DUTCHMEN Complaints

I OWN A 2004 DUTCHMAN 5TH WHEEL RV. THE TIRES ON IT ARE CARLISLE BRAND. SINCE ITS PURCHASE 2 YEARS AGO, I HAVE HAD 2 BLOWOUTS AND CARLISLE/DUTCHMAN REPLACED ALL 4 TIRES AND SPARE SAYING TIRES WERE DEFECTIVE. I WAS PLEASED AND WENT ON. MY TRAILER IS LARGE, ALMOST 11000 LBS DRY. I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT STRANGE TO HAVE D LOAD RANGE TIRES SINCE MY DODGE DIESEL HAS E LOAD RANGE TIRES. ON JUNE 15TH 2006 I WAS TRAVELING HOME FROM VACATION WHEN A TIRE BLEW A LARGE HOLE IN IT. I DROPPED THE SPARE AND MOUNTED IT. IT WAS THEN I REALIZED THE SPARE CARLISLE HAD GIVEN ME WAS AN E RATED TIRE. I NOTICED IT DID NOT SAG UNDER LOAD SAME AS OTHER 3 TIRES. WHEN I GOT HOME, I BOUGHT A NEW REPLACEMENT TIRE. I WAS TOLD THAT SIZE TIRE WAS STANDARD IN 10 PLY E RATED. ON MY TRAILER, THERE IS A STAMPED PLATE WITH TIRE SPECS THAT SHOW 235/85R16 (E) AT 80 LBS PRESSURE. I CONTACTED MY RV DEALER, HE SAID IT SEEMED STRANGE THAT IT WOULD HAVE D RATED THAT ONLY INFLATE TO 65 LBS. HE CONTACTED MANUFACTURE WHO CONTACTED CARLISLE TIRES. CARLISLE SAYS THEY WERE OUT OF E RATED TIRES AT THAT TIME SO THEY BUILT A D RATED TIRE THAT ACTUALLY HOLDS MORE WEIGHT THAN AN E RATED AND THE TIRES ARE SUITED FOR MY RIG. IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE MY TIRES ARE COMING APART AGAIN THOUGH I MAY BE PARANOID AT THIS POINT. THEY DO NOT APPEAR TO BE WEARING EVEN. I JUST REPLACED MY TRUCK TIRES AFTER 65000 MILES BECAUSE I PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO MY TIRES. I THINK CARLISLE IS MISREPRESENTING THESE TIRES AND THAT THEY COULD POSE A SAFETY HAZARD SINCE THEY ARE HOLDING UP A 11000 LB. VEHICLE. *NM

RECEIVED 2003 DUTCHMEN LITE, 29QBJ TRAVEL TRAILER, APRIL 2003. EQUIPPED W/CARLISLE ST205/75R15 TIRES, DOT 8LUL0603. FIRST TRIP, JULY 2003 NO PROBLEMS, APPROX 1000-MILES. JULY 2004 WENT TO VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, ABOUT 150 MILES INTO TRIP, HAD BLOWOUT ON LEFT FRONT, THIS CAUSED DAMAGE TO INNER FRONT WHEEL WELL. PURCHASED SPARE. TIRES ONLY HAD ABOUT 1150 MILES ON THEM. WENT NOWHERE IN 2005. JULY 2006 WENT TO DISNEY WORLD ORLANDO, FL. ABOUT 120 MILES INTO TRIP, TIRE BLEW ON LEFT SIDE REAR (2ND TIRE). NO VISIBLE WHEEL WELL DAMAGE. TIRE HAD ABOUT 2565 MILES ON IT. PICKED UP NEW TIRE W/RIM IN OH. CONTINUED TO FL WITHOUT TIRE FAILURE. ON RETURN TRIP, JULY 14, 2006, HAD ANOTHER BLOWOUT AT 120 MILES, RIGHT BACK (3RD TIRE). TIRE ONLY HAD ABOUT 2685 MILES ON IT. DAMAGE TO UNDERSIDE OF WHEEL WELL. PICKED UP TWO SPARE TIRES. FIRST THREE BLOWOUTS ACCRUED IN EARLY MORNING, BEFORE ROADS GOT HOT & AT 70 MPH. ALL TIRES HAD BEEN CHECKED FOR VISUAL DEFECTS & INFLATED TO SUGGESTED 50-PSI TIRE PRESSURE & HAD BEEN MAINTAINED DURING IDLE MONTHS. ONLY MADE IT ABOUT 220 MILES FROM LAST BLOWOUT, AN HAD 4TH BLOWOUT, FRONT LEFT, THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL SPARE THAT HAD BEEN PUT ON WITH FIRST BLOWOUT. THIS TIRE ONLY HAD ABOUT 1756 MILES. IT DAMAGED THE OUTSIDE OF THE TRAILER JUST ABOVE THE WHEEL WELL. WE HAD BEEN DRIVING AT 65 MPH. AFTER CHANGING TIRE, WITH ANOTHER CARLISLE (ONLY THING AVAILABLE), WE SLOWED TO 60 MPH FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIP, ANOTHER 824 MILES. I WILL REPLACE ALL CARLISLE TIRES WITH ANOTHER BRAND BEFORE WE PULL OUR TRAILER ANYWHERE AGAIN, INCLUDING BRAND NEW TIRES JUST BOUGHT AS SPARES. WILL KEEP LAST FAILED TIRE & LAST REMAINING NOT BLOWN TIRE THAT IS STILL ON FRONT RIGHT. WHEN THESE TIRES BLEW, THERE WAS A LOUD BANG, & LOTS OF SMOKE COMING FROM WHEEL WELL. TIRES LOST A SECTION OF SIDEWALL & TREADED AREA, WITH STEEL BELTS SHREDDED AND TORN. *NM

