702krawler
Adventurer
I purchased a Pioneer off-road Trailer from Bobby Culpepper of Cascadia Vehicle Tents (CVT) in February of 2013. Upon first taking the trailer out on an off-road camping trip (Mojave Road), the wheel hub nearly came off (another camper happened to flag me down as I was driving by). This caused damage to the axle spindle on the trailer. It took Robert Culpepper (the owner/operator of Cascadia Vehicle Tents) approximately three months to repair the trailer, despite several promises to ship the parts to me much earlier.
Then, I discovered that I needed to register the trailer to operate it in Nevada. When I attempted to register the trailer, I discovered that the VIN plate had been removed. Mr. Culpepper eventually told me he removed it after the DMV rep and I spoke to him on the phone about it. He later sent me another VIN plate (but was unable or unwilling to produce the Customs and Border Protection importation paperwork, which is legally required since the trailer was made in China. See CBP form 7501.) To date, I have yet to be able to register the trailer due to paperwork issues.
Finally, I took the trailer out again for an off-road camping trip in Death Valley (having one uneventful off-road camping trip in the interim) in February of 2014. During this trip, the shock on the right side literally broke in half, wedging itself between the body of the trailer and the tire. Again, I was very fortunate to have someone flag me down to tell me there was smoke and a burning smell coming from my trailer. The broken shock ultimately damaged the spring itself, which completely failed, and severed the wiring for the trailer lights. I had to crawl back to a graded dirt road, park the trailer, and go rent a U-Haul trailer to haul the broken trailer back to my house in Las Vegas.
Immediately upon returning I contacted Mr. Culpepper, who eventually got back to me. On March 21, 2014, I had a telephone conversation with Mr. Culpepper in which he told me he would come pick-up the trailer and refund the money I spent on the trailer (I also ordered a RTT from him, but trying to be reasonable, I agreed to keep the RTT and only seek a refund on the trailer itself).
Mr. Culpepper asked me if it was OK for him to pick-up the trailer when he attended Overland Expo in Flagstaff, AZ in mid-May, since he'd be driving past Las Vegas. I agreed.
Not having heard from Mr. Culpepper to make any sort of arrangements, prior to Overland Expo, I contacted him less than two weeks out. Mr. Culpepper eventually got back to me, and told me he'd let me know if he was going to come before or after the expo. Around this same time I told Mr. Culpepper that I'd ordered a new off-road trailer from a third party (based on Mr. Culpepper's earlier promise to me to provide me with a refund).
Having again not heard from Mr. Culpepper, I contacted him just prior to the expo. He told me he would come by to pick-up the trailer on his way back.
Around this time, Mr. Culpepper also asked me if I'd agree to receive my refund in the form of him paying the amount he owed me toward my new trailer on his credit card. I told him that was fine as well.
With the expo over, and again not having heard from Mr. Culpepper, I called him to check on the status. Mr. Culpepper informed me that he was going to attend another off-road event in Moab, UT, and would instead pick-up the trailer after that, possibly in early June of 2014.
Again having not heard from Mr. Culpepper, I again contacted him and inquired when he would be coming by to pick-up the trailer. Eventually, Mr. Culpepper advised me that he'd had car trouble, and that is why he didn't not make it (though he never called to tell me he was not going to show-up, as a reasonable person might do if they really intended to show up).
I again pressed Mr. Culpepper for a firm date to pick-up the trailer, reminding him that my new trailer was due to be delivered sometime in August of 2014. Mr. Culpepper told me that he would come between July 10th and 12th of 2014.
Again, having not heard from Mr. Culpepper regarding the newest pick-up date, I inquired one more time as to the status. He eventually got back to me, telling me he'd had to move at the last minute (though in fact he knew about the move no later than June 20th per the information on his web site). He told me that all of the trailers that he might use to pick-up my broken trailer were being used for the move, but that he expected to be done early in the week of July 14th, and would come then.
By July 16th, having not heard from Mr. Culpepper, I again inquired as to the status of the newest pick-up date. He then told me that he now had to wait for another container shipment he was expecting from overseas, and would not have a date until after that undetermined time. I responded by telling Mr. Culpepper I've been very patient and reasonable, but that he needed to provide me with a firm pick-up date that was days, not weeks out by the close of business on July 18th. Mr. Culpepper did not respond.
On July 20th, I sent a demand letter to both Mr. Culpepper and his registered agent, regarding this issue, asking for my refund by July 30th. Mr. Culpepper has still not responded to me.
I'm hopeful that Mr. Culpepper will do the right thing and honor his numerous promises, but as of now, it appears I am going to have to file a small claims action to get my money back. It is a shame that I trusted Mr. Culpepper as a member of the Overlanding community at his word on a number of occasions, only to have him fail to come through and ultimately ignore me. If nothing else, hopefully my story will serve as a cautionary tail to others in the community so they don't have similar issues. After my experience detailed above, I would personally not deal with Mr. Culpepper or his company again.
