Problems with our 2021 TAB400

madtrout

Greetings. After a very long wait for our TAB400 we took delivery at the end of September. There have been many quality control issues with our TAB, and I wanted to share our experience.  When we picked up the TAB I noticed that the condenser fins were crushed in various places on the Dometic AC. The cabinets in our TAB were poorly aligned, and the panel that covers the Alde under the bed was warped. More significantly, the trailer hitch had so much free play that our trailer decoupled going over a railroad crossing. Disaster was avoided only by the safety chains. Dealer replaced the hitch and now all is well with that. Several times when flushing the black tank we have noticed leaking of water under the trailer around the drain. Next up, the Norcold 3 way refrigerator wouldn't work well in propane mode. It has been to the dealer 3 times (Beckley's RV in Thurmont Maryland), and still has not been properly fixed. We are now waiting for Norcold to decide whether to send an entire new unit. Yesterday, while winterizing the TAB I noticed a leak next to the Mixing valve. On this singular pipe, the crimp fittings were black, not stainless like all the other crimps in the system. Did they just run out of the proper fittings that day? Another thing that bothers me is the sloppy caulking around the vents on the roof. A little taping off would have made for a much neater job. Overall we love the TAB and hope we can get it sorted again before camping season starts, but I have to say that there is much room for improvement in quality control at NuCamp.

Verna

@madtrout, the factory can address your concerns if you email this to customercares@nucamprv.com. They do not regularly read the forum, plus they have no way of contacting you through the forum as very few are members of this forum. 

madtrout

Thanks Verna, I have already mentioned all of these problems to the warranty department. The reply is always the same, take it to the dealer for repairs. At this point I'm am not very happy with the service department at my dealer. Long waits for appointments, and incomplete resolution of problems seem to be par for the course.

Verna

@madtrout, and this is the reason for customercare. They will take the reins and help you through your trip. We can’t help you here, but their job is to help you. 

AirBoss

@madtrout
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Very unfortunate circumstances to be sure and not one that is all that common from my understanding...though not much consolation to you at this point. As with any mechanical manufacturing scenario there are bound to be issues with QC and nits here and there. Your case seems to be exceptional in that regard.

Typically in situations like this one has to be the squeeky wheel and a pain in the glutes in order to get satisfaction. Do you have alternatives WRT using another nuCamp dealer? Certainly would keep rattling nuCamp warranty folks' cage.  I can only speak for myself but I've found them to be pretty well on tip of things and responsive. 

Good luck with everything and please keep this forum up to date. We can, and do, all learn from one another. 

Denny16

From what I have heard, Beckley's RV is supposed to be one of the better TaB dealers, try contacting Paul the AirForce Guy who works at Beckley's RV, he seems to be on top of the TaBs.
cheers

madtrout

Hi Denny16, Paul is our salesman. He's been great, but he really can't control the workings of the service department. I'm hoping for better outcomes and happy camping. Even with the problems, we have enjoyed our trips in the TAB so far.

Denny16

While Paul has no direct control, he can put pressure on them to get your issues resolved.  Paul seems to be a good person to deal with.
cheers

johnfconway

Just a comment on Norcold 3-way (there is a lot of discussion searchable in the forum). Absorption cooling works too well in cold weather and freezes food. In sustained hot weather it can't keep up and food reaches and holds unsafe temperatures. Many dealers now discourage 3-ways. Surprised that Paul isn't one of them. Information backing what's above can be found in many previous discussions.

4ncar

I have had to deal with Beckley’s as well. Considering their volume, you would think they would be better at the game, but, sadly, they are not. My salesperson was the owner’s son; you would think he would have pull in the service dept...nope. Service is what it is.  I am fortunate that my trailer had very minimal issues in its first year. Since then, I perform all my own service, repairs & modifications, thus, I have no one to blame but myself!😂😂

Marceline

"More significantly, the trailer hitch had so much free play that our trailer decoupled going over a railroad crossing. Disaster was avoided only by the safety chains. Dealer replaced the hitch and now all is well with that."

