Here is a pic of the crack in my shell. Pardon all the pollen. But this was my fault for jamming the ladder inside the scissor lift.
James Baroud tent failure? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter theron
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Here is a pic of the crack in my shell. Pardon all the pollen. But this was my fault for jamming the ladder inside the scissor lift.
Im sorry to hear about this..... That blows...!!
Concretejungle.
I decided to never out my ladder inside the Columbus we have. Even with the cover on, I was afraid to drop dirt into the tent...
Matter of fact....I don't use their ladder at all.. It's too narrow. I really don't want to find out what is like to hit the ground from 7'+ up in the middle of the night. Instead I bought a telescopic ladder that fits easier in the cargo area, and although heavier it feels more secure
Concretejungle.
I decided to never out my ladder inside the Columbus we have. Even with the cover on, I was afraid to drop dirt into the tent...
Matter of fact....I don't use their ladder at all.. It's too narrow. I really don't want to find out what is like to hit the ground from 7'+ up in the middle of the night. Instead I bought a telescopic ladder that fits easier in the cargo area, and although heavier it feels more secure
Adventure Ready
Uncommon Adventure Equipment
Wanted to give an update here as well. James Baroud corporate had a professional fiberglass specialist look at the tent and he deemed that the damage was due to impact. Even though, they are paying for freight shipping both to and from their shop to ours as well as a $500 credit to Theron so he can have the tent repaired.
I am in no way saying the OP is lying about the damage - on the contrary, Theron and I have actually become good friends. But as I'm not a fiberglass professional, and as we have no direct say in warranty claims, there is really no use in me offering up speculation.
That said, we did work with Theron directly and he is now sporting a new James Baroud Evasion Evo rooftop tent and is continuing on his adventures. Weare handling the return and repair of his old tent at no additional charge. As with all of our customers, we will continue to support him should he need any assistance in the future.
If anyone has any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to pm us or reply here. FWIW Theron did opt to go with a new James Baroud tent even though a competitor had reached out to him offering a deal.
I am in no way saying the OP is lying about the damage - on the contrary, Theron and I have actually become good friends. But as I'm not a fiberglass professional, and as we have no direct say in warranty claims, there is really no use in me offering up speculation.
That said, we did work with Theron directly and he is now sporting a new James Baroud Evasion Evo rooftop tent and is continuing on his adventures. Weare handling the return and repair of his old tent at no additional charge. As with all of our customers, we will continue to support him should he need any assistance in the future.
If anyone has any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to pm us or reply here. FWIW Theron did opt to go with a new James Baroud tent even though a competitor had reached out to him offering a deal.
Thank you for the valuable feedback. Ultimately the damage on the roof of the shell was deemed to be caused by the user after an internal inspection and two separate independent inspections. Admittedly this process could have gone smoother on our end and we thank Theron for his patience and understanding. This issue hasn't been seen before so it was critical that it was inspected properly in case there was a flaw in our design or in our manufacturing process. There are a countless number of our tents not only in North America but also around the globe, some in the harshest environments this planet has to offer, none of which have suffered stress fatigue or weather fatigue as claimed.
In regards to the ladder failure - yes, there was a batch that had issues. We never tried to hide it nor would we ever deny that there was an issue. It took some time to address why they were failing, to discover which batch(es) were affected, and to come up with a viable solution for the future. A knee jerk reaction to a handful of isolated cases without properly assessing the situation could've caused more issues. To be clear, we used the same manufacturer for the plastics in our ladder for over a decade and never experienced any issues. When it was discovered they changed their manufacturing process and that was the cause of failure, we fired them. After this occurred, we felt the only acceptable approach was to go back to the drawing board and improve the design all together. All our new tents are using a completely new design that not only utilizes aluminum over plastic but the mount has also been redesigned. Trust us when we say its embarrassing and we aren't happy that there was an issue with the ladders, but we are confident this will never be an issue again in the future with the improved design.
Some of our customers use their tent exclusively on weekends to get away and others (like Theron) call them home for months on end while he explores roads less traveled. Customer satisfaction is a priority for us and that's why we offer a five year warranty on our hard shell tents. However, we cannot honor the warranty when failure is deemed to be caused user error. We understand and agree that failure is unacceptable and we hold our products to the highest standard. Lastly, to be completely transparent, we paid shipping both ways (truck freight) and we offered Theron a $500 credit towards a new tent. While this process took longer than we had hoped, we feel we've been more than fair accommodating Theron despite denying the warranty.
If anyone has any concerns, please feel free to call us at (908) 387-6701.
In regards to the ladder failure - yes, there was a batch that had issues. We never tried to hide it nor would we ever deny that there was an issue. It took some time to address why they were failing, to discover which batch(es) were affected, and to come up with a viable solution for the future. A knee jerk reaction to a handful of isolated cases without properly assessing the situation could've caused more issues. To be clear, we used the same manufacturer for the plastics in our ladder for over a decade and never experienced any issues. When it was discovered they changed their manufacturing process and that was the cause of failure, we fired them. After this occurred, we felt the only acceptable approach was to go back to the drawing board and improve the design all together. All our new tents are using a completely new design that not only utilizes aluminum over plastic but the mount has also been redesigned. Trust us when we say its embarrassing and we aren't happy that there was an issue with the ladders, but we are confident this will never be an issue again in the future with the improved design.
Some of our customers use their tent exclusively on weekends to get away and others (like Theron) call them home for months on end while he explores roads less traveled. Customer satisfaction is a priority for us and that's why we offer a five year warranty on our hard shell tents. However, we cannot honor the warranty when failure is deemed to be caused user error. We understand and agree that failure is unacceptable and we hold our products to the highest standard. Lastly, to be completely transparent, we paid shipping both ways (truck freight) and we offered Theron a $500 credit towards a new tent. While this process took longer than we had hoped, we feel we've been more than fair accommodating Theron despite denying the warranty.
