jmdaniel
Has A Well Known Member
I know that Kendon gets a pretty good rating from users of their products, but I have often thought the measure of a person/company should not be how they handle success, but how they handle adversity. In my opinion, and based on my actual experience, Kendon does not score well in times of adversity. I think my issues are finally resolved, but wanted to pass along my story, for your consideration if you are thinking of adding a trailer to your stable.
I was interested in towing my FJR up to Minnesota this past summer, for a ride with a couple of my buddies. I researched what was out there and settled on a Kendon Single. After looking at a few used ones here in the Austin area, I decided to buy new, and picked one up in early May, from Holy Moly Custom Cycles. The trailer was delivered by HMCC, and I rolled it into my garage for storage.
On 8/27, in preparation for my trip north, (starting on 8/29), I loaded my motorcycle for the "shake down" trip; just to make sure everything was ready to go. And shake it did... Between 60 and 65mph, I thought my bike was going to shake off the trailer. I turned around, unloaded the bike, and, thinking it was the wheels being out of balance, took them off, to be balanced the next day. As it turned out, all three wheels, (including the spare), were unbalanced. I put them back on the trailer, and when doing so, noticed that the wiring for the tail light on the driver side had shaken loose the previous day, had rubbed against the tire, and needed to be fixed, so I did. Thinking for sure the wheels were the only cause of the shaking, and it already being late, I didn't bother to test the trailer again; I just loaded and strapped the bike down, and called it a day. Big mistake.
The next morning, I finished packing my FJ, and headed out. The shaking was still there.... I pulled off on I-35, not really knowing what to do. I had to be in the Twin Cities the next day, for the ride on 8/31. The trailer that I bought for the trip wasn't going anywhere, and I wasn't going to ride the FJR that far, especially with the other stuff I was taking up in the FJ. I called my buddy in Minneapolis, who works for Polaris, and he said he could get me a Victory to ride for the week. I booked a last minute flight on American, ($$$$$), and headed back to the house. My neighbor came down to help me unload the FJR, and while doing so, THE TRAILER CAME OFF THE BALL! It flew up, then, after getting the bike all the way off, back down, scraping the spare tire cover on my FJ. Niiice..... I stowed the bike and trailer, and caught my flight north.
The next week, while on my ride, I contacted Kendon, and talked to Elliott and his boss, Frank Esposito. Frank expressed his concern about the trailer coming off the hitch, and reassured me that Kendon would do what was needed to make me a satisfied customer. He stated that getting a replacement trailer was not out of the question, but that he would like to try and rectify the situation with the trailer I had first. That seemed reasonable, so I agreed. He asked for a picture of the underneath of the coupler, and when I got back to Texas the following week, (9/8), I sent him ten pictures of the trailer, including the coupler, the damaged wiring, how the bike looked when strapped on, axle nuts, etc.. Frank called a few days later, apologizing for the fact that the coupler nut was not adjusted correctly, and that the locking plate had not been crimped to stop the nut from loosening. He offered to find a trailer place in Austin that would adjust this nut, and expressed confidence that this was the issue with the trailer. Thinking that if this was all that needed to be fixed, it would take longer to haul the trailer someplace than to just adjust it myself. Frank said that was fine, and told me how to make the adjustment. I tightened the nut, and was shocked to see that it was 4.5 complete revolutions off! No wonder the trailer came off the ball, and thank goodness it stayed on while my vehicle was in motion!
Well, the trailer still shook between 60 and 65, and now it also shook occasionally at lower speeds. At least it didn't jump off the ball. I relayed this info to Frank, (9/21), and told him I had a lemon. After not hearing from Frank for a week, I pinged him again, and he stated that he wanted to call me on 9/30, and conference in the axle manufacturer, Tie-Down Engineering. I replied by telling Frank that whatever he did with this trailer and his supplier was irrelevant, what I wanted was what I had paid for, basically a brand new, and functioning Kendon trailer. I also said I wanted to be compensated for my time, effort, and inconvenience, experienced trying to rework this faulty product.
