Excellent Service from Cruisemaster Suspension

Submitted: Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 07:59

ThreadID: 103437 Views:3302 Replies:2 FollowUps:5

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Member - Wamuranman

Excellent Service from Cruisemaster

When we arrived back from our first long trip in our new van (6,000km) I noticed that one tyre on the van was wearing unevenly. So I decided to go back to Cruisemaster Suspension (rather than where I purchased the van) to have a wheel alignment done. They discovered that the galvanising of the chassis process (done by van manufacturer not them) had caused runs onto the bushes and made a proper alignment impossible. So they changed all bushes on all 4 wheels for me and then did a full alignment. About a 3 hour job for 2 men. But the cost to me – zero. They even put new bushes in my DO35 hitch when they noticed it a little sloppy.
Needless to say I was very impressed with the outcome and very appreciative as well. Not often do you find a good product and good service…but I cannot fault the quality or service provided by Cruismaster. Thanks to Kierren and the guys at Vehicle Components at Geebung. Well done.

PS I have no association with company…just want to give credit where it’s due.

Cheers

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Reply By: Ross M - Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 09:29

Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 09:29

It is good they have done that for you.
They have only returned the caravan suspension to the condition it should have left the factory in the first place.
It isn't a service, more of a catch up, patch up to avoid further problems. A wise and sensible thing to do of course.
That is exactly what a warranty is for and should be the normal practice of any company.

I see it as what you would normally expect to happen, unfortunately because of the way many companies operate, the receival of warranty is difficult or impossible and it makes someone who operates normally appear to be giving excellent service. Good for them.

When they changed the suspension bushes they would naturally do an alignment, no sense in sending it out with new bushes and the wheels pointing everywhere at once.
That is a an entirely normal thing to do.

It should all have been quality/integrity checked before leaving the factory. No excuses there.

PS I don't know how old the van is, but if the DO35 has slack bushes in just a few Km's, I would be keeping an eye on the life of the bushes.

Far better to fix yours than be the subject of a lot of negative comment on the various forums or the subject of official proceedings.

Ross M

AnswerID: 515466

Follow Up By: Member - Wamuranman - Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 13:06

Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 13:06

I don't disagree with what you say Ross.
But I guess the point I am making is that I could have gone back to the caravan manufacturer, paid a $100 for a wheel alignment and the alignment would not have stayed true due to the galvanising gung in the bushes. The problem was caused after the suspension left Cruisemaster so they would have been within their rights to say its not their problem. But I believe they went the "extra mile" to make a customer happy. That type of service is rare today I believe.
Cheers

FollowupID: 794770

Follow Up By: member - mazcan - Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 13:47

Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 13:47

hi wanuranman
it is a concern that the d035 hitch is warn enough after only 6000km's
that the bushes are sloppy and needed replacing
to me that tells me that its not heavy duty enough and upto handling the load that it has been installed for
I would be wary of that if it was my van I would be going back to the van manufactures with that info
long term it may need a heavier rated hitch???
cheers

FollowupID: 794772

Follow Up By: Member - Legendts - Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 14:47

Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 14:47

X 2 for mazcans comment. Definitely worth getting back to the dealer/manufacturer on.

FollowupID: 794774

Follow Up By: Ross M - Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 15:20

Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 15:20

The galvanizing gunge in the bush area SHOULD NOT have been left as it was and suspension built around it.
Whoever is responsible for that has assembled the gear with little knowledge or recognition of the consequences.
Who do you think assembles these things, highly qualified mechanics or staff who can tighten a nut.

If it is suspension items tightened against lumps of a soft material like zinc but has to with stand high pressure or force, then the zinc will give way every time. ( zinc is a greasy slippery material)
They know that is possible because of the years of production experience and although they possibly would never admit to anything they are prepared to rectify the situation. Good on them.
If they prepped or even inspected the bush sites prior to assembly it would never have happened. Not so good on them.

I agree taking it to a caravan dealer who may not recognize the base problem is/would be a waste of time.

Do you think it is possible the company has had similar suspension movement issues and so knew exactly what to rectify when you fronted up with an alignment problem.
To me, very to have happened before.

When the cost of checking them beforehand, outweighs the number of failures and that cost to repair, then they will be more diligent beforehand.
Did they fit a new tyre?

FollowupID: 794775

Follow Up By: Member - Wamuranman - Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 18:17

Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 18:17

No new tyre but that would have to come from the van manufacturer but I have not been back to them about this.
I understand the suspension is attached to the chassis by the van manufacturer and then galvanised.
Yes so they are the ones at fault. We paid for a serivce on the van after the first 1000km which included a wheel alignment which obviously failed as within the next 5000km the tyre started to wear unevenly.
So the van manufacturer should give me a new tyre but I doubt I will get one.
Cheers
PS will keep an eye on the hitch to see how it goes after the next long trip.

FollowupID: 794784

Reply By: Member - Toyocrusa (NSW) - Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 20:32

Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 at 20:32

My brother has a 24ft Baroma Van around five years old now, fitted with their air suspension. He is up around Charters Towers and noticed a crack where the axle is welded to the swing arm. He contacted VC who gave him the go ahead to have the axle welded and then bring the van back to their factory. They will replace all four swing arms as it is something they said, was not built to current specs to suit his type of use. Seems like they certainly stand by their product. Bob.

AnswerID: 515506