Sir Kev & Darkie replied:

What was the instruction book for??

I would have thought the Agent would have explained everything as well as demonstrated how to put the camper up and how to pack it up.

I bought my Trak Shak second hand, and have followed my nose so to speak with setting it up. I had the assistance of camping right next to a fellow Trak Shak owner at the St George Gathering (John T) who passed on some great tips for setting the camper up.

I set the camper up level by eye as my camper hasn't got level installed.

Suspension issues could happen to any camper/Caravan/vehicle.

Cheers Kev

ajd replied:

Aren't Trak Shaks made in China now?

Member - Dave and Shaz replied:

We put together our own campertrailer and bought a brand new Oztrail 12 campertop from Kulkyne Kampers (the most the budget could stretch to). After our first trip away, to Snowy Mountains and then Tassie, the thing was falling apart. Stitching was coming apart, poles wouldn't stay up, we waterproofed it before leaving but rain would run in along places where it shouldn't come, so on our return home we contacted KK, and Oztrail replaced the whole campertop with a completely new one. This one has been going fine now for the last 4+ months. We just reckoned we got a lemon, as can happen. Luckily KK gave great after sales service.

ian replied:

Hi jothefw,
I have heard horror stories about Chinese made campers, sorry its happened to you. I would talk to consumer affairs before you visit Trak Shak so you know your full rights.
rgds
ian

Member - lyndon NT replied:

Hi
My advise would be to take lots of detailed pictures and note/record every conversation you have with dealer or manufacturer. We bought a boat trailer a few years ago, it was delivered 6 months late(custom build) so had to use for holiday but could tell there were going to be big issues from the start. Yep, fell to bits! Had lots of pic's and all manner of details. They refused to talk to us so well got a lawyer. Still didn't come to the party until we (lied) about some contacts we might have on a current affairs program. Got the trailer for free + a few thousand in compensation. If you have a bad feeling about the product get your $ back.
Good luck

Member - Duncs replied:

What a pity.

I bought my Trak Shak from the original company owner/founder and the inventor of the TS. It has given us 13 years of all but faultless service over some pretty tough roads.

Our experience with Peter was nothing short of fantastic. He could not deliver a new one in time for our trip so he loaned us his own. Like you we got no instructions, Peter apologised for that it was an oversight in the loan process. Luckily I had seen them put up and packed up plenty of times at shows and so had few problems.

We are based in Sydney and in those days TS were in Adelaide. When we got to the factory to pick up our brand new CT, after 6 weeks on the road with a loan trailer absolutely free, ours wasn't quite ready so they bought us lunch while we waited.

I said all but faultless service. We had the brake cable snap while on our way up Cape York. I did have two really big stops in quick succession. It was a simple repair. The other failure was I lost a wheel. It came off just north or Yunta but that was my fault. I really should check wheel nuts before I leave home. The fact that my TS came with a spare stub axle and hub got me out of trouble.

Every time I hear of people having problems with a Trak Shak I feel for Peter. He was proud of his campers and of the service his company provided. Even the second Peter, who bought the company from the original owner would be saddened to hear these reports.

If only, like me you had bought yours 13 years ago.

Duncs

Member - Barry (NT) replied:

Sory to hear of your woes,,, but rest assured you are not alone

Lyndon above said take photos and record all conversations and meetings - DO THIS as a minimum and keep an historical record

WE paid a lot of $$$$$ for our van and have had problems too so the engineering and quality control is not what it could be and our consumer laws are a bit of a joke

be firm and fair with the agent and tell them what you expect of them and quietly contact consumer affairs and see where you stand in your state or territory

by the way did the dealer charge a predelivery fee - if so you may get it back if faults existed (and it sounds like they did)

Best of luck

Baz

brett replied:

Hmm so your problems were no instruction book, a level not level, sagged spring and a stub axle split pin problem.

In the big picture i think you've done pretty well, heard akot worse than that. there's an instruction book on the website, although not much to it, flip it over and pull it out, that's it. Wouldn't even bother with a level, just have a look at it, if it looks level it probably is.
I'd be concerned about the stub axle, if the hole is crooked and you can't get a split pin in, was there one in there from the start? If not what was holding the nut on.
The spring hasn't failed by the sounds of it, just sagged a bit, how much lower is it. I'm sure they'd replace it if its sagged.
And I don;t think you can blame the 37 deg heat on them.
and I guess i should mention i'm another very happy trakshak owner, 2000 model for me.

jothefw replied:

To post a follow up ...

Took CT back to agent - agent reviewed springs and confirmed a) wrong length of spring used (could be removed easily when trailer jacked up) and b) both springs had failed.

Unfortunately next day air freight wasn't next day so we've brought CT home again and they'll forward new springs to us here at home and we'll fit ourselves.

With reference to the level - I did point out we're new to this game so hence if a level's provided then we'd expect to use it ... in hindsight half our trouble with getting the CT level on first setup was due to sitting on un-even springs!

This in turn made us wish for the instruction book - we didn't know if we were doing something wrong. It's very easy as an experienced CT owner to say, just open, pull canvas over and put poles in but when you can't get half the sleeping setup to actually sit horizontal (it looked like a gull wing) you do want to know what you're doing wrong!

Anyway I've received an apology from the agent for the hiccup and I'm happy with the conclusion but it does bring me back to my initial question about PDI's ... hopefully that's all of the negative stuff, now to enjoying getting out and about!