The Gatormade expierence.

[Newblue]

After reading about 4 of your posts here in this thread it seems clear to me that you were primed for making trouble from the start. Nothing wrong with expecting what you pay for but you knew that there might be a problem and yet jumped in all because you 'told the guy what he better do'. You were looking for a bargain trailer and expecting top quality just because you 'told them it better be perfect'.

Places like Gatormade have to be delt with like that. He was not looking for a fight, just getting what he paid for. I gave Gatormade a second chance and they couldn't get the replacement trailer right either, wasting a vacation day and $300 in fuel on my part.

 

[lostcause]

I would think it imparts some significant racking resistance to the frame. Like anything similar - adding sheathing and even drywall to a stud-framed wall.

But none the less I am curious about these screws as my trailer is going to need a board replaced (at minimum) and they used those self-tapping Torx screws on it. Should I assume they never come out and just shear off, even with an impact wrench? Then what works best for replacement? I have never seen this type of bolt in any hardware/farm/tool shop that I've been in... Drill new holes and use carriage bolts or something??

Dave

i know a lot of you have an aversion to fastenal, but are these the torx head screws you are talking about?

1/4 x 2 1/2" Plain Finish Flat Head TORX Flooring Screw | Fastenal

as far as i'm concerned, these things are the bomb. i would never use anything else to deck a trailer again. for the 1/4 inch screws, drill a 13/64 hole through the deck and frame, then wind the screw in with a cordless drill. it is a hardened screw and it cuts its own threads through the steel with great ease.

i recently re-decked my snowmobile trailer which i had used these on (probably close to 10 years ago) most all of them had rusted and ended up breaking off when trying to remove them, but after removing the decking i was able to twist some out from below with pliers as someone previously noted. on a snowmobile trailer in an area where road salt is used, i understand these rusting right where the wood contacts the metal frame.

i've used them on three trailers now, and love them. my equipment trailer is 11 years old now, and still on the original deck and screws. the screws show no signs of rust on the heads, and this trailer is always outdoors. i don't use it too often in the winter, so it's reasonable that the decking job hasn't needed replacing yet.

 

[two_bit_score]

I wouldnt say he was looking for trouble, its just when we pay for something new, i like it to look new and work properly, and far as the paint ruins, thats just BS,they could of fixed that and its not like they didnt see it. wouldnt everyone agree on that. but the light falling out going down the road, i would be really pissed, how was he looking for trouble there may i ask.

Like I sid nothing wrong with expecting good quality when you buy something and expecting to get the quality you pay for.

Thing is he said he researched the brand and knew there had been reported problems with that brand yet he feels like they owe him something for selling him a trailer that they see as being as perfect as they make and send out the door.

His expectations were above what they are known to produce and sell (and overall he sounds satisfied with it) but he wanted to 'tell them that it better be perfect' and expected it to meet his expectations of perfection. If he REALLY expected perfection he should have inspected the trailer in person and told them of his issues and if they couldn't come to a resolution he should have walked away and kept looking until he found something that matched up to his expectations of perfection at his price. I'm sure sooner or later he would have, with some adjustments in either price or expectations.

He didn't want to go to the effort of going to the factory and making sure the issues were addressed as he says he wanted them to be from the start. Maybe he didn't want to invest the time and effort to do that.

But now he wants the factory to PAY because the trailer he asked for doesn't meet expectations. The tail light falling out shouldn't have happened and should be covered by any warranty that came with the trailer so that should not be a problem; if the trailer has a warranty. The other issues of fit and finish sound crude and not waht I would want but the OP is being unreasonable and trying to bully the factory into paying up just to keep him from bad mouthing them all ver the internet.

Almost sounds like he planned to find some issues and start this stuff from the beginning.

Paint issues and the type of wiring connectors are all related to the price you pay. He searched for a bargain and now wants to complain about the 'fit and finish' when he should have personally inspected it before buying if it was that big a deal to him.

I don't have a gatormade trailer and probably never will.

 

[two_bit_score]

Places like Gatormade have to be delt with like that. He was not looking for a fight, just getting what he paid for. I gave Gatormade a second chance and they couldn't get the replacement trailer right either, wasting a vacation day and $300 in fuel on my part.

My point is if you know they are a 'place like that' then why are you dealing with them anyway? Because you want a bargain price trailer. Nothing wrong with that.

Expecting a bargain price trailer that is "perfect" when "perfection" is not plainly spelled out in writing is probably not going to happen and will just lead to problems and aggravation.

There are plenty of good trailer manuf. out there that can do any level of "perfection" that anyone is willing to pay for.

Doing what the OP did is kinda like buying a Rolex from a NY street vendor and then getting upset when it's really a "Relux" because he 'told the dealer it better be perfect'. It WAS a perfect 'RELUX'.

 

[rjkobbeman]

Like I sid nothing wrong with expecting good quality when you buy something and expecting to get the quality you pay for.

Thing is he said he researched the brand and knew there had been reported problems with that brand yet he feels like they owe him something for selling him a trailer that they see as being as perfect as they make and send out the door.