Another week went by with no response, so I pinged Frank again on 10/7. He replied that a defect that warranted replacing the entire trailer was "extremely rare", but that it was a possibility, and the only way to determine this was to get the trailer to a professional, for inspection.
A week later, I was instructed to take the trailer to Spillar Hitches, and was assured that they would be able to inspect the trailer. On 10/21, in preparation for taking the trailer in, I called Spillar, only to find out that they didn't sell trailers, they are a blacksmith shop, and the topper of it all, the guy I talked to had never seen a Kendon. I relayed this info on Spillar back to Frank, and told him I would be taking the trailer to Spillar's north Austin location. Before I could do that, Frank emailed me on 10/23, apologizing for yet another Kendon screwup, and instructing me to take the trailer to Magnum Trailers, a place that sells and services trailers. I took the trailer in that day.
On 11/3, I went back to Magnum, and was told that the trailer checked out fine, except for one of the rims being bent. That evidently was not the only issue, as the trailer still shook, this time from 63-67mph.
I emailed Frank the next day, making it very clear that I was done with this trailer. I had worked with Kendon for over 2 months, expending time, energy, and $, and all simply to obtain what I had paid for, back in May; a Kendon trailer that functioned. It was my conservative estimate that I had sunk 30 hours of my time into the effort so far, not to mention the last minute plane ticket I had to purchase, the damage to the spare tire cover on my FJ, and money spent balancing the wheels and fixing the wiring. To compensate me for this, I requested that the single be replaced with a dual, and that a dual accessory pack be thrown in. $800 MSRP total, for the difference between a single and a dual, and the accessory pack, and I estimate a whole lot less than that, on a cost basis. If you figure my 30 hours by itself, it's been a long time since I have done that amount of work for $800.
Frank's response was that they would replace the single with a single, and throw in the single accessory kit, which sells for $350. He also stated that Magnum Trailers told him they could find nothing wrong with the trailer, besides the bent wheel, that they had stated that sometimes trailers tow different with different tow vehicles, and that Kendon had also had that experience. Never mind that this was the first time this had been mentioned to me, or that no one from Kendon or Magnum had ridden with me when I was towing the trailer, it had to be the tow vehicle, right? I replied back to Frank, relaying my amazement at the Kendon stance, and that I would have to think about it.
On 11/12, having heard nothing further from Frank, I reached out to Tina Thurm, one of the owners of the company. I outlined the chronology of the events, the communications, and the current state, which was basically a take it or leave it offer. I asked her, as the owner of the company, to resolve the issue in an equitable manner; thereby turning me into a satisfied customer.
The response? We regret that you have declined what is a more than reasonable offer and it is our position that you are the one that has now created the impasse. Niiiice.... She also stated that sometimes Kendon receives bad tires or axles; something not in their control, going on to say Yet we still stand behind it. Huh? Why wouldn't they? I didn't buy a kit, to be put together by me; I bought a finished product!
Well, I was kind of in a corner; accept their offer, or have a non-functioning trailer. On 11/13, I informed Ms. Thurm I wanted to put this mess behind me, so would accept the offer. Over a month later, on 12/17, I was able to pick up the new trailer at Magnum Trailers, where Kendon had sent it for assembly. I haven't put the bike on it the trailer yet, but I will say it was a world of difference towing the new trailer away from Magnum, compared to the rattletrap I towed there.
Now I know some may chime in here to say their Kendon trailer is great; I'm happy for you. In fact, I hope to finally be in the group of people satisfied with how their trailer works. Hell, I wouldn't have bought one if I didn't think they were quality trailers. It's just that I will never be a fan of how I was treated throughout this mess. If I was Kendon, I would have counted my lucky stars that the trailer didn't jump off the hitch going down the highway, and made sure that this customer was taken care of, never mind all of the other things that happened to me. But for the difference of a couple hundred dollars in product cost, this customer was left with a sour taste in his mouth. For those interested in buying a Kendon, my suggestion isn't to not get one, because I still do think they are a good product. I would suggest you buy a used one. There are plenty of them out there for sale, all the bugs conceivably have been worked out, and, if the warranty situation on a new one is anything like mine, buying used is definitely a better use of your time and efforts.
