Open Range 5th Wheel... Help Please !!!

[Navy man mac]

Hello Folks, This is my FIRST POST so please bare with me. I hope I have the correct forum area for doing this post. The wife and myself bought a new Open Range 35ft 5th wheel RV December 2011. We have had issues past discription from, Body/Frame seperation twice, B/R wheel throwing greese, Control panel shorted out twice !!... Water heater pressure relief vavle spuing water due to PC Board that regulates temp, Shorted. I could go on and on but my reason for posting is this.
The Lemon Law Attornys we inquired into for help, told us that going after Open Range with a case would depend on the language of our Towable Transferable Limited Warranty !!......... Can anybody help in this area ?? We where not sure what to look for in the warranty ( 25} Pages long. And the Attornys have not responded back to us as of this post.
I'am so disappointed with both OR and the Dealer who sold the limon to us. The dealer has stood in front of us and many times and flat out lyed. So sorry to have to make this a sad comment, But can anybody inform us as to what can we do next in the effort to make an arbitration and settle our costly loss. Thank you in advance: Navy Mac .....................

[partsman01]

Pretty good buying a unit in December 2011 when we are only in Sept 2011!!!

"The wife and myself bought a new Open Range 35ft 5th wheel RV December 2011. "

[Stillwater]

Quote:

Originally Posted by partsman01 Pretty good buying a unit in December 2011 when we are only in Sept 2011!!! "The wife and myself bought a new Open Range 35ft 5th wheel RV December 2011. "

The OP is asking for advice, not this kind of response. Big deal he made a small error in his question which didn't alter the content. The rest of the world probably saw it for what it was, a simple mistake. This is the kind of response that makes people go away and not bother to come back to the forum. Hope this isn't the case with the OP

[RichR]

Navy Man-Where do you reside?State laws vary from state to state.Some state have laws to protect consumers and some don't.

[Navy man mac]

OK Sorry for those who choose to criticize my post. We bought it new December 2010. We purchased the couch in Oregon. We looked for a Limon Law Attorny over the net and found one that responded by telling us in order to have a case, It depends on what the warranty reads. The Attornys have not responded back after telling us about the language in the warranty. So my question to the forum is, What should we be looking for in our warranty that would allow us to go after OR ? Open Range keeps telling us each time the couch goes back to the dealer that they will repair the problem but they wont refund our money or give us another unit. What can one do after the couch you loved and bought to spend quality time in after retiring, Just to find out we can't even go out of State with this rig, Due to constant issues. The list is way to long to post and you would not belive it if I did post.For those who care to respond with GOOD ADVICE , I thank you in advance Navy Man.

[Paul R. Haller]

Navy man, To this point I have never heard of a sucsessful attempt to go after a RV co under the lemon law. The laws that apply to autos do not apply to an RV. Simply read about all the frame issues on this and other RV forums. This would never happen if it were a car or light truck.

That said my attack would be to make it my mission in life to hound the dealership who sold you the trailer. Call every day, send letters, and contact the state attourny general and file a complaint. Take in the trailer and say it stays on their lot until all issues get fixed and make it stick. Be in their face every day 3 times a day. Sh!t runs downhill. Call the owner every day twice a day until he forces the service manager to get you off his back. It wont be fun or pretty and if you are worried about loosing the dealership as friends, don't be. You dont want them over for dinner anyway. You just want your trailer fixed so you can enjoy it. Write the manufacaturer often and stay with it. Do they have a customer service # ? If yes, call right after you call the dealership and speak to the supervisor. If that doesn't work call the plant find out who is the owner. Call him.

After 2 months of hearing from you 3 times a day they will finally realize you aren't going away.

Honestly, most people just give up ater they lose a fight. Just get back up and coniser it a battle but continue the war. If that doesnt work consider a picket in front of the dealership. That is still a right in the US and often it works. Just dont impede clients from going in and do not set foot on the property. Stay on the sidewalk. Be as persistant and have a deamenor as confrontational as a badger. Be polite but never back down.
Good luck and keep us posted as to your triumph.
-Paul R. Haller-

[Navy man mac]

[QUOTE=Paul R. Haller;966653]Navy man, To this point I have never heard of a sucsessful attempt to go after a RV co under the lemon law. The laws that apply to autos do not apply to an RV. Simply read about all the frame issues on this and other RV forums. This would never happen if it were a car or light truck.

