Sometimes you get an itch. In my case, the itch was to trade in my Roadtrek Ranger RT Class B RV for a brand new Roadtrek CS Adventurous. I had only owned the Ranger for under a year, but as my first foray into the RV lifestyle, what a year it was.
I had never owned an RV so it was a learning experience to be sure. But motoring around from the cold winter through the hot summer, I took in more local flavor (and surrounding states’ flavor) than I had in many years. The decision to make RVing and boondocking in particular a more regular and frequent activity happened to coincide with the RV Show in Hershey Pennsylvania this summer. It was there, after touring more RVs than I could count, that I decided to pursue an upgrade.
Figuring the Roadtrek brand had been kind to me so far with my Roadtrek Ranger, I felt compelled to stay in the family, and was taken by the promise of what 8 batteries and a solar panel could do for me. As much as I loved the Ranger, as someone who traveled frequently with a Jack Russell Terrier as a companion, leaving the air conditioning on in the coach for the dog while we saw the sites that weren’t so dog-friendly required running the gas generator. As much as I loved it, I didn’t love the loud noise of a generator, and the promise of generator-free air conditioning in Roadtrek’s higher end models was alluring.
Following the RV show, I continued researching availability, and found a new 2015 CS Adventurous at a dealer nearby – well, nearby being almost 2 hours away, but there aren’t too many Roadtrek dealers. It had the options I was looking for, including the eTrek package which provided the aforementioned 8 batteries. It also came outfitted with the solar package which added a solar panel for trickle charging, an engine generator (really a 2nd alternator, but no more loud gas generator), and radiant heating which included heated floors! I corresponded back and forth with the salesman at the dealership, we settled on a price to include trading in my Ranger, and I made an appointment to come pick it up at the earliest date they could provide – October 13th. Little did I know what troubles were ahead.
Goodbye old friend…you are missed
Do you have an opinion on whether theses problems affect all, most or only some CS Adventurous (2015)?
Hi Scott. Sorry for the delayed response. It looks like you’ve gone to the right place and joined the Roadtrek & Hhymer Owners Group on Facebook. I’ve learned much of what I know from the great people in this group, and they would provide a better overall opinion about the Roadtrek quality. Maybe I’m just cursed, but I’m 0 for 2 with the CS Adventurous. I have read that quality has improved with the newest models as they’ve worked out the bugs. If you do chose to purchase a used CS with AGM’s I would definitely confirm that the battery equalizer has been installed. I would also test the coach batteries since discharging them below 50% can significantly impact their life span. Good luck in your search and feel free to reach out through this blog or on the Facebook group.
Not sure what your point is. We bought a Roadtrek Simplicity which has become the bane of my existence. The battery doesn’t charge properly, the service dept seems incredibly inept, we have cancelled six trips due to malfunctions and I just want to blow the MF up.
I’ve heard similar issues and they’re causing me to rethink my plans to upgrade. With RoadTreks reputation for quality and their price point, one would think they’d be above the current drop in quality industry wide. Chuck Woodbury, RVTravel, has been doing a number of articles on the rv industry and the inferior workmanship we can all expect. Very enlightening!
I’m hearing a lot of talk about the lack of quality across the board right now as well. The RV industry is booming and manufacturers are pushing their product out the door as quickly as possible, which can obviously result in quality control issues. This of course puts the problems on the consumer, who are forced to make multiple trips to a service center to resolve issues that should have been picked up during construction. On top of that the RV service industry lacks the training and staff require to handle warranty issues in a timely manner, and lack of training = more trips for repairs.
Something has to change industry wide, and I hope if enough people speak up about it they will change their ways. Until then the consumer is left disappointed and unhappy. Thanks for reading our story!
You make such a good POINT, when we hear Wow! They are giving us 6 years WARRENTY, it gives us a feeling of safety. Then SOMETHING goes wrong and you are LEFT figuring out do you take it back possibly hundreds of mikes back to the dealer, or a dodge repair (or MB repair) or contack Roadtrek and WHERE is a Roadtrek repair place anyway? Is this why they give you a 6 year warranty cuz it takes soo long to get the repair? Sigh it shoukd be just guaranteed at THESE STEEP pruces that if anything goes wrong we will help yoy as soon as possible ar guaranteed lowest costs for Life of your vehicle. That would help me feel safer.
I have a 2017 CS adventurous w/volt start and lithium batteries. I have a pending lemon law claim.
Don’t buy!
We just purchased one yesterday. What is the status of your suit?
I have 2016 210 Popular with volt start, which has never worked correctly. Numerous major issue. Unit been to Factory twice for 8 weeks for same repairs. Looking for a good Lemon Lawyer