Complaint 2000772

Complaint Summary

EQUIPMENT:RECREATIONAL VEHICLE/TRAILER

Owner Narrative

-Stabilizer leveling powered scissor jacks front and rear collapsed during first trip ever; at a level campsite (Lippert LCI brand) on brand new travel trailer. -Rear stabilizer failed the worst, with the metal arms deforming so much that the jack could not be retracted fully via power or manual with backup tool and best arm strength (in shape [XXX] at the time). -Called dealership (Adventure RV Cheyenne, WY now Blue Compass RV Cheyenne, WY) and was told it would probably not be covered under warranty, but they would need to inspect it in person and then submit claim to Grand Design RV and Lippert LCI. -Searched for LCI MODEL # 337199 and best price was on Amazon (figured I could relax after at least knowing how much I was potentially going to have to shell out to replace these out of pocket). Reading the reviews (some with photos) showed a TON of these have failed just like mine (manufacturing defect, or metal quality defect suspected), so it is a decently common issue. I have attached screenshots I took that evening of these reviews and photos. -Dealership service said the claim was denied by Grand Design. I pushed back hard, showed them the screen shots of the other failures, and told them to contact Lippert. -Dealership gave me different answers, but basically front unit was not replaced or repaired because the failure was not yet significant enough to keep the jacks from fully retracting (or at least within an inch of fully retracting. The rear unit was replaced with what to me looks to be a used replacement (motor housing cover cracked and faded, sticker with serial and model number faded and barely attached). -This is a major safety concern because I was only able to retract the rears up enough to get maybe 4" of ground clearance. The feet kept scraping on dips in highway the entire trip home. Could have easily got caught and ripped the whole unit from trailer, creating a major safety hazard for anybody on the road behind me. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.