RE: Campers Factory Outlet in WI?

jawilson · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

Has anyone dealt with these people? They ve quoted me an almost too good to be true price on a Viking PU and I wanted to see if they were on the level or were just a bunch of sharks. Are they honest? Do they give you an orientation when you get your camper? Are they reliable?

For me it s a 1700 mile round trip, but if I can save $2000-$3000 on a camper it might be worth the 2 day trip and $400 in gas/meals/tolls.

brainpause · Mar 12, 2003, 08:32 AM

jawilsonI have never dealt with them personally, so take this with a grain of salt.

That company was spoken of several times on the old board, and, IIRC, not a single bad word was said about them. They do have great prices; I have checked out their website. There should be someone here who has actually dealt with them. Good luck!

Larry

chasd60 · Mar 12, 2003, 11:08 AM

jawilsonI drove from Maine to WI to buy my 2001 Viking Legend 2480ST and saved $1800. There was someone from NJ that drove out to buy his Viking also. Any issues I have had the local dealer would have taken care of but I dealt directly with Viking and performed my own warranty repairs (converter and velcro around the door frame.)
It was 1100 miles one way for me. My daughter and I drove out then headed to the Corvette Museum in KY and on to Myrtle Beach before we came back to Maine. This was during her spring vacation from school in April of 2001. I stayed 2 nights in the are of CFO just in case I had any issues (which was the first time I changed the converter, luckily I didn t get a Todd Engineering replacement the second time)

jawilson · Mar 12, 2003, 07:07 PM

chasd60

QuoteORIGINAL: chasd60

I drove from Maine to WI to buy my 2001 Viking Legend 2480ST and saved $1800.

So you ve actually been to CFO? What was it like? How did they treat you? Was your camper all prepped and ready to go? Were there any last minute " surprises" ? Did they take you on a walk through and show you how to use everything?

Am I to understand that you had a problem with a brand new camper? That s a bit scary. Why didn t CFO help you?

Tim5055 · Mar 12, 2003, 07:18 PM

jawilson

QuoteORIGINAL: jawilson
Am I to understand that you had a problem with a brand new camper? That s a bit scary. Why didn t CFO help you?

Viking, as does every other manufacturer makes use of a great deal of component parts manufacturered by others. These type of parts include refrigerators, furnaces, A/C units, fixtures and electrical converters to name a few of the parts used.

Todd Engineering was a manufacturer of converters which produced a string of bad units. So much so that Todd Engineering eventually went out of business because of it. Viking has taken the high road during these problems and backed their written warranty, even though they had to pay to buy a new brand of converter. IIRC CFO did help out Charlie while he was there.

Anyone buying from CFO will have to make a decision to work out repairs in one of several ways:

[ul]

Deal with CFO long distance (can be difficult just because of the distance)
Make friends with a local Viking dealer who wants the warranty repair dollars
Deal directly with Viking and do some of the repairs yourself

chasd60 · Mar 12, 2003, 07:44 PM

jawilsonSo you ve actually been to CFO?Yes in April of 2001
What was it like? As compared to ?? My first popup purchase but not my first look, was very pleasant
How did they treat you? They treated me very nicely. CFO is a family business... mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and the daughter that showed me the camper
Was your camper all prepped and ready to go?All prepped, washed and inside. We did a full set up and take down inside with all questions answered.
Were there any last minute " surprises" ?NONE
Did they take you on a walk through and show you how to use everything? Yes they did
Am I to understand that you had a problem with a brand new camper? Yes I did on day two, the converter fried in the middle of the night.
That s a bit scary. Why didn t CFO help you? CFO did help me. This was on Easter weekend and I went back on a Saturday morning, they offered to have the converter changed by 4PM. I am an electronics technician by trade with training in residential and industrial wiring so I told them I would change it myself if they didn t mind. That way I could be going down the road in 15 minutes. They agreed and I changed the converter in their parking lot. The converter worked fine even when Viking gave me a new one, I told the customer service rep at Viking that I was not comfortable with the Todd Engineering converter and it made a lot of electrical interference with my TVand radio. I got a new one in the mail at my house and changed it once again. I do have a Todd Engineering converter in my garage now, taking up space. I did the final request and change of the converter 11 months after I bought the camper with no questions asked.

The local Viking dealer had no qualms about making the repairs but I am qualified and capable and put more faith in my work than I do anyone elses. After a lot of time on the PUT board I find that an RV dealer is not like a car dealer. They want you to drop off your camper and pick it up when they get to it and fix it. It isn t like you can bring it and wait for it. I chose to do the work myself because it wouldn t be gone at all and I trust me!! Most people have problems with their camper in the summer when the RV dealers are real busy.

Tim explains the Todd Engineering issue pretty well. Check the Viking forum and Zerk goes into detail.

I have communicated with CFO since my purchase and may by a hybrid from them in the next year or two. Barry Webb and his family seem like real nice people.

jawilson · Mar 12, 2003, 08:24 PM

chasd60Thanks for all the info....

Gone-Camping · Mar 13, 2003, 10:40 PM

jawilsonI ve been shopping hybrids lately, and when I was at the dealer that had the Trail Cruiser, I mentioned CFO, that sales lady really cringed the moment I said it, she s heard of them! I ve requested pricing from CFO and see how well that balances against the local dealer. I ll drive to Wisconsin to pick it up if I can save $1500-2000 or so. It would made a great camping trip coming back with the new unit anyway, never been up there before!

tlhdoc · Mar 14, 2003, 10:35 PM

chasd60

QuoteORIGINAL: chasd60
After a lot of time on the PUT board I find that an RV dealer is not like a car dealer. They want you to drop off your camper and pick it up when they get to it and fix it. It isn t like you can bring it and wait for it.

I have made appointments at my PU dealer and have waited while they did work on it. I am about 35 miles from the dealer and I like to be able to bring it back home. Now that I work M-F I have dropped it off and picked it up a day or two later, but that is because I can t get the trailer there during their regular hours. They have also opened the service department on a Saturday when I had a trip pending and needed the plug on my TV rewired.

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