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  1. #1
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    2021 381M: Extensive Rat Damage While At Dealer for Service

    Hi all.

    We have a 2021 381M we dropped off for routine servie and warranty work in mid-January. I was told the trailer would sit for a month before being worked on, and I had no choice but to leave the trailer with the dealer or I would lose my spot in the service queue.

    Fast foward to late February. I get a call from a different service advisor than the one who checked me in back in January, and she tells me a rat had entered the trailer somehow while it was sitting on their lot waiting to be serviced and it had destroyed the water lines and chewed up the bathroom door. They said the rat was gone and they’re fixing the damage at their expense. I wasn’t happy but I suppose it is what it is.

    Fast forward Friday, March 12th and the same service advisor calls again saying it turns out they were wrong and the rat has been feasting away inside the trailer the whole time. The HUGE rat got into the pantry, chewed up non-perishable food and the service advisor couldn’t tell me what else the rat got into. They ended up calling an exterminator to catch it. I asked if the rat got into anything else such as our bedding, clothes, couch and any of the drawers/cupboards with dishes. The service advisor couldn’t confirm and they would get in touch shortly with a full break down of what’s been damaged.

    I decided I'd drive out to the dealer on Monday, March 15th to see the trailer myself (it's 100 miles each way hence not going sooner). It was pouring rain that day, and when I arrived, my jaw hit the floor. The trailer was not inside of one of the many enclosed service bays available at the dealership and the insulation in the underbelly was completely exposed and laying on the wet ground, wires and hoses were dangling on the wet ground, the exterior pass-through storage doors under the master bedroom were wide open with all of the untreated wood and wiring exposed with rain going inside, the hot water heater was partially pulled out from the side of the trailer and was already showing signs of rust, and our bedding, clothes, towels and various personal belongings were sitting in trash bags outside in the rain filling with water.

    Inside the trailer it was obviously the rat had been all over. The master bed had no bedding, iPhone charging cords plugged in next to the bed had been chewed, the door going into the garage had also been chewed up, and there were holes in the master bedroom slide-out carpet underneath the closet doors where the rat had likely been going to and from the underbelly of the trailer. Not to mention there was visible rat droppings and urine in the carpet. The bag for my Virair air compressor was chewed through (unsure if the hoses or compressor are damaged) and even our Nespresso machine was chewed. There was a big pile of our personal belongings in the garage that either a technician or rodent exterminator had piled up and I didn't bother going through as I didn't have gloves and it was unknown if the rat was still in the trailer or not.

    I told the service advisor in person on March 15th after seeing the trailer and walking through it that as far as I'm concerned the trailer is toast and we don't want it back. She nodded and said it's completely understandable, and would have management call me to discuss potentially buying the trailer back and getting us into something else.

    Since then I have texted with the service advisor a couple of times explaining I have not heard from management, and we need to resolve this matter as soon as possible. The SA told me the trailer is still being worked on and their techs are rushing to finish repairs, and I don't see how that plays a role into this at all as I was crystal clear I don't want the trailer back and want our damaged items replaced.

    A service manager (not a sales manager) did leave me a voicemail on April 20th, and I returned his call today (April 21st) and left a voicemail for him.

    My wife and I are beyond frustrated with this entire situation, and the entire experience has been a disaster. Even if the dealer repairs the trailer and cleans it thoroughly, there will still be that asterisk mark on this trailer (sort of like the Astros winning the world series - yes, we live in Los Angeles lol) and no way will we get top dollar later when we sell and disclose the extensive repair. Not to mention the loss of use the past three months and thousands of dollars of damaged personal belongings.

    Has anyone else had something like this happen? If so, what was the outcome with the dealer?

  2. #2
    Site Sponsor livinthelife's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tsm102 View Post
    Hi all.

    We have a 2021 381M we dropped off for routine servie and warranty work in mid-January. I was told the trailer would sit for a month before being worked on, and I had no choice but to leave the trailer with the dealer or I would lose my spot in the service queue.

    Fast foward to late February. I get a call from a different service advisor than the one who checked me in back in January, and she tells me a rat had entered the trailer somehow while it was sitting on their lot waiting to be serviced and it had destroyed the water lines and chewed up the bathroom door. They said the rat was gone and they’re fixing the damage at their expense. I wasn’t happy but I suppose it is what it is.

    Fast forward Friday, March 12th and the same service advisor calls again saying it turns out they were wrong and the rat has been feasting away inside the trailer the whole time. The HUGE rat got into the pantry, chewed up non-perishable food and the service advisor couldn’t tell me what else the rat got into. They ended up calling an exterminator to catch it. I asked if the rat got into anything else such as our bedding, clothes, couch and any of the drawers/cupboards with dishes. The service advisor couldn’t confirm and they would get in touch shortly with a full break down of what’s been damaged.

    I decided I'd drive out to the dealer on Monday, March 15th to see the trailer myself (it's 100 miles each way hence not going sooner). It was pouring rain that day, and when I arrived, my jaw hit the floor. The trailer was not inside of one of the many enclosed service bays available at the dealership and the insulation in the underbelly was completely exposed and laying on the wet ground, wires and hoses were dangling on the wet ground, the exterior pass-through storage doors under the master bedroom were wide open with all of the untreated wood and wiring exposed with rain going inside, the hot water heater was partially pulled out from the side of the trailer and was already showing signs of rust, and our bedding, clothes, towels and various personal belongings were sitting in trash bags outside in the rain filling with water.

