Elevation Reviews

JU

JustinM

New Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
6
Location
California
I’m considering buying a used 2014 3612. I’m far from new to travel trailer and toy haulers, I have been RVing my whole life and have owned a Tahoe and a Weekend Warrior. The Elevation looks awesome and has a 12ft garage with ¾ ton towable weight, however until recent I have never hear of Elevation or Crossroads. Since finding this trailer I have tried to do as much research as possible which has been difficult and disappointing.
This forum is full of many complaints and few complements. However I understand that it is more common for people to “log on” to complain or look for help while having problems then to just stop by to state how happy they are with their toy hauler.
My biggest concerns are that Crossroad’s warranty is not transferable (which sucks) and it seems that there are two major issues lurking around: slides failing and causing damage, and rubber roof failures. However this trailer has been used multiple times since its purchase in Feb. without any issue. Did Elevation get these problems sorted out by 2014? Or was it hit or miss?
I looking for honest reviews on these trailers. Should I buy an Elevation or keep looking for a Raptor or Fuzion?
 
Like you said people tend to complain more then talk about how happy they are. Im sure there are a lot of these units out there without any problems. Whatever brand you go with you could have issues. I haven't seen any at campgrounds or on my travels. I seem to see more Cyclones and Raptors, but I'm sure the Elevation is a good unit. Good luck on your research. You might also want to look at RV.net if you haven't already.
 
FWIW - I have a 2014 Elevation 3616 and have had no problems with slides or roof at this time. If your slides are working now, then the issue with installation alignment is probably behind you. The same with the roof. If it was not installed properly, you would likely already be seeing the result.
 
Thanks to both of you for your feed back. Just wandering, I'm knew here, is there a reason this post has been viewed 130 times and I've only gotten two replies?
 
Anyone can view your post. But it is their choice if they want to reply. If they are not familiar with or do not own an Elevation they might not reply to your post. Just a guess, but maybe there are fewer Elevations owners here in this forum than other model owners.
 
First and foremost, let me say that I am NOW a very happy CR Elevation customer. CR Customer Service stepped up and over the year of problems resolved all my issues and demonstrated they cared about me as a CR customer. I would imagine how you approach CR and how to interact with them would be a key factor, but my approach seemd to work for both of us.

That said, I'll list my issues from Nov 2013 through September 2014. ALL ISSUES have since been resolved and I've used the unit several times recently without complaint. I truly do appreciate the 3912's unique floorplan compared to the typical Raptor/Cyclone/Road Warrior/Siezmic/etc...

MAJOR ISSUES

1.) Roof membrane ripped back from the front cap to the 1st AC unit. Required a brand new roof membrane. Turned out not nearly enough glue was used and it was a matter of time. We had to end our trip early to avoid potential of exposing the roof wood to any rain.

2.) Black Tank Flush valve was installed BACKWARDS and the line was way too long and kinked. This is a MAJOR deal for me since I think the Black Tank Flush is a big deal. Turned out the valve installed in the bathroom towel cabinet was installed backwards.

3.) Heat ducting crushed throughout the unit. The living room area had no airflow at all when the furnace was on. Dealer had to cut open the one piece sealed bottom (so no longer one-piece)and chop almost 60% of the ducting work out to get air flowing to the vents. Works much better now.

4.) Main Area AC unit freeze control failing. This resulted in the AC failing to keep the RV cool and resulted in lots of water all over the ceiling from a thawing out iced up AC unit. Freeze control was replaced and it's working well.

5.) One of the main slide rollers broke away from the main chassis which resulted in the main slide going off kilter and destroying the linoleum flooring when the slide was retracted. A new linoleum floor was installed. Dealer reinforced the slide roller mounting points with a large piece to steel to prevent future problems. All five (5) rollers were replaced as a precaution.

6.) Front Right Landing Gear motor assembly came loose and made a heck of a noise when under stress/lifting the unit. Thank god it didn't come totally off and drop the RV.


MINOR ISSUES - In no order of severity or time when these occured. Most all were right out of the gate reducing over time as we "dialed" in the unit.

1.) TV's not all being hooked up. Could only get a picture on the living room TV. All other TVs were off the grid. Dealer resolved the wiring issues and all TV's work great.

2.) Various exterior running lights burning out due to corrosion in the lamp receptacle(s). This included the PORCH lights and SECURITY lights. New lighting units installed

3.) Missing TV remote(s) - Dealer replaced.

4.) External decals peeling off, went to body shop for repair. Looks great now.

5.) 2nd Grey Tank water leak (external thank god). Valve issue. Not sure what the fix was, but it's fixed.

6.) Bedroom slide bulb seal needed to be replaced as the schwintek motor ate it.

7.) 2nd Grey Tank Pull Valve handle mount snapped off the chassis and needed to get re-secured to the chassis. Discovered it at a truck stop where to noticed the bolts had rusted out of the chassis. Dealer replaced the mount with Stainless mount, no issues expected later.

8.) Both large speakers in the garage section ripped off the walls on our first trip. After review, only 1 of the required 4 screws were used to hold the speakers to the wall. Dealer installed new brackets and installed all new screw hardware.

