RVs Northwest, Inc.

Review: It started when we were told all our extras we wanted will be added to our new 2014 Rv (like a outdoor shower, Tv, a box inside the unit was to be replaced, and an outdoor slide out 2 burner stove top). So after a week when we go to pick it up guess what 2 out of the four things were done. They then tell me the stove top is not available. Well guess what, out of my priorities that was my one must. Let me add this was all pre-approved by the office manager BEFORE the sale. I have seen plenty of rv's with this feature so I made it clear I wanted it to slide out and to be tied into my gas line so NO small propain bottle was needed. Needless to say it still is not done because my unit is not made to have it. I feel like I was just told what I wanted to hear for the sale. I feel like that alone is a breach of contract. They tell me to take the Rv home and enjoy it while they look into the stovetop. While I had the Rv in my possession (for 2days) we notice other things wrong like the plastic stripping around the outdoor kitchen is broken, there is a huge bulge on side of refrigerator, and the tail light was already out. We once again take it back in and they call us 3 days later to say the bulge is made while the trailer was "settling " and it is affecting even our slide out. They have to now send it out back to the manufacture to have them repair it as well as the stripping. I have spoke with the owner about a refund for what we put down on the unit. I just want to wash my hands of this HUGE headache and obviously a lemon of a unit. The owner says he cant take it back since it has only been since the 4th (when we signed papers) and it is already registered to us and it will than be a "used " unit. It is a "NEVER USED" lemon. He said he "might "be able to get us the same model to swap it out for only if the bank allows it. My concern is I have heard promises and "we will fix/ do it to make you happy "but yet NOTHING has changed. I can not trust their word and would like a refund of my deposit.Desired Settlement: I would like my deposit back of $2000.00 and they can have their "lemon unit "back

Business

Response:

[redacted] has every right to be upset about the original handling of her transaction with RVs Northwest. I had contacted her a week before the complaint was filed and had , what I thought, suggested an alternative that would make everyone happy. As it turns out, everyone IS now happy.

We look forward to having [redacted] and [redacted] as members of RV's Northwest's family and look forward helping them fulfill all of their RV dreams for many years to come.

Sincerely,

[redacted], President

RVs Northwest, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and I am VERY satisfied with our outcome. I feel RV Northwest listened and DID provide me with very good service. I will look forward to future business with them and [redacted]. I would now recommend them to others. I know things didn't start off well, but I'm glad to see a company step up and solve issues with their customers.

Regards,

We purchased a used travel trailer from RV Northwest in December. It was originally purchased new in October and returned in November. While doing the paperwork for the sale we were told that we needed to pay for new license plates and tabs. When we inquired why the original plates were not on the trailer we were informed that when the trailer was returned to them that the plates became their property and quickly brushed it over.
We received the new registration a couple of weeks ago and realized that it listed the original plate number on it. We went into RV Northwest last Saturday and were told they would call the DMV to find out why we had not received new plates and that they would call us by Monday at noon. No phone call on Monday. We called Tuesday morning and were told that the person that was supposed to call us was on vacation. They had us talk to the person that was in for her. We asked why the original plate number was on the registration and where are the original plates that should have been attached to the vehicle. She said she didn't know but would go and look for the plates. After several hours she called back and said she was so sorry but they couldn't find the plates.
We ended up having to go into the DMV ourselves and purchase plates and tabs.
I think they should have provided plates and tabs as they said they were doing at the time of sale and not giving us the run around the way they did. And all we get is sorry, it's your problem.

Review: Signed and put a deposit of $200.00 down on a camper. They sent my application in for a loan and approximately 5 days later they called and told me my loan was denied as I was already purchasing a trailer. I advised them that my son was paying for the trailer but my name was on the loan due to his personal issues with an exwife. They said they would submit it to another lending agency and see what happens. I said alright, they called back and said the loan looks good but it would be at a higher interest rate and longer term. I told them that was not good for someone my age and on a limited income and to cancel my application and to return my $200.00. After waiting for a time for them to send my money back, I was getting phone calls to sign another application, make an appointment to have my truck setup to haul a camper, ordering the necessary parts, receiving denial letters from lending companies, etc. During this time I had to replace my hot water heater and it costed me almost $1000.00 for labor, installation and water heater. I kept telling them I was not able to purchase the camper and to return my $200.00. When the parts department called to make an appointment, I told him not to order parts as I was not able to purchase the camper and he told me that no one told him. I then told [redacted] again that I could not afford the camper and to refund my $200.00. I was told that I would have to talk with [redacted] who was not available and she would get back to me. No phone call came. Then in April I received a letter from [redacted] Bank denying the application as submitted. I called RVs Northwest again and told them I could not afford to purchase the camper and to quit submitting my application to lending companies as all the denials would ruin my credit and to again refund my $200.00. Who ever I was talking to said they would relay the information and they would get back to me. Again no return phone call and refund of the $200.00.Desired Settlement: I want all of my $200.00 back.