    Inside the trailer it was obviously the rat had been all over. The master bed had no bedding, iPhone charging cords plugged in next to the bed had been chewed, the door going into the garage had also been chewed up, and there were holes in the master bedroom slide-out carpet underneath the closet doors where the rat had likely been going to and from the underbelly of the trailer. Not to mention there was visible rat droppings and urine in the carpet. The bag for my Virair air compressor was chewed through (unsure if the hoses or compressor are damaged) and even our Nespresso machine was chewed. There was a big pile of our personal belongings in the garage that either a technician or rodent exterminator had piled up and I didn't bother going through as I didn't have gloves and it was unknown if the rat was still in the trailer or not.

    I told the service advisor in person on March 15th after seeing the trailer and walking through it that as far as I'm concerned the trailer is toast and we don't want it back. She nodded and said it's completely understandable, and would have management call me to discuss potentially buying the trailer back and getting us into something else.

    Since then I have texted with the service advisor a couple of times explaining I have not heard from management, and we need to resolve this matter as soon as possible. The SA told me the trailer is still being worked on and their techs are rushing to finish repairs, and I don't see how that plays a role into this at all as I was crystal clear I don't want the trailer back and want our damaged items replaced.

    A service manager (not a sales manager) did leave me a voicemail on April 20th, and I returned his call today (April 21st) and left a voicemail for him.

    My wife and I are beyond frustrated with this entire situation, and the entire experience has been a disaster. Even if the dealer repairs the trailer and cleans it thoroughly, there will still be that asterisk mark on this trailer (sort of like the Astros winning the world series - yes, we live in Los Angeles lol) and no way will we get top dollar later when we sell and disclose the extensive repair. Not to mention the loss of use the past three months and thousands of dollars of damaged personal belongings.

    Has anyone else had something like this happen? If so, what was the outcome with the dealer?
    I haven't been through all that. But I'd be giving GD a call and telling them the whole story. See if they will assist you. I hope you took pictures of what you saw at the dealership.

    As an aside - if you don't mind - what dealership did you use?
    Last edited by livinthelife; 04-21-2021 at 02:51 PM.

    2017 Reflection 26RL "Mili"
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  3. #3
    Long Hauler Canyonlight's Avatar
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    This is the worst "animal" damage I have ever heard of in my 5+ decades of RVing/camping ! I agree, I would not want it back either and would get an attorney involved to hold the dealership accountable if it was due to their negligence. Curious as to what your insurance carrier has said. If not contacted them, this would seem appropriate to do so to learn more about options and recommendations.

    I am also curious as to where a rat entered the RV in the first place. Yes, there may be small gaps between some areas but large enough for a rat to enter seems there may be more to learn here.

    Keep us posted.

    Dan
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    I have held off on involving GD in hopes the dealer would make this right, but considering the huge delay, I see no other choice but to involve them at this point. I took several videos while I was there, and took a few screen shots of the videos that I'll attach. Sorry they are a bit blurry and I could only get a few to upload. I'll make another reply and upload more.

    Respectfully I'm going to hold off on mentioning the dealer name in case it gets back to the dealer and they become even more stubborn to deal with.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 1.png   2.png   3.png   4.png   5.png  


  5. #5
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    A few more exterior pictures. The pics don't do it justice how heavy it was raining and hot wet everything was.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 6.png   7.png   8.png   9.png  

  6. #6
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    A few interior pictures.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 10.png   11.png   12.png   13.png  

  7. #7
    Big Traveler Txfivver's Avatar
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    Wow what a shame to happen to a new trailer, very sorry to see that tsm102. I'm with you, no way I'd take that trailer back if it was mine. I would be camped out at the owners office with my attorney by my side. They need to make you whole again and replace that trailer. That to me is not unforeseeable damage like hail or storm damage. I would think any RV dealer would have some kind of exterminator come on a regular basis to protect their own new inventory as well as customer units. They would have to almost disassemble that trailer and rewire and replumb it to make sure they corrected all the damage. Good luck to you sir and please let us know how it turns out.
    2019 Solitude 375RES Onan 5500 Splendide W/D Samsung res. fridge
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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Canyonlight View Post
    This is the worst "animal" damage I have ever heard of in my 5+ decades of RVing/camping ! I agree, I would not want it back either and would get an attorney involved to hold the dealership accountable if it was due to their negligence. Curious as to what your insurance carrier has said. If not contacted them, this would seem appropriate to do so to learn more about options and recommendations.

    I am also curious as to where a rat entered the RV in the first place. Yes, there may be small gaps between some areas but large enough for a rat to enter seems there may be more to learn here.

    Keep us posted.

    Dan
    I'm not sure where the rat entered the RV as the dealership didn't make mention of this.

    I have spoken with our agent already and she said the dealer has fleet coverage for situations like this and the dealer should run this under their insurance. That's as much as my agent has told me at the moment.

    A family member of mine is a trial lawyer and used to represent insurance companies before becoming a class action lawyer 20+ years ago. I prefer to not "lawyer up" unless it's truly necessary, but he will step in at no cost to us and take the reins if this drags on much longer.

  9. #9
    Site Sponsor NB Canada's Avatar
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    Unbelievable
    Sorry to hear of this
    Unlikely GD can do much so don’t get upset if they don’t do a lot
    I would contact insurance and they will file a claim against the dealers insurance


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  10. #10
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    Wow, just unbelievable. I'm with you, I wouldn't want it back either and then there's all of your personal belongings. Hopefully this gets resolved quickly and in your favor. Good luck and please keep us posting.
    Steph & Lise
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