John Stephens
Well-known member
While on vacation in the Midwest this past June, we ran into a straight line wind storm that destroyed our awning and one slide topper. Our insurance is taking care of all but the deductible. My usual mechanic was tagged to do the work by the insurance company because he already had the coach for other work. The shop ordered the new topper and awning from Dometic in mid July and was told since all awnings are made to order, it would take about two weeks to receive the parts.
The topper was installed without issue, but the awning came in with the wrong arms meant for a 5th wheel instead of a Class A with a nearly straight out angle with little drop due to it fitting over one of the slides. The shop was promised by Dometic that they would have the new and correct parts within 5-10 business days since it was their fault. After two weeks, the shop called Dometic and was told the parts wouldn't be shipped for another two weeks.
Last week, the parts finally came in and the shop installed the awning, only to find out when they finally unfurled it, that the stitching on the awning fabric was not complete and the top and bottom were delaminating. Additionally, the metal arms that were sent, although being the correct size this time, were bent and had paint falling off. The owner of the shop told me he is sending the entire thing back and demanding a new one built with better quality, but is afraid with other issues he has recently had with Dometic, he may not get better quality the next time. He has been told by Dometic that it will take another month, meaning it will wind up taking a total of 2-? months to make this right on an insurance claim.
Has anyone else had recent experience with Dometic products? Has their umbrella of RV products become too large and encompassing to allow proper quality control, or is this an isolated situation?
The topper was installed without issue, but the awning came in with the wrong arms meant for a 5th wheel instead of a Class A with a nearly straight out angle with little drop due to it fitting over one of the slides. The shop was promised by Dometic that they would have the new and correct parts within 5-10 business days since it was their fault. After two weeks, the shop called Dometic and was told the parts wouldn't be shipped for another two weeks.
Last week, the parts finally came in and the shop installed the awning, only to find out when they finally unfurled it, that the stitching on the awning fabric was not complete and the top and bottom were delaminating. Additionally, the metal arms that were sent, although being the correct size this time, were bent and had paint falling off. The owner of the shop told me he is sending the entire thing back and demanding a new one built with better quality, but is afraid with other issues he has recently had with Dometic, he may not get better quality the next time. He has been told by Dometic that it will take another month, meaning it will wind up taking a total of 2-? months to make this right on an insurance claim.
Has anyone else had recent experience with Dometic products? Has their umbrella of RV products become too large and encompassing to allow proper quality control, or is this an isolated situation?
