MIRAGE / BALBOA TRAILERS ARE JUNK!!!

iDahoiPilot · Dec 4, 2011

I've owned my Mirage Extreme Sport 28 foot enclosed snowmobile trailer for about 3 years and have had nothing but problems with it. This last week was the last straw. I looked under it *to investigate a hose that was hanging down. Turns out my fuel tank was GONE!!! There was 1 mounting bracket still there and it had peeled off the tank. I wonder which one of our widland fires was caused by that this summer.

Anyway, *I took the trailer to the plant as I had many times before (my dealer American Trailer Sales didn't even return my phone call) for defects and was told that the manufacturer of the tank was to blame and they were now out of business. The "Good Faith" response I got was that they would pay for half of the repair. Leaving me to pay $800 for it. Now I understand that this thing is 3 years old and the warranty period is only 1 year. But imagine what would happen if this were a Ford...or a Toyota. Something so critical as a FUEL TANK shouldn't fall out of an over-the-road vehicle for ANY REASON EVER!!! Well since I had already had to pay for an upgraded fuel pump previously the estimate was reduced to $600. I reluctantly agreed.

The next day I get a phone call from the plant and was told that the axles were also cracked and needed repleced. The "Good Faith" response to this one...."we'll do it for cost". The excuse was similar to the fuel tank. The fact that there is a lawsuit against the axle manufacturer doesn't make me feel any better.

Again...I understand this thing is out of warranty and is 3 years old. BUT...I used this thing MAYBE 15 times each of the first 2 years I owned it and less than 5 times this year!!! It MIGHT have 10,000 miles on it. To me this is TOTALLY unacceptable! Prior to this trailer I owned an Interstate for 3 years and only had to take it in once for a very minor repair to the electrical system that was my fault. I could have bought another Interstate for $9,000 but instead spent $14,000 on the Mirage because my dealer told me they are much better built and stand behind their product. Well that didn't turn out to be true.

So first thing I did after getting my trailer back was look underneath at my new tank. I thought it was very interesting that this time there are steel STRAPS holding the tank in. It seems to me that even the old tank with an inferior weld job on brackets should have been installed with straps.

THOUGHT I WOULD GET THEIR ATTENTION BY POSTING THIS ON NUMEROUS FORUMS BUT I FOUND SO MANY OTHER SIMILAR STORIES I'M SURE THIS WILL GET LOST IN THE MIX.

For what it's worth here are the other issues I've had to take the trailer back for:

Screws protruding 1.5" into the wheel wells caused damage to tires. Replaced screws with shorter ones as well as 1 new tire.
Screws attaching exterior panels missing. Still constantly need to be screwed back in.
Rewire fuel pump
Replace fuel pump (MY EXPENSE)
Rewire stereo
Fuel tank missing, replaced*(MY EXPENSE)
10,000 lb. axles cracked, replaced*(MY EXPENSE)

Racer220 · Dec 4, 2011

iDahoiPilot said:
THOUGHT I WOULD GET THEIR ATTENTION BY POSTING THIS ON NUMEROUS FORUMS BUT I FOUND SO MANY OTHER SIMILAR STORIES I'M SURE THIS WILL GET LOST IN THE MIX.

Appreciate the story (they surface just about as fast as the university s ex scandal stories in the last few months now). All we need is a handful more 'one-post-wonders' filling up this section with their nightmarish Mirage stories. MODS, can we consider making a sub-section for all these threads so useful Truck/Trailer info doesn't 'GET LOST IN THE MIX'?

racer

dale dalueg · Dec 5, 2011

Let the poor guy say his piece, he's 74 years old and thought he bought a quality product only to have been suckered into a trailer from a manufacturer with poor quality control, many proven customer issues of failures.

When your axles fail on a less than two year old trailer causing major damage that the manufacturer walks away from any responsibility wouldn't you be upset or choked?

Racer220 · Dec 5, 2011

No, not really. I'll be realistic with you. I'm definitely not one to troll on here and bash the people that are already bashing something. I'm just not all that sympathetic about a situation that seems so 'chronic', yet all these people seem so surprised when they have an issue with their Mirage. I also don't think it is relevant to create a bunch of user accounts on different forums to try and prove a point.

I have a good friend that has had 2 fully setup Mirage trailers in the last 5 years with 0 issues. Built clean, nothing falling off, no axles breaking, good quality trailers. Is it obvious that they have some quality control issues? Yes. Won't disagree there. Would you go pay $40k for a truck just because it looked good on the outside and a salesman 'suckered' you into believing it was a great vehicle? Would you spend $10k+ on a sled under the same circumstance? A house for $200k+? No, you wouldn't. You would do your homework on it and know exactly what you were buying and what reputation to expect for who you are dealing with.

The information is out there. Mirage has been around a lot longer than the last 3-4 years with thousands of trailers being sold. Having a background from working at a powersports dealership I have plenty of experience with customers coming back with issues on a number of things. The attitude of the customer, condition of the vehicle, dates in relation to warranty periods all factor into what a dealer/manufacturer have to deal with. We don't just pick and choose who we want to make things right with as they walk through the door. There's always 2 sides to every story. Seems like we only hearing 1 of them about Mirage trailers as the days go by. Understand now why I don't just respond with a heart felt message of sympathy every time a new bash thread is started?

racer

Pro-8250 · Dec 6, 2011

Isn't reading these forums part of doing your home work? I get a lot of input here.

