Camping World

We purchased a travel trailer from camping world dover. First time we took it out I noticed water damage in the bunk. They sold us a unit with no seals in it. 3years later the floor is falling out of the camper - they I fixed seals but didnt fix the water damage! My son almost fell through the floor! This group sucks to work with - they want me to pay to get it fixed! It's been in their shop a full year. Worst experience I have ever had.

I will forewarn you now that this a rather lengthy due to the fact that our nightmare experience with Camping World is in its 5th month and STILL not over yet. We purchased a 2015 Thor Miramar 34.3 brand new from Camping World of Bartow and it has spent more time in the shop at Camping World than we've been able to use it. Our latest experience with Camping World of Tampa began on Saturday, July 13th 2019 when we brought our coach in to have an non-functioning water pump looked at, our front windshield inspected for leaks and the furniture inside the coach repaired. The catalyst to this nightmarish incident was the furniture in the coach, so I will focus mainly on that.

During our last vacation with the coach, which was over Memorial Day weekend, we noticed that the vinyl on the sofa, the dinette and both captain chairs had begun to deteriorate and flake off. Large patches of material continued to flake off on the cushions as well as the foot boards of the furniture. We contacted Camping World because we had purchased the extended warranty which partially covered the defective manufacturing of these items. We spoke with Jerry Henrich, our service rep, who requested that we bring the unit in on Saturday, July 13th for servicing. We did as was requested of us and Jerry inspected, took pictures of the furniture and when we questioned as to if they would be able to match the color of the current vinyl, Jerry stated that it would not be a problem since the coach is still relatively new. We explained to Jerry that we had a trip planned over Labor Day weekend in September and would like the coach back before that time and he confirmed that it would be completed well before that date.

Several weeks went by and, after not hearing from Jerry, we called Camping World of Tampa. Each time we called, Jerry was either "busy with another customer", "not in today" or simply didn't answer the phone. We left multiple messages which went unanswered for several more weeks. Finally, we were able to actually speak with Jerry who informed us that the water pump had been replaced, the vinyl fabric had been replaced and that the coach was ready for pick up. This was approximately one week prior to our September trip. When we arrived at Camping World, we went out to inspect the work completed and were horrified to see what had become of our coach. The material used was nowhere close to what had been promised nor what was in the coach previously. It was a dark chocolate brown and it was everywhere. When we asked Jerry why this was done, his response was that this was the material selected by us. We explained to Jerry that no one from Camping World ever contacted us to advise us of this change and that neither of us came into Camping World to sign the paperwork approving it. Jerry quickly stated that he would contact the vendor who did the work and see what happened and what can be done to correct the problem.

Also during this inspection, the alarm for the automatic leveling unit was beeping and showing "low battery" on the display. Jerry said that he would have a tech check it out and get back with us. Several more days went by and once again, our calls to get an update as to when our coach would be ready went unanswered. As we neared the day we were supposed to leave for our Labor Day vacation, we tried one last time to speak to Jerry but were unsuccessful and we were forced to cancel our vacation trip. We finally received a call back the following week and were told that the vinyl vendor was declining to do the work since the original work was approved.

Several months went by and each time we tried to get an update on our coach, we were told by Jerry that Dr. Vinyl wasn't returning his calls and that they continue to give him the run-around. Frustrated and furious, we took matters into our own hands and called the corporate offices of the Dr. Vinyl chain. We explained to them what Jerry had told us and what we have experienced and we were told that they would be contacting the business' owner who would then call us back. The following day we received a call from Craig from Dr. Vinyl who explained that the work done was approved by Camping World and that he has been trying to call us, but Jerry kept declining to give him our phone number. We made arrangements with Craig to meet at Camping World to discuss this with Jerry and attempt to resolve the issue. Following this meeting, Dr. Vinyl agreed to remove the dark brown vinyl and replace it with the color selected by us and Jerry agreed to have the coach ready for pick up prior to our trip in December.

