E
El Pescador
Guest
The first thing I have to say about those trailers is that I have owned a total of 3: one with single axle and two with tandem axles. In general, I found them well built and the quality of the materials is good.
So why the title of the post? Well, the problem I found with RoadRunner is not with the quality of the trailers, but rather with the poor quality control during assembly and their disgusting customer service.
Like many of you, I went on 2005 to the Vancouver Boat Show looking for good deals. I found at the show a tandem axle RoadRunner trailer with bearing buddies (actually, Fulton Bearing Protectors) and electric brakes. The price was better than similar trailers from other manufacturers; so I arranged for the purchase, and added as extras a spare tire, bunk guides, and a flush kit. I picked-up the trailer by the end of February 2005, then adjusted the axles and sometime in April or May I swapped a 22’ Double Eagle boat I bought at the end of 2004 from its old RoadRunner trailer (too flimsy for such heavy boat) to the new RoadRunner. I put the boat in the water twice to test it, and I did not like how the engine performed; and in addition I found that the transom was soft and the fuel tank was leaking. In short, I decided to skip the 2005 fishing season (boy, that was a tough decision!!!) and arranged for rebuilding the boat: new transom, floor, fuel tank, another engine, etc. The shop that did the fiberglass job is located in Port Alberni, and he did not finish until June 2006. I spent the summer installing the engine, redoing the wiring, etc, with the end result that I put the boat in the water twice: once for trials and two to go fishing. Then, in 2007, I put the boat in the water twice in May and then decided to take a trip from Ladysmith to Winter Harbour in mid-June. Unfortunately, I did not make even 100Km before I had to pull at one side of the road because of smoke coming out of one of the axle hubs. Had to get towed (truck and trailer with the boat on top) to Parksville, where a local shop found all 4 bearings ruined because of salt water ingress and having virtually no grease inside, just a light coat of green grease. I had to replace one axle and get all bearings replaced, plus one of the bearing buddies that went missing.
As I said, I have owned RoadRunners before (and other brands of trailers as well). Some had bearing buddies and some had just dust caps, but I never had a problem with either of them. I would have expected that a brand new trailer would come from factory ready to rock and roll but that was obviously not the case. When I contacted the guy who sold me the trailer at RoadRunner (Mike Malo is his name), he refused to take any responsibility and blamed it on lack of maintenance on my side, plus he also stated that the warranty was expired. I explained to him that the trailer was seldom used and put in the water no more 6-8 times since I bought it, that I always flushed the brakes after using it on the water, and also that it had about 1000 Km on the road. I also mentioned that the trailer should have been delivered witht he bearings properly packed. The guy not only did not acknowledge his fault, but also had the nerve of telling me that it was all my fault because I had to repack the bearings at least once a year, despite the fact that at the Bearing Buddys website they mention that once very 5 years is a reasonable interval provided the bearings had been properly packed. They obviously were not packed when the trailer was built: the bearings were dry and grease may dry out but it does not evaporate. At the shop where my trailer was repaired, I was warned that I would waste my time trying to get this Malo fellow to compensate me for some or all of the damages; apparently they have had or heard of some bad experiences with that fellow as well. And they were right: I got stuck with a hefty repair bill and lost two days of fishing.
So, if anyone reading this decides to buy a new RoadRunner trailer, I strongly advise you to ensure that the bearings are properly packed before you buy it. And remember that, in my own experience, customer service sucks!!!
I took some horrifying pictures showing the condition of bearings and hubs at the time the damage occurred. I would not mind uploading them (that is, if I can figure out how).
So why the title of the post? Well, the problem I found with RoadRunner is not with the quality of the trailers, but rather with the poor quality control during assembly and their disgusting customer service.
Like many of you, I went on 2005 to the Vancouver Boat Show looking for good deals. I found at the show a tandem axle RoadRunner trailer with bearing buddies (actually, Fulton Bearing Protectors) and electric brakes. The price was better than similar trailers from other manufacturers; so I arranged for the purchase, and added as extras a spare tire, bunk guides, and a flush kit. I picked-up the trailer by the end of February 2005, then adjusted the axles and sometime in April or May I swapped a 22’ Double Eagle boat I bought at the end of 2004 from its old RoadRunner trailer (too flimsy for such heavy boat) to the new RoadRunner. I put the boat in the water twice to test it, and I did not like how the engine performed; and in addition I found that the transom was soft and the fuel tank was leaking. In short, I decided to skip the 2005 fishing season (boy, that was a tough decision!!!) and arranged for rebuilding the boat: new transom, floor, fuel tank, another engine, etc. The shop that did the fiberglass job is located in Port Alberni, and he did not finish until June 2006. I spent the summer installing the engine, redoing the wiring, etc, with the end result that I put the boat in the water twice: once for trials and two to go fishing. Then, in 2007, I put the boat in the water twice in May and then decided to take a trip from Ladysmith to Winter Harbour in mid-June. Unfortunately, I did not make even 100Km before I had to pull at one side of the road because of smoke coming out of one of the axle hubs. Had to get towed (truck and trailer with the boat on top) to Parksville, where a local shop found all 4 bearings ruined because of salt water ingress and having virtually no grease inside, just a light coat of green grease. I had to replace one axle and get all bearings replaced, plus one of the bearing buddies that went missing.
As I said, I have owned RoadRunners before (and other brands of trailers as well). Some had bearing buddies and some had just dust caps, but I never had a problem with either of them. I would have expected that a brand new trailer would come from factory ready to rock and roll but that was obviously not the case. When I contacted the guy who sold me the trailer at RoadRunner (Mike Malo is his name), he refused to take any responsibility and blamed it on lack of maintenance on my side, plus he also stated that the warranty was expired. I explained to him that the trailer was seldom used and put in the water no more 6-8 times since I bought it, that I always flushed the brakes after using it on the water, and also that it had about 1000 Km on the road. I also mentioned that the trailer should have been delivered witht he bearings properly packed. The guy not only did not acknowledge his fault, but also had the nerve of telling me that it was all my fault because I had to repack the bearings at least once a year, despite the fact that at the Bearing Buddys website they mention that once very 5 years is a reasonable interval provided the bearings had been properly packed. They obviously were not packed when the trailer was built: the bearings were dry and grease may dry out but it does not evaporate. At the shop where my trailer was repaired, I was warned that I would waste my time trying to get this Malo fellow to compensate me for some or all of the damages; apparently they have had or heard of some bad experiences with that fellow as well. And they were right: I got stuck with a hefty repair bill and lost two days of fishing.
So, if anyone reading this decides to buy a new RoadRunner trailer, I strongly advise you to ensure that the bearings are properly packed before you buy it. And remember that, in my own experience, customer service sucks!!!
I took some horrifying pictures showing the condition of bearings and hubs at the time the damage occurred. I would not mind uploading them (that is, if I can figure out how).