

Keystone most certainly asked what weight distribution system I used including the weight specifications. I took the distribution set up with me when I took the trailer in for repair in case the service department wanted it. The service adviser and the manager could care less about it beyond glancing at it. The Equilizer system was part of the package deal with the purchase of the trailer and was documented on the original service order. I think the service adviser and manager observed my truck for damage and did look at the hitch and bars for obvious signs of foul play.

Keystone asked for pictures of the truck and trailer coupled together. I think they were just trying to paint a picture. They actually did ask specific questions of where I went camping. Luckily my buddy took some pictures of the wide roads and the out houses! At least I had evidence that I didn't try to take boon docking to a whole other level!

***Update***
Lippert did look at the trailer and the parts are supposed to arrive by Monday. I am praying that I get my trailer back by friday of next week.

laidback · 02-07-2013, 05:02 PM

What parts are they going to replace, how are they going to do it? Make sure you check it real good after repair. Lippert tried to fix mine said they did but when the dealer tried to bring it out of the shop it didn't make it.

Escs36 · 02-07-2013, 05:55 PM

This being a travel trailer the fix is quite simple. I believe the A-frame is being fabricated off-site. The are a replacing the A-Frame and the front most cross member which should be a very simple line up and weld.

I will be checking their work thoroughly and I am not afraid to point out their flaws. My expectation is that I will probably not pick up the trailer on the first try. I just wish I had the tooling to check level and squareness while I investigate their work. I don't think too highly of technicians that work on my equipment.

Perfect example is I had a Fantastic Fan installed as part of the deal. The morons wired the power source off the lights meaning the fan only works with lights on. I am the type of person to fix it myself. They were obviously not smart enough to wire correctly to begin with. I suppose it's easy to tap into the wire 12" inches away rather than fishing a power source from somewhere else.

Escs36 · 02-12-2013, 09:39 PM

Supposedly the welding was completed yesterday, Monday the 11th. The service adviser is hoping to finish by the end of the week. Its been so long now, but I think this is week #8. I know I have made 2 payments...such a joke!

I seriously have a bad taste in my mouth for Keystone, Lippert and the repair place. 8 weeks is simply unacceptable for such a simple fix. One week for tear down, one week for warranty paper trail, and one week for repairs seems fair, logical and reasonable to somebody who bought their product. I regret buying a Keystone. I know I am not the only one, but I sure feel like I have been hung out to dry.

**JRTJH** · 02-13-2013, 09:52 AM

Hopefully, once you get your trailer back and are able to use it for what you bought it to do, it will take some of the "sting" out of this past few weeks. What happened to you with Keystone could have easily happened with any other manufacturer who uses Lippert frames under their trailers.

Try to keep a focus on why you bought the trailer in the first place, making good memories, and look forward, not back. When I was upset and angry, my dad used to ask me what was the "crisis" this time last year. Many times I couldn't remember even if there was a "problem" a year ago on the same day... Just goes to prove that with time, most "issues" tend to mellow and not be as big as they are in the present.

When you're using your RV again, without problems, I'm pretty sure the joy it brings will offset the bitterness you now have.

davidjsimons · 02-13-2013, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Hopefully, once you get your trailer back and are able to use it for what you bought it to do, it will take some of the "sting" out of this past few weeks. What happened to you with Keystone could have easily happened with any other manufacturer who uses Lippert frames under their trailers.

Try to keep a focus on why you bought the trailer in the first place, making good memories, and look forward, not back. When I was upset and angry, my dad used to ask me what was the "crisis" this time last year. Many times I couldn't remember even if there was a "problem" a year ago on the same day... Just goes to prove that with time, most "issues" tend to mellow and not be as big as they are in the present.

When you're using your RV again, without problems, I'm pretty sure the joy it brings will offset the bitterness you now have.

Amen! I always say that once all of that time is behind you, it no longer matters. Enjoy the road ahead.

