We went to the builder and saw 3 trailers in different stages of build. He did great work (then) and we were confident our trailer would be something we could pass down to the kids. He assured me that if I found vintage reproduction lights he would install them instead of the modern ones he includes. I went to work and within a week I had all the parts to include on our trailer. We didn't like the wood wallpaper he used for the ceiling and I found a vinyl flooring took him a sample, gave him the store # and told him where it was to take a look. He thought it was great and said there wouldn't be a problem putting it in instead of the wallpaper. Now all these parts I was purchasing myself (he was coming out ahead because he saved on using his parts), again I had them all within a week. My husband and I stored them in a tongue box I was going to put on the tongue shelf we paid to have installed. We took them all down within that week and left the box to store them safely in. We took him our vintage coleman stove so he could build the shelf for it in the galley. We paid $250 for a sink with a drain, in the mean time (that first week) I found a Chinese wash basin that I purchased instead. We were never refunded or even given partial credit for supplying the sink.
There were two (2) trailer builds in front of ours and they were almost done and we were told it would take two months to complete. We were told our build would start the first week of September at the latest. We were so excited I started picking out my fabrics and treasures to make it our own when we got it home and stored them in a plastic tub in our room. I would check in from time to time to see how things were going and was told everything was on track. We didn't want to rush him, we had put all our Christmas, birthday, and anniversary money into this trailer so we could have it for our 21st anniversary in December. We hoped it would be done in October so we could do a quick test run close to home for my birthday and before our grandchild arrived.
October and November came and went and I began to panic that our trailer wouldn't be done. I had already made reservations because we were told it would be done. I text John and he again promised it would be done in time. We watched his shop on Facebook and had seen other trailers being delivered including 4 to a dealer! Our anniversary came and went without the trailer. I cried, we had put so much into it already and I couldn't see walking away at this time, he had half our money and I had purchased all the items to use. Oh did I mention that I even purchased 3M marine glue (quick set 5200) to use to ensure the trailer didn't leak.
December passed and halfway into January he finally started our build. By this time I was calling and texting daily because if I didn't he wouldn't work on the trailer. We would make the 200 round trip to him every weekend so I could take pictures and so we could hear his excuses ( I'm teaching my brother how to build these, the mattress guy left for Mexico in December and isn't back, I can't get the fender paint to match ( I sent him the code and the website to get the paint from which he didn't use), I can't get the flooring to set as the ceiling, I've lost your license plate...... just a few of them.) My husband and I were tired and now just wanted the trailer now matter what. When we went down the D shaped doors we ordered with slider windows we paid extra for were large rectangles with crank out windows. He said he couldn't get the sliders at the price we paid back in August. >:( My husband said let's just take it so we could get the trailer. Our under the bed storage flooring was thin vinyl siding with a sheet of aluminum put over it in the end. Our galley drawers were made out of 3/4 plywood with routed pine faces. There were 3/4 inch gaps between each drawer. Our cabinet door was warped and held in by one screw on each hinge. Our ceiling was falling down, the shelves inside (well all the shelves throughout the trailer) were made out of 5mm plywood including the bottom. The first time we set a small lantern on them they fell through. Our wiring he used (he actually told this to us) old extension cords he stripped and used for the wiring. No fuse box, our radio (again we purchased and supplied to him) doesn't work.
We got the trailer in mid February minus our sliding windows and tongue shelf (though he kept the money we paid him for these upgrades.) We the first day we had the trailer home it rained and the galley leaked and so did the cabin. I have been taking photos and keeping all my correspondence with him. He told us to bring it back and he'd fix it because customer service was their #1 concern and we have a year warrenty. We took it down and he did fix it with our glue, he told my husband that he forgot to seal it because he was rushed. When we got it back he had scratched the sides deep.
I told my husband I didn't want to ever take it back to him. We took it out for our first trip over President's weekend and found our stabilizer jacks (another upgrade we paid for) didn't even reach 1/2 way to the ground. We used every block we had to stabilize the trailer. We had a good trip (this is when our shelves broke) and we headed home. We stopped to get gas and noticed one of the jacks had backed itself down and half was torn off. UGH!!! I texted him all that had gone wrong and of course he told me the jack was not his fault because he didn't make it. He said he hadn't seen any of these complaints I was alleging and to bring it down. Oh hell no!!!! He couldn't build it right the first time, scratched it up when we did take it down, and used the cheapest parts he could to build it.We have been rebuilding it since. I finally finished the galley cabinets and drawers and next up is the cabin. He didn't insulate anything and used the 5mm plywood for everything including the ceiling which is bowing because it cannot support the vinyl tiles (oh yeah since he didn't use glue correctly he put staples in the vinyl tiles which tore them apart.
We are in teardrop hell right now but I work on it a little at a time on the weekends. I want to give a big shout out to Lil'Bear and the other teardrop supply shops that have been a huge help on correcting all the problems. I'm a bit nervous on the wiring but I found a great simatic here to use as a guide. I have turned this into a video I'm going to be posting in parts as we rebuild the trailer.
Oh yea he used black spray paint and said it was water sealer, we'll be sealing our undercarriage too. So we are building the trailer after all. LOL Any tips, tricks, advice is always welcome.
Sorry this has happened to you.
Danny
It is now my happy place and I look at it every time I get down on what I need to fix.
. I like what you did with the cabinets. It's a shame when someone gets ripped off. Just know that you are not alone. Your story reminds me of what Shadow Catcher went through with the Compass Rose. His at least had decent build quality, though. I had a similar experience with a car in my younger days. Sometimes it's just best to bite the bullet and do it your self. I mean, I can screw something up as well as anyone for a lot less money. Certainly cheaper than going back and fixing the mistakes I paid someone else to make. It looks like you have a good idea of how to get it right.
