1 year owner review, fair warning, this will be a long read
oct made one year of ownership of the dune sport toyhauler 26 fb model. 26' of floor and 30' oal. has been quite the adventure debugging this toyhauler,, prob 70 hrs labor and counting. dune sport has sent me some of the parts under warranty. they forgot to install a couple things altogether, made a lot of mistakes in the construction. i expect new campers to have some issues but this has been quite the experience. i can say, based on the manufacturers behavior, statements, and warranty, i will never buy another one.
let me start by stating that over all, we enjoy the toyhauler. this is the only company i found, that allows the customer to draw their own floor plan. for that reason alone, as a whole, it has fit our needs hauling our toy. the unfortunate part is that i have spent more time finishing dune sports build and repairing there mistakes than we have used it.
i am not posting this to bash dune sport, nor to tell people to run. i am simply posting this for anyone searching this brand. looking for honest experiences. they clearly have more happy customers then upset ones. a few bad reviews on yelp and google as well as the bbb, with far more good reviews.
this is the 6th toyhauler ( 2 lost to hail) we have owned over the last 21 years plus. i have some experience repairing campers including lifting walls to replace sub floors. what i may consider " not to big of a deal " others may not.
we have had 14 issues with the toyhauler. not the smaller issues we have had like...... loose trim, bathroom and bedroom doors that needed adjusted, stripped screws falling out of the emergency escape window latch, ceiling mounted tv travel strap screws pulling out of the ceiling, caulking lifting off the bathroom surround and pulling the top layer of the wall panel with it. those were what i consider tiny annoying issues that are simple to repair.
once you finalize your cad print, there is a 10% deposit. our 26fb had a base price of $25,840.00 and we optioned it out to $46,203.00. waited close to 6 months to have this built as well as sold our ( at the time current) toyhauler to help pay for it. they state in the contract that the deposit is non refundable. they allowed me to purchase a few items ( dropped shipped to them ) that they do not offer and they installed them for a small fee. design and purchase was great and their willingness to work with their customer was fantastic......after the sale it changes drastically.
water heater thermostats started to fail on the 2nd trip. i contacted dometic and they sent new ones. very easy to swap out so no problem. the furnace didn't work from day one. i emailed dune sport to find out there is no warranty on appliances. so if your considering a toyhauler from them, know that there is no warranty on appliances nor do they insulate there floors. that's another one they do not tell people. i will have to pull the face of the lower cabinets off to get the furnace out.
the first issue was when they sent 60 pictures of the completed toyhauler. everything looked good at first except the awning. i specifically ordered a manual awning as i am someone that knows the true benefits of a manual awning vs an electric awning. i also use the manual awnings in car port mode if i want to get out of the sun to work on my toy. not a common occurrence but not rare. they tried to talk me into a power awning but i insisted on a manual. they sent a cad picture ( not a dimensioned cad print) of a 17' power awning overlayed on a 15' manual for my approval.
obviously power awning side arm rails are short where manual awning arms go to the base of the wall. i didn't understand why 17' power awning would fit or only a 15' manual awning. didnt really care and didn't ask. now that i saw the build date on the power awning i am pretty sure it was a left over they had in stock as most pre fer power awnings these days. i was only concerned that it would cover the side patio and entry door, wasn't worried that it didn't cover the entire side.
i had no reason to ask if they knew how to properly size manual awning arms to the different side wall heights. they did not and the handles of the manual awning are almost 6' off the ground. i'm 5'11" and i have to use a step stool to use the awning. they stated anyone and everyone would know that based on the cad print pictured above and the fact they are 8' tall walls. again, not a cad print of the awning itself.
the bottom of the door is 34" off the ground and awning handle is even with the bottom of the window.
i sent an email stating that was unacceptable and with in minutes received a call from the owner of dune sport, brad. brad stated that i had signed off on the cad print and that i knew the awning handles would be that high and that
dune sport would not pay their staff to change it. he bluntly told me this was my fault and that
dune sport will not fix this. they still had the toyhauler on there lot at this point. i explained that they did not send a cad print and that the pic they sent showed short awning arms typically found on power awnings. i also stated that dometic offers 5 different length arms for different side wall heights. he told me they do not have any such info in there system and will not order different arms. i had to actually walk him over the phone, to the page on the dometic's web site, proving to him, that dometic does indeed offer 5 different length arms. proved to him that they used the short one typically found on tall side, slide in truck campers! he did admit that they did not know dometic offered other length arms as they are not in there system. I believe he was genuine in that statement. i asked why they didn't call there dometic rep when they knew that was wrong and he simply started in stating they will not fix it. in fact he stated that they would remove the awning or give me a $250 credit to keep it, as is, and nothing else. i had no idea that a toy hauler manufacturer didn't know how to properly size a manual awning arms for an 8' tall side wall. i do, and have a couple times. here is a pic of my previous wolf pack, you can see the manual awning rails go all the way down on an 8' tall side wall. forest river and keystone know how.
