Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Travel Trailers: Coachmen Viking problem & correction

Print | Close

Topic: Coachmen Viking problem & correction

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 04/27/17 01:01pm

Update: see end of post

I could barely get my 30Amp cord stowed on my brand new 2017 Coachmen Viking 21RD. I decided to pull the sofa out to see what the problem was. Pretty clear this stupid little box is too small for a 30' cord.
[image]

There was also this sloppy job of getting the wires through the wall.
[image]

I got the box unscrewed and ripped apart and started to make room for a larger compartment for my cord. That is when I saw this!
[image]

Obviously someone made a boo-boo and just swapped the polarity of the wires right at the panel. You've got to be kidding me! In the factory a fuse blows so they clip the wires and swap them around to fix it. Terrible! [emoticon]

I go to the switch bank up front and pull it out and find another example. [emoticon]

I pull a few lights down since this is the ceiling light circuit. Most of them have black wires so they are switched at the switch bank. Even after I clipped the wires at the switch bank the orange/white wire at the fuse panel was still going to ground. Gammit!

I've been around long enough to know this could easily turn into a giant goose hunt. Pull the fridge access: nothing. Remove cover on frame junction box near tongue: nope, not there. Pull out radio: not there either but something does look wrong. I'll get back to that.

Finally I spot the likely culprit; the amber light outside the door. The trailer does have aluminum siding so if that is wired backwards the hot side would be grounded. Sure enough someone working at Coachmen wired the outside light backwards.
[image]

On an interior light like this it wouldn't matter because it would be screwed to a cabinet. Since it was on the outside the automotive socket sent the orange/white wire to ground through the aluminum siding. That would cause the fuse to blow when orange/white is hooked to power at fuse box.

I switch the wires so they are correct on the outside light, the switch bank, and the fuse panel. No more blown fuse. I'm so impressed with myself [emoticon]

Wait; now the light in the bathroom and the light under the radio don't work. [emoticon]

I thought it was weird the way that light was wired in there. I pull it down and the polarity is reversed. 12V LEDs won't work if the polarity is backwards. Fix the polarity on the two non-working lights and now everything is good.

Now doing my best Peter Faulk here is what happened:
1 Someone at Coachmen wired that outside light backwards sending the power feed to ground through the aluminum siding.

2 Everything else was wired correctly. I'll explain how I know that in a minute.

3 When the fuse was put in it kept blowing because it was going right to ground. Some genius clipped the wires and reversed the polarity of the circuit now the fuse won't blow.

4 The ceiling lights now wouldn't work so the polarity was switched at the switch bank to get the ceiling lights working.

5 Now the light under the radio and the bathroom light won't work because their polarity is backwards. They get pulled down and the wires switched. I know they came down because when I pulled them there was a second set of holes for the screws at each light. The Jagoff couldn't even be bothered to try and line up the holes after he just butchered the lighting circuit.

I can't imagine that just one guy at Coachmen did this. At some point somebody had to say 'Hey bill, why aren't these lights working?"

There are wiring standards for a reason and it is completely unacceptable that somebody butchered this wiring so badly. Six hours of my day spent chasing down and fixing something that never should have happened. Sure a simple mistake like wiring the outside light backwards can happen. But once that fuse blew on the line they should have traced the problem down and fixed it properly instead of butchering the entire lighting circuit.

Rant off.

Update:
I had some meaningful communication back & forth with the factory. I was pleasantly surprised at how responsive they were to the consumer. Of course they had to look into the situation and get more information from me and from the people at the factory. When all was said & done they are going to make things right by me.

For the price I paid and the features of the camper I'm still satisfied.

* This post was edited 05/13/17 11:39am by RAMwoodworks *

2017 Coachmen Viking 21RD, 2015 Yukon XL 5.3
If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy, Red Green

Posted By: DutchmenSport on 04/27/17 01:30pm

You deserve first prize for "rant of the day."

