Roadtrek Second Row Seating Fail

[mloganusda]

Would you be found with a smile on your face???

[HubFlyer]

New member (and Roadtrek owner) here.

A review of my VIN number on the NHTSA site shows "0 unrepaired recalls." Was there ever any remedy beyond "don't use the seats while vehicle is in motion?" Or is NHTSA considering the removal of the seatbelts and application of a warning sticker the "repair?"

TIA

[MiClassB17]

I have not received any more communication on the issue. We removed our second row seat and replaced with storage.

[mumkin]

Yes, there is a 2 step fix. The first is to remove the existing seat belts which will remove the black mark on your vin from the seat being unapproved. Then you need to find a Roadtrek dealer to do the fix. (they can surely do both of these) The seats have to be removed... along with the tanks under the vehicle... in order to re-attach the seats in a legally approved manner. New seat belts can be installed at that time.

I don't recall the exact prices from the various discussions, but it is a couple thousand bucks per seat. Not easy to find a place to do it. I suggest calling the new company and ask them to refer you to a dealer that is doing this fix. Of course, it isn't their responsibility, but I think (?) they are providing the dealers with the parts.

As far as I know, it has to be done at a dealer. For the cost, I would have removed and replaced with a cabinet too.

[HubFlyer]

Following up on my earlier questions/comments.

In my situation I discovered the unrepaired retrofit a day after closing. As stated, the NHTSA site showed "0 unrepaired recalls" for my VIN so I thought the vehicle was OK. Then I found more detail on the 2 steps (recall/retrofit).

Speaking with Sean at Roadtrek I got a lot of the background which I presented to my dealer who agreed to do both steps.

Thanks to this forum (and others) and a member here who contacted me offline we will soon have a fully functioning coach.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by HubFlyer

Following up on my earlier questions/comments.

In my situation I discovered the unrepaired retrofit a day after closing. As stated, the NHTSA site showed "0 unrepaired recalls" for my VIN so I thought the vehicle was OK. Then I found more detail on the 2 steps (recall/retrofit).

Speaking with Sean at Roadtrek I got a lot of the background which I presented to my dealer who agreed to do both steps.

Thanks to this forum (and others) and a member here who contacted me offline we will soon have a fully functioning coach.

Welcome to the forum!

Glad the "new" Roadtrek could shed some light on the seat problem, even though they are not responsible.

[RossWilliams]

As far as I can tell, the NHTSA has never shown a recall in the United States. I am not sure what that means. At some point, I think I saw a document from the receiver to the NHTSA informing them of the problem but it never showed up as a formal recall. Perhaps the standards are different in US and Canada and there is no legal reason to require a separate recall here.

[HubFlyer]

If I search https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls :

by VIN it shows "0 unrepaired recalls" implying that there are no recalls, or if there were they have been repaired for the VIN searched.

by vehicle (year make model) 2015 Roadtrek RS Adventurous shows 2 recalls including the seat issue.

In my case it has a happy ending as my dealer agreed to get the retrofit kit from the "new" Roadtrek and install it with no charge to me. Having a front living area with four seats was important to us. I feel bad for others who were forced to remove two seats (or only have limited use of them) due to the safety issue.

[RossWilliams]

Interesting. I get nothing for the VIN or 2015 Roadtrek Etrek but it is listed as a model in the details of the recall notice you get when searching for RS Adventurous.

[avanti]

N.B. that professionally-unfitted RVs often have two VINs: One from the chassis OEM and the other from the upfitter. You have to enter the right one, depending on what you are looking for.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by avanti

N.B. that professionally-unfitted RVs....

Did you mean “professionally-upfitted,” or perhaps “unprofessionally-upfitted”?

Auto-correct can be so annoying, but given the subject of the thread it seemed almost Freudian.

[HubFlyer]

Just wanted to post (what I hope is) the final chapter on my experience.

As stated above I discovered the general issue after closing, but that was before taking delivery.

The RV dealer contacted Sean at Roadtrek to acquire the parts for the retrofit which would make the two 2nd row seats safe and usable. The dealer agreed to do this gratis.

Once they received the kit and started the process they discovered that this particular vehicle had a slightly different placement of holding tanks underneath than what the kit was designed for. That led to a back and forth where ultimately Roadtrek delivered some different parts which allowed the tanks to go back where they needed two.

This started in December with holidays, shutdowns and mechanical modifications. We were just able to take delivery Tuesday.

Thanks to the members of this forum for all of the knowledge shared.

[HubFlyer]

*where they needed to.

[KathRN]

Thank you so much for posting this document. I did discover my vehicle is on the list. When I heard of this originally, I had a carpenter build a custom storage cabinet/hinged table. However it is installed into the same bolts. It's my understanding the seat sheers off the bolts upon impact.

[SPamvan]

HubFlyer

Do you have the parts list and instructions on how to retrofit the second row seats?

I would like to make mine usable again while in motion.

I have a dealer to do the work but trying to find out the actual fix for them to do.

Thanks

[HubFlyer]

Everything is coordinated by Sean at the "new" Roadtrek. He keeps track, by VIN number, of which vehicles are on the fail list and updates when they have been fixed. He also controls the kits that are sent to the repair shops.

I would suggest you have the dealer contact directly. Here is his contact info:

Sean Heintz
Service and Warranty Specialist
Roadtrek Inc.
519-745-1160
retailsupport@roadtrekinc.com


Don't hesitate to DM me if you hit any snags.