I've attached photos so you guys can see that I'm not some competitor making things up. In the photo with people, I'm in the green jacket, while the others are the kind people who flagged me down and helped me make the repair on Mojave Road (after I drove hours to and from town to get parts). The other photos are all of the aftermath of my Death Valley trip. Sadly, the above really did happen to me.
Then, I discovered that I needed to register the trailer to operate it in Nevada. When I attempted to register the trailer, I discovered that the VIN plate had been removed. Mr. Culpepper eventually told me he removed it after the DMV rep and I spoke to him on the phone about it. He later sent me another VIN plate (but was unable or unwilling to produce the Customs and Border Protection importation paperwork, which is legally required since the trailer was made in China. See CBP form 7501.) To date, I have yet to be able to register the trailer due to paperwork issues.
Finally, I took the trailer out again for an off-road camping trip in Death Valley (having one uneventful off-road camping trip in the interim) in February of 2014. During this trip, the shock on the right side literally broke in half, wedging itself between the body of the trailer and the tire. Again, I was very fortunate to have someone flag me down to tell me there was smoke and a burning smell coming from my trailer. The broken shock ultimately damaged the spring itself, which completely failed, and severed the wiring for the trailer lights. I had to crawl back to a graded dirt road, park the trailer, and go rent a U-Haul trailer to haul the broken trailer back to my house in Las Vegas.
Immediately upon returning I contacted Mr. Culpepper, who eventually got back to me. On March 21, 2014, I had a telephone conversation with Mr. Culpepper in which he told me he would come pick-up the trailer and refund the money I spent on the trailer (I also ordered a RTT from him, but trying to be reasonable, I agreed to keep the RTT and only seek a refund on the trailer itself).
Mr. Culpepper asked me if it was OK for him to pick-up the trailer when he attended Overland Expo in Flagstaff, AZ in mid-May, since he'd be driving past Las Vegas. I agreed.
Not having heard from Mr. Culpepper to make any sort of arrangements, prior to Overland Expo, I contacted him less than two weeks out. Mr. Culpepper eventually got back to me, and told me he'd let me know if he was going to come before or after the expo. Around this same time I told Mr. Culpepper that I'd ordered a new off-road trailer from a third party (based on Mr. Culpepper's earlier promise to me to provide me with a refund).
Having again not heard from Mr. Culpepper, I contacted him just prior to the expo. He told me he would come by to pick-up the trailer on his way back.
Around this time, Mr. Culpepper also asked me if I'd agree to receive my refund in the form of him paying the amount he owed me toward my new trailer on his credit card. I told him that was fine as well.
With the expo over, and again not having heard from Mr. Culpepper, I called him to check on the status. Mr. Culpepper informed me that he was going to attend another off-road event in Moab, UT, and would instead pick-up the trailer after that, possibly in early June of 2014.
Again having not heard from Mr. Culpepper, I again contacted him and inquired when he would be coming by to pick-up the trailer. Eventually, Mr. Culpepper advised me that he'd had car trouble, and that is why he didn't not make it (though he never called to tell me he was not going to show-up, as a reasonable person might do if they really intended to show up).
I again pressed Mr. Culpepper for a firm date to pick-up the trailer, reminding him that my new trailer was due to be delivered sometime in August of 2014. Mr. Culpepper told me that he would come between July 10th and 12th of 2014.
Again, having not heard from Mr. Culpepper regarding the newest pick-up date, I inquired one more time as to the status. He eventually got back to me, telling me he'd had to move at the last minute (though in fact he knew about the move no later than June 20th per the information on his web site). He told me that all of the trailers that he might use to pick-up my broken trailer were being used for the move, but that he expected to be done early in the week of July 14th, and would come then.
By July 16th, having not heard from Mr. Culpepper, I again inquired as to the status of the newest pick-up date. He then told me that he now had to wait for another container shipment he was expecting from overseas, and would not have a date until after that undetermined time. I responded by telling Mr. Culpepper I've been very patient and reasonable, but that he needed to provide me with a firm pick-up date that was days, not weeks out by the close of business on July 18th. Mr. Culpepper did not respond.
On July 20th, I sent a demand letter to both Mr. Culpepper and his registered agent, regarding this issue, asking for my refund by July 30th. Mr. Culpepper has still not responded to me.
I'm hopeful that Mr. Culpepper will do the right thing and honor his numerous promises, but as of now, it appears I am going to have to file a small claims action to get my money back. It is a shame that I trusted Mr. Culpepper as a member of the Overlanding community at his word on a number of occasions, only to have him fail to come through and ultimately ignore me. If nothing else, hopefully my story will serve as a cautionary tail to others in the community so they don't have similar issues. After my experience detailed above, I would personally not deal with Mr. Culpepper or his company again.
I've attached photos so you guys can see that I'm not some competitor making things up. In the photo with people, I'm in the green jacket, while the others are the kind people who flagged me down and helped me make the repair on Mojave Road (after I drove hours to and from town to get parts). The other photos are all of the aftermath of my Death Valley trip. Sadly, the above really did happen to me.
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