Look at it this way ... you had fun tracking it all down,.... didn't you? Now be honest.... you did.... didn't you?

Posted By: Guy Roan on 04/27/17 02:00pm

They are making them like garbage !

I am not sure if you read my posts about our new Forest river lemon, but we have had seven different pipes come apart at their connections at seven different times, and it is not our pressure.

Guy

Posted By: mbutts on 04/27/17 02:37pm

I've been on two factory tours (Thor and Forest River). Believe me, you do not want to see inside the sausage factory!

Mike Butts
DW+DD+DS+Poodles
2017 Forest River Forester 3011DS (first MH!)
Previously 1999 Coleman Santa Fe pop-up, 2007 Kodiak 23SS hybrid, 2013 Sunset Trail 29SS travel trailer

Posted By: NYCgrrl on 04/27/17 03:36pm

Large radius hole for 5-6 wires whilst an entire bundle is 'messed" through the splitting wall? [emoticon]

Gadang.

On the bright side you can now close up that overly large rodent entry point with ease.
Bizarre on soooo many levels.

Posted By: ScottG on 04/27/17 03:58pm

Great first post!
Keep em coming.

Posted By: colliehauler on 04/27/17 04:26pm

Welcome to the world of poor constructed RV'S. Welcome to the forum as well.

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 04/27/17 06:23pm

ScottG wrote:

Great first post!
Keep em coming.

Thanks but my first post was few years back.

Water damage

Posted By: seaeagle2 on 04/27/17 07:31pm

RAMwoodworks wrote:

ScottG wrote:

Great first post!
Keep em coming.

Thanks but my first post was few years back.

Water damage

"Something" happened to the history. It shows you have been a member in 2015, and have 46 posts, but none of them show.... I couldn't log onto the site for a few days, and now it seems like previous history of older posts is all deleted....

2014 F 250 Gasser
2019 Outdoors RV 21RD
"one life, don't blow it", Kona Brewing
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life there'd be a shortage of fishing poles" Doug Larson

Posted By: RSD559 on 04/27/17 07:47pm

You're not supposed to go nosing around in places screwed shut! You're lucky you didn't find someone's lunch trash in there as well. Actually, that's one of the first things I do when I get a new trailer. Find out what's hidden in all of the sealed compartments. Can't wait to get my new trailer home and find out what's under the bottom bunk. About 2/3 of it is sealed up. Power and water both come in the back, so that's probably what it is. Don't know about power and water in the same compartment, though.

2020 Torque T314 Toy Hauler Travel Trailer- 38' tip to tip.
2015 F-350 6.7L Diesel, SRW.
2021 Can Am Defender 6 seater. Barely fits in the toy hauler!

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 04/27/17 07:48pm

DutchmenSport wrote:

You deserve first prize for "rant of the day."

Look at it this way ... you had fun tracking it all down,.... didn't you? Now be honest.... you did.... didn't you?

Yeah I would have much rather spent the day chasing down miswired fixtures in a new camper instead of relaxing on the couch since the girls were out shopping today.

Posted By: afidel on 04/27/17 07:53pm

NYCgrrl wrote:

Large radius hole for 5-6 wires whilst an entire bundle is 'messed" through the splitting wall? [emoticon]

Gadang.

On the bright side you can now close up that overly large rodent entry point with ease.
Bizarre on soooo many levels.

Speaking of rodent holes, there's no way that I would enlarge the hole, instead I'd use a male twist receptacle like this and store the cable in my exterior storage (in fact it's one of the reasons I loved the 2017 model of my trailer over the 2016, KZ changed from pull out cable to mouse proof solid plate).

2019 Dutchman Kodiak 293RLSL
2015 GMC 1500 Sierra 4x4 5.3 3.42 full bed
Equalizer 10k WDH

Posted By: Camper G on 04/27/17 07:56pm

Thanks for sharing. That is really poor workmanship, but par for the course from what i understand these days. All that money on a new rig and you get workmanship like that. No good.