we had a trip planned and indeed wanted the toyhauler, as it is our custom floor plan. i accepted the credit. called dometic ( thats not a fun time) turned out that the manual awning was old enough that dometic discontinued that line. guess it was left over stock? supposedly universal rails will fit it but 6 months back order plus i have to open the walls to add a backer to mount them. i'm still using a step stool for now.
one of the options we added was 1000 lumen lights on all 4 sides. i had opted to have the 2 switch's for the left wall and nose, placed in the left front storage door above the battery. i asked why they weren't there and they stated i never requested that location. obviously they forgot, as i explained that this was not only in the cad print but notated in the invoice..... they did not correct them. not the end of the world but when you routinely show up to the sand dunes in the dark, one less step to turn those lights on for set up is just nicer. i let it go.
i then noticed that the microwave was over the cook top rather then on the left wall over the prep area, as my wife had asked. i had asked that they use the cabinet over the cook top, to house the 12v stereo, 12v blue ray player i sent, solar controller display and anything that flashes. someone decided it would look better the cook top and the radio and blue ray player over the fridge. with the solar controller on the side of the fridge. they did not move the solar controller in the final cad print and i missed that....that on myself. again i noted that this was on the cad print and notated on the invoice, they did not correct their mistake. again i simply let it go
i purchased 3 two channel speaker box's, had them drop shipped directly too them. picture w/o the grill on, theer are right and left hand speaker jacks on the rear. they come with flush, semi flush or surface mounting plates.
they wired two incorrectly ( no big deal ) honest mistake. they did call to tell me one was no good. turned out they had reversed the polarity, so easy fix once i heard it. my real issue is with how the installed them. the one on the side porch was mounted vertical rather then horizontal, as sound bar ( with rt and left channels) as should've been mounted. the box's in the living area and bedroom were correct in the cad print. didnt believe i needed to specify the orientation. i guess that is my fault for not specifying a 2 channel box needed to be mounted horizontally.
at least they got the speaker over the couch correct. that 1 out of 3
bed runs east west, not a huge deal in the bedroom.
speaker orientation is wrong in the bedroom as well the patio. i brought this up, but, clearly the holes had all been cut to flush mount them. i did state, where i'm from, we wear head phones on our ears, not our forehead and the base of our skull, didnt find it as funny as i did. again i let this go.
caught covid so wound up paying to have it delivered. there were 2 main musts my wife had in this build....large ss sink, under mounted and a left swing door on the rear of the side patio. obviously so no one gets hit opening the door. i paid extra for a 30" grey left swing door. unit shows up with a right swing door. luckily it was 30" rather then their standard 24" wide. i notified them, they told me that was my fault for not catching that issue in the 60 pics they sent. none of there pics were a straight on shots, with the patio door down. i sent a screen shot of their cad print showing it was to be a left swing. again,
dune sport stated it was my fault for not catching it. i sent a picture of the cad print and a highlighted the invoice showing it was on both.
i told them that this mistake, i absolutely will not overlook. took some arguing but brad finally admitted, that he changed the invoice/cad before it went to construction. he blamed the salesman for not properly labeling drivers side door. he stated, they don't list them as rt and left swing in the rv industry, rather drivers side and pass side. he agreed to send the correct door but refused to ship it claiming there is too much damage in shipping. i can see that on one hand. asked that i tow it back so they could do it. i said no, that's a 20 hr drive, one way and I would have to take a week off of work for the trip. several months went by but they found a customer this direction to send it with and I installed it. I saved the old one and will return it when they find a shipping method. they said i should ship it back at my cost! that's a no
from rt hand
to left hand
they also forgot to caulk the base of the wall to the floor on the patio. if it were to rain, with the deck down, water would run right under the wall. it was an easy fix. i need to buy a small sink drain to install in the floor in case of rain. i coated the perimeter of the ramp gate frame to keep water from wicking in, if i leave it down in the rain. no big deal but annoying
https://rumble.com/embed/v1w90l6/?pub=4nuknyou could see light from the upper left corner of the ramp gate. I took a pic with the lights out and shades drawn so that it could be seen in a pic. the pic is pretty dark though. 2 issues with the gate, it was crooked in the frame and they cut the foam rubber gasket 2" short on the corner. i heated it with a heat gun to release the adhesive, stretched 2" and stuck it back down. this is a short term fix as it will shrink with age. i used plastic door shims to space the bottom of the gate on the inside. i loosened the spring hinges and then used the same shims to better align it to the frame. the frame was welded together 1/2" wider at the top then the bottom. not sure if they come with the steel tube frames or not. i did get it sealed up, sent pics and dune sport did send replacement foam rubber gasket. easy enough to repair, for myself.
