Trailmanor update

[aslag54]

Surely your dealer or TM has called you at this point?

I hadn't heard anything from Trailmanor so I called my dealer around noon Thursday. He said he hadn't had any contact with them either, he said he called the factory earlier that morning and left a message but as of noon (Pacific time) Thursday neither of us have heard a peep. I'm disappointed that Trailmanor made no effort to reach out to me or their long time dealer and try to resolve this situation. That's when I decided to cancel my order. What a waste of nearly 5 months, during which I seen several used units come and go I would have been interested in, one for not much more than my deposit. Bob and Cleo are very nice people, I wish them well. I hope they can turn things around because you can't make money without customers.

 

[Icon-KEY]

I hadn't heard anything from Trailmanor so I called my dealer around noon Thursday. He said he hadn't had any contact with them either, he said he called the factory earlier that morning and left a message but as of noon (Pacific time) Thursday neither of us have heard a peep. I'm disappointed that Trailmanor made no effort to reach out to me or their long time dealer and try to resolve this situation. That's when I decided to cancel my order. What a waste of nearly 5 months, during which I seen several used units come and go I would have been interested in, one for not much more than my deposit. Bob and Cleo are very nice people, I wish them well. I hope they can turn things around because you can't make money without customers.

Best regards to you and I hope you find an acceptable used/new to you TM.

 

[Bowfreak]

I think you are being too nice to them. Nice owners with any customer service skills would have been on the phone immediately with you and your dealer to make things right with you. This is not a good sign for their ability to run a successful company when they are hiding and avoiding an issue.

If this is acceptable customer service for them, I am worried about their future to stay in business. That in turns worries me as a Trailmanor owner to be able to get services and or parts in the future.

I hadn't heard anything from Trailmanor so I called my dealer around noon Thursday. He said he hadn't had any contact with them either, he said he called the factory earlier that morning and left a message but as of noon (Pacific time) Thursday neither of us have heard a peep. I'm disappointed that Trailmanor made no effort to reach out to me or their long time dealer and try to resolve this situation. That's when I decided to cancel my order. What a waste of nearly 5 months, during which I seen several used units come and go I would have been interested in, one for not much more than my deposit. Bob and Cleo are very nice people, I wish them well. I hope they can turn things around because you can't make money without customers.

 

[Redtail cruiser]

The fact that TM hasn't reached out to you or their dealership, speaks volumes on where they are right now as a company. You made the right decision to cancel your order. It will be interesting to see, going forward, if TM will ever be able to deliver a quality product again. It's sure looking doubtful right now.

 

[BradS7535]

Sorry to hear that TM hasn't been communicating with you or their dealership. I am going to start seriously looking for a used TM, but keep my order for the new one. Luckily my deposit was only $500 so isn't THAT much cash being tied up. If I don't find a used by the time my new one is delivered I can always walk away from the new if my dealer or myself don't think the quality is up to par. I will keep you all updated.

 

[Brittany Dogs]

I realize it's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback or if one has not owned a company, it's easy to criticize. However, a long and delayed lead time to make a TrailManor unit would suggest several possibilities:
*Their backlog is huge with lots and lots of orders. Unlikely.
*They can't hire enough skilled people. From a previous photo of their employees they can build units with about a dozen people, plus a few here and there.
*The move to a distant new location was more disruptive than predicted. Good management prevents this.
*Cash flow. If you can't buy materials and pay people, it just slows every damn aspect of your operation. Worse yet, you can't hire Quality Control personal and bad things happen when the workers are stressed and wear a half dozen hats.

I wish the company well, I really do. But it seems for as long as I known them (5 years) the business had had a real hard time getting traction.

 

[Padgett]

Having retired last year am looking for something to do. Maybe a Florida R&D center. Large camper population both permanent and transient. Home of Fiamma Awnings. Lots of credentials on request.

 

[HIKERZ]

Living in FL that would be good for me

 

[Padgett]

After a while you discover that certain parts of the country have "centers of excellence" for industry that have a large pool of talented people. Silicon Valley and the Silicon Prairie for electronics. The Midwest for talent and supplies for automotive and the RV industry. Leave those areas and costs go up and quality goes down. Just is.

Spent 45 years in automotive and aerospace, the last thirty with the largest DOD contractor. Others here have similar backgrounds. Have offered help but at this point would need to be asked.

