Following on from my comments in another thread and as a result of the issues with both the unit and the service I thought I would at least provide this info for others to make informed decisions.
This is in no way a dig at anyone or steering people away from the product ..JUST BE INFORMED
My issue started with the first use .
After pulling the release handle to adjust between positions as I wanted it at the highest point the unit dropped down fast and the bolt head on the side which is apparently a bump stop snapped/sheared straight off ..first use and a broken part. ( have confirmed this bolt is designed to limit the down ward travel ....it is not up to the task obviously)
Moving on I then clicked the unit in its highest extension and wound out the advertised 250mm extension in each of the 4 positions to get an idea of the height I would need and its stability at each level and ease of movement . this was done on flat concrete surface. I did push the camper back and forth seeing how easy or hard this was.
After this I then tried to move the unit back through its 4 positions, this became difficult to do and I initially thought the bolt head snapping off may have been a locator or something thus now causing the unit to be difficult to use.( later confirmed as not relevant to the shaft in any way just a bump stop)
So I have had to persevere with the shaft and its want to bind up in the lower 2 settings. when i pull the handle i need to apply force to get the inner box shaft to move inside the outer section BUT ONLY for the bottom 2 settings, after that the unit flies down in the top 2 settings .
remember the bump stop bolt that only lasted 1 use ..well yesterday the unit flew down again and wiped out the grease nipple on the other side.
So after 4 calls and no return call ..plus a 2 day old un responded to email, I call up again this morning .
I am told no one is there to take my inquiry again ..I comment that this has happened before and I really need to speak with someone.. I get put through begrudgingly to XXXXXX (name withheld as was a nice bloke) he works in the engineering dept.
Some facts from speaking with the engineer.
1- they have no spare parts AT ALL... parts are salvaged from returned units
EDIT - this is as a result of the massive popularity of the unit and they are trying to increase supply and production2- if you have the unit at the highest extension position 4 ..YOU SHOULD NOT EXTEND THE FULL 250mm this causes the internal thing to bend thus causing the issue i have . they refer to this as user error .
3- after sales service is very poor.
EDIT ( all staff were at the show and office was on skeleton staff ...see last post by me for great customer service outcome)
So i explained that I was simply using the unit as instructed by the marketing he reply was "well they dont listen to us when they market units but at full extension do not wind it out 250mm or you will bend it and they call it user error".
he offered to see if there was a returned unit he could salvage some parts from and send to me if I was handy i could strip the old one and replace parts.
So what does all this mean ...I think the unit is good but it has some inherent design issues that are problematic, the advertised extension is by their own engineer a recipe for failure that will not be covered by warranty. had i known not to extend the 250mm at position 4 I would not have but they advertise this as its main feature.
I am not an idiot and treat all my gear with respect the sheer fact that thier own engineer is saying something different to the glossy advertising is cause for concern and labeling it User error is very poor form IMHO. even if I buy a new one the unit will suffer the exact same issues if i use it again as per the advertising.
I will be following the matter up with customer service as soon as someone can respond to my calls or emails or someone is in the office to accept my call.. i,m not holding my breath.
As said this is not a brand bash or sour grapes.. I am happy i used the unit as per the advertising and its failures are not a result of abuse or misuse ..as you all know the camper only left the shed last week for the first time I simply want to make other aware that if you extend it all the way out it will bend internally.
Will keep the thread updated with an further developments. But so far very disappointing, it seems I am not the only person to have the issue as the engineer said most of the drive units have already been taken of the returned ones so i may have to wait until another one is returned and he will see if the drive unit is ok and send it to me with instructions on how to replace it.
jet