2017 Dodge Ram 2500 HD, 4x4, CCSB, 6.4L HEMI, Snow Chief, tow package.,1989 Skyline Layton model 75-2251.

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 04/27/17 08:08pm

RSD559 wrote:

When I started tearing into it SWMBO said, "You're just like a dog, you have to mark your territory".

She really thought I was crazy the day I brought home my brand spanking new pickup. Pulled in the driveway, yanked the drivers seat out, and took an angle grinder to it. No power seats so I had to raise the front of the seat 2" with blocks of wood.

Funny how she didn't complain when I added the three shelves she wanted in the cabinets... [emoticon]

Posted By: Bmach on 04/27/17 10:20pm

Why did you not have the dealer fix it?

Posted By: wowens79 on 04/28/17 03:57am

Bmach wrote:

Why did you not have the dealer fix it?

He probably did not want to leave it at the dealer for 6 months, the. Go pick it up to find out they didn't fix it.

Sometimes it's easier to do it right yourself than to take it to the dealer.

2022 Ford F-350 7.3l
2002 Chevy Silverado 1500HD 6.0l 268k miles (retired)
2016 Heritage Glen 29BH
2003 Flagstaff 228D Pop Up

Posted By: mike-s on 04/28/17 06:01am

Bmach wrote:

Why did you not have the dealer fix it?

Good luck convincing the dealer that there's an electrical problem, when everything electrical is working fine. Unless the swap of colors violates the ANSI/RVIA Low Voltage System Standard (and the trailer bears an RVIA sticker), what is the actionable fault?

Posted By: rockhillmanor on 04/28/17 06:22am

I would pack up all your pictures and send it off to their corporate office, AND the district office where your coach was built.

You might not net any results your self but I'd sure want to let the big guys know about the quality work or lack there of that is going on in their manufacturing. Just saying.

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 04/28/17 07:01am

Bmach wrote:

Why did you not have the dealer fix it?

Surely you must be kidding.

Posted By: mayorb on 04/28/17 07:22am

you know that the RV industry is in a boom now. Wouldn't it be great if a company slowed down and hand craft RVs. Ones that they would stand behind for five years. They would cost more, would we buy them? Anyway as if you don't know this already QC is not high own anybody's list, from production to sales, in this industry. Maybe there is idea to start a new company built on that.

Mayor

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 04/28/17 08:11am

rockhillmanor wrote:

I just emailed their service rep and the sales rep for their travel trailer division. We'll see if I get an actual reply or the standard 'Sorry you bothered me' response.

Posted By: Downwindtracker2 on 04/28/17 10:14am

It's your trailer, the last thing you want to do is trust a dealer with it. Your next job is to pull all the exterior trim and replace the grey quick and easy to use caulking tape with something that works ,like Proflex. You do that and it will last 20 years or more instead of the payment term.

Adventure before dementia

Posted By: travelnutz on 04/28/17 10:20am

Says something about Coachmen thinking, designs, and build. I can easily and have pushed in 75 feet (3 lengths) of 30 amp shore cord including the adapters on the end into the cord storage box built in to our 29' Carriage Carrilite 5th wheel. 75 feet isn't even a tight fit either. Never tried 100 feet but I think I will give it a try now.

Having multiple RV's always means having many 25' 30 amp extension cords and even have a 25' and a 50' 50 amp RV extension cords too. All were very cheap years ago but very expensive today and they don't wear out with normal use. The 50 amp really comes in handy when I need to take the Lincoln 225 amp stick welder outside to make or repair something. The 30 amp extensions are a blessing for my wire welders when used outside too. They aren't only good for RV's!

