James Baroud tent failure?

[theron]

I have a fairly long build thread over on ih8mud but my recent experience with James Baroud USA tents has been so disappointing I figured it was worth sharing over here


My quick long term summary of my James Baroud roof top tent: it's a very risky buy + they have poor customer service and warranty. I've had mine on my rig for 35k miles and less than 1 year.


So James Baroud USA is also OK 4WD out of NJ, same company. Although they present themselves as James Baroud itself when it's convenient but when I had a warranty issue they raised their hands and said they were actually just a vendor and this is a problem for "HQ" down in South America. From my perspective if you're going to act like you are actually the brand when you sell a product you should also stand behind it in the tough times.

Over a month ago I submitted a warranty claim that the fibre glass on my tent was starting to separate. I sent along the 2 photos below to show the separation and that there wasn't any hard/direct blow or indentation from a strike. But maybe y'all feel differently? Take a peep at the photos

James Baroud's first response: We will not warranty this as we don't see it as a manufacturing defect

Their response was a huge bummer because I've been such a fan of their product and have sung it's praise over on my Instagram account. After they denied the claim I hopped on twitter and simply said I was bummed that my warranty wasn't honored....and only after tweeting did they call me back and offer to "take a further look and potentially offer a repair." From my shoes it's a damn shame you have to tweet @ a company to get honest support these days.

So! The most recent update to all of this, which is after many emails and phone calls, is that they now want to see the tent in person back in NJ. I'm dropping my tent off to be shipped back next week but if in the end they still decide to deny my warranty I'll have to pay for shipping costs.

Right from the start James Baroud USA / OK 4WD has treated me like the bad guy, like I'm trying to hoodwink them and that's pretty heartbreaking if I'm honest about it. If anyone has ever been to an REI for example you know how wonderful their customer support is and I suppose I expect all companies that are trying to succeeded to approach each situation and customer like they do.

James Baroud does have an innovative product with their tent design, I love the extra space pop up, but I wouldn't buy one again. So that's been my experience with James Baround....maybe in the end they will repair my tent but it certainly shouldn't have been this difficult. I'll be sure to stop by again with an update.

 

[redneck44]

TBH it looks like an impact has cracked the gelcoat.
Alternatively Is there anything on the inside that may cause a stress point. i.e a support bracket or something.

 

[gchinsr]

Looks very much like de lamination from torsional stress. Question, does the lid open daily level, or does the lid bend from side, to side?
Greg

 

[theron]

TBH it looks like an impact has cracked the gelcoat.
Alternatively Is there anything on the inside that may cause a stress point. i.e a support bracket or something.

I hear ya...but only thing I can say to that is that I haven't hit anything and there's no indentation on the inside or outside where such a heavy strike would have happened. I've owned every scratch and dent on my rig and I would be doing the same if it were the case with my tent ya know. I do realize that manufacturers have to be cautious about warranty claims but I'm also putting my name on this, meaning I'm not hiding anonymously and I do stand behind the fact that James Baroud USA has been lame.

 

[theron]

Looks very much like de lamination from torsional stress. Question, does the lid open daily level, or does the lid bend from side, to side?
Greg

I think you're onto something! I have been opening and closing my tent every single day for 6+ months now, sometimes twice a day. And when you go to close solo you have to push + pull down on the corners to properly shut the tent....I think that is putting heavy stress on the lid.

 

[redneck44]

I have no problem at all with you naming and shaming, after all, poor service is poor service, and I would have expected a response very quickly.
As for the damage, an impact wouldn't need to leave any visible indication, but if you are using it every day then flex in that area could also cause cracking in the gel, or possibly too thick a gel coat when it was laid up.
Do you have any pics of the interior of that area?

 

[dcoy]

Thanks for posting this here. I have been thinking about roof top tent at some point and James Baroud ranked highly. Now I'll be ranking Autohome back on the top with James Baroud down or off the list. It would be nice to hear some more reviews though to know if there is a systematic quality problem or if this might just be a fluke compounded by bad customer service.

 

[theron]

Crazy enough I went out to take photos inside the tent and the plastic hooks that hold the ladder to the tent both broke off. I busted my butt a little bit and scratched the roof of my truck....actually this is the second ladder that has broke on me. Apparently it is a known flaw with James Baroud and they have some replacement in the works? But no doubt someone really could get hurt










Inside the tent...no damage to my eyes

 

[theron]

Here's another quality issue to me, albeit minor.....the finish on the latches def isn't holding up well

 

[XVENTURE TRAILERS]

Thanks for posting this here. I have been thinking about roof top tent at some point and James Baroud ranked highly. Now I'll be ranking Autohome back on the top with James Baroud down or off the list. It would be nice to hear some more reviews though to know if there is a systematic quality problem or if this might just be a fluke compounded by bad customer service.

A few ladders got out with these defective hooks. The hook supplier delivered a batch of defective hooks to James Baroud. This is a molding issue. If you purchased a JB tent in December 2014 you may received hooks from that batch. Please contact the dealer you purchased from and they will send you the proper replacements immediately. You can also contact me directly to get a replacement set.

For the record this issue has been resolved quickly and James Baroud has replaced the fiber reinforced resin hooks with a new all aluminum design. Regarding the problematic hooks, I personally used a Grand Raid last season for over 200 deployments with out issue. I weigh 210LBS. So the hooks that broke are a complete fluke.