His expectations were above what they are known to produce and sell (and overall he sounds satisfied with it) but he wanted to 'tell them that it better be perfect' and expected it to meet his expectations of perfection. If he REALLY expected perfection he should have inspected the trailer in person and told them of his issues and if they couldn't come to a resolution he should have walked away and kept looking until he found something that matched up to his expectations of perfection at his price. I'm sure sooner or later he would have, with some adjustments in either price or expectations.

He didn't want to go to the effort of going to the factory and making sure the issues were addressed as he says he wanted them to be from the start. Maybe he didn't want to invest the time and effort to do that.

But now he wants the factory to PAY because the trailer he asked for doesn't meet expectations. The tail light falling out shouldn't have happened and should be covered by any warranty that came with the trailer so that should not be a problem; if the trailer has a warranty. The other issues of fit and finish sound crude and not waht I would want but the OP is being unreasonable and trying to bully the factory into paying up just to keep him from bad mouthing them all ver the internet.

Almost sounds like he planned to find some issues and start this stuff from the beginning.

Paint issues and the type of wiring connectors are all related to the price you pay. He searched for a bargain and now wants to complain about the 'fit and finish' when he should have personally inspected it before buying if it was that big a deal to him.

I don't have a gatormade trailer and probably never will.

:thumbsup:

And to your next one...

:thumbsup:

 

[doall]

$8 grand for a trailer is not bargain basement price. And I would hate to know I had to go to a factory everytime I wanted a Quality item. Gatormade does claim Quality trailers are their thing. I think he has a serious gripe.

 

[tractorboy5500]

As i seen Gatormade trailers advertised, i dont recall them with paint ruins and lights hanging out, at least not for 8K anyway. As for as the build of the trailer, they make a good frame. All the PJ trailers i have seen didnt have problems like that, and they sell for about the same price, PJ seems to take pride in there looks and paint jobs. Hope the guy that bought the Gatormade trailer at least gets something in return.
I all most went with the PJ 27+5, but decided to go with the Longhorn, and i went with a lot of options for the price of a standard PJ. The most important things i look at when buying is 19# I-beam instead of 14#, and the I-beam neck, and the spacing on the 3"channel, and the make of the axles, all the other things i can deal with.

 

[two_bit_score]

$8 grand for a trailer is not bargain basement price. And I would hate to know I had to go to a factory everytime I wanted a Quality item. Gatormade does claim Quality trailers are their thing. I think he has a serious gripe.

:laughing:

He also knew that there were some 'quality' issues with Gatormade.

 

[Builder]

I am sorry, it took so long to post this, but I was trying to give Gatormade a chance to get back to me. I picked up my trailer at a small lot that turned out to be 200 miles from my house. It was a little rainy, which turned out to be a problem. At first glance, the trailer is quite impressive. it is very solid, and well built, as far as the frame, and welding are concerned. I was also very happy with the extra wide spring assisted ramps. As I looked closer, I noticed that the paint job was absolutely horrible. I do not exaggerate, when I say that the runs cover the entire trailer. Little alarm bells were going off, so I looked underneath, to make sure the frame, and cross members were painted. They were, and since it was raining, I did not dilly dally under there. I wish I had. We tested the lights, and the ramps, and I checked to make sure there was oil in the hubs. I did another quick walk around, and I got in the truck and headed for home. On the way home, I stopped for some roadside BBQ, and what do you think I saw while walking back to the truck? Why I saw that a rear taillight had fallen out. Yup, hanging there by the wires. I got down to look, and I found that the holes for the lights were 3/8 of an inch to big. On both sides. I must have hit a bump, and it was enough to jar it loose. I put the light back, and taped the back of the lights to the frame, with duct tape. I then tried to call the salesman from Gatormade, and the guy from the lot, with no luck. I headed home. Once I got home, I inspected the trailer from top to bottom, and front to back. Guess what I found? Scotch connectors. I had specifically asked Paul at Gatormade, if this thing had scotch connectors, and he told me absolutely not. Because of the rain, I did not want to take the time to crawl around under the trailer like I had wanted to. Once I saw that they had painted the entire bottom, I got out, and never thought to look to close at the wires. I had planned on walking away, if I saw one scotch connector. I called Paul at Gatormade, and very calmly explained to him what I found, and asked what he was going to do for me. He asked me to e-mail him the pictures I took, which I will post here, and he would get back to me. when I here from him, I will post the response. These pictures show the bad paint, the scotch connectors, the taillight hanging from the rear of my trailer, and the space between the top of the hole for the light, and the top of the light.

Wow, what a POS. It's ashame that company is even allowed to get their name posted here anymore...

 

[rjkobbeman]

Wow, what a POS. It's ashame that company is even allowed to get their name posted here anymore...

I know nothing about this company other than what I have read in this post. However... when I saw the Gatormade emblem that is obviously trying to look like Caterpillar, the first thing I thought of is a Chinese copy-cat type product. My opinion of the company is pretty low... just because of their emblem. The comments in this thread aren't helping either.

Hope the steel, welding, axles, etc. are up to snuff. May be a great trailer other than the runny paint... but I have a hard time believing they put great care in the parts that matter when everything else looks so sloppily put together.