# No Power In Trailer



## tyson napper (Jul 27, 2005)

went camping this past weekend, second time since getting my 25rss, my wife came running out to say smoke in trailer then no power. I went to see smoke coming out of dinette seat. I then took the cover off dinette and found the box which the main line come in is red hot and burnt wires. So I took cover off and found no insulating end on wire from unit being built. I m really upset, this is the third problem since I got this trailer and Im not really impressed with my outback. If I would not bewen there Im sure the trailer would have burnt to the ground. I m my way home the gas line at the back fell off, the holders all rusted offf or something, cant wait for the dealer to open tomorrow. I m going to look at getting rid of this piece of ..... Not much fun, I have no time for this. Should be enjoying my 25rss and all I do is fix it. ANY FEED BACK ON HOW OUTBACK CAN GET AWAY WITH BUITING PRODUCT LIKE THIS?


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## caleb22 (Jun 13, 2005)

Oh my, that's a bad experience for sure. How long have you had the trailer? I tend to be a hard *** about things like that. I would insist that my dealer take the unit back and give me another one (depends on how long you have had it).

Wish you the best with getting it all squared away. As you said, you should be enjoying it not fixing it.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Sorry to hear what happen!!!
No one was hurt thank God.
I would diffinately be insisting, the dealer for different one.
That is just unsafe to trust it.
Let us know how you make out!!!

Don


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## tyson napper (Jul 27, 2005)

HootBob said:


> Sorry to hear what happen!!!
> No one was hurt thank God.
> I would diffinately be insisting, the dealer for different one.
> That is just unsafe to trust it.
> ...


I have had the trailer for 1 month only. Just do not have good feelings about this unit and company.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

TN:

I'm sure Outback will honor all needed repairs and your trailer can and will be fixed to perfect condition. It's a bummer but not necessarily a lemon. Hang in there dude


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Dude -- FIRST OF ALL BE SUPER NICE TO YOUR DEALER - ITS NOT HIS FAULT AND WHEN YOU TRY TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK HE WILL BE THE DECIDING FACTOR ..

Bite your tongue -- don't get upset -- the madder you get the less they will care -- Outback has your money already -- they have NO vested interest in helping you -- in fact -- anything they do is money out of their pockets -- SO -- be nice -- make them want to help the NICE man ... people like helping NICE people... (you can screw Outback later)

Not sure what state you live in so not sure which advice to lean toward...

Dealer of course will not exchange your trailer ... Outback will of course not offer to exchange -- if they did then they would loose millions a year since virtually every trailer that leaves Outback has something wrong with it --(please correct me anyone if i am wrong).

TTs fall under a wierd category -- its not a vehicle but its also not a house .. so your states Lemon Law is really the only thing that you are going to be able to fall back upon...

Outback will insist that your dealer attempt to repair everything. And legally you have to give them that option...

1. Make sure that you document all phone calls and down time. Make sure you get names!!!

2. Make sure that the dealer has possession of the unit as much as possible timewise. Drop it off on a Friday if you can ... pick it up a day or two after he says its ready ...

3. Take millions of pictures with todays paper in the forward if you can (to document time of incident)

I am pretty familiar with the lemon Law of Texas -- all states have one now for Travel Trailers - albeit some have different circumstances or benchmarks to make the case.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a federal law that provides protection to buyers of products that cost $25 or more and come with a written warranty. The Magnuson-Moss statute gives consumers considerable rights in dealing with manufacturers of lemon recreational vehicles by guaranteeing minimum repair performance requirements and also by providing for disclosure of warranties before purchase.

Since I am familiar with the Texas statutes i will tell you what you can do in texas and you can see if your state is close... (some states like Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Arkansas have a ONE repair requirement that fire and electrical fall under and if you bought in these states then you are pretty golden right now!!)

In Texas we have three criteria. Two of them fit your category...

One of them is the 30 day rule -- If your vehicle has been out of service for repair because of problems covered by the warranty for a total of 30 days or more-not necessarily all at one time-during the first 24 months, and there were two repair attempts during the first 12 months immediately after delivery, and a substantial problem still exists, you pass the 30-days-test..