That said my attack would be to make it my mission in life to hound the dealership who sold you the trailer. Call every day, send letters, and contact the state attourny general and file a complaint. Take in the trailer and say it stays on their lot until all issues get fixed and make it stick. Be in their face every day 3 times a day. Sh!t runs downhill. Call the owner every day twice a day until he forces the service manager to get you off his back. It wont be fun or pretty and if you are worried about loosing the dealership as friends, don't be. You dont want them over for dinner anyway. You just want your trailer fixed so you can enjoy it. Write the manufacaturer often and stay with it. Do they have a customer service # ? If yes, call right after you call the dealership and speak to the supervisor. If that doesn't work call the plant find out who is the owner. Call him.
Paul, Thank you so much for your interesting and informative reply. Contacting the State Attornays Office will be our next move. I happen to be a Vietnam Veteran who knows what fighting is about. Wish I had a bundle of money, I would drive this peace of .... to the Manifacture, If only it would last that long, And I would set it on fire in front of the folks who make there money off people who still have some faith in the American way!!
Anyway, Thank you again, I will do just what you suggested. Regards: William MacKenzie Navy Man.

[sdennislee]

Take a look at this link RV Lemon Law

..."The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a federal law that provides protection to buyers of products that cost $25 or more and come with a written warranty. This law applies to any product you buy that does not perform as it should, including mobile homes and travel trailers."...

Let us know how you make out.

[KIX]

I think to force a manufacturer to "buy back" you must have first allowed them to repair the defective items. Again, I think, in Florida, you must allow them three attempts to fix each defective item or part. There are some other requirements as to time allotted to repair and what may be determined to be a safety related defect vs. a non-safety related problem. As someone said already Lemon Laws are State laws and every State is not the same.
You may want to check with an attorney that will offer his services on a contingency basis...i.e he wins his fee from Open Range and you don't pay his fees. If your case is good enough some "ambulance chaser" will take it.

[JudyH]

I believe you may have to resort to hanging a banner or sign from the street side of your RV and driving past the dealer at the times of day when they are busiest. Or just using some of that white stuff they use on windows for advertising, and write on your windows about how unresponsive the dealer is after sale. If they think you are causing them to lose sales by being Truthful, maybe they will help you. Good Luck!

[amxpress]

What exactly does OR say when these concerns were brought to their attention? Sorry to hear about your problems.

[toadswife]

I'd try the bbb, especially if u are military. We have had all our disputes settled thru them. There is a place specifically for military on their website.

[bigmichael]

As said before, I generally think that, unfortunately, there is very little that can be done as long as the manufacturer is able to say they are willing to fix the problems if you bring the unit into the dealer for repair.

The problem I have seen others have with this is that it can mean your unit is out of service for signifcant periods of times, or lots of time and money back and forth for repeated repairs, or both. But generally, as long as the problems occur while under warranty, and the manufacture is saying they will work to correct them, your usually stuck. If you refuse to bring it in for the required service, they win by default.

Document every call, keep every email, every record of every problem, names and dates of who you talked with and what you were told to do. If the problem is simply unable to be corrected so that the unit performs as it is reasonably expected to do, then you may have a course of action.

The downside of all this is as I mentioned, not only the hassle, the time, the money etc you invest in getting it fixed. And it does nothing for the fact that you may have by now lost any confidence that you can trust your coach in the future. But if you fail to give them the repeated opportunities to fix it as long as they say they will, your likely to have all the same frustrations, with no avenue of recourse. GOOD LUCK!

[rrray]

What a bummer. A lot of good advice given. I think the picket idea may be effective but not sure I would do that as long as they are working with you and making repairs. Turning hostile may give them an excuse to refuse service. Now, if they are giving you the cold shoulder, delays for no good reason; see owner and explain in person. If then no satisfaction, by all means picket, embarrass in any way to get their attention. It's all about $$. AND - document, documnet, document.

I did not know the Lemon Laws do not apply to RV's. The states need to craft that to the RV industry. Where are the Consumer Protection folks ?