I was interested in towing my FJR up to Minnesota this past summer, for a ride with a couple of my buddies. I researched what was out there and settled on a Kendon Single. After looking at a few used ones here in the Austin area, I decided to buy new, and picked one up in early May, from Holy Moly Custom Cycles. The trailer was delivered by HMCC, and I rolled it into my garage for storage.
On 8/27, in preparation for my trip north, (starting on 8/29), I loaded my motorcycle for the "shake down" trip; just to make sure everything was ready to go. And shake it did... Between 60 and 65mph, I thought my bike was going to shake off the trailer. I turned around, unloaded the bike, and, thinking it was the wheels being out of balance, took them off, to be balanced the next day. As it turned out, all three wheels, (including the spare), were unbalanced. I put them back on the trailer, and when doing so, noticed that the wiring for the tail light on the driver side had shaken loose the previous day, had rubbed against the tire, and needed to be fixed, so I did. Thinking for sure the wheels were the only cause of the shaking, and it already being late, I didn't bother to test the trailer again; I just loaded and strapped the bike down, and called it a day. Big mistake.
The next morning, I finished packing my FJ, and headed out. The shaking was still there.... I pulled off on I-35, not really knowing what to do. I had to be in the Twin Cities the next day, for the ride on 8/31. The trailer that I bought for the trip wasn't going anywhere, and I wasn't going to ride the FJR that far, especially with the other stuff I was taking up in the FJ. I called my buddy in Minneapolis, who works for Polaris, and he said he could get me a Victory to ride for the week. I booked a last minute flight on American, ($$$$$), and headed back to the house. My neighbor came down to help me unload the FJR, and while doing so, THE TRAILER CAME OFF THE BALL! It flew up, then, after getting the bike all the way off, back down, scraping the spare tire cover on my FJ. Niiice..... I stowed the bike and trailer, and caught my flight north.
The next week, while on my ride, I contacted Kendon, and talked to Elliott and his boss, Frank Esposito. Frank expressed his concern about the trailer coming off the hitch, and reassured me that Kendon would do what was needed to make me a satisfied customer. He stated that getting a replacement trailer was not out of the question, but that he would like to try and rectify the situation with the trailer I had first. That seemed reasonable, so I agreed. He asked for a picture of the underneath of the coupler, and when I got back to Texas the following week, (9/8), I sent him ten pictures of the trailer, including the coupler, the damaged wiring, how the bike looked when strapped on, axle nuts, etc.. Frank called a few days later, apologizing for the fact that the coupler nut was not adjusted correctly, and that the locking plate had not been crimped to stop the nut from loosening. He offered to find a trailer place in Austin that would adjust this nut, and expressed confidence that this was the issue with the trailer. Thinking that if this was all that needed to be fixed, it would take longer to haul the trailer someplace than to just adjust it myself. Frank said that was fine, and told me how to make the adjustment. I tightened the nut, and was shocked to see that it was 4.5 complete revolutions off! No wonder the trailer came off the ball, and thank goodness it stayed on while my vehicle was in motion!
Well, the trailer still shook between 60 and 65, and now it also shook occasionally at lower speeds. At least it didn't jump off the ball. I relayed this info to Frank, (9/21), and told him I had a lemon. After not hearing from Frank for a week, I pinged him again, and he stated that he wanted to call me on 9/30, and conference in the axle manufacturer, Tie-Down Engineering. I replied by telling Frank that whatever he did with this trailer and his supplier was irrelevant, what I wanted was what I had paid for, basically a brand new, and functioning Kendon trailer. I also said I wanted to be compensated for my time, effort, and inconvenience, experienced trying to rework this faulty product.
Another week went by with no response, so I pinged Frank again on 10/7. He replied that a defect that warranted replacing the entire trailer was "extremely rare", but that it was a possibility, and the only way to determine this was to get the trailer to a professional, for inspection.
