TM Parts Department

[oldstick-TMO]

I'm not sure what's up with the Trailmanor factory, but here is my story. I'll try to keep it short as possible.

Around OCT 10th last year I emailed the parts department wanting to order 4 of the spring loaded latches holding down the shells when closed. Got a quote and invoice and paid no problem. I waited a couple weeks and still no package or even the tracking info, so I emailed again asking the status. Got the tracking number and a package finally arrived on OCT 26. No big deal, I figured they needed lead time to make the items or get them from another vendor, but at least they could have told me that up front.

So end of story right? No the padded envelope arrived in my mailbox already torn open completely on one end and there were 2 of the latches inside, not 4. It looked like it would have been a very tight fit for 4 of them to have been inside, but who knows.

So I re-contacted TM with a picture of the package, asking whether there were two separate packages sent (No) and asking about filing a claim with the USPS. No response on filing a claim and I had assumed it had to be the seller that filed a claim.

In the meantime I learned that I could file the USPS claim myself so I did and got reimbursed for the 2 missing, but no refund of the shipping fees.

Again on DEC 6 I emailed the TM parts dept. wanting to re-order the 2 latches missing. Again, invoice, paid no problem. Until I contacted them yesterday JAN 4th asking if a tracking number was available.

The reply I got was "sorry, we'll get those shipped out tomorrow".

 

[Kmikesell]

Not sure if you are aware, but TM is a VERY small company... And you are asking around the holidays.... be patient.

 

[oldstick-TMO]

Yes I am aware of all that. My complaint is about the zero communications at the time of and after the orders were placed.

All they had to do was tell me it was going to take at least xx weeks and then inform me when they were ready to ship. Without me having to keep pinging them for it.

I am only one person. If I sold an item online and received payment, do you think the buyer would be happy waiting a month without a single word from me before wondering what has happened? That is exactly what I did with TM without worrying too much about it because I knew in the end they are a known reputable company. Just maybe some room for improvement when it comes to communication with small customers like I was.

 

[Shane826]

Maybe this will shed some light on the subject… From the monthly TM Newsletter which was just sent out this afternoon:

“ Congratulations to Jacob Waldner (Plant Manager) and Adam Waldner (Service Manager) and their wives on the arrival of new baby boys.”

Again, it’s a small company. If Adam had been out for the birth of his son, your order may have been delayed. You’ll have to forgive a new father for not being at the top of his game with a crying newborn in the house.

Anyway, congrats to Jacob and Adam!

 

[oldstick-TMO]

I'll second that. Congratulations as well.

 

[Boulder Lion]

I get it that they have a small company, but I don't view that as an excuse for lousy customer service. Personally, I have had repeated poor experiences with the parts department at Trailmanor, specifically with Adam. I email him and he tells me to call to place an order. I call and leave voicemail, he doesn't call back. I have to do multiple follow ups and then he sends the wrong parts. I repeat the process all over again only to have him invoice me (which I paid immediately) and I am STILL waiting on delivery.

I am a dedicated Trailmanor fan. We are on our second trailer. Typically, I am their biggest cheerleader for everyone who approaches us in campgrounds with inquiries, which happens all the time. But the level of effort a customer has to go through to get something ordered and delivered correctly is frustrating. Unfortunately, from now on these kinds of experiences will be added to the narrative of what it is like to own a Trailmanor.

 

[[email protected]]

Fortunately I’ve never had to order anything from Trailmanor Now I’ll definitely continue to order from 3rd party.

 

[Larryjb-HILO]

I had great experiences ordering from TM. It's possible that for generic items like those latches, they may actually prefer you to order them from a 3rd party. I was ordering torsion bars, very specific for the TM.

I know it's not an excuse for customer service, but they may simply not be set up and used to shipping parts that can be purchased from any RV dealership.

Plus, Christmas is probably a huge deal for them, for the entire month of December, in addition to having two newborns. We live in a world where we expect instant gratification, often now to the expense of family.

 

[Shane826]

I’ve been told by the folks at TM that for non-specific TM parts they would prefer you order from Amazon or another vendor. They usually can’t match their prices especially when you factor in free shipping. Along those lines I’m working on setting up a TrailManor Fans Amazon store. Also, I posted this over on TMF Facebook page. It might be helpful here, too.

So there have been a couple posts here complaining about lack of response from TrailManor about parts, etc. so I wanted to post some contact information. If you don’t get a reply from one within a day or so, please try the next person. They can all help you if need be. If all else fails, email Paul. He WILL reply.

Adam (Parts)
(605) 239-4002
(605) 999-9605
[email protected]

Jacob (Service)
(605) 933-0887
[email protected]

Jack (Office/Purchasing)
(605) 999-6862
[email protected]

Paul
[email protected]

Please remember this is a small company. They aren’t ignoring you. It’s in their best interest to provide the best customer service possible, and more often than not they go above and beyond. If you have a parts request, the best way to get what your looking for is an email with pictures. You might call it a thingamahooha but TrailManor lists it as a whozywhatzit, but a picture is universal. Also keep in mind they don’t stock parts for non-TM specific systems like the fridge, toilet, lights, etc. If you need an igniter for the water heater or a replacement lens, they probably won’t have it. They might be able to order one and then ship it to you but they will even tell you you’re better off going through Amazon or even the manufacturer of the part. If it’s a new TM the part might even be under that manufacturer’s warranty!

