Scamp Shipment - Dealer Warning

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Our Scamp arrived in Anchorage this morning. It was "shipped" from
Durango, Colorado. This is where the story begins....

We purchased the Scamp new from a dealer in Durango, Colorado. My
wife and I looked in this area, but nothing came up in two summers.
The dealer emailed me in late April stating that he had two Scamps,
and that shipping "was not a problem". We were pleased because,
although we've seen plenty of Scamps, we were a bit uneasy about
buying a used one without seeing it. The factory does not ship to
Alaska. I specifically asked the sales manager about the method of
shipment, and he assured me that it would be ON the back of a truck.
A couple of weeks ago, he sent me an email stating that "there is a
delay because the "drivers" need a passport to get through Canada. The "driver" said he didnt have a passport. We think the dealer never had shipping lined up, and just found this guy, who works for no shipping outfit at all.

To make a long story a bit shorter...when it arrived this morning, it
was being towed by a pickup by some guy with his mother sitting in
the passenger seat. They towed it on the ALCAN highway, and the
trailer basically has 4000 miles on it, filthy with chips all over the front
of it. The son and mother team slept in it for two nights, and we
found dog food on the carpet. Basically, we've been taken... We
paid retail for the trailer and $3000+ to get it here. If anyone is
curious, write me and I'll give you the dealer's name. I'm also
contacting my attorney in Salt Lake tommorow. We do love the Scamp, chips and all, but want a heavy chunk of change back from this crook, and I will get it. Oh yea...I had to get a key made for it. He failed to send the keys for it, nor a title. The crook also listed a fantastic fan for that price.. you guessed it... nope. Its been a nightmare so far, but we are determined to have fun in it this weekend (after I check the bearings and axle) New trailer??? I dont think so. Thanks for letting us "bend your ear". We are livid.....

Feeling like we've lost a bit of hope for the human race, and alot of confidence in the sales community,:o

I send a picture later...

The Stewarts in Alaska

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Hi Steve
I guess you have to vent over that one.It would hurt me too.Sleep on it for a few days and then think your way through it.:wave

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Steve
Welcome to this forum.I hope all gets fixed to your satisfaction.

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ooooh, I bet Scamp in Backus is going to want to know this. Their reputation also rests on those of their dealers.

Please keep the forum informed and I sincerely everything works out to your satisfaction!

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If this posts twice, my apologies.

Here's a picture I took of our Scamp after arrival to Anchorage. I have better pictures of the damage close up after I cleaned it up, but this is what I have until I get the 35mm film developed.

Can you understand my frustration??

Steve in Anchorage:O <img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3f04434dc65eadamage1.JPG/>

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:omy even all dirty it's beautiful.

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I've sent you a couple of suggestions via ''Private Message.'' Access at the bottom of your screen after you log in.

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As I posted to the Yahoo Scamp group, I believe this is NOT a problem having anything to do with Scamp per se, but is strictly a dealer blunder.

By chance, I stopped by this dealer in Durango (begins with a "T", right?) because they had what looked like a brand new Scamp 13 on the lot. Turned out it was brand new and was the last of four that the dealership had ordered from Scamp with the intention of renting them out to tourists, as is common here in Colorado with Jeeps and Motorhomes (kinda like what both Casita and Scamp do when they sell trailers to the military morale and welfare offices for use by the troops and families). The plan fell thru when they found out how much the liability insurance was gonna cost 'em.

Sounds like they are as new at the delivery game as they are at the rental game, with similiar results...

Pete in the RatHaus

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This is the worst story. $3000.00 for shipping? It should have arrived on a silver platter. Sorry for your troubles. Good luck with the fix.

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According to the Scamp group, if I read it correctly, a commercial shipping company quoted something like $2400 to ship a Scamp from Durango to Alaska.

Don't forget that there is a foreign country between the two places. I enquired once about getting a mail shipment by UPS in AK from FL once and found that they could only send by UPS Air because ground wasn't available ($40 vs $15).