Wonder what the move cost ? Would be similar to move back into the world.

 

[aslag54]

I'm pretty sure Bob owns the building and I do recall reading he received some grant money from the local government for relocating in Hartington. One of the excuses Bob used for the delay on my unit was they had no white exterior paint in stock, how can you make trailers without exterior paint. I opted for the silver gray, I thought that odd because the silver grey paint had a de-lamination problem which he assured was fixed. Another excuse was the aluminum he had wasn't primer coated or something like that and the structural panels they made were de-laminating. Another was they were waiting for one part, really? Having worked for a failing company all these sound like they are having money problems. Add to that Prosser RV, who I heard from my dealer, invested in Trailmanor has one of the only 2 Rise prototypes on sale for $30K with a retail of $44K. Why would a company sell off a prototype? Certainly they spent a lot more money in R&D. Kind of sounds to me like a loan payment. These are only my opinions, thinking out loud so to speak.

 

[Bailey'sMom]

. Add to that Prosser RV, who I heard from my dealer, invested in Trailmanor has one of the only 2 Rise prototypes on sale for $30K with a retail of $44K. Why would a company sell off a prototype? Certainly they spent a lot more money in R&D. Kind of sounds to me like a loan payment. These are only my opinions, thinking out loud so to speak.

Very interesting!

 

[Padgett]

The is interesting. See here for the advert. Note that it has a 2016 model year VIN (G in 10th position)) and they expect to produce less than 500 TMs this year (9 in third).

Suspect someone here should buy this collector's item. 1/3 off.

 

[scrubjaysnest-TMO]

We had stopped by JD Sanders RV, near Gainsville last month and one of their parts people said they were thinking of dropping TM, they had one used on the lot.
They had the TM's for about 13 years.

 

[Redtail cruiser]

Have noticed that used TM prices are rising. The old supply vs demand thing, as well as, it being spring time.

 

[Padgett]

J.D.Sanders is just north of Gainesville on I-75. Less populated area so less expensive land & Gainesville is a major college town and transportation hub.

I-75 is one of two main routes from the U.S. to Florida (other is I-95 down the East Coast). About 100 miles north of Orlando and 50 miles from the I-75 <> Fla Turnpike split to the East Coast & 50 miles south of I-10, direct route to Jacksonville & LA.

Clean air, lots of green, see snow about once every few decades. Not a bad place to put a trailer assembly, R&D, showroom, & distribution plant.

Just thinking....

 

[Shane826]

I see what you did there, Padgett!

 

[Padgett]

Just back from Sun'N'Fun and really enjoyed my resto-mod TM. AC and coffee whenever I wanted, plenty of nighttime power for surfing the web. Cold fridge and hot shower when desired, and tows like a dream.

Meanwhile, once the trailer is dropped the Jeep was available for the run to the GAP trailer or a hop into town, the combination is ideal for me.

 

[wbmiller3]

I'm sorry this long saga ended as it did. I'm seriously concerned about the future of TM. The excuses you got are just ridiculous, and if true, are really bad signs. Last fall I couldn't buy a simple part from the factory, I ended up having to get it from MCD RV. Thank goodness for MCD, but when their stock runs out, what will we do?

Our TM's over 15 years old now and I always thought I'd replace it with another. I no longer believe that will happen.

 

[Padgett]

Well I have one car that is 46 years old and is ready to go. OTOH other than body parts, the TM is mostly standard RV items, many available from Amazon or Camping World or Home Depot or eTrailer.

What gets me is that TM has a unique (using the word properly here) and desirable place in the camping trailer world but must have quality units available to be profitable.

 

[Logman-TMO]

Dealers and parts

I'm sorry this long saga ended as it did. I'm seriously concerned about the future of TM. The excuses you got are just ridiculous, and if true, are really bad signs. Last fall I couldn't buy a simple part from the factory, I ended up having to get it from MCD RV. Thank goodness for MCD, but when their stock runs out, what will we do?

Our TM's over 15 years old now and I always thought I'd replace it with another. I no longer believe that will happen.

I had to replace the OS corner trim on the upper front shell after it came loose and blew away while driving during a big wind event last year. The dealers who replied to my request all told me TM was not responding to them at all. I was frustrated and called the new purchase # at TM and they filled my request immediately. I'm not sure why the disconnect. If TM fails we owners will have to be resourceful engineers and make our own unique body parts.