I bought an Australian Made Trackabout in 2009 brand new.
The canvas leaks in the rain (In the Corners), tyres lasted 300km before laminating on the highway bending up the guard and destroying the mudflap, Ive replaced both my stabiliser legs as they break, redone the plumbing underneath as it rubbed on the stabiliser leg and wore through, replaced the hand pump, D-rings have pull out of the canvas, breaks pulled to one side they day i drove it away, flymesh is deterorating on the door.
I still would only buy Australian though
Hi Sebastian
Lets address any issues you may have. I believe we make a good product and have very little comeback on what we do.
Tyres- Back in 2009 we used 2nd tyres and occasionally from time to time there was an issue. 300 km's not acceptable, a phone call to us and we would have fixed damages and replaced tyres to your satisfaction. Back then a 4x4 Deluxe Tourer started at around $10K and there was nothing left in the budget for new tyres....but there was an option for new tyres at the time and you may have decided against this option.
Leaking canvas- Is it possible you have set the tent up under a lot of tension which has caused the stitch lines to open up. Once again a call to our office and we would have resolved any issues. A simple fix with a wax stick or seem sealer would have fixed this!
Stabilizer Legs- We have used 1000's of the AL-KO stabilizer legs without issue. When you say they broke, was it something you may have done? The legs are not designed to jack the camper off the ground and will break if you do this.....if its a fault in the product once again would have been happy to replace or fix this issue.
Water hose wearing on leg- Sounds like something my guys did not do properly at time of manufacture....would have been more than happy to fix this. Just remember when you have humans making product, from time to time things can go wrong!
Hand pump- These have always been an issue and to this day we still replace them FOC. We find if people keep the shaft lubricated they will last twice as long. We use the Trojen brand which is regarded as the best in the industry. When I do a hand over I do explain to people that they will leak around the top and always pays to keep an extra one on hand in case the tap fails. Once again given the chance I would have fixed this one up as well.
D-Rings pulling out of tent- Common problem if people use the tent to pull the pegs out or when setting up if the D-ring is sitting up off the ground they smash the peg in until the D-ring is touching on the ground. D-rings don't just fall out unless at time of manufacture the sewing machine was not working properly....am happy to look at this one for you and we have the means to test it and advise you if it was something you have done wrong or whether it was a manufacturing fault.
Flymesh on door- We use super screen mesh and is regarded as the strongest, dearest and the best money can buy. When setting up, before you peg your tent down...simply zip the door down 1st. By doing this the door will not elongate and make it hard to zip up or unzip. I do see from time to time where people have stretched the mesh (generally not broken, just stretched) as a result from the tent not been set up correctly, which results in the door been under immense pressure and long term stretches the fabric. If there is an issue with the product or the way we have sewn it.....happy once again to sort this issue.
Brakes- At the time of hand over we would have explained that the brakes are set up at a factory pre set by AL-KO and do need adjustment after the 1st couple of hundred km's. I don't recall getting a phone call from you on how to adjust the brakes nor do I remember us doing an adjustment for you. We would of gladly re adjusted the brakes for you FOC as we do for all of our clients who are not mechanically minded.....so once again no call was made and you have not given Trackabout the opportunity to fix this issue!
I have many 1000's of happy clients roaming the country enjoying there Trackabout and from time to time things can go wrong. We are always here to help and sort issues whether it be something you have done wrong or something we may have over looked ! I will invite you to bring the camper back to us (even if its not under warranty) and I will get these problems resolved. When we sell a camper we like to know that everyone is enjoying it and airing your issues on a public forum is not the right place to resolve these problems.....anyhow you have my attention now (a phone call would have worked too lol) so will be waiting on a call or you can PM me here if you want.
Cheers
JT