New owner-brake wiring cut

[outdoorman]

I bought my 98 Casita 16 ft DL last week from Camping World, Florida store and while inspecting it, I discovered the electrical wires to both brakes had been cut. When I asked the saleslady she stated that because I didnt pay the $400 fee, they didnt check it out and would only look at if I paid the fee. She also reminded me that if I didnt want the trailer, she had a list of others that were interested. So, perhaps against better judgement, I bought it . Now I am wondering why would the previous owner have cut both brake wires? Any ideas of what the problem could be??

[Hambone]

More than likely a wiring issue.....reconnect the wires and see if they work.....if they dont new parts (hubs, bearings, brake kit with backing) should be less than $200.00 so your still money ahead.

[Bobbie Mayer]

You might check your state laws. I think that if the dealer sold the trailer as usable (rather than "as is") they have an implied warranty that would include the brakes working. If sold "as is" you may be out of luck.

[Bob Miller]

Gotta say, that situation seems to define the term "Sleezy", who was the 8th member of the 7 Dwarfs.

I agree, unless you signed off that you were buying it As-Is, I believe that any dealer, especially one as big as Camping World, has an obligation to at least verify that what they are selling meets state safety requirements.

That said, $400 just to check out a 16' trailer, fits the reputation that CW has for service rates, outrageous.....

Make sure that Camping World knows of all the great free publicity they are getting as a result.

[RRJR]

Souinds more like a $400.00 SCAM

[Terry G]

I'm just thinking. Is there an emergency disconnect switch on the tongue? If the part that pulls out is missing or shorted, then the trailer wouldn't move and that might explain why someone cut the brake lines. In any event, the odds are that a 1998 trailer is going to have some problems of one sort or another. Hopefully you got a good deal on it.

As for Camping World, they would much rather deal with someone buying a $100,000 RV than us. I've never been treated well there. It's much cheaper to buy parts at E-Trailer or Tweetys.

[Bob Miller]

Yep, and those $100,000 customers are considered "entry level" that will have to upgrade as soon as the guy down their street gets an even bigger RV.....

[mszabo]

That trailer may have been under consignment. CW isn't going to put there money into someone else's trailer. Sounds like the $400 was to check out the trailer for you.
It's not difficult to determine if there is a problem with the brakes and, if there is you can repair for much less than $400.
We are here to help you figure that out, just ask.
Flaming CW won't get that done.
You didn't say if you got a good deal and a great trailer?

[Bob Miller]

Consignment or not.... Camping World is a huge operation, with equally huge prices for everything from RV's to Resale units to Accessories to labor rates, and selling a possibly unsafe RV to an unsuspecting customer, does not breed goodwill.

My fav RV dealer won't even take older RV trades for that very reason. They don't want their good name to be associated with problems down the line.

[Carol H]

As others have mentioned $400 is a big number for checking to tell you why the brake wires are cut. Brakes are really something you can fix yourself and its a really good opportunity to learn more about how your brakes work and what you need to do to maintain and adjust them each year.

It may be as someone mentioned the break away switched locked the brakes up and someone decided cutting the brake wires was a good quick fix. Or it could also be that the previous owner decided they didnt need/want brakes (would surprise you how many people do that) and simply cut the wires. Or perhaps when you take the wheels off you may find there are no brake pads (thats happened here before) may have needed new ones &/or adjusting and the Owner for what ever reason decided again they didnt really need them so just removed them or something goofy like that.

I would take the wheel off to confirm it actually has functioning brake parts, check the status of the break away switch and then reconnect the wires and take it from there.

[Darwin Maring]

If you have state inspections then I would discuss the issue with the State Police and/or DMV to see if the seller has a liability concerning selling a vehicle with brakes disconnected.

[Jack L]

Camping World / Good Sam has a publication they send me every so often about all aspects of RV issues. One section of the publication is a "resolution" section. People write them with issues about poor service at RV shops and how Good Sam investigates and gets them resolved. Maybe you should write them and explain your problem.

Actually, I would think a discussion with the store manager prior to writing a letter with the mention that you might write Good Sam might get your brakes fixed quickly. It does not appear to be a difficult or expensive fix, but who knows at thes point. The safety issue and the fact that serious injury because of the disconnected brakes might get Camping World moving

Good luck

[outdoorman]

I paid $5400 (including tax); I remember while signing all the paper work with the financial manager including the "AS-IS" form. He told me that if any problems occur they would make good and take care of the trailer. Upon hearing that I repeated for clarification and his immediate response was a surprised stare and denial of his words.
How can you tell if the trailer has a breakaway switch, is supposed to be a dedicated wire from the trailer tongue to TV?

[Bob Miller]

$5400 for a 16' Casita should be a very good price. I'm not surprised that the sold it without a pre-sale inspection. In their world $5400 is chump-change, hardly even enough for a down payment on anything new.

Your break-away switch will be mounted on the tongue and there should be a piece of cable (not electrical wire) running up to attach somewhere on your TV's hitch. If your trailer comes unhitched the cable pulls the pin out of the box and applies the trailer brakes.

[outdoorman]

I looked but no cable for the breakaway switch

[ALABAMALT]

http://www.littlehousecustoms.com/im...y_switch_t.jpg

This will give you an idea of how it might look. Mine is located on the curb side of the tongue area.

Check out LHC's other items while you are there.

ALABAMALT

[outdoorman]

Looked again and absolutely no sign of one
I had seen the switch watching a youtube video so understood what to look for

[Terry G]

Originally Posted by outdoorman

Looked again and absolutely no sign of one
I had seen the switch watching a youtube video so understood what to look for

Well, so much for that theory. 1998 seems a little early for the break-away switch anyway. There has to be a reason why they cut the brake wires so I would be very interested in hearing about it when you find it.