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laidback · 02-13-2013, 04:04 PM

Seems like eight weeks is the magic number. My problems were solved in eight weeks. That was 2yrs ago and like the others said I don't even think about anymore.

Escs36 · 02-13-2013, 04:44 PM

That is genius! Your father is a wise man! Thank you for that and you are absolutely right about everything you said.

Escs36 · 02-14-2013, 10:58 AM

Service adviser called today and said something was not welded. Welder has to come back on monday. I am now looking at the 9th week. Everybody reading this should avoid Mike Thompson RV in Fountain Valley. My disgust is growing like a virus.

Escs36 · 02-19-2013, 09:26 PM

Keystone owners relation girl said that Keystone will reimburse me for one month payment. I could not be happier with that especially since I did not request that or have to fight for that. I think that is very resonable.

I expressed my frustration, disgust, and anger towards Keystone, Lippert and Mike Thompson RV for taking an extraordinary amount of time for such a simple repair in professional manner. Professionalism payed off on this one so far.

My service adviser said the forgotten welding was completed but did not have a service bay yet to finish assembly. I doubt I will have it by the weeks end.

The buying experience and service experience with Mike Thompson RV in Fountain Valley, CA has been horrid. I will never buy an RV from them again or have any type of warranty work done by them. The sales team were hounds by calling me several times a day before I signed on the bottom line and the service department is impossible to get a hold of. Thumbs down for this company.

laidback · 02-20-2013, 05:41 PM

Glad to see all is almost over for you, and the end result is that evrything worked out in the end.

IdahoSRT10 · 02-26-2013, 07:19 AM

Any news? It's been another week.

Escs36 · 02-27-2013, 06:22 PM

Finally! Trailer was done yesterday and picked it up today. Craftsmanship looks excellent, but I am a little disappointed they did not detail it! The extra delay of a few days was because Lippert took the scissor jacks when they removed all the bent metal. Service advisor had to order a new set and install this week.

Service manager made a comment about using the weight distribution system while off road. He referenced that Keystone felt that the sway bars contributed to the failure. I personally can not grasp that concept but I will not use my equilizer system for the first few trips. Considering my truck is a bagged dually, I actually do not need the system. I only got it as a safety precaution while traveling through the high winded deserts of Southern California. I personally chose equilizer because of the 4 way sway control. Without it the set up is a little twitchy and solid as a rock with it. If I feel it is unsafe without, I will most definitely pull over and rig the distribution set up.

I have not received my check from Keystone yet for the single payment reimbursement.

Thank you everybody for your thoughts, ideas and opinions. This has been a frustrating event but it is over and will probably be forgotten very soon. Funny how present time issues can overwhelm a persons psyche and be forgotten so quickly!

davidjsimons · 02-28-2013, 12:09 AM

All that time behind you almost seems unthinkable now. Focus on what lies ahead and enjoy life.

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**JRTJH** · 02-28-2013, 08:09 AM

escs36,

Glad you got your RV back home. Now it's just use it and enjoy it to the max.

Did you see any evidence that Lippert did any reinforcement or other type modifications to the chassis, or is it simply rebuilt with straight parts? Just curious about what they did under there so you don't have a "repeat performance"

Escs36 · 03-05-2013, 08:54 PM

I have had very little time to investigate. I see absolutely no difference in construction. Today I noticed something very troubling. It appears that the body is bolted down with 3/8 bolts facing the ground with nuts. The very front 2 appear to not even have nuts on them. Are you flipping kidding me? I suppose I could screw on a couple non-locking nuts and snug them with lock tight. How on earth would you tighten them with no access to the head of the bolt? Take the trailer apart again?

Trailer is already rusting at every new weld. The welding is decent, but not quite professional. I personally could weld just as good, maybe better. The welds have pits that did not get painted and that where the rust has begun. The A-frame was built with 1/8" thick 2"x6" box tubing. I think it's plenty strong, but I ran a couple self tapping screws to mount a small ammo box and the material is very soft.

I have mixed emotions now. Hotels seem like a better option than than these can of worms waiting to unravel.

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