Business

Response:

Thank you for forwarding this complaint. We haven't been able to get Mrs. [redacted] to return our calls so it is good for us to know now what her plans are.

I will resist the temptation to point out all the inacuracies in our customer's complaint. [redacted] had agreed to buy an RV from us. She then changed her mind. She'd also agreed to have us keep her deposit as partial payment towards specialty parts she had us order for her. Apparently she has now changed her mind about that as well.

A check for $200 from RVs Northwest will be mailed to her immediately.

Sincerely,

[redacted], President

RVs Northwest, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9576610, and find some of their response comments are not true, especially the one of not able to get ahold of me as I have a answering machine that picks up if I do not answer and also I told the service man not to order the parts as I was not going to purchase the camper. . The return of my $200.00 by them is a resolution to the complaint and is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: In early October 2014, I asked a salesman a RV Northwest if I could put a camper on my truck. He asked to see the truck and after looking at it said "A Ford F250 with 4 wheel drive - Sure. No problem. But I don't have any, so go to our location in Spokane Valley location." The salesman at RV Northwest in Spokane Valley told me once again that I would not have a problem putting an RV on my truck.

Acting on this premise, that I could safely install a camper, and assuming that the dealer would not sell me an unsafe vehicle, we - my wife and I - then proceed to purchase a new Arctic Fox "Wolf Creek" 2014 camper for my truck. We took delivery on October 7 and on October 10 we had an accident. In retrospect it was an accident waiting to happen. We did not know that at the time but it is now entirely clear that RV Northwest knew we had a safety problem, or reasonably should have known, as RV experts, that we were in fact negligently placed in danger by the condition of our truck, which in fact did not have proper suspension, stabilization, and tires and as a direct result of RV Nothwest's defective workmanship, an accident resulted.

On several occasions I asked the salesman, the service department, and the installer if there was anything that would improve the safety of my camper. I was told that I might want to have airbags installed, and I paid for the air bags to be installed, but was later told that the air bags could not be installed and would not work on my truck. We were told that the air bags were not required for my truck because the suspension was already improved, which is noted on the paper work for the sale of the camper. I was assured that I would not have a problem. "you've got a good suspension. It won't "squash out, said Service Agent.

After the accident, RV Northwest Service Personnel told me that "if they had seen the truck before this happened" they would have advise a torsion bar for the rear axle and told of several addition solutions to stabilizing the truck that would have prevented the accident. The RV Northwest owner told me that when they said I would not have a problem with the camper on my truck, they only meant that the truck was rated for the camper, and that it was my responsibility, once I accepted the camper,it was my responsibility to determine if the tires, the suspension, and shocks were safe.

The first problem we had was that the left and right turn signals were reversed and since we drove 25 miles before realizing the problem, we had to drive 25 miles back without signals. This happens often, RV Northwest told us, because there are so many systems for trucks. We wondered why they did not check the lights if they already recognize the problem, since they did not bother to check anything at all once the camper was on the truck.

An accident on the 3 day of camper travel caused major damage to the camper. The accident occurred on a dirt road that is rated for passenger vehicles leading to a National Forrest campground on which we did not anticipate any problem. As we crossed a small stream at slow speed the RV rocked violently from side to side, striking the driver's rear camper post on the ground and pulling the post a few inches in a backward direction as the truck continued to move forward. The damage to the camper includes deformation of the post foot plate, bending the post about 10 degrees, and damage to the camper shell at and near the junction of the left and back camper exterior surfaces. At the preset time the camper cannot be removed from the truck as we expected and will required not only removing and replacing the driver's side rear post but also removing the back of the RV and portions of the left side. Service personnel side this is not difficult but just takes a lot of time to repair.

After the accident we consulted with Les Schwabe Tires in Carson City. On their advice we installed air bags, new tires, and new shocks for $2600. After we made these improvements the truck was restored to the previous axle height, the truck no longer rocked from side to side violently, and we realized that we had been driving an unsafe vechicle without knowing it.

Perhaps, in retrospect, we should have recognized that it was not normal for the tires to sag in back (they were only 10 ply and we needed at least 14 ply), and that our shocks were old, and the truck raked from back to front at about 5 degrees.