Now, this whole process took nearly 2 & 1/2 months and last week we were informed that our coach was finally ready for pick up. We confirmed with Jerry that the coach would be washed and detailed as he had originally promised due to the lengthy delay in returning our unit to us and he stated that it would be washed, detailed and the tires would be checked for the proper PSI well before we arrived to pick it up. Well, on Saturday December 21st we arrived to pick up the coach and it was NOT ready. The electronic leveling jacks were still alarming and would not deploy downward, the unit still showed "low battery/malfunction" on the display panel, the coach was filthy on the exterior with visible damage noted that was not previously noted on the walk-around inspection sheet when we arrived back in July and there was hydraulic fluid coating the bottom of the basement compartment that housed the leveling motor. There was also a large metal pipe sticking up out of the sink and none of the tires had been touched. Unfortunately Jerry happened to be on vacation at this time and the rep (Theresa) had no clue about any of the work that was supposed to have been completed nor why it had not been done. So, we could not take possession of the unit and now it appears that we may have to cancel another vacation because of the poor customer service provided by Camping World.

This matter isn't simply a job that is incomplete, but rather the ripple effect of what additional costs we have incurred because of Camping World's failures. We store our coach inside a metal garage that we rent on a monthly basis at Big Toys Storage in Thonotosassa and we have paid for the stall to sit empty for now 6 months at a cost of nearly $1500. We have canceled one vacation causing us to lose our deposit and now we may be forced to cancel our New Years trip since the deadline for canceling without penalty is 5 days prior to the day of arrival which would be this coming Friday. What makes this matter even more hurtful and frustrating is that our daughter is graduating high school this year and will be attending college in North Carolina, so this was going to be our last New Years trip together. We had planned for a week at Disney's Fort Wilderness Campgrounds which, if we don't have our coach ready by Monday, we will be forced to cancel.

We've attempted to contact Camping World corporate offices, but receive the same treatment of calls not being returned. I can say with 100% certainty that this has been the absolute worst experience that we have ever encountered with any business that we have ever dealt with. We've been lied to, the victim of falsification of paperwork, ignored and treated like we were an annoyance rather than a valued consumer. Our desired resolution to this nightmare would be the proper completion of the previously promised work without charges to us and the repair of the damage done to the coach by Camping World Tampa without charges to us.

Forest River Sierra Destination Model
Model# 385 FKBH
Serial # 4X4TSER22JJ046024

I recently purchased this unit on May 3, 2019 brand new and I have had a series of problems from the time of purchase. I have called the service department (Justin), Tabitha and also the service tech Gary White ( a great person). I have the following issue which have NOT been taking care of and the blame game goes from Forest River to Camping World. The issues are: AC units (two 15 KW) does not cool the RV because of Cool Air vs Return Air is not balanced. Thermostat is in the hallway and exposed to the element (sun) all day long. I used 1440 KW for the month of May. Toilet valve is bad, floor has approx 8" cut in vinyl, window shades coming apart, Fantastic Fan arm bent, leaking bathroom sink faucet, under pan of RV large hole and only taped, slide moldings underneath coming apart, screws missing on slides, Recliners have staples coming through. Not enough room for the rest but I have had many visits to Camping World and Forest River (Todd Sorrell, Judd Cripes (both have tried to get things done) but have not had any resolve. Please help us because we are displaced because the temp inside ranges from 80-87 deg with the temp set at 74 deg. We have three fans running at one time to try and maintain comfort. Thank you for your assistance.

On Monday, March 4, 2013, Aaron Hawkins wrote:
To whom it may concern:

I am writing this letter to appeal a wrongful termination of my employment with Camping World on February 27, 2013. I was terminated because my manager says I was a no call no show for work on Monday February 25, 2013. I had a legal court summons to appear for court in another state that I had to attend to and notify my manager Damian Schafer of this prior to me leaving.

