RoadTrek / Erwin Hymer Group Criminal Scandal Destroying Lives and Careers Worldwide

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by mrshowtime3

... I have never run across someone knowledgeable in Class B RVs that ever had much good to say about Roadtrek. They are widely known as bottom of the barrel quality with systems that stink. Their bathrooms are consistently the worst in the industry...

This is not my experience, I know plenty of Roadtrek owner who are knowledgeable in RVs and are very happy with their rigs. Roadtrek has a large and loyal following. They even have their own FMCA Chapter.

[booster]

Nearly every Roadtrek owner we run across is also very happy with them, especially with the older units. If we ask owners of newer ones how they have been for reliability, they often do have a long list of things that had to get fixed (especially the AGM etrek and Ecotrek units), but they still love the van. I do think the past reputation of the Roadtrek brand does influence folks and make them more accepting of issues, as was mentioned by others.


We certainly are very happy with our 07 Roadtrek, but it did have some things that needed working out when new, and nearly all of them were because of lack of quality from the factory. This was also at the beginning of the rapid eroding of the customer service so it was tougher than in previous years also, it appeared.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by booster

Nearly every Roadtrek owner we run across is also very happy with them, especially with the older units. If we ask owners of newer ones how they have been for reliability, they often do have a long list of things that had to get fixed (especially the AGM etrek and Ecotrek units), but they still love the van. I do think the past reputation of the Roadtrek brand does influence folks and make them more accepting of issues, as was mentioned by others.


We certainly are very happy with our 07 Roadtrek, but it did have some things that needed working out when new, and nearly all of them were because of lack of quality from the factory. This was also at the beginning of the rapid eroding of the customer service so it was tougher than in previous years also, it appeared.

We never had any major issues with our 08 RS Adventurous.

30,000+ Roadtreks on the road and the vast majority are very satisfied with their vans...

[snapperdude]

Originally Posted by ClassB4Me

I think it would be helpful having a dedicated thread (if it does not already exist) for RV Service & Repair Centers one can search /rate. As Fit RV recently experienced, some are good but many many companies are less than stellar.

This can give a person heartburn

This site has some related info. I have had some success using it.

RV Service Reviews

[Keyne]

We have a 2017 Roadtrek Agile and we LOVE it. Best irrational purchase ever. We had some initial quality issues with the Alde heat and a leaking window that was replaced. The dealers worked with us and we worked those dealer visits around our camping the first 6 months. We did a lot of research and for many reasons the van was and is perfect for us. We also went into it knowing that buying new there would be things needing fixing and we factored that all in. However, if RT had gone out of business right after we bought our van I would have been very upset but as we are doing now we would have figured something out financially and otherwise.

I know this forum has bashed RT vans in the past but the vans are nice and more reliable than other RVs and less reliable than others. However telling the OP he made a stupid purchase isn’t the most constructive message and I know this group is usually really really helpful so some of the posts surprised me. Maybe the current demise of RT has us all a bit off balance...

Anyway, to the original poster I highly recommend joining the “Roadtrek & Hymer Owners Grouo” on Facebook (if you haven’t already). They are a great group of helpful people that have helped me a ton and might be able to help you figure out some options about how to fix the mold or where to take it for service to get the leak repaired. I hope you are able to find a solution.

[ClassB4Me]

Traumatized RV Owner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDGVUNBN9O4

[michaelingp]

Originally Posted by mrshowtime3

Simply going to one RV show should be enough to at least show a person the difference between a Roadtrek and other RVs.

I totally disagree. I consider myself very knowledgeable in Class B RV's, and I spent a fair amount of time in the Hymer and Roadtrek booths at the Hershey RV show. There's no way in the world I could have concluded their bathrooms were the worst in the business. I was a bit skeptical of their claims for the Ecotrek option, but there again, there's no way at an RV show to evaluate that. In fact, the various Class B RV's looked more alike to me than different. You would probably say that therefore I'm not "very knowledgeable", but that's kind of circular reasoning.

On a separate subject, the Roadtrek website is back up, still advertising the six year warranty!

[avanti]

Moderator's note:
I have cleaned up this thread. No politics, please.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by avanti

Moderator's note:
I have cleaned up this thread. No politics, please.

Hard to prevent a new account troll but good work at killing it quickly...

[Glamper]

Just because someone is smart does not give them the right to be arrogant and mean spirited, worked with too many of those people in Silicon Valley.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

Hard to prevent a new account troll but good work at killing it quickly...

Not quickly enough to prevent the thread subscription emails from going out. But yes, +1. The issue is -- did someone suffer a Class B problem and if so, is there anything that the rest of us can contribute to the resolution of that problem?

If we start trying to qualify posters based on prevailing ideology, the whole process is over before it even begins.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by avanti

Moderator's note:
I have cleaned up this thread. No politics, please.

That is an obvious thanks avanti.

Folks that post as trumpwhatever can be interesting but often not. My swag is that there was a tiny or more sting of some truth Based on my perception of Logan's posts. Two days ago I went back and read every post, and for me something did not add up - I just did not post it.

Logan was offered assistance and support, but after someone and more criticized wincrasher's post it starting changing (Logan's posts). Logan basically blamed others for leaving!

I usually can not explain troll poster motivations, can't this time here. If this person is a member of this forum, the trump handle and more knew what avanti's response would be. And as usual, avanti acted appropriately imo.

My guess is that Logan will seek out assistance in a lot of places. Over time I'll bet he sorts it out and will have a nice B. I want to assist, just don't know how.

Bud

[Flgal]

Sorry about your experiences ... and sorry about some of the rude comments ... yes for the money you paid you should expect service on the product .... this was your dream ...