With research we learned that the camper is in fact at or near the capacity of the truck and that the F250 does not have an anti-sway bar on the posterior axle that can stop side to side motion, which we would have installed at purchase if we had been properly advised in the first place.

Safety is always our first concern so we are disappointed to find that RV Northwest will not accept that they gave us bad advise and that negligence resulted in an accident that was avoidable, which they knew about, or which we could reasonably expect that they knew about as professionals. We relied on RV Northwest for technical advice and the result was a disaster for us.

To make matter's worse, the service man at RV Northwest who looked at our truck today, the one who could have made it right if he had seen the truck, said that the air bags which we installed for our safety are not correctly installed and will inevitably fail, and if this failure happens at high speed the truck will crash. Because of certain technical aspects, it does not appear at this point the truck can now be made safe in any way.

RV Northwest says we want them to take responsibility for our accident, and they absolutely deny they did anything wrong except reversed wiring on the signal lights.

We think it is clear that if we had taken possession of the camper and immediately wrecked in an accident caused by incorrect signals, the fault would be RV Northwest's.

RV Northwest gave us incomplete and incorrect information which was not sufficient to allow our camper to be used and operated safely. The accident, in our opinion, would not have occurred if we had installed proper safety equipment and we relied on the professions at RV Northwest to give us reliable advice on our purchase. Instead, it seems that RV Northwest all about selling RV s and has little concern about safety.

We were present when the camper was installed. There was no inspection of the truck after installation of the camper.

If RV Northwest had only bothered to check the vehicle on delivery, they would have prevented this problem.Desired Settlement: Since our truck cannot be made whole now and is no longer completely safe or even useable as intended we are asking that RV Northwest purchase our truck and camper at market value so the we can be made whole with a safe truck and camper as we reasonably expected to achieve by our purchase.

Business

Response:

This complaint is so ridiculous I ask for the Revdex.com to remove it from RVs Northwest’s record.

The customer purchased a small camper (designed for a ½ ton truck) from RVs Northwest and had us mount it to their 2002 Ford super-duty ¾ ton 4X4 pickup. They came back the next day to have us correct the turn signal wiring. There was no mention at that time that the camper was rocking or felt unsafe.

They soon left for Nevada and drove somewhere around 800 miles. Again, we never received a call or any other communication from them that they felt the camper was unsafe.

Here’s where it gets ridiculous. They took the truck and camper off road and “as we crossed a small stream at slow speed the camper rocked violently from side to side”. This is when damage was done to their camper.

Not only was the camper in their care, custody and control, but they were admittedly driving it through a stream. We have no knowledge how fast they were going, how deep the “small stream” was, how much gear they had loaded in the camper or any other factors related to their accident…we were 800 miles away! Regardless, our responsibility is that the camper is in proper working condition, the truck he decides to use to haul it with, how and where they drive it, how much weight they put in it and where they take it are all obviously his responsibility.

Yesterday, October 27th, the customer came in with the desire to have us perform the repair work on his camper at no charge. We said no. He became loud, belligerent, accusatory, rude and even resorted to threats and name-calling to the point where he was invited to leave.

Now he wants RVs Northwest to buy the camper he damaged while driving through a stream in Nevada and also to buy his truck he damaged (admittedly) on a separate off-road incident?

As I said….ridiculous.

Please remove this complaint from RVs Northwest’s record.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received, your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[We ask that before preemptive dismal of this compliant, as request by the dealer, that the dealer first provide his specific information regarding safe and legal operation of the purchase, in order to determine if RV Northwest did in fact put us in dangers way and to better judge the ridiculous character of the complaint.

Here are a dozen reasons why [redacted] and I do not accept dismissing the complaint as ridiculous and removing the complaint from the record.

1) The dealer needs to state his knowledge of the gross vehicle weight at purchase and the axle rating for our truck, in order to support his contention the camper is safe and legal. Arctic Fox says their campers require dual wheels (see brochure).

2) The dealer has no record the truck was in fact inspected for safe and legal use once the camper was installed.

3) We were provided no literature which informed us of the limitations on weight and operation which restricted the truck from previous uses. We were only told there was no problem expected. This goes well beyond "Buyer beware" because of the highly technical information that we could not reasonably be expected to know. Does the dealer have any examples of literature we were given to support the contention that we were told that safe and legal use was our problem and not RV Northwest's concern's after delivery. The brochure adverstises the slogan "Roam where you dare." Not according to RV Northwest. Truth in advertising?

4) The dealer has not explained is there why the air bags were not installed and why we were told air bags "wouldn't work" when in fact another business installed them without problems; they did work.