2004 DUTCHMAN LITE 24QB-SSI WIRING MELTED CAUSING SMOKE. BATTERY POWERED APPLIANCES WOULD NOT WORK UNLESS PLUGGED IN. *KB THE SMOKING BEGAN SHORTLY AFTER THE CONSUMER TURNED ON THE HEAT. THE CONSUMER STARTED LOOKING AROUND AND NOTICED THAT THEIR WAS NO BATTERY POWER. AFTER SOME INVESTIGATION IT WAS DETERMINED THAT NO POWER WAS GETTING TO THE DISTRIBUTION PANEL FROM THE BATTERIES. THE MAIN LOOM THAT RUNS UNDER THE TRAILER HAD BURNED AND FUSED TOGETHER. *NM

ATTEMPTED TO OPEN THE DOOR AT 3:30 A.M. TO LET DOG OUT, AND COULDN'T GET THE DOOR OPEN. HAD TO CRAWL OUT THE EXIT WINDOW AND TAKE THE DOOR APART TO GET IT OPEN. THE PLATE ON THE BACK OF THE DOOR LOCK MECHANISM DISTORTS UNDER PRESSURE, CAUSING LATCH BOLT TO CATCH. IT THEN WILL NOT RELEASE AND DOOR WILL NOT OPEN. HAD TO REMOVE LOCKING MECHANISM AND STRAIGHTEN THE PLATE - NOT AN OPTION IF YOU ARE LOCKED IN. ALSO, THE EXIT WINDOW IS NOT BIG ENOUGH FOR A LARGE PERSON SUCH AS MYSELF (6'3" TALL/235 POUNDS) TO GET THROUGH AND IT IS SITUATED MUCH TOO HIGH ON THE TRAILER. *NM

CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL NOTIFICATION ON SAMSUNG MICROWAVE OVEN, RECALL WAS PERFORMED AND OVEN BEGAN TO MAKE A CONSTANT HUMMING SOUND WHILE IN USE. *KB THE RECALLED PART WAS REPLACED MARCH 2006. AFTER REPAIR THE MICROWAVE MADE A HUMMING NOISE WHEN IT WAS NOT BEING USED. THE CONSUMER CONTACTED THE APPLIANCE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT SAMSUNG WOULD HAVE TO AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL SERVICE. THE CONSUMER CONTACT SAMSUNG DIRECTLY BUT HAS RECEIVED NOT RESOLUTION. *NM

WE HAVE A 1995 DUTCHMAN POP UP CAMPER, I HAVE READ ON THE INTERNET THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHERS THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH THEM COLLAPSING AND THE ROOF BEING DRY ROTTED THIS ALSO HAPPENED TO MY FAMILY (JULY 2004) THANKFULLY NO ONE WAS HURT. THIS CAMPER IS DECAYING AND A PIECE OF GARBAGE BECAUSE OF FATLY MANUFACTURING. IT WAS FIXED AND HAD TO HAVE OUTSIDE BRACKETS PUT ON BECAUSE THE WOOD IS SUCH PORE CONDITION, IT IS ONCE AGAIN UNUSABLE BECAUSE OF PROBLEMS WITH THE ROOF AGAIN, THEY TOLD US IT NEEDS A NEW ROOF. PLEASE INVESTED AND HELP ALL OF USE THAT HAVE THESE CAMPERS. THANK YOU, WILEY & MARY VANHOOSER. *JB

