RE: What would you do?

[garym053]

 
Last October, I had a roof vent installed in my PU to see if it would releive some of the moisture & mildew problems we ve suffered from. I also asked them to clean and rewaterproof the canvas. It was folded down when I picked it up, of course, and I hadn t opened it until this past Thursday.
 When I opened it I found that there was a hole through the screen and plastic window about 6 or 8 inches to the left of the door as you are entering the camper. In addition there are stains all over the front bunkend, and waht appears to be mildew starting on the canvas portions of the front bunk end.
 Now here it is 5 or 6 months later and what do I do? Do I complain to the dealer? Is it likely to do any good? I doubt that he will do anything at this point!
 What would you do?

[popupcop]

 garym053
Yes, check with the dealer first.  He may see that it was his work that caused the problem or if not, may be able to help you a little with the cost of repair.  
 Do you have insurance on your PU.  Will your homeowners or renters insurance cover any of the loss?

[JemJen24]

 garym053
This is why it is soooo important to have a reputable dealer!  
 
 Yes, I would call him (or perhaps even grand him a face to face visit) and inform him of the damage.  State the fact that you have just now opened the camper for the first time since having it back from his shop.
 
 If he refuses to even " look"  at the damage, seek another dealer ASAP and then report this guy to the Better Business Bureau.  Perhaps there have been other charges filed.
 
 Good luck!
 
 J.

[champ521]

 JemJen24

This is why it is soooo important to have a reputable dealer!
 
 Yes, I would call him (or perhaps even grand him a face to face visit) and inform him of the damage. State the fact that you have just now opened the camper for the first time since having it back from his shop.

 I agree with JemJen24. If your dealer is worth a $#@!, he will hear you out and will work with you and offer a solution/fix. If not, it is a hard lesson learned and you get to tell everyone you know what a bad experience you had with them.

[Acts 2:38 girl]

 garym053
Hopefully your dealer will help you out.  However, because you didn t even open the camper and check it out after getting it back - he might say " prove it"  .  Was the hole a rip (like from the metal sliders) or maybe from mice?  I m sure he made notes of what stains/mildew were on there when you dropped it off, so at least he ll have a reference point.  You can also mention that you are a member of a pop-up camping board that gets hit ?x s per month, and will make sure you post any results you get!!  Word of mouth is a powerful thing! []

[mike4947]

 garym053
I hate to say this, but a PU isn t a play with it and forget it item. They take maintenance and not just trips to the dealer.
 We ve been spoiled as a culture by the current crop of automobiles where they just keep going with a few oil changes and a wash every so often.
 PU s aren t designed to do that. They re still in the 1950 s and like auto s of that era need a lot more TLC than today s do.
 Oldster s like me remember when you had to tune up a car at least once a year and if it got 3 years old you had to start touching up rust, not to mention getting under and finding the eleventy hundred grease fittings several times a year, belts & hoses that needed changing every 2-3 years, antifreeze that was good only for a year and tires with 20,000 mile lives.
 
 While you may have gotten the shaft from the dealer a lot of responsibilty lands on you as the owner. IMHO I treat my PU s like a would a pet. While I wouldn t bring it in the house and let it sleep on the foot of the bed, I also wouldn t just leave it chained to tree in the back yard except when I wanted to play with it.
 
 
 As for mildew there s no gauranteed " cure"  for mildew. Mildew needs three things to grow. Moisture, food, and " LACK"  of light.
 The food we can t do anything about because just dust in the air is enough to feed it. The other two we can.
 Moisture can be controlled by first never popping down with even a hint of wettness. Leave it up till it s bone dry. If it s humid buy yourself some " dampRid"  or silica desicant (available at marine stores or craft shops{they use it to dry flowers}]) It won t dry out a wet camper but it will keep a dry camper dry.
 As for light, that s obvious, pop it up occassionally. Anytime we work on it even if it doesn t require it we pop up. When I do the brakes and wheel bearing in the spring, and the occassional " let s clean it before we track dirt " OUT"  of it, the fall get it ready for winter weekend, and loading it up to go camping. Nicer to find problems in these cases than being several hundred miles away from home setting up for a weeks vacation and discovering the camper smells like mildew or a dead mouse.

[garym053]

 garym053
Mike, your reply is WAY off base here! and I take offense to the tone of it! I treat my pop-up better than anyone else I ve ever come across! As far as your comment about never closing wet- do you skip work and stay at a campground until the weather clears, the sun comes out and dries your camper? When I leave the campground, I pop it up as soon as I get home to air out, wet or not!
 I use damp rid in the winter, a plugged in dehumidifier in the summer, the tent material is professionally cleaned twice a year. The wheel bearings are checked Spring and Fall. The Zerks are greased every 30 days, all moving parts are lubricated every 30 days as well. Even the propane in the tank is used on my home grill over the winter so that each season starts with a fresh tank.
 Am I to assume that some jerk mechanic punching a hile in the side of my camper is my fault? That s what you imply! The plastic is puckered inwards at the puncture indicating that the object making it came from the outside towards the inside!
 I must also assume, by your reply that the chemical stains along the top of the bunkend is my fault as well! Give me a break!!!
 The dealership that worked on it was, I thought, reputable. And I know accidents happen and it would have been fine IF they had told me they put a small hole in the screen and vinyl window when I picked it up!

[mike4947]

 garym053
Sorry Gary if you took offense, I wasn t implying it was your fault; but you did leave it for quite a long time without popping it up.
 The wetness part was my fault; I forgot to add the " pop it up when you get home if it s even a bit"  (wet)
 The auto references where for the younger set that would have no idea what it was like to maintain a auto way back when. Not in reference to anything specific to our PU s.
 As for the dealer of course take it back. Shoddy workmanship is never acceptable. I ve found over the years even the best of dealers still have that nimrod that just barely does enough to keep his job and for some reason always ends up working on whatever I bring anywhere. I m to the age and health now where if I ve got the money I ll let some one else do the work, but I damn sure go ever it with a fine tooth comb when I get it back.
 One of my motto s has become; " in God we trust, check everyone else"
 
 
 

[garym053]

 garym053
I apologize Mike! Lack of sleep and stress, I guess! Go back in Hosp. for another sleep study tomorrow!
 You are right, I should have popped it up at the dealer s and checked it before hitching up! The reson I didn t pop it up once I brought it home is that here in Wintery Vermont, we ve had snow on the ground since November 9th! AND we STILL have snow on the ground in places in my yard! I gotta MOVE!
 Anyway, your advice WAS good advice and I m sorry I took it and reacted the way I did!