We also have the The Four-Times Test. If you have taken the vehicle to a dealership for repairs two times for the same problem or defect within the first 12 months, and twice more during the 12 months after the second repair attempt, and the problem is still not repaired - you pass the four-times test.

In Texas you must file your Lemon Law complaint no later than 30 months after the date you purchased the vehicle.

----

Whatever you do DO NOT tell or mention the lemon law to the dealer -- he will shut down on helping you in a heart beat, probably refuse to service it anymore, make life hard on you, and call Outback so that can be added to your "Customer Warning" file which they all have -- you know -- the file that when you call they either have notes about you that says -- he is a nice guy -- or he is a jerk -- always be nice -- let your lawyer be a jerk...

--

and of course as a nice guy you are going to want EVERYTHING tested -- all wires -- and any smoke smell must be evacuated -- me personally I would make sure that your complaint of a smoke smell is documented... over and over and over again... (thats probably going to be your ace in the hole on bringing the trailer back)


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

I would'nt give up just yet on the Outback. I know things can be difficult, but that is what warranty's are for. Before you take it back to the dealer, document all of the problems, in writing, and address it too the dealers service manager. Cc the list to Outback's Customer service. This establishes a paper trail that will of course help if things get to Ghosty's point.

All trailer brands, as well as car brands, and window brands and motorcycle brands etc have problems, and my feeling is that we only hear about the problems. My wife and I are on our second season with our Outback, and I have not had any major problems. The few minor one's were rapidly attended too by my dealers service department.

If your dealer is worth spit, they will go over the unit with a fine tooth comb and address all of the issue's you have had.

On another note, along the lines of your fire. The terminal screw's in the converter/circuit panel need to be checked periodically for tightness, as they will loosen over time from vibration's caused by driving down the road. I'm not saying that they weren't loose from the factory in your case, as that has happened before, but with any trailer, I would check them periodically.

Stay safe and good luck with the dealer.

Tim


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## JimWilson (Feb 24, 2004)

I mostly lurk on this site, keeping to myself. One trend I have noticed is that a fair number of you complain about the quality -- or lack thereof -- with the Outbacks. My exposure to them has been somewhat limited, so I can't comment on that myself, but what I can speak of is the commodity nature of this industry. You see, I sell RV's for a living.

Every component you have in your trailer is a bulk-purchased item from a third party. Converters are no different. Now, it's entirely possible that Keystone screwed up royally when they built yours, and you have some type of short. But, it's also far more common then it should be that converters fry when they're new. You'd think something so important wouldn't be contracted out to the lowest bidder, but that's the case. Converters seem to either work for years, or cook within a month or two. Trust me, yours is not the first story I've heard.

The one benefit, if there really is one, is that no one was hurt and your trailer didn't become an insurance issue. I'm certain your dealer is going to swap the converter, and provided the fuses/circuit breakers did there job, your trailer should suffer no long term affects. I hope the repair turns out successful, and that you can use your trailer for many years to come.


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## tyson napper (Jul 27, 2005)

JimWilson said:


> I mostly lurk on this site, keeping to myself. One trend I have noticed is that a fair number of you complain about the quality -- or lack thereof -- with the Outbacks. My exposure to them has been somewhat limited, so I can't comment on that myself, but what I can speak of is the commodity nature of this industry. You see, I sell RV's for a living.
> 
> Every component you have in your trailer is a bulk-purchased item from a third party. Converters are no different. Now, it's entirely possible that Keystone screwed up royally when they built yours, and you have some type of short. But, it's also far more common then it should be that converters fry when they're new. You'd think something so important wouldn't be contracted out to the lowest bidder, but that's the case. Converters seem to either work for years, or cook within a month or two. Trust me, yours is not the first story I've heard.
> 
> ...


 was not the converter it was in the main box before the converter


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Ya know....after reading this post yesterday I went out and checked my cord box. 
I opened the small panel under the drawer and cabinet....what did I find????