A superb CC LB 4X4, GM HD Diesel, airbags, Rancho's, lots more
Lance Legend TC 11' 4", loaded including 3400 PP generator and my deluxe 2' X 7' rear porch
29 ft Carriage Carri-lite 5'er - a specially built gem
A like new '07 Sunline Solaris 26' TT

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 04/28/17 11:34am

RAMwoodworks wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:

I just emailed their service rep and the sales rep for their travel trailer division. We'll see if I get an actual reply or the standard 'Sorry you bothered me' response.

Well I did receive a legitimate response from Coachmen about 30 minutes after I emailed them.

Stay tuned.

Posted By: RAMwoodworks on 05/05/17 07:59am

RAMwoodworks wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:

I just emailed their service rep and the sales rep for their travel trailer division. We'll see if I get an actual reply or the standard 'Sorry you bothered me' response.

Well I did receive a legitimate response from Coachmen about 30 minutes after I emailed them.

Stay tuned.

Well its been a week and no further communication from the Travel Trailer division. Dissapointing [emoticon]

Anyone have names or contact info further up the Forest River chain of command?

update: turns out the guy I was waiting to hear from was on vacation. See my update at the end of original post

* This post was edited 05/13/17 11:43am by RAMwoodworks *

Posted By: danimal53 on 05/05/17 11:36am

picking up a brand new coachmen at the dealer, after they had prepped and I was ready to drive off, i checked the lights. the right side turn signal and brake light didn't work. dealer pulled the lights off, and found staples going thru the wiring! Assuming it came that way from the factory, glad they found it before I left.

2010 Jeep Liberty Sport 4x4
2016 Coachman Clipper 17BH

Posted By: rbpru on 05/05/17 01:33pm

I have a 2010 Dutchmen and it looks the same behind the scenes. I figured they use a straight claw hammer to drill the electric wire holes in the wall.

I suspect this in nothing new, in an industry that pounds out 400,000 TT and 5vers every year to a predetermined market price point.

If it works, it is shipped seems to be the main idea.

Twenty six foot 2010 Dutchmen Lite pulled with a 2011 EcoBoost F-150 4x4.

Just right for Grandpa, Grandma and the dog.

Posted By: lillyputz on 05/06/17 07:08am

That's why we need regulations like the auto industry. But people continue to buy there junk.

Lillyputz

Two beagles. Lilly & Zuri

Posted By: rbpru on 05/06/17 08:02am

Just what are you going to regulate?

Safety is the only concern and "ugly looking" does not mean unsafe.

Dirty, dusty, flimsy, shoddy etc. are cosmetic features and unless they create a safety issue there is no reason to change unless the consumer insist on it.

The track record shows the vast majority of TT owners think only of price.

Posted By: mikakuja on 05/06/17 10:26am

Looks like the same guy that wired my previous MPG wired yours..... Absolutely unacceptable!!! Glad you got it all fixed, I did the same thing and fixed ours as well. At least I knew it was right after it was done.
On the flip side, our new Surveyor must have had an OCD electrician wiring it, it's absolutely perfect.... Very impressed with the quality...

Posted By: NYCgrrl on 05/06/17 12:27pm

RAMwoodworks wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:

I just emailed their service rep and the sales rep for their travel trailer division. We'll see if I get an actual reply or the standard 'Sorry you bothered me' response.

Well I did receive a legitimate response from Coachmen about 30 minutes after I emailed them.

Stay tuned.

Well its been a week and no further communication from the Travel Trailer division. Dissapointing [emoticon]

Anyone have names or contact info further up the Forest River chain of command?

Read this article the other day and thought of your problem. Maybe it'll help:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/your-........ed.html&eventName=Watching-article-click

Posted By: lillyputz on 05/06/17 12:36pm

rbpru wrote:

That's why the RV industry has only about 15% return customers that buy new. Kind of like the tobacco companies. They've got to recruit the newbie's, the older ones have wised up!

Posted By: drsteve on 05/06/17 12:53pm

D***, I just ordered a new Coachmen...

This stuff is not hard to fix. I worked in the auto industry for many years, and all it takes is two things.

