New Member & GD Owner: What to look for when taking delivery

[familytruckster4]

If you go to the Lippert website and find the training section you can find resources that will show you the correct way (not Youtube way) to retract the various types of slides manually.

I think the sloppy cutout work is a symptom of todays labor market. Its hard to get people to just show up and I dont think most companies have the luxury of being choosey. I am sure the dealer will throw the tech under the bus but who really knows why it was done that way, its easy to blame it on the tech but it could have easily been the service manager telling the tech to "just get it done" Having worked on a lot of vehicles I would say the liner should have been pulled out to avoid the damage but I have also been in situations where I have had to slap things back together because the boss is crawling up my back.

[Jlawles2]

NCW_Wander Unfortunately tech's (glorified parts changers) are given a time pay rate for installing hitches and such. If the job gets done faster, they make more money, if slower, they loose money as they get paid by the job not the hour. Also, dealerships just want things done as fast as possible and out the door, this usually leads to a lot of "hack" jobs even on critical stuff.

By the looks of the bracket, there needs to be an access point for the pull lever to release the ball, but by no means did it need to be that graphic of a job for that little handle.

[NCW_Wander]

familytruckster4
Jlawles2

I posted the photos in the TV channel here and someone actually pointed out a loose bolt. A quick crawl under the truck and I found seven loose bolts from the dealership's install. Several of them I easily turned with my thumb and forefinger. That's just what I could see at a glance. Who knows what else there is. Ford is going to look through it thoroughly on the 20th.

[rgilmore]

We found our preferred model, 297QB (2022 Transcend) in 3 locations. SD, Reno NV, and S.California. Since NV was closest to Eagle ID we chose NV. We asked for their best all cash amount and they accepted. We scheduled a pick up date a month out due to Covid restrictions. When we finally arrived, 7 hr. drive and a hotel stay there in Reno, we conducted our inspection. I found the following:

1. The slide out hand crank shaft slid right out into my hand. It had broken off. Not the crank handle, the actual shaft that the handle connects to behind the skirt down under. I reached under the skirt and pulled it and it slid right out. They welded it that day and it's back on.
2. Damage to the front curved area edge. Rock hit or highway debris. The couriers need to have better rock guard mud flaps or such.
3. The side window on the slide out was faulty from the factory. Why they even installed it is beyond me. The color coating on all four corners looked like it had been in a fire. Peeled and flaked off revealing the white poly frame underneath. By now I was upset realizing that I wasted a trip and that they had had this unit for weeks prior without fixing these things.
4. The metal skirt near the slide out edge was crushed and torn away like a forklift had hit it.
5. The slide out skirt metal was torn and bent.
6. Interior nail spots were not wiped or sanded. All nail spots had putty residue throughout. Solid build but sloppy finish.
7. Trim work not fully fastened.
8. The manual did not match our model. I since have chased down the correct manual.

Over the next month they fixed nearly all of it. The skirt is still damaged slightly but not noticeable. I reiterated many times that when they replace that window I did not want to see gobs of adhesive or sealant or permanent scrape marks where they removed the original.

I was very disappointed because I had such high hops for GD and was now faced with a second trip (another 300.00 with hotel, food, and gas) so I negotiated a rear view camera and large monitor screen out of the deal and they apologized profusely. I don't get the sense that they really want to see us again and the feeling is mutual, this is why I left their name off of this post. Nice people, sloppy work, sloppy product IMHO.
Would I buy another one from this manufacturer? Not sure at this point. We love ours but we've customized it slightly so it's "ours" (i.e. sleep number bed, ice maker, motion lighting throughout, etc.). The floor in the entry / kitchen area has what seems like soft spots. Bouncy, more than the rest of the floor.
We'll see how she holds up. She's under a "blanket" at the moment up on our family property nearby all snuggled in for winter. Let's see what we have waiting for us in the Spring.