I found the junction box where the land cord meets the trailer wiring.....with the junction box lid about a foot away from the box and a ground wire poking uselessly up into the air. It looked like it had been twisted around the screw that holds the cover onto the box. Since the box was already opened, I checked the connecting wire nuts and all seemed to be pretty snug yet. It just concerns me that the cover was not screwed onto the junction box, as the box is mounted in the middle of the wind up area for the plug and cord.
Could have possibly led to a situation in the future I guess........


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## tyson napper (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi Guys took my outback to my dealer yesterday and had a good talk with them, they were really concerned and we listed all of the problems from water leaks to the fire smke problem. 10 problems in all. they are going to get back to me and I will Keep you posted. Ho by the way, taking my 25rss back to the dealer the rear gas line bracet broke off and was hanging down who would have thought!


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## rdowns (Oct 20, 2004)

I am so often amazed at how the same company can put out a trailer with many problems and one with none (like mine). THere are obviously qc issues. Much of that I contribute to the vast number of trailers produced and the (likely) high turnover at the plants. These are not excuses mind you just an observation. I would say the majority are happy with their trailers, but if you are the one that isn't it just doesnt matter


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## JimWilson (Feb 24, 2004)

tyson napper said:


> JimWilson said:
> 
> 
> > Now, it's entirely possible that Keystone screwed up royally when they built yours, and you have some type of short.
> ...


Hence my comment about the wiring. Personally, I think the RV industry needs to be more like the auto industry; get some robots and automation. If they can do it with cars and trucks they can certain do it with RV's. Might cut down on the myriad quality issues that seem so prevalent.


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## ddavidson (Jun 12, 2005)

My Outback is going back to the dealer again for the 2nd wave of repairs. Am I dissappointed? Yes. Am I surprised? No.

My previous TT (1989 20' Komfort Lite), which I bought used, taught me that travel trailers are essentially junk. My particular unit had severe rot problems throughout that I fixed myself during three separate repair jobs (front floor, rear floor, front wall and roof). I'll admit I was naive/stupid at the time of purchase not to notice the rot. Anybody who has rebuilt a stick frame travel trailer knows what I mean when I say that these things are put together with the lowest grade materials and the lowest quality design and workmanship. In total I probably spent 200 hours rebuilding that trailer.

While searching for a replacement for the Komfort, I have looked at many travel trailers and considered many different types of construction. In the end what sold me on the Outback was the layout. I had my doubts that it would be a 'better' trailer, and it looks like those doubts are being realized.

I am a believer that you get what you pay for. Realistically, the majority of TT's sold have a very low utility factor and thus there is motivation to keep costs as low as possible. Low cost = low quality.

I am not suggesting that we don't try to make the manufacturers and dealers make good on their product. I just think that we are getting what we are paying for, and that as long as the kids have a smile on their face at the end of the day, then the trailer is serving its purpose.

D'Arcy


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## M&Ms (Mar 5, 2005)

My air conditioning unit was never really working properly - kicking in and out. During our 3rd time using this our 28RSDS at Disney 2 weeks ago, sparks and smoke started coming out of our fuse panel. The fuse panel even partially melted inside. Real nasty, and I am glad I was in the trailer at the time (the sparking and noise woke me up at 5:30 am). Anyhow, I ran outside and shut off the power, opened the windows to clear the toxic smell of burnt plastic and then opened the fuse panel.

The idiots did not tighten the neutral on the air conditioning lead - it was loose inside the connection block and only connecting because it was laying against the barrier strip. The wiring is now all black and melted. This was not the only electical problem I had. The first trip out, the furnace did not work (picked it up in April and live in Canada). The spade connector was not pushed on properly on a sensor. Second trip out our power slide would not come in. Ended up being a bad crimp on the motor connector. It is a good thing I am handy, since the dealer is 2 hours away (or 25 hours away in case of Disney).

Anyhow, I am taking pictures and sending this to Keystone. I definately want my warranty on all electrics extended another year. Having a floating neutral can cause all sorts of problems. I'm just waiting for the electronics in the air to go now. The dealer recourse is pretty much useless - while they are polite, what can they really do. When the warranty runs out, you will be on your own.

I'm just glad I did not come back from one of the parks to find the Outback burnt to the ground, and finding myself so far from home.


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