Curious - why doesn't TM sell more units?

[T and C]

Originally Posted by gerry1950

Purchased a new 2010 2720SD and have had nothing but trouble. Been to the factory twice and still problems. This past weekend I traded in for a JAYCO 2012 Skylark 21FKV. Has the same weight and tows like the TrailManor. These Skylark models can be towed by almost any SUV or Crossover.
With options, I paid nearly $30,000 for the 2720SD and the Skylark was
$21,860 with electric awning, central stereo/dvd and better equipment.
One dealer said he would give me $8,400 on trade which I laughed at.
The best I could get was $14,000. In less than two years my investment lost more than 50%. TrailManor has priced itself out of the market. The quality and service is poor at best.

Let me be clear. I like the concept of the trailer, easy towing and fuel economy but the product is lacking in quality. My last service at the factory was a dismal failure. The factory installed another manufacturer's outer rubber seal to all the windows which I did not authorize or was not aware of until I brought the trailer home. Now I cannot close the windows without prying the seals because the replacement has a different profile and collapses in. I had to fight with trailmanor to send me the correct seal material. They acted as if they were doing me a favor after their mistake.
The factory said they would pay for the replacement labor but now this in question. How can you service a trailer and not check your work? This was the straw that broke the camel's back with this product! Frustrated and fed up!

I am writing this from the Trailblazer's rally at Pismo Beach, CA. A bunch of trailers showed up, 24 I think. Thereabouts anyway. I talked with a lot of folks about their trailers, and absolutely no one said they disliked their TM! Some had had quality issues, but no one wanted to get rid of their trailer because of this. Many bought new, and some had what would qualify as "old" TM's. One 2518 was here. We all had one thing in common. We really like our TM's.

In my case I bought a 2008 model in 2010. It was a used unit, not older but still unsold new. We have had a few minor maintentence problems. but nothing serious. Everything works. We really like, and really enjoy our TM.

Tom

...I paid nearly $30,000 for the 2720SD and the Skylark was
$21,860 ...One dealer said he would give me $8,400 on trade which I laughed at. The best I could get was $14,000. In less than two years my investment lost more than 50%...

In two years or less you would see the same depreciation on your Skylark. This is pretty typical depreciation and one of the big reasons I like to buy used.

...The quality and service is poor at best...

Quality-wise in IMHO TM is pretty good. Too bad it is not the best, but it is far better than much of its competition.

My guess is if you spend the time to look around Skylark you will find some quality issues too...maybe more. TMs come with gas/electric HW tanks, 3-way refer, recirculating toilet (I know, its a gift and a curse but does it save water!).

I would add that I looked at 20 year old units that were still in good shape. Not may other TTs would be able to make that claim.

This is coming from someone who use to have TM too!

Despite what most people seem to say, I agree that TM's service could be better...frankly much better. However, if you need a part they will get it out the door with blazing speed and frequently without a credit card. The price on parts is cut rate. Many other manufacturers are much harder to get equivalent service.

Still factory work and service could be better. While they know what they are doing I think they cut corners on safety (I would say I was appalled), workmanship is OK when it should be excellent.

The slack I am cutting on them is I don't know how much management has created this. If you work for a company that is always in a cutting mode, morale can be very low. Instead of a worker making sure corners mate and parts are properly and expertly secured, if it looks like it will work maybe good enough.

If you look at the grounds of TM you know the morale has got to be low. I drove to place after hours just to be sure I could find it and judging from how overgrown the landscaping was, I thought it was abandoned.

Those were my impressions when I visited the facilities back in June when I got my TM serviced...