The best part of my experience was the a/c in the building when we first entered, looking back, it all went downhill after walking through the front door.
There is a lot I'd improve. I'll start from the beginning.
When we walked in, most sales representatives ignored us until, eventually, someone met us at ...
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The best part of my experience was the a/c in the building when we first entered, looking back, it all went downhill after walking through the front door.
There is a lot I'd improve. I'll start from the beginning.
When we walked in, most sales representatives ignored us until, eventually, someone met us at the door on the way out to the lot. He quickly learned our requirements and expectations - primarily that we have a baby on the way and need a camper that can be used immediately off-grid and through the winter. He did his job and upsold us a little bit to a nicer model and told us that, without a doubt, this camper could do precisely what we were looking for!
We could not purchase the camper quickly; the process took over a week to get the paperwork set up, which seems crazy and isn't in line with the expectation that was set by the sales rep. We were told that we could expect the whole process to take 2 days.
Then we had to drive another 3-hours+ round trip to do an "informational session" (a waste of time, mainly because folks were not knowledgeable about the few things we knew needed to upgrade - i.e., solar) and to sign the paperwork, which they ultimately didn't submit to the appropriate parties. I had to track down all those loose ends on my own. I want to note that when we went in for this unnecessary in-person meeting, our sales rep barely acknowledged us and quickly pushed us back to checking in at the front desk.
The final delivery of our camper was satisfactory.
Here is the list of all the issues we've spent hours working on with our camper and compound the horrible experience we've had to date.
1. The "additional batteries" that were part of our negotiated deal don't even last longer than an hour or two with just the basic draw of the camper. We knew that we would have to add more solar panels, and we also added 4-100 AH AGM batteries. With only the fridge running on gas, and nothing else pulling power, the camper power doesn't last through the night. Living off-grid, we've resorted to running a generator many hours of the day and most of the night because we cannot figure out what could be drawing this much power. The hours that we've spent on fixing the power issue are immeasurable. We have another trailer we built that can last multiple days off-grid without a problem, so we know it's possible.
2. We were told that the only way we could get support or help from Bish was to drive our camper back down and pay for service hours. We are living in the camper; we do not have the ability or option of just leaving our trailer with your service department while you rack up a bill for services that we doubt would even work once we get back to our property.
3. We're only about 2-3 months into living in our camper, and the water heater is already presenting the next major issue. We have resorted to using our old camper trailer that has a propane water heater to take showers as we haven't had the time or energy to address the issues of the water heater in the Jayco.
As I mentioned, we have a baby on the way; this was our stopgap through the winter until we could finish a little cabin. I would do anything to return this camper; it's been a waste of time, money, and energy and a HUGE source of stress on our family. I've resorted to looking for places to rent this winter because this isn't a safe option for a baby, an expense we honestly cannot afford.
My experience can be improved by letting us return the camper and providing us with a full refund.
I tried to submit a review directly with Bish's, but the website won't accept my review, and have written many emails communicating my frustration.
Sales
Service
Parts
Warranty / Support
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