9.) Remote control for the slide outs worked intermittently. Seems to still be the case, but only with the bedroom.

10.) Stock Battery is shot. Has been replaced and is shot again. Once the battery disconnect is engaged, there is no parasitic drawer, it's just a sh%^y battery.

11.) Various pieces of external trim coming loose and pulling away from the body. These required resealing and re-adhesion to the body. All has been good for about 6 months so far.

12.) Blu-Ray player stopped working. Dealer replaced with higher end LG Blu-Ray player.

13.) Main awning LED strip burned out. Needed new strip. Dealer installed 2nd Gen LED strip and all looks great.

14.) Various interior pieces of trim coming loose that needed reattaching. Mainly these are the large pieces of trim on the inside of the slide cutout providing a seal to the RV's main walls. The screws have snapped off and you can see the outside through the gap where the trim has come away from the body of the RV. Dealer replaced all trim peices with any hint of damage and reattached all loose bodyparts.

15.) Shower Glass door handles coming unattached (both of them) and requiring re-adhesion. I've yet to figure this one out yet (various glues won't bond to the Glass and the Aluminum), perhaps the dealer can re-glue them. More annoying than anything. Fixed by using Aquarium sealant (you'd think it could hold glass, right...).

16.) With the KING Bed option the lower valances for the curtains block the ability to lift the bed and access the storage. We discovered this on our PDI when we lifted the bed and it ripped the valances off the walls. This has resulted in the dealer having to remove the lower valance completely and attach the bottom of the curtains to the wall directly. It works, but aesthetically is less than great.

17.) I had to reattach the carpet in the main hallway to the stairs. The carpet start to come away from the stairs. Upon inspection, the staples that were used were barely even penetrating the wood of the steps and in almost all cases on one side of the staple was even attached. I pulled all the OEM staples and reattached the carpet to the stairs.

18.) There are various other small quality issues that I could go one about (small trim not level, the TV sound bar ripped off its mounts on the way home from the dealer, plug receptacle face plates on backwards (yes backwards)...but I think you get the point. :)
That said, I get a ton of compliments on the 3912.

I have since installed Slide Toppers to help prevent crap getting under the seals.
I have added an additional A/C vent to the garage.
I tweaked the A/C vents in the living area by cutting down the collar that recesses into the ceiling. This resulted in much improved cold air flow.

I believe I am close to having this thing figured out, moving on from the past and looking into the future. If I dwelled on the issues, I'd run out of my favorite bourbon.
 
Patience is a virtue and being handy is a blessing. Good for you hope it is smooth sailing from here on.
Go Well!
 
Remote control came standard for me. Not sure it was an option. I can extend/retract both awnings, all slides and the rear stabilizers.
 
WOW; someone got some service. They told me "GO Away" not their problem, per "Terry" & his female Boss(with held her name & tittle)
2014 SunSet Trail SF32RL
 
Bottom Seal

Englishmatt.....How was the one-piece sealed bottom re-sealed after the had to cut it? Did they cut it on a member, so they could seal it back somehow?
 
Nah Jerry, It's a bit of a sore subject for me. They sliced it open to get all the bundled up duct work out, then taped it up with some RV fiber tape (which came loose so they had to re-do it). Tape matches the color of the bottom and is about 3" wide. The slit they cut was about 3ft long in an L-shape. Work was done a few months ago now (in the spring when it was cold) and it's holding well. Tape isn't peeling...nothing.

So although it's "sealed" to repair standards, it's not a perfectly complete single sheet any longer. I think I'm just too picky.
 
Hey guys I read somewhere (now I cant fined it anymore) that the elevation doesn't have a fresh water dump. Just a small drain hose that take for ever to drain. Is this true? Just certain years and models? are they all that way?
 
I am not aware of a fresh water dump. That said, I just turn on all the taps and let the lines flush too. Then dump the grey tanks.

The little blue drain is the low point drain, hence why it's small and slow to dump 100 gallons.
 
I only have a small hose on my Cruiser's fresh water tank to dump the water. I'm not aware of any other models have a larger dump valve.
 
I own a 2014 3840 elevation. It has been nothing but a nightmare. Finally got it out the shop last month after it was back at the factory for a while. Needless to say it has more trouble. I did a thread not what I expected about the problems and service I got. I think that it is harder to find a quality rv than to find a bad one. It is a gamble when you purchase one. If you just prepare yourself for it to stay in the shop for the first 6 to 8 months you own it, it won't be such a shock when it actually does.

Good luck
Todd Dufrene
2015 ford f-350
2014 3840 elevation
 
It seems the more I look the more it seems the Generator, batteries and propane are configured different. How many batteries did your guys unit come with ? This one I'm looking only has one, I've never seen a toy hauler with one battery .
 
JustinM said:
It seems the more I look the more it seems the Generator, batteries and propane are configured different. How many batteries did your guys unit come with ? This one I'm looking only has one, I've never seen a toy hauler with one battery .
Click to expand...

My 3616 came with only one battery.
 
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