water pump leaked through a seam in its body. the internal check valve didn't work either. filled 3/4 of my 100 gal fresh tank in 3 days. a few emails later they sent a replacement....it too was bad. that is an lci issue not a dune sport mistake. i bought a variable speed pump and no more issues. they also sent the winterization kit that i optioned, that they forgot to install. i have the crimp tools, so not a big deal either. they forgot to install the low point drains but remembered the sticker on the frame where they were supposed to be
did not send them either.
the medicine cabinet kept spitting its shelves out on smooth roads. in my 15 mile drive, on smooth roads, it would eject both shelves and the brackets with them. they forgot to add a backer to the wall. the cabinet was screwed to 1/8" paneling, basically. i used a tape measure to measure the movement ( 1" of movement ) because they didn't believe it , blamed it on bad roads and stated that they do not need to use a backer as they are lagged in. after seeing the video/pics they admitted that one needed a backer.
https://rumble.com/embed/v1w8xuk/?pub=4nuknsomething that we were really unhappy about was the fact that the roof leaked on our first trip. i had to take the front wall apart, not only to find the leak but dry the wall out and the insulation. it was an air bubble in the sealant. i found the slit and scraped it back for the picture. had they applied a butyl tape between the fiberglass and pvc roofing , then applied the self leveling caulking ( as they should've), probably wouldn't have leaked.
https://rumble.com/embed/vlobjl/?pub=4nukn
optioned in one of there custom installed wireless winches. they buy them from harbor freight. installed a 3500lb badland model. 1960 lbs sand rail, the winch went into thermal overload, with my toy half way up the ramp. they forgot to tighten the cables so they were arcing. they also used to small of wire for the 12 foot run to the battery, for an 80 amp draw. that's what their winch stated for that weight and spool. that was lucky as they only lag screwed that winch to the wood floor. no steel backing or connection to the frame. either they forgot to tighten the lag screws, or they started to back out. had to lower the front fresh water tank to get to the back sides to add steel plates and bolts. not a fun job but i did replace the winch with a 4500lb model. they used two lag screws, through a 2x6, into the floor, then 4 through the winch to the 2x6. not good
I optioned in 2 spare tires as this is a tandem axle trailer. they installed lci tire winches onto an H frame, that is welded the frame. the winches were installed on the wrong side of the frame. because of this they never bottom out and flop during transport. they began to unroll, but were luckily caught before they touched the ground. i removed the spare tire carriers and correctly installed them.
https://rumble.com/embed/v1w8v2a/?pub=4nukn
the extremely poor quality roof construction is the worst part imo. they should be ashamed of themselves. luckily i store this in a building and inspect routinely. had they told me they didn't use full sheets, i would've gladly paid extra and even thrown in an extra $30 for a broom so the guys could sweep the debris off before gluing the pvc down.
https://rumble.com/embed/v1w92y6/?pub=4nuknthat is pretty much all the negatives.
there are some positives..... every panel i have had to remove for repairs has shown me they have a top notch 120v ac electrician on staff.
they do build to your floor plan and that a huge plus for larger toys.
they only option in what you want and not a bunch of items you don't need/want, that keeps the cost down.
the plumber did a very clean job as the electrician did.
the design process is fairly easy and they are very helpful during that part.
they do allow you to send items for install that they dont offer. may not install them correctly but they do get them installed.
the toyhauler pulls very nice.
they let you option in larger axles and bigger tires.
they let you option the axles on top or below the leaf springs.
pretty much anything can be upgraded.
they offer 3000 lb ramp doors in full 8' heights for a better loading angle.
they offer 5000lb ramp doors for heavier toys.
they offer solar packages in pre wired or full systems.
cabinets are not great but nice and you can add as many as will fit.
allow different wardrobe combinations as well.
the air command non ducted ac units they use are definitely the quietest i have every used! wish they would've offered the extensions offered to remote the control units from the face to the wall rather then the remote controls but not the end of the world.
the 12 volt compressor 10 cu ft dometic fridge is the best i have ever had and wouldn't go back to an rv gas/electric for our application.
they let us option in 50 gal black, 50 gal grey and 100 gal fresh water tanks.
let us option in a sani flush system as well as 50 amp service for the two roof ac units.
they do offer cameras but we didn't option that in.
they also offer auto leveling system for bumper hitch. we didnt
they also offer power jacks systems. we didn't
i am someone that expects to get what i paid for. i never got rude or yelled at any staff member. I did state that there is a lack of common sense among members of their staff. apparently that was considered rude i was labeled a nit picker, complainer and difficult customer, verbally and via email.
based on my experience, those labels are because i expected to receive what i paid for where they believe the customer should be happy with what the received. maybe i expected too much and all of the above is being to critical?? i don't think so but maybe.