Yesterday I was ... about to buy a 2018 hymer Activ2 with 2500 miles in Alabama at a dealer ... I live in Florida ... with what is going so scared to buy anything Hymer at this point .. one of the best things it had was its warranty now it does not have that .. also with all the issues with vin numbers ... how would you know if your vin was real or belonged to someone else ....

Hope things fo better ... Be interesting to find out how many lenders will not lend on any Hymer product here in North America ... wonder if my lender would .. hmm .. so much to think about .. The Activ was one of my top choices ...

[Flgal]

Originally Posted by wincrasher View Post
Sorry I was so harsh. My simpathies if you spent $85k on a Simplicity! I didn't know that was even possible. You could have had a Travato plus $15k in your pocket. They have a community and avid following really second to none. Lots of people living and loving in them full time all over the US.


where can I get a new travato for 70k ... 85k - 15k = 70K ....

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by Flgal

.. also with all the issues with vin numbers ... how would you know if your vin was real or belonged to someone else ....

There has not been one report anywhere... on any of the many facebook pages or here of anyone have a fake vin number or shared number.

One person reported a vin issue, but we don't know where that error occurred... factory paperwork or their state. These numbers are human entered numbers that do have a margin of normal error considering their length and odd combination.

IMHO the reported vin issue was that they were creating fake numbers to inflate their sales numbers. Obviously none of them were 'sold' because the vans didn't exist.

[B Eventually]

Originally Posted by Flgal

Originally Posted by wincrasher View Post
Sorry I was so harsh. My simpathies if you spent $85k on a Simplicity! I didn't know that was even possible. You could have had a Travato plus $15k in your pocket. They have a community and avid following really second to none. Lots of people living and loving in them full time all over the US.


where can I get a new travato for 70k ... 85k - 15k = 70K ....

The Simplicity was purchased used. I imagine a used rental Travato would come with a hefty discount.

I haven't followed Travato prices for awhile, but if you want a rock bottom price on a new one, give Lewis RV in Dayton, Ohio a call. They sell Winnebagos for close to wholesale prices and you can pick the RV up in Dayton or at the Winnebago factory (at least for Cs, I'm not certain that's an option for Bs).

[dhuff]

One of the things about this situation that bothers me the most (besides the regular Roadtrek/Hymer employees who lost their jobs, of course) is how some of the more famous "brand-ambassadors" of Roadtrek on platforms like Youtube & Facebook have acted both prior to, and after, this ugly situation. I'm not naming names, but I think most folks know who I'm talking about. People who controlled Roadtrek forums and who squashed any negative comments about the company's products. People who'd recv'd their RVs from the company w/o buying them, and didn't make that crystal clear from the beginning. I've definitely been pruning my list of subscribed Youtube channels and FB forums lately...

[Robert Ryan]

Originally Posted by mumkin

Personally I much prefer this sort of format for help with repairs and ease of finding pros and cons of a Class B option.

The obvious and unhealthy puff pages on Facebook like Roadtreking under Wendland should be openly labeled as such... and that its Admin was a paid advertiser... not really an employee, as such.

That said... the policing and restrictions and banning of anyone who dared to ask for help when their new rigs die with the new tech (like me and my experience with one of the very first lithiums...silly me) led to change. Almost immediately, a member started a new private page for owners of Roadtreks and Hymers - actually 2 of them. Eventually there was also one for Aktiv owners (the Admin of which owns a rental company in CA for B vans...but he never uses that fact to attract customers). And another for Simplicity and Zion owners. All of these owners pages provide lots of help with basic repairs and walk lots of newbies through purchasing and winterizing and why is my fridge freezing all the food no matter the setting. It doesn't work as well as this forum format because it isn't searchable, but it certainly demonstrates the good, the bad, and the ugly for people.

But one reality is that the majority of the owners are happy with their van and love using it. So could a new buyer, like our OP, still be somewhat mislead? It could go either way... because most of the posters are there because they have a problem with said rig. Of course right now all of them are... like here... full of discussions of the debacle with lots of panic, anger, and frustration. But very little policing, except for a couple threads that (like here) turned into personal attacks.

I don't see an easy answer to how a new purchaser, like Logan, avoids being mislead on the interwebs. If he comes back, I know that the other posters here have the skills to help him get back in his van and on the road.

Another victim is the small Canadian RV industry, that compared to Australia is tiny.It must be a big shock to them, as Roadtrek was a major part of their industry
Australian RV industry is responsible for the " Overlanding " phenomenon in the US

[Flgal]

I so agree .... in the future we need to find out if folks own and did they pay for their rigs when they toot them etc. I am also getting tired of all the e-beggars ...

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Flgal

I so agree .... in the future we need to find out if folks own and did they pay for their rigs when they toot them etc. I am also getting tired of all the e-beggars ...

I think we have reached a tipping point on this issue. Under ordinary circumstances, people like the Wendlands might be able to get away with the shilling that they do, but because of the way RoadTrek went down, some people now have legitimate grudges against them.

People who have been treated poorly (through social media suppression or whatever measures) have extra motivation to watch what happens going forward, and to spot the things that average viewers might miss because they lack a history of personal investment in the situation.

So here we are, with LTV's glowing announcement of this great new partnership, and 3 days later, Robin Barrett produces an authentic and popular 28-minute video explaining how LTV dropped the ball and put her in the shop for 120 +/- days during her 2-year ownership period.

If anything remotely similar happens to the Wendlands, I don't think they'll be able to hide it. They'll get outed, or, LTV will arrange the kind of preferential treatment that is not extended to other owners such as Robin, and THAT will get outed. Either way, it ends up on television, so to speak.