Pete in the RatHaus in Silverton CO

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Hi
With the mother/son team sleeping in it and 4000 miles on it, it has become a "used" trailer. Yet you ordered and paid for new. Yup, I would be really upset too.

Take detailed photos and e-mail to both the dealer and Scamp. You do deserve money back.

Having spent the last month looking for a newer van I can honestly say there don't seem to be very many honest salepeople out there. Most will say anything to make the sale.

Good luck and I'm sure everything will work out in the end and your first camping trip should make everything worthwhile again.:banana
Nancy

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One doesn't need a passport to enter Canada from the US if one is a US Citizen. One needs a drivers license and/or some other reasonable for of ID. Same with Canadian visiting the US. Having a gun on the other hand does complicate matters somewhat.

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As I posted on the Casita Club page I'm sorry you're going through
this. But like a lot of others have said, I'm sure Scamp wants to hear
all about this. I double checked with the ferry in Bellingham and you can ship an unaccompanied trailer to Skagway for $800. If you calculate another $850 tops for Colorado to Bellingham thats $1650 tops. I know Skagway to Anchorage is another 800 miles but there are
several options there like a second driver or better yet the customer
picking it up in Skagway. I appreciate there are problems
about liability when the vehicle is handed off to a second party but these things are done on a regular basis and the trucking business is quite used to it. These days shippers just video or photograph the vehicle as it goes on the ferry showing it's in immaculate condition. You might wish to ask the dealer why he never considered this method. It's so much cheaper and nobody is left deadheading it from Anchorage to Colorado. The onus is on the dealer to come up with the most economical way to ship--so do tell Scamp about these alternates. It doesn't matter if you never told the dealer about the
ferry from Bellinghmam, he/she should have done the research. You're
certainly doing the right thing by posting everywhere! You will come out on top!

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Steve,

Picking a trailer up in Skagway would be of little help in your case because I suspect that most of the damage happened on the poorest section of the Alaska Highway. That would have been between Whitehorse and the Alaska border. It would have been better to use one of the Alaska companies that ship RVs. CSX, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, or TOTE can deliver from Tacoma directly to Anchorage. The whole process gets very complicated but I don't know why Scamp could not have delivered a trailer to the shipping company in Tacoma. Scamp charges a $900 delivery fee to Washington. It looks like your Scamp could have been in Anchorage with fewer miles and no damage for about $2000.00. I realize that this postmortem is beside the point and it won't solve your problem.

My heart goes out to you but when I think about it, the dealer probably thought that he had the best solution to the problem. Mom and pop operations deliver trailers all over the lower 48, but the ALCAN is a different animal. I was on that dealer's lot three weeks ago looking at a Scamp and I believe that any RV dealer of that size should have known about the hazards of the Alaska Highway. It's just a shame that the dealer did not take steps to better protect your Scamp. Did you insure the Scamp before it left Durango? If not, did you ask the dealer to put in an insurance claim? If you didn't have the title, the dealer may have still owned it at the time it was damaged. Who owned it when it crossed the Canadian Border? I would almost bet that the papers were not exactly in order as far as Canadian Customs is concerned. You may want to add smuggling to the list of charges.

I just had one other thought. If the dealer purchased the four Scamps as rentals, where they titled in Colorado or was the dealer in question actually authorized by Scamp to sell them, and holding them on an M.S.O.? If the Scamps were titled to the dealer on a Colorado title, you are technically the second owner.

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Hey Craig, at least I got us out on the water. You can give me credit
for that! And what a sighting that would be. A Scamp afloat on the great blue sea! Even I, dour Ron, wouldn't object to that sighting!
(just so long as nobody gave the ship's name or compass position!
e.g. Spotted Scamp in Pacific Ocean south of Arctic Circle in late June!)
Cheers!:wave :wave :wave :wave :wave :wave :wave :wave :wave :wave