To say that James Baroud tents are "off the list" and ranking Autohome as top of the list is a huge mistake. Autohome has experienced far more severe failures than this issue with the JB ladder hooks. I won't go into the problems AH has experienced in the past, but they are substantially more severe. While this hook issue is certainly not good, it's easily resolved and will never happen again.

Last year I put over 20,000 miles on our rig and the Grand Raid looks and performs like new. This years tour will be over 35K through and in the harshest environments North America can dish out. Stay tunes for how these products hold up.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[theron]

A few ladders got out with these defective hooks. The hook supplier delivered a batch of defective hooks to James Baroud. This is a molding issue. If you purchased a JB tent in December 2014 you may received hooks from that batch. Please contact the dealer you purchased from and they will send you the proper replacements immediately. You can also contact me directly to get a replacement set.

For the record this issue has been resolved quickly and James Baroud has replaced the fiber reinforced resin hooks with a new all aluminum design. Regarding the problematic hooks, I personally used a Grand Raid last season for over 200 deployments with out issue. I weigh 210LBS. So the hooks that broke are a complete fluke.

To say that James Baroud tents are "off the list" and ranking Autohome as top of the list is a huge mistake. Autohome has experienced far more severe failures than this issue with the JB ladder hooks. I won't go into the problems AH has experienced in the past, but they are substantially more severe. While this hook issue is certainly not good, it's easily resolved and will never happen again.

Last year I put over 20,000 miles on our rig and the Grand Raid looks and performs like new. This years tour will be over 35K through and in the harshest environments North America can dish out. Stay tunes for how these products hold up.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Interesting to hear....James Baroud never contacted me about an aluminum replacement? I only heard through the grape vine. This is the second ladder that has broken on me....they replaced my first one with another plastic model that just broke again today.

But nonetheless, I'm deeply disappointed in their customer service and how they treated me. Regardless if they do patch my tent I still think it's a risky buy.

 

[XVENTURE TRAILERS]

I have a fairly long build thread over on ih8mud but my recent experience with James Baroud USA tents has been so disappointing I figured it was worth sharing over here


My quick long term summary of my James Baroud roof top tent: it's a very risky buy + they have poor customer service and warranty. I've had mine on my rig for 35k miles and less than 1 year.


So James Baroud USA is also OK 4WD out of NJ, same company. Although they present themselves as James Baroud itself when it's convenient but when I had a warranty issue they raised their hands and said they were actually just a vendor and this is a problem for "HQ" down in South America. From my perspective if you're going to act like you are actually the brand when you sell a product you should also stand behind it in the tough times.

Over a month ago I submitted a warranty claim that the fibre glass on my tent was starting to separate. I sent along the 2 photos below to show the separation and that there wasn't any hard/direct blow or indentation from a strike. But maybe y'all feel differently? Take a peep at the photos

James Baroud's first response: We will not warranty this as we don't see it as a manufacturing defect

Their response was a huge bummer because I've been such a fan of their product and have sung it's praise over on my Instagram account. After they denied the claim I hopped on twitter and simply said I was bummed that my warranty wasn't honored....and only after tweeting did they call me back and offer to "take a further look and potentially offer a repair." From my shoes it's a damn shame you have to tweet @ a company to get honest support these days.

So! The most recent update to all of this, which is after many emails and phone calls, is that they now want to see the tent in person back in NJ. I'm dropping my tent off to be shipped back next week but if in the end they still decide to deny my warranty I'll have to pay for shipping costs.

Right from the start James Baroud USA / OK 4WD has treated me like the bad guy, like I'm trying to hoodwink them and that's pretty heartbreaking if I'm honest about it. If anyone has ever been to an REI for example you know how wonderful their customer support is and I suppose I expect all companies that are trying to succeeded to approach each situation and customer like they do.

James Baroud does have an innovative product with their tent design, I love the extra space pop up, but I wouldn't buy one again. So that's been my experience with James Baround....maybe in the end they will repair my tent but it certainly shouldn't have been this difficult. I'll be sure to stop by again with an update.

This looks like an object was inside the tent that was taller than the interior closed space when closed. But one never knows. Was this tent purchased in the USA?

I posted the de-facto closing procedure for these tents. https://www.facebook.com/XventureTrailers/photos/pcb.784525511584757/784523464918295/?type=1&theater

 

[theron]

This looks like an object was inside the tent that was taller than the interior closed space when closed. But one never knows.

I posted the de-facto closing procedure for these tents. https://www.facebook.com/XventureTrailers/photos/pcb.784525511584757/784523464918295/?type=1&theater

Hm. Nothing has ever been closed inside the tent expect for a sleeping bag? There is 0 damage or makings inside the tent. I purchased the tent directly from OK 4WD in person.

 

[XVENTURE TRAILERS]

Interesting to hear....James Baroud never contacted me about an aluminum replacement? I only heard through the grape vine. This is the second ladder that has broken on me....they replaced my first one with another plastic model that just broke again today.

But nonetheless, I'm deeply disappointed in their customer service and how they treated me. Regardless if they do patch my tent I still think it's a risky buy.

I am so sorry to hear that. Honestly this hook situation caught everyone off guard. We had the same thing happen to us. 2 in a row. Ill bet we both had this happen at the same time. The best way to resolve the issue at this time is have them send you a replacement set of hooks, not a ladder. They have the correct fiber reinforced hooks now. All new tents moving forward have the Aluminum hooks. It's really nice. Unfortunately to adapt this new style to existing tents requires some retrofitting. That said, the replacement fiber hooks work just fine.

 

[XVENTURE TRAILERS]

What did they tell you as far as warranty repair? Never mind I am reading the post on your experience.