This comment seems extremely odd to me. Trailer couplers are generic parts. NuCamp uses a Bal coupler and there are really only a couple of ways that it can come off the ball. Either the ball is the wrong size (not 2”) or the coupler is closed with the fork on top of the ball rather than under it. Both are user errors. I think that the Bal might have an adjustment nut but I’m skeptical that it’s possible to loosen it enough that the coupler could come off the ball. 

Denny16

I agree, highly unlikely a coupler would come off, unless it was not coupled correctly to start.  It is very easy to get this wrong when hitching the trailer to a TV.
cheers

manyman297

I’ve been skimming this site as well as the Facebook group and it seems that (anecdotally at least) there have been a lot of QC issues as of late with T@Bs. I’m due to receive my 400 in late February and I’m starting to get a little nervous. As the eternal pessimist maybe it’s just me looking for trouble but it does seem like QC issues have been more common. Somebody talk me off the cliff.

johnfconway

manyman297 said:

I’ve been skimming this site as well as the Facebook group and it seems that (anecdotally at least) there have been a lot of QC issues as of late with T@Bs. I’m due to receive my 400 in late February and I’m starting to get a little nervous. As the eternal pessimist maybe it’s just me looking for trouble but it does seem like QC issues have been more common. Somebody talk me off the cliff.

Our 2020 T@B 400 was put together in January 2020 and picked up in June. The only quality control issue was no screen door. That was immediately shipped. Interestingly, the shop had no written instructions for its installation.

Choosing a unit with 3-way refrigerator was a regrettable mistake on our part. Learned of this forum too late. A little homework could have prevented purchasing 19th century technology for 21st century climate.

Sharon_is_SAM

@manyman297 - If you are new to the RV world, you may not be aware that the industry is fraught with issues surrounding poor quality.  Which is why most of us have been very happy in our choice of a nuCamp product.  They have a reported history of less than 1% warranty issues which is remarkable for the industry.  So, they are not perfect, but you can count on them to rectify any issues that are attributed to their work.  All of the appliances are made by other manufacturers and nuCamp can't be held accountable for their operation or failures beyond their role in installation.  You must be able to roll with the punches and find a good dealer who can work with you for maintenance and repairs or you need to be good with DIY.  I think that nuCamp has been very transparent regarding production issues and very responsive to owner's reported claims.  NuCamp is one of the best manufacturers of RVs when it comes to customer service.  We all tend to focus on the things that have gone wrong.  What we don't appreciate is the number of owners who report outstanding quality and are very happy.  We just don't talk about that enough.  So, mannyman297 - quit fretting and know that the forum members will be here to help when you need it.  

WayfaringStrangers

We are awaiting delivery of our 3rd T@B after much research, and I can tell you that nothing really compares with Nucamp. 
A good dealer is really important. 

qhumberd

@manyman297 and @madtrout I would second the thoughts from @Sharon_is_SAM. I was one year ago looking for an RV and visited a couple of dealers near me and was very put off by the build quality of most all the trailers I saw. I continued to research and found this forum and a community of committed and fair minded folks who not only helped me decide on getting an RV, they provided an outlet in the "For Sale" area that connected me with another owner that was having to sell his 400 after only one year. He had the advantage of a very good dealer in Ohio apparently but even then had only had one small issue with the trailer. I have had only one cosmetic issue with our T@B since then, and have replaced one switch for the bath fan and had to contact Jensen about the radio. My one contact with NuCamp Warranty over the front window cosmetic issue was resolved quickly and provided me with a brand new window, at NO cost to me!. And realize that at that time no warranty was covering my trailer. That speaks to the extraordinary care that NuCamp shows for owners, and also for this forum. So yes things will go wrong, but on balance I believe most owners get great satisfaction out of their T@Bs. Best wishes for a great New Year.