First, workers need to be properly trained, which is relatively easy. Second, you need tight quality control standards and inspectors who have the authority to prevent junk from going out the door. That's the hard part, when supervisors are judged by the number of units finished on their shift.

2006 Silverado 1500HD Crew Cab 2WD 6.0L 3.73 8600 GVWR
2018 Coachmen Catalina Legacy Edition 223RBS
1991 Palomino Filly PUP

Posted By: rbpru on 05/06/17 01:06pm

You will get no argument from me on what the RV industry should do, I cringe when I see some of the short cuts that were taken.

I have also had to repairs some of those joins and assemblies that did not hold up in the 30,000 miles I put on it.

I bought a 3 year old TT that did not show much wear because the new ones
depreciate so fast. Also I figured all the "new trailer" issues were probably repaired by the original owner.

Lillyputz is correct; I would be hard put to look at a new TT.

I suppose it is mostly a matter of what you pay for, there are brands with better reputations and the higher costs needed to build in improved quality.

Posted By: Ductape Dave on 05/07/17 08:21am

You have to accept the way the RV industry is, as one dealer told us they build them broken and we get stuck fixing them.

Back in 2012 I bought a new class C, after 3 trips back to the factory and 40 hours of my own labor repairing things and 5 pages of defects, I called it quits and sold it.

Found out my unit was the last one made before Thanksgiving break at the factory, and they certainly took many breaks! If your handy it will not be so bad to fix the minor things and move on.

2016 Coachmen Clipper 17BH
2016 Toyota 4Runner SR5

Posted By: westend on 05/07/17 09:43am

I guess I've got a different story and a different RV buying experience than most. I went into buying a travel trailer knowing I would gut it out and restore it with a few criteria that I wished to have: a good frame, adequate running gear, the best insulation possible in the spaces available, replacement of typical RV appliances, and ability to camp away from campgrounds.

Since I knew I wouldn't have the heart to bust up a newer, mostly usable trailer, that eliminated a lot of potential choices, nothing new and nothing used in really good shape. My search started leading back in time as what I found was that vintage trailers had a lot better build quality than the newer ones. I lay this off to, mostly, the cost of materials when built and the design aspects of that age.

What I ended up with is the Starcraft in my signature line, a 1971. It has a massive fully boxed frame, torsion axles with shock absorbers, and 15" tires. The condition was poor, leaks from the roof infiltrating the wall framing and missing wheel wells from flat tires. On the drivers side, from the interior, I could stick my arm through the wall siding and also see the road through the non-existent wheel well. A perfect candidate and the price reflected the condition.

The restoration cost right around $5K, including the solar system and battery upgrades. I also dedicated almost six months of full-time work. Fortunately, my work load is mostly seasonal and I work for myself. It also helps to have nearly every construction tool needed and a few odds and ends laying around. We could discuss skill levels but the average homeowner that can build a dog house, could accomplish the same.

I just thought I'd stick my nose into this thread to relate that the RV industry hasn't always built lemons and there is an alternative to purchasing new and expecting exceptional quality at retail prices.

'03 F-250 4x4 CC
'71 Starcraft Wanderstar -- The Cowboy/Hilton

Posted By: BulldawgFan on 05/08/17 08:44pm

RAMwoodworks wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:

I just emailed their service rep and the sales rep for their travel trailer division. We'll see if I get an actual reply or the standard 'Sorry you bothered me' response.

Well I did receive a legitimate response from Coachmen about 30 minutes after I emailed them.

Stay tuned.

Well its been a week and no further communication from the Travel Trailer division. Dissapointing [emoticon]

Anyone have names or contact info further up the Forest River chain of command?

Would you like for me to call Warren?

2018 Forest River FR3 30DS
2011 GMC Terrain (Toad #1)
1993 Jeep YJ (Toad #2)
1993 EZGO Marathon 48v

Print | Close