A week later, I was instructed to take the trailer to Spillar Hitches, and was assured that they would be able to inspect the trailer. On 10/21, in preparation for taking the trailer in, I called Spillar, only to find out that they didn't sell trailers, they are a blacksmith shop, and the topper of it all, the guy I talked to had never seen a Kendon. I relayed this info on Spillar back to Frank, and told him I would be taking the trailer to Spillar's north Austin location. Before I could do that, Frank emailed me on 10/23, apologizing for yet another Kendon screwup, and instructing me to take the trailer to Magnum Trailers, a place that sells and services trailers. I took the trailer in that day.
On 11/3, I went back to Magnum, and was told that the trailer checked out fine, except for one of the rims being bent. That evidently was not the only issue, as the trailer still shook, this time from 63-67mph.
I emailed Frank the next day, making it very clear that I was done with this trailer. I had worked with Kendon for over 2 months, expending time, energy, and $, and all simply to obtain what I had paid for, back in May; a Kendon trailer that functioned. It was my conservative estimate that I had sunk 30 hours of my time into the effort so far, not to mention the last minute plane ticket I had to purchase, the damage to the spare tire cover on my FJ, and money spent balancing the wheels and fixing the wiring. To compensate me for this, I requested that the single be replaced with a dual, and that a dual accessory pack be thrown in. $800 MSRP total, for the difference between a single and a dual, and the accessory pack, and I estimate a whole lot less than that, on a cost basis. If you figure my 30 hours by itself, it's been a long time since I have done that amount of work for $800.
Frank's response was that they would replace the single with a single, and throw in the single accessory kit, which sells for $350. He also stated that Magnum Trailers told him they could find nothing wrong with the trailer, besides the bent wheel, that they had stated that sometimes trailers tow different with different tow vehicles, and that Kendon had also had that experience. Never mind that this was the first time this had been mentioned to me, or that no one from Kendon or Magnum had ridden with me when I was towing the trailer, it had to be the tow vehicle, right? I replied back to Frank, relaying my amazement at the Kendon stance, and that I would have to think about it.
On 11/12, having heard nothing further from Frank, I reached out to Tina Thurm, one of the owners of the company. I outlined the chronology of the events, the communications, and the current state, which was basically a take it or leave it offer. I asked her, as the owner of the company, to resolve the issue in an equitable manner; thereby turning me into a satisfied customer.
The response? We regret that you have declined what is a more than reasonable offer and it is our position that you are the one that has now created the impasse. Niiiice.... She also stated that sometimes Kendon receives bad tires or axles; something not in their control, going on to say Yet we still stand behind it. Huh? Why wouldn't they? I didn't buy a kit, to be put together by me; I bought a finished product!
Well, I was kind of in a corner; accept their offer, or have a non-functioning trailer. On 11/13, I informed Ms. Thurm I wanted to put this mess behind me, so would accept the offer. Over a month later, on 12/17, I was able to pick up the new trailer at Magnum Trailers, where Kendon had sent it for assembly. I haven't put the bike on it the trailer yet, but I will say it was a world of difference towing the new trailer away from Magnum, compared to the rattletrap I towed there.
Now I know some may chime in here to say their Kendon trailer is great; I'm happy for you. In fact, I hope to finally be in the group of people satisfied with how their trailer works. Hell, I wouldn't have bought one if I didn't think they were quality trailers. It's just that I will never be a fan of how I was treated throughout this mess. If I was Kendon, I would have counted my lucky stars that the trailer didn't jump off the hitch going down the highway, and made sure that this customer was taken care of, never mind all of the other things that happened to me. But for the difference of a couple hundred dollars in product cost, this customer was left with a sour taste in his mouth. For those interested in buying a Kendon, my suggestion isn't to not get one, because I still do think they are a good product. I would suggest you buy a used one. There are plenty of them out there for sale, all the bugs conceivably have been worked out, and, if the warranty situation on a new one is anything like mine, buying used is definitely a better use of your time and efforts.
