Cruise Americas policy of having customers return motor homes in the morning so they can go back out as is in the afternoon is unacceptable. Every motor home should be inspected for safety, functionality and cleanliness. Months earlier when we made our reservation we were shown a motor in great shape. The motor home we ended up had had been rattled apart, it was dirty, not functioning, and unsafe. It never should have been put on the road. The motor home had electrical problems and developed a significant propane leak in the tank which could not be shut off. The fire department was called and 6 fire trucks responded based on the risk it posed. Cruise America policy of NOT exchanging motor homes that have multiple problems (Electrical, propane, and water) is extremely dangerous. Cruise America had us drive it too a motor home service center, they only authorized an hour of service time. We had found multiple problems but only the propane system could be tested in an hour leaving the motor home with very limited functionality. The technician found and fixed a second smaller propane leak. He also asked Cruise America if he could change the oil since the Oil Change Required indicator light was on. They would not pay for the oil change and only authorized a quart of oil to be added along with a gallon of windshield wiper fluid. As the electrical problems worsen we took the motor in for a second repair. The technician found it was a loose connection on high current wire that connects the 12V generator to the coach battery. If you have ever jump started a car, you are familiar with the kind of sparks that are created between a car generator and a battery. We consider ourselves extremely lucky to as a high current arc could have been an ignition source. For completeness we had several additional safety issues: the smoke detector was not working, the black water valve was leaking, the coach power panel cover was missing, and we could not use the furnace or generator with a bad coach battery.
I also felt that we were ripped off. The local agent had us sign the paper work before seeing the motor home. The motor home was beat; it looked nothing like the unit shown to us when making the reservation. When driving the motor home it was extremely noisy. Several panels were loose and the door on the microwave oven was missing a corner which contributed to the rattling. The large window would not stay closed and continuously opened as we drove. The sink door and trim behind the bench seat were missing. The lament on several shelves had peeled off. The kitchen sink was loose and dripping. The fridge never worked correctly in the campgrounds as it too required the coach battery. Every night we would be awakened by the fridge clicking as it tried to run but could not as the coach battery voltage had dropped below 10 V. The table in the storage area had a large hole in it. Based on the looks of the motor home it should not have been sent out. Based on functionality the motor home should have never been sent out, only the range and overhead lighting worked consistently.
We paid over $2,300 before taxes for 12 days rental (10 nights on the road, 1 day to clean and pack, 1 day to unpack and clean). We returned the motor home before 11 am so that it could go out that afternoon much cleaner but with the same problems. We were never asked if it had any issues as they wanted to give it to the next customer at 1:00 pm.
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