2003 ADIRONDACK TRAVEL TRAILER, MODEL 30FB. WE NOTICED SAW DUST APPEARING ON THE COUNTER TOPS, STOVE AND SINK AREA. I NOTICED THAT THE TV SHELF ABOVE THE KITCHEN TABLE WAS BROKEN AND DINING BOOTH BRACE AND COUNTER HAD SHIFTED. IN ADDITION, CABINET HAD COME AWAY FROM THE FLOOR. THE SKID BARS SUSTAINED A SMALL BEND OR SCUFF. THERE WAS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO INDICATE THAT SOMETHING HAD BEEN HIT WITH ANY FORCE, CERTAINLY NOT WITH SUFFICIENT FORCE TO CAUSE THIS SORT OF DAMAGE TO THE FRAME. IF A COLLISION HAD ACTUALLY OCCURRED THE SKID BARS WOULD HAVE BEEN BE COMPLETELY CRUSHED, AND THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN OTHER SIGNS OF DAMAGE ON THE UNDERCARRIAGE. THE TWO-INCH BALL 5,000 LB HITCH COUPLER THAT WAS ON OUR TRAILER AND CONTINUED INTO A FRAME THAT WAS NOT DESIGNED OR INTENDED TO SUPPORT A 30-FOOT TRAILER THAT HAS A GVWR OF 6,000 LBS. THE WEIGHT PUT TOO MUCH STRAIN ON THE CENTRE OF THE TRAILER, WHERE THE FRAME HAS BEEN WEAKENED BY THE DESIGN OF THE AXLE CLEARANCE. THIS PROBLEM WAS PROBABLY AGGRAVATED BY THE TANDEM AXLES, PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE FRAME DURING TURNING MANEUVERS. THE DESIGN LIMIT WAS BEING PUSHED TOO FAR, FROM THE 5,000 LB COUPLER TO A FRAME THAT DID NOT SEEM CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING THE WEIGHT OF A 30-FOOT TRAILER. I AM GRAVELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE QUALITY AND SAFETY OF OUR TRAILER. UNLESS THE FRAME WERE SIGNIFICANT REINFORCED AND FOUND TO BE STRENGTHENED SUFFICIENTLY I WOULD NOT BE CONFIDENT THAT THE PROBLEMS WOULD NOT RECUR. NOTWITHSTANDING ALL OF THE ABOVE, TRAILERS SHOULD BE RUGGED ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THE NORMAL SEASONAL USE FOR WHICH THEY WERE INTENDED. TRAILERS SHOULD NOT BE SO DELICATE THAT A SMALL SCRAPE ON A SKID BAR CAUSED STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. I WAS POSSIBLY VERY LUCKILY TO NOTICE THESE PROBLEMS BEFORE ANOTHER EXTENDED TRIP AS THIS PROBLEM COULD GO UNCHECKED, AND THE TRAILER COULD VERY WELL CAUSE AN ACCIDENT BEING OUT OF CONTROL AND HAVE LIFE THREATENING RESULTS.*AK

THE ROOF TOP HAD ABSORBED WATER AND THE WOOD ROTTED ON THE SIDES NEXT TO THE LIFT ARMS AND CAUSED THE ROOF TO BE VERY DANGEROUS TO RAISE AND NOT SAFELY USABLE AFTER ONLY A YEAR AND HALF OF NEW PRODUCT PURCHASE AND BEING DEALER SERVICED. *JB

DT: THE CONSUMER STATED THAT WHILE USING THE TRAVEL TRAILER, ONE OF THE TIRES BLEW OUT. APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS LATER, TWO OTHER TIRES BLEW OUT. THE TIRES HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE TIRES WERE MANUFACTURED BY CARLISLE TIRE AND RUBBER CO, LT RADIAL. THE SERIAL NUMBERS WERE B36CDB80895, B36AAN0360, AND B36CDB0870. *AK (12/05/05) *SC

DT: THE CONSUMER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE TRAVEL TRAILER. WHILE USING THE TRAILER, A FAILURE ON THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE OCCURRED. THE FRONT TIRE WAS RUBBING AGAINST THE REAR TIRE WHICH CAUSED THE TIRE TO BLOW OUT, AND THE TREAD TO SEPARATE. HE REPLACED THE TIRE WITH A SPARE TIRE UNTIL HE COULD REACH A TIRE DEALER. THE TIRE DEALER ADVISED HIM THAT THE OTHER TIRES WERE ABOUT TO DO THE SAME THING. WHEN THE CONSUMER CONTACTED THE TIRE MANUFACTURER,THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS NO WARRANTY ON THE TIRES AND THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. THE CONSUMER HAD ANOTHER SAFETY CONCERN WITH THE TRAILER IN WHICH WHILE REPLACING THE TIRES, HE FOUND A SOFT COPPER TUBING THAT HAD GONE THROUGH THE WHEEL WELL. THIS TUBING CONNECTED THE GAS LINE TO THE WATER HEATER. THERE WAS NO SHIELD OR COVERING FOR THIS TUBING. THE CONSUMER HAD NOT CONTACTED THE SERVICE DEALER OR THE MANUFACTURER TO INFORM THEM OF THIS CONCERN. *AK (11/29/05) THE CONSUMER WAS ALSO CONCERNED WITH THE FACT THAT WHEN THE TRAILER WAS BEING TOWED, THE LP GAS HAD TURNED ON. THE CONSUMER FELT THAT THIS WAS EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS. *SC