To provide you with more detail I have been working for Camping World in Dover, Florida since December of 2012. I have never worked in the RV industry but I AMA very fast learning and caught on to this very quick. I built a strong relationship with customers and the employees at this location. At the end of December I had a family emergency that kept me out of work due to the nature of events that were taking place. My wife communicated with the General Manager Tim Joslin and also the Service Manger Damian Schafer to keep this updated of my situation. They both agreed that when I came back they would find a place for me with the company. When I was able to return I was given a job back with Camping World working in the parts department until another opportunity opened up that I was more qualified for. Now with this being said I am sure you can agree that I must have been a great employee to be offered a job back after being with the company for a short period of time. Prior to me leaving for my February 25th court date I spoke with Damian Schaefer and let him know the days that I would not be there so he did not get concerned if he did not see me there. I have always made Damian aware anytime I was leaving or coming to work. Prior to me leaving for this court date on February 25th, I had a court date on February 6, 2013 that I had told Damian about and at that time I also informed him that I had would be leaving on the 25th. I have known about the courts dates prior to me being reemployed. The day of me leaving I called a total of 5 times and left a voice message for my direct manager Carl which is the parts manager. I also called and asked for several different people to try and speak with. I was trying to call to make sure one that they remember I would be out of town and two that I would be back a day later than I had planned. I wanted to call to make sure this would be okay. I made several attempts and left messages. On February 26th I received a voicemail from Damian asking me to call him as soon as humanly possible. I made several attempts to call him and he finally answered and said he would call me back in the morning. The following morning I went into work at 7:30 am to talk to Damian and at this he told me that my employment was being terminated for no call/ no show. He told me that he was not aware that I was leaving. I asked him if he had forgotten that I told him that I was leaving and he said " I thought you had court of Saturday and that there was people in the office when you told me and I was not really paying attention because I had a lot going on." He also said that he had made tried to call me about fifteen times and left several messages. I explained to him that I only received the one phone call and message from him and no one else. He mentioned that the General Manager and the Service Director had asked about me to speak with me about a new opportunity in the company on Monday. He stated that because he did not hear from me that he had terminated my employment on Monday morning which was the day I was summons to appear in court. I have no history of ever being late for work or not showing up for work. I have never been written up for any reason while employed at Camping World. He told me that it was the General Managers decision. When I was leaving I saw the correct General Manager Glen and asked him if I could speak with him. I told him that I had just spoken with Damian and he told me I was terminated. He was not aware of what was going on and said he would speak with me. He went and talked to Damian to find out what was going on which demonstrated to me that he was not aware or had taken part of any decision to terminate me prior to our conversation. I am not sure of the conversation that he had with Damian because it was in private for about 10-15 minutes. When he was able to speak with me he brought Damian in the office and repeated what Damian had said. Glen would not listen to the facts that I had and I tried to show him my phone which has the records of my phone calls and text messages. I also had called my cell phone provider and they have no record of calls coming from Camping World on the days Damian states he attempted to contact me. All of these things are facts which can not be made up and would have demonstrated I had given accountability for my absence. I have tried to contact human resources and have not received a call back. I have left several messages with Tess Beckmann [protected]) she said she would help me but she has yet to return my call.

I believe that someone should over turn this wrongful termination of my employment and reinstate my back to my job. I am 33 years old married Christian and trying the best I can to support my wife and two kids. My wife is also 3 months pregnant. The termination of my employment has effected my family greatly. We were scheduled to move into our new apartment on February 28th but because of my termination they are no able to consider our lease due to the lack of income. My wife is a waitress at a restaurant so her income is not a lot. We do not have family in Florida so we have been sleeping in the car and staying at homeless shelters until I am able to find us a place to live with the little income that we have now. I have pawned all my valuable positions just to be able to provide food for my family. I believe giving reinstated me to my job you gain a valuable asset to your company. I have over 10 years of Management experience and I am a Army Veteran.

I really hope that someone will try to get in contact with me regarding this situation. I am forwarding this letter to the following people in hopes that I get a response, Marcus Lemonis, Rick Matar, Mark Gilman, Libby Simon, Thomas F. Wolfe, Steve Adams, Sue Bray. I am also posting this letter on every website available that pertains to Camping World to let the world see how good employees are treated. I am also sending this letter to NAACP, the Veterans Association, Florida EEOC, and every local news station in hopes that someone will hear my concerns.