 

[oldstick-TMO]

If you re-read my original post I meant that I had ordered the four TM specific (I assume) hold down latches. I meant that I don't know any other RV type that uses those types of latch hooks. Maybe they have specific size and dimensions and are used in other types of commercial or industrial applications but I have never ever seen or heard of them other than TM campers before. I got the part numbers right out of the TM parts catalog that I had. Here is the original email I sent inquiring.

Mr. Adam, can you please tell me the cost for these items?

Quantity 2 21023 right lower latch

Quantity 2 21024 left lower latch

Shipping would be to 31069, Perry GA.


That was back in Oct and Adam responded promptly "16.50 each plus shipping" and I paid the next day but it was several weeks before I got the first two, due to some snafu that I assume was at least partly the USPS's fault.

Re-ordered the two that were still missing on Dec. 7. And again Adam responded promptly taking my order. But now still waiting again all the way to Jan 11.

If anyone knows where these parts are available from another place other than from Trailmanor, please let me know. Adam told me he was going to ship them the next day when I asked him again about it on Jan 4th. Haven't gotten a tracking number or a package yet another week later.

 

[oldstick-TMO]

And if you look up the part numbers I listed above you will see that I am NOT talking about the 4 folding latches that are standard on many pop-up type campers. I had already replaced all 4 of those with upgraded off of Amazon.

 

[oldstick-TMO]

These parts. This email was sent from me back in late October when the first package arrived with two of the four parts missing. I don't want to have to post the entire history of the communications between me and the TM parts dept in a public forum, but I will if forced to. In the meantime, I have forwarded my inquiry to Mr. Adam from Jan 4th where he had responded "it would be shipped out tomorrow" to all the suggested TM contacts mentioned above and have asked again for tracking info on this second package (which was ordered and paid on Dec 7th). How much effort and patience does a reputable company expect their customers to endure, if they refrain from keeping the customer informed as to what is going on???

Mr. Waldner, I am sorry to have to bug you about this package once more. An envelope arrived today and it was already torn open at the top. Inside there were only two of the latches instead of four. Is it possible there were two separate packages sent?
Please see the photo attached.

 

[oldstick-TMO]

But they did respond to my inquiry both times very quickly. And took my money the same day for parts that are probably specific to TrailManor campers. Again look at the exact part number I was trying to order. They DID NOT recommend me to contact any other vendor or dealer to get the parts. If they had have done so, I would have. Nor did they say it will be a time delay before these will be available, so be patient. Zero, absolute zero communications after taking the order and my payment. Until I had to keep bugging them weeks and months later to inquire the status.

 

[Shane826]

Old Stick- Sorry for the confusion. The part of that post about third party vendors wasn’t directed specifically at you. I know the torsion locks are TM specific, that part was more just for general knowledge for others. I hope you get a reply from someone at TM. I will bow out now.

 

[oldstick-TMO]

Old Stick- Sorry for the confusion. The part of that post about third party vendors wasn’t directed specifically at you. I know the torsion locks are TM specific, that part was more just for general knowledge for others. I hope you get a reply from someone at TM. I will bow out now.

Yep I understand and thank you very much again Shane826. Still waiting for some kind of response from any of the TM folks (today at 8 PM eastern on1-13-23). Over a 40 something dollar order I placed on Dec 7. I am hoping this does not mean that TM is about to go out of business and that I already received the last 2 of these latches they had available back in Oct.

 

[oldstick-TMO]

OK, finally end for me to this saga. Finally received two more of these latches on Jan 14th. Still no further explanations of why the long delays from any the TM contacts. One of these two parts was not the exact part number I requested in my email, but also partly my fault for not reading the invoice from Dec 7 very carefully.

But I think I can still use both of them by flipping one over to where the spring side is visible.

 

[Wavery]

I called Adam and ordered some parts just before New Years. Adam answered the phone and took my order professionally and quickly.

About a week later, I received an email invoice. Last week, I received my parts. The entire process took about 3 weeks but considering the holiday and mailing time, I'd say that the order came in a timely manner and the transaction meet my expectations.

Just wanted to give a shout out for Adam's professionalism.

 

[oldstick-TMO]

I called Adam and ordered some parts just before New Years. Adam answered the phone and took my order professionally and quickly.

About a week later, I received an email invoice. Last week, I received my parts. The entire process took about 3 weeks but considering the holiday and mailing time, I'd say that the order came in a timely manner and the transaction meet my expectations.

Just wanted to give a shout out for Adam's professionalism.

That's great to hear! Much faster than the weeks and months that I experienced. So possibly some of the feedback from actual owners and customers HAS gotten back to the right people at TM which I had assumed was the purpose of the feedback forum.