If anyone has any concerns, please feel free to call us at (908) 387-6701.
Thank you for the update! That is good customer service.
I wanted to point out the failure in my shell and point out that it was because of my mistake in jamming the ladder on the first opening. I just didn't realize that the ladder would get caught in the lift struts and... well, there you have it.
I have been very pleased with my tent with one exception... it's too short!!
I wanted to point out the failure in my shell and point out that it was because of my mistake in jamming the ladder on the first opening. I just didn't realize that the ladder would get caught in the lift struts and... well, there you have it.
I have been very pleased with my tent with one exception... it's too short!!
- Thread starter
- #26
I'd also like to point out, just for clarity, that in my case the cracking started right in the middle of the tent at the deepest section. So for me it was never a ladder or another object getting jammed into the tent when it was being closed. Although James Baroud disagreed, which is fine ya know.
I've owned every single dent and scratch on my truck if it was my fault, my tent was no different.
- Thread starter
- #27
I do appreciate y'all responding here but I want to further clarify for everyone else that I did purchase another brand new James Baroud tent, in 2015, and it still had the old ladder and connection style. And that brand new ladder broke on me and I literally fell off my truck and mildly damaged it. So now I have even more money invested into the brand and don't even have the updated/fixed design. That's a bummer.
I don't want anything from y'all...I'm just pointing out if you really cared you would have made 100% sure each and every tent you had out on the market was safe. I mean I just spent a lot of money on a brand new tent in 2015 and it still has the old connection style. That's def a bummer + concern
The simple fact that the attachment points on the ladder and the tent itself are composite rather than a metal alloy of some sort is cheesy. The ladder otherwise is rather sturdy.
I called OK4wd last week to inquire about this and ended up speaking to a Craig D whom wanted the serial number of my tent before any remediation would begin.
He claimed that there was a bad batch when the original mfg. sold the business to his son. There were bubbles in the injection molding on a small number of units. Whatever, it is a weak point that has potential for major bodily harm or death.
What is the fix anyway, just replacement composite ladder hooks?
I called OK4wd last week to inquire about this and ended up speaking to a Craig D whom wanted the serial number of my tent before any remediation would begin.
He claimed that there was a bad batch when the original mfg. sold the business to his son. There were bubbles in the injection molding on a small number of units. Whatever, it is a weak point that has potential for major bodily harm or death.
What is the fix anyway, just replacement composite ladder hooks?
Adventure Ready
Uncommon Adventure Equipment
The defective ladders are either replaced completely or are retrofitted with metal hooks that are riveted on in place of the original ones. The new tents have a completely different attachment system that is all aluminum.
Is there a way that us with the "older inferior ladder system" can retrofit this fix? I will be pissed as hell if i'm climbing into my tent and the ladder breaks causing injury or damage to my truck.
^^ Ditto.
I've got to pop mine open tonight and get the serial number off of it, but regardless it is concerning. Imagine being in a remote location (which is the whole point of our rigs) and you have major trama due to a fall!
I've got to pop mine open tonight and get the serial number off of it, but regardless it is concerning. Imagine being in a remote location (which is the whole point of our rigs) and you have major trama due to a fall!
I have a rivet gun so i don't mind retro-fitting if needed.
Adventure Ready
Uncommon Adventure Equipment
Please contact James Baroud USA at 908-387-6701 and provide the serial number of your tent to see if your ladder may be an issue (it may not). If you want a retrofit kit anyways let me know and I'll send one out to you. It does require drilling and pop-riveting but includes directions.
Thanks for your response. I feel that i should contact Craig since that's who i purchased the tent from and not bother you.
I really do enjoy the tent though, that's the truth.
I really do enjoy the tent though, that's the truth.
Adventure Ready
Uncommon Adventure Equipment
Good to hear!
For customers with the previous composite hook system, we have an upgraded hook made of aluminum to replace your current composite hook.
Please contact us today for your kit at no charge at 908-387-6701 or at your local James Baroud dealer. You may also send us a PM over the forum and we will take care of you. All we need is your serial number so we can continue to evaluate the scope of the failure.
If you haven't already, please register your tent at http://www.jamesbaroudusa.com/product-registration/. This makes warranty issues as well as unforeseen issues easier to assess and remedy.
We are sorry for any inconvenience and if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us!
Please contact us today for your kit at no charge at 908-387-6701 or at your local James Baroud dealer. You may also send us a PM over the forum and we will take care of you. All we need is your serial number so we can continue to evaluate the scope of the failure.
If you haven't already, please register your tent at http://www.jamesbaroudusa.com/product-registration/. This makes warranty issues as well as unforeseen issues easier to assess and remedy.
We are sorry for any inconvenience and if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us!
Please let us know the serial number if you haven't already. We want to get this taken care of as quickly as possible. Thanks!
Give us a shout or a PM over the forum so we can take care of this. Thanks!
So, I guess as a followup question, are the new hooks just supposed to hang off the shell or still utilize the composite eyelets that are pop-riveted into the shell?
At this point I suppose I'd trust the shell more than the eyelets...
At this point I suppose I'd trust the shell more than the eyelets...
Hi Oilbrnr - The new aluminium hooks for the ladder utilize the hooks on the hard shell. We haven't had a single issue on the tent side so we have complete confidence in this solution. I'm going to send you a PM to make sure we have all your information so we can send you out this kit.
