MEBANE, N.C. — Wanda Johnson and her husband had an idea that eventually became reality. The couple decided to sell their home and buy something with the proceeds.
“We’d like to buy some sort of RV and travel around the United States,” Johnson said.
Once the sale of the house was complete the couple purchased a brand-new luxury 5th wheel to travel in.
“When we walked into this one (my husband) said it feels like home,” Johnson said.
The 43-foot camper was exactly what the Johnsons wanted and it’s a good thing because it was their new home.
“Very excited, it was a dream come true,” Johnson said.
The couple found an RV park near Greensboro to set up camp for a few days before hitting the road on a more permanent basis. Once the Johnsons arrived they went to set up the trailer but quickly discovered one of the hydraulic slides that extended the bedroom and living room was not working properly.
“Brand new, just didn’t work,” Johnson said.
The dealership was able to send a technician out and he was able to manually pull the slide out, but it would not go back into place. The problem is the trailer was not able to be pulled with the slide out.
The Johnsons were now stuck at a campground that was supposed to be a temporary stop.
“My husband was like, 'Oh, what do we do now?'" Johnson said.
The dealership and the manufacturer were contacted but neither provided a quick solution. The Johnsons were told they couldn’t return the trailer and the dealership was not going to exchange it for another one.
The repair seemed simple enough, so the couple waited for a fix. One week became two and then three. Then a month passed and another, still no fix for the slide. The Johnsons called repeatedly but were not getting anywhere and they had no idea when the parts would arrive, and the repairs made.
“So we decided to call News 2 and see if (you) can help us,” Johnson said.
At this point, the couple had been stuck at the same campground for four months. We immediately reached out to the dealership and the manufacturer to get some answers and see what was being done to assist the Johnsons.
A representative from both companies called us back and worked to expedite the matter. They also agreed to discuss a refund of sorts for the major inconvenience after just buying the trailer and not being able to travel with it. A discussion that hadn’t happened until we got involved.
“There was no offer or anything from corporate, they didn’t say sorry, (I know) you’re having problems, (they) said you know things happen,” Johnson said.
It took a couple of weeks after we got involved but the repairs were made a short time later. The dealership also decided to refund the couple part of the money they paid when they bought the trailer. Johnson didn’t feel comfortable telling us how much that was but said she was satisfied.
“I want to thank you so much, you’ve been great,” Johnson said.