5) RV Northwest needs to take our truck now that they themselves have pointed out how the air bags (which we had to install for safety) are not installed properly and could cause an accident in which we are legally liable for operating an overloaded vehicle. "inevitable" was how RV serviceman put it. Lives are at stake here.

5) Apparently we have not yet legally taken title of the vehicle, since further evidence of RV Northwest sloppy business is they failed to even properly complete the title paper work, and we see no reason why we should now accept delivery of a vehicle damaged by their negligence, or have a vehicle which still belongs to RV Northwest.

6) It seems clear to us the dealer has absolutely no procedures for safety at all. We ask the dealer to produce his procedure manual for determining when a vehicle is safe and legal to see if their own procedure was in fact followed in our case. Others are endangered by RV Northwest disregard for safe practices, like not even checking turn lights before delivery.

8) There are a number of discussions on the internet about the problem of putting an Arctic Fox on an F250 - clearly the issue is anything but simple. The references clearly show that the dealer had a duty to inform us about safety and legal issues. These internet references are easily located, but if you prefer I can also submit them as supporting evidence as links or copies. This literature shows that the camper could not possibly fit a 1/2 ton as the dealer claim6s in his response, and can be expected to be at or over the GVAWR on a 3/4 ton. All commentators agree that the unmodified F250 is not safe without modifications we which we did not have at the time of our accident. The dealer is expected to know this and the consumer trusts the professional knows when a vehicle is unsafe and will provide this information freely.

9) The dealers response does not address a single safety issue which we have raised except to say the camper and the truck should have been safe and legal, in his opinion. Apparently RV Northwest finds safe and legal operation a ridiculous matter of no importance. The owner uses the facts in this case a fast and loose way, and he seem to imply that if a customer is dissatisfied, he is rude and needs to be asked to leave, which is irrelevant and impertinent. According to the dealer's logic, they could never, ever have responsibility for accidents due to their poor workmanship and unprofessional practices because they are never at the scene of the accident and cannot know if the consumer is telling the truth. Is that "Start with trust"? Admittedly I did become upset when the owner called me a liar, but perhaps what he perceived as belligerence is my assertion of my strongly held belief that the business has no concern about public safety.

10) We do not accept that it was our responsibility to know if the camper was in fact appropriate for our truck - we relied on RV Northwest to sell us something appropriate and they did not. The owner said that we cannot discuss with him whether or not he made an error, and ended the resolution process abruptly by saying he couldn't discuss this if it involves a legal complaint of poor workmanship and unprofessional conduct.

11) We cannot accept that RV Northwest can now repair our camper since they have already proven incompetent regarding our security and safety, and continue to show bad faith in resolving this. Why would we want more?

12) As we understand it, RV Northwest knows our truck is damaged by trying to rectify the safety problems we incurred by installation of the but again also takes no responsibility. RV Northwest alleges we caused the damage, but if this is true it is only because we needed to make the truck safe to drive home. Why should we call RV Northwest for more bad advice?

I have our contract and additional paper work in hand, which I expect to scan tomorrow and e-mail to you to complete my complaint. Is it possible for me to have a forensic expert look at the damage to the truck and camper as an independent observer, and report on what the forensic evidence shows about how the accident occurred, since RV Northwest disputes our version of how the damage occurred, and why bother to also discredit us if they have no responsibility for safe and legal operation of any vehicle that leaves the lot, because in that case it doesn't matter what happened to us at all.

RV Northwest needs to take the damaged camper back, for which they still hold title, and return our payment. RV Northwest needs make our truck whole again. This is the only resolution we can accept. We do not accept a long period of repair and down time for the camper. We do not accept responsibility for storing and protecting the camper, and we want the camper off the truck now or proof it is in fact safe and legal. We emphatical do not accept that our compliant about safety is "ridiculous."

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

I would like to submit additional evidence which makes a prima facia case the vehicle I purchases from RV Northwest was niether safe or legal.

Review: bought a used motorhome for 30.0000.00 about 9 days ago. got in it from there lot and drove about 80 miles and then I went to stop and the BRAKES FAILED. went to the floor couldn't stop it . thankfully there wasn't a stop sign or any.cars infront of me got it slowed down and costed to a stop. the master cyc was full of fluid. they act like nothing is wrong with that. saleing motorhome with out brakes seams like it should be a big deali would think thank youDesired Settlement: pay for parts time and labor and didn't get vacation thanks to motorhome broke down on day one of a week long vacation.

Business

Response:

ID# [redacted]

Thank you for forwarding the complaint from [redacted]

My husband and I absolutely LOVED working with RVS Northwest! The staff was beyond helpful. The employee who helped us treated us like family and it really helped to make our vacation extra special. We recommend this business very highly!!!