manyman297

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@manyman297 - If you are new to the RV world, you may not be aware that the industry is fraught with issues surrounding poor quality.  Which is why most of us have been very happy in our choice of a nuCamp product.  They have a reported history of less than 1% warranty issues which is remarkable for the industry.  So, they are not perfect, but you can count on them to rectify any issues that are attributed to their work.  All of the appliances are made by other manufacturers and nuCamp can't be held accountable for their operation or failures beyond their role in installation.  You must be able to roll with the punches and find a good dealer who can work with you for maintenance and repairs or you need to be good with DIY.  I think that nuCamp has been very transparent regarding production issues and very responsive to owner's reported claims.  NuCamp is one of the best manufacturers of RVs when it comes to customer service.  We all tend to focus on the things that have gone wrong.  What we don't appreciate is the number of owners who report outstanding quality and are very happy.  We just don't talk about that enough.  So, mannyman297 - quit fretting and know that the forum members will be here to help when you need it.  

I totally get what you're saying and, to be honest, the issues I've seen still aren't enough to discourage my purchase but they still are issues to keep an eye on. From a business standpoint it seems they're on the cusp of becoming a much bigger player in the industry and to compromise their reputation at this point would be suicide.

A lot of my pessimism stems from the issues we've had with our current pop up. This was our first trailer and I was shocked by how cheaply made they are...like floored. I spent a lot of time rectifying a lot of the issues on my own. It seemed almost criminal that a company could sell a product at this low of quality level but here we are. Yes it's essentially a rolling house and things are going to rattle loose but many issues I've seen are beyond that. It's just sloppy workmanship or cheap materials.

I'm still confident our rig from Nucamp will be solid. When we stepped into the 400 at the dealership it was clear right away how much more solidly built it felt vs. the Forest River or Jayco product we had checked out on the same day. I'm an amateur woodworker and the cabinetry are obviously what stood out to me. But let's face it, at this price point it better be solid. While not in the Airstream realm of pricing it's getting close so it better perform.

Denny16

Actually, the TaB is in the realm of Airstream quality, and then some...
cheers

manyman297

Denny16 said:

AcTaB is in the realm of Airstream quality, and then some...
cheers

I was actually going to mention that in my previous post. We looked at the T@B and Airstream Bambi on the same day and, in many ways, the T@B seemed like better quality inside. Outside is tough because the aluminum exterior on the Airstream is top shelf but judging from the "feel" of the cabinets and components, the T@B was great. 

Denny16

Yes, the outside aluminum skin look of the Airstream is classic, and looks grand.  But it is more work to keep it polished, than the Azdel sides and painted aluminum construction on the TaB, so more time for camping... 
cheers

manyman297

The irony is one of the biggest reasons we decided against the Airstream is how delicate that skin is. On an Airstream forum some owners said they couldn't put a cover on theirs because the cover would scratch the aluminum...so it's basically a porcelain doll on wheels.

madtrout

Hi folks, Here's an update on our TAB400. I'd like to say that NuCamp has been really good about warranty issues. They recently sent me a replacement panel for the bed over the Alde and two new door panels for under the sink. The old doors were very warped and never fit properly. So the TAB is now approaching the level of fit and finish I was hoping for from the start. We have also done some winter camping on the Chesapeake Bay and we're loving the experience. Looking forward to Springtime, and a long trip out West. Mark

Sharon_is_SAM

Glad that is all taken care of and now you are a happy camper!

xdr

NuCamp warranty service is excellent. I towed our 400 back to Ohio from NM as our local dealership refused to work on it. Austin and crew did an outstanding job with our tab. 

narniaorwhat

I thought we were the only ones with a door issue under the sink. We are still waiting for it, it’s been over 2 months now. What was wrong with your trailer that you had to tow it to Ohio yourself? 

madtrout

Moderator edit- Post removed as it replicated your post in this searchable thread:  

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/13425/leaking-around-base-of-alde-3020#latest

ColoradoSun

After a couple of dry camping trips with no plumbing we just de-winterized on our latest trip and holy moly everything works!