In late 2007 we visited the Melbourne showroom of Giant Recreation World. We were shown a "clearance special" 2007 Kodiak 17' that was supposed to be brand new. We told them the vehicle we own (a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan) and were assured it was capable of towing. We make the purchase. They tell us to come back to have the brake assist system installed.
Warning number one: The tech doing the install tells us our vehicle will NOT be able to pull the camper and it's ILLEGAL to pull too large. Sales staff convinces us he doesn't know what he's talking about. We take the camper home. Correction, we try to take the camper home. It feels like it is ripping the rear end out of the van. They tell us to bring it back. They adjust the brakes and send us on our way. No change. We ended up having to get suspension assist work added to the van.
We take it camping for the first time. The stereo doesn't work. The bathroom door jams and will not open. The liquid sensors dont read correctly. The front drop down bed seal is ripped and leaking in the upper left corner. The roof leaks and soaks the inside of the kitchen cabinet. The mattresses have split seams. The screen door does not even remotely cover the opening and leaves huge space at top for bugs. The faucets are all clogged with plumber putty. The roof AC spells like vomit whenever it's on. The bathroom shower skylight leaks. But, besides all this we did enjoy some time camping and not in a tent. We fixed the faucets ourselves while camping and dried up water that came in.
We got back and contacted Giant Recreation World. They told us to bring it in. We did and they had us walk through and list everything. We did. They changed out the radio. They "adjusted" the front bed deck and caulked (with mismatched color) the torn seal. They gooped around everything on the roof. They did fix the bathroom door correctly though. They didn't fix the screen door. The sensors still didnt work correctly. They didn't do anything about the split mattresses. And the AC still smells like puke.
So we asked about these things. They told us they would have to order a new seal for the bed deck. They also told us they would have to order new mattresses. They keep the camper to replace the deck seal that should be in soon. The mattresses will be a few weeks. It took nearly a month.
So we went camping again. The new mattresses are junk. They are about 2/3 the thickness and about half the density of the originals. They are so thin and flimsy they fall out of the elastic cords that are supposed to hold them up when traveling. But at least the bed deck is not leaking now. Sensors still funky and the screen door is still useless. Roof seems to be ok. And AC seems to have aired out a bit.
School and work take over and the camper is stored for several months. Late summer 2008 and we're finally gonna go camping again. We get the camper out, give it a good cleaning and head out. Right away we remember the sensors are funky so we buy a "blue boy" tank because we never know just how full the tanks are. The screen door is still useless. Dad develops a nasty sinus infection while camping and older daughter gets a cough. We just dismiss this as coincidence.
The skylight still leaks. And apparently the "adjustment" to the front bed deck was to just knock it to the right so it didn't tear the seal on the upper left again. Well the adjustment just made it nowear the upper right when we took it out the previous time and had been leaking slowly for several months. We now see that the bed deck is full of mold and fungus and the wood is rotten and mushy. (so thats what the sinus infection and cough is from, because it clears up the day we get home)
We contact Giant Recreation World and are told "sorry, you're out of luck. Your warranty ran out. We'll be glad to quote you for all the repairs". So this is all for stuff they never fixed correctly in the first place. We now have a camper that is just over a year old. We've used it 3 or 4 times and it has never been fixed. And now due to mold allergies in one adult and asthma in a child it is sitting in our driveway useless.
I strongly caution anyone to pay close attention when dealing with Giant Recreation World and to seriously re-consider possible purchases of the Dutchmen product line, particularly the Kodiak series.
We are now trying to contact the manufacturer.
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