J-Dog · Dec 6, 2011

Sounds to me like another dealer that I don't want to go to.

MOSKIDOO · Dec 6, 2011

Mirage

If your friend did his homework then why did he buy a Mirage??? Well he's had 0 issues, so the guy that buys one and has major problems SHOULD be surprised I would think. Don't most people come here for information?... Good or bad. Remember if the world didnt SUCK we'd all fall off

M8Chris · Dec 8, 2011

When the day comes for me to buy a trailer it'll be a trails west or a triton. Mirage is completely out of the picture after all the bad things I have read. Had a couPle buddies who were gonna buy a mirage and they changed their mind after I told them to read what's on here.

Racer220 · Dec 8, 2011

1 out of 3 members found this post helpful.

Reality hits you hard bros, and that's a record for me. I must be coming off as too much of a supporter for the Mirage cause. I'll tone it down a little.

dale dalueg · Dec 8, 2011

My approach was truly professional and left everything up to Mirage on what they or how they wanted to approach this, read for yourself.

Dale,

I am sorry, I cannot reimburse $ 5200.00

Rob

-----Original Message-----
From: Dale Dalueg
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 9:01 PM
To: Rob Swikert
Subject: Re: Mirage Trailer axle issues

Costs were $5200.00 for new axles, fender, tire's & rims and damage
repair to side wall of the trailer.

On 2011-11-29, at 10:14 AM, Rob Swikert wrote:

> What was the cost of the repair ??
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dale Dalueg
> Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 6:19 PM
> To: Rob Swikert
> Subject: Re: Mirage Trailer axle issues
>
> Cost of replacement for damages.
> Fender, axles, tires, side wall sheeting damage.
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPod
>
> On 2011-11-28, at 5:08 PM, "Rob Swiket" wrote:
>
>> Dale,
>>
>> What would you like to see done ?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dale Dalueg
>> Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 4:56 PM
>> To: Rob Swikert
>> Subject: Re: Mirage Trailer axle issues
>>
>> So I take it Mirage isn't interested in doing anything for the
> trailer?
>>
>>
>> On 2011-11-21, at 9:33 AM, Rob Swikert wrote:
>>
>>> Dale,
>>>
>>> I reviewed the pictures of the unit and what he had was called a "
>> spinner" it where the cartridge in the axle beams fails and spins the
>> wheel up into the fender box. The axle mfg. usually sends out new
> axles
>> to correct this issue.
>>> Was this the case here ? Did the axle mfg send out new axles? The
>> email chain does not say what eventually was resolved.
>>>
>>> Let me know
>>>
>>> Rob Swikert
>>> Mirage Inc.
>>>
>>> On Nov 20, 2011, at 3:30 PM, "Dale Dalueg"
>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hope your in this week and can have a look.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2011-11-07, at 4:08 PM, Rob Swikert wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Dale,
>>>>>
>>>>> I am out of office this week but will address as soon as I return,
>> thanks for following up.
>>>>>
>>>>> Rob Swikert
>>>>> Mirage Inc.
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Reply message -----
>>>>> From: "Dale Dalueg"
>>>>> To: "Rob Swikert"
>>>>> Subject: Mirage Trailer axle issues
>>>>> Date: Fri, Nov 4, 2011 6:00 pm
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Rob:
>>>>>> Here is an e mail to Mirage back in May 11, 2011 and some
>> pictures of the trailer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The trailer was purchased in Westlock and is a 2009 Mirage
>> MXSP8.528TA3, 8 1/2 X 28 Enclosed.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As you can see in the pictures the failure caused a fair amount
of
>> damage and within the text of the original e mail it accounts / lists
>> the damage caused and components that needed to be replaced.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'll leave it in your hands as to how we deal with this.
>>>>
>>

Racer220 said:
No, not really. I'll be realistic with you. I'm definitely not one to troll on here and bash the people that are already bashing something. I'm just not all that sympathetic about a situation that seems so 'chronic', yet all these people seem so surprised when they have an issue with their Mirage. I also don't think it is relevant to create a bunch of user accounts on different forums to try and prove a point.

I have a good friend that has had 2 fully setup Mirage trailers in the last 5 years with 0 issues. Built clean, nothing falling off, no axles breaking, good quality trailers. Is it obvious that they have some quality control issues? Yes. Won't disagree there. Would you go pay $40k for a truck just because it looked good on the outside and a salesman 'suckered' you into believing it was a great vehicle? Would you spend $10k+ on a sled under the same circumstance? A house for $200k+? No, you wouldn't. You would do your homework on it and know exactly what you were buying and what reputation to expect for who you are dealing with.

The information is out there. Mirage has been around a lot longer than the last 3-4 years with thousands of trailers being sold. Having a background from working at a powersports dealership I have plenty of experience with customers coming back with issues on a number of things. The attitude of the customer, condition of the vehicle, dates in relation to warranty periods all factor into what a dealer/manufacturer have to deal with. We don't just pick and choose who we want to make things right with as they walk through the door. There's always 2 sides to every story. Seems like we only hearing 1 of them about Mirage trailers as the days go by. Understand now why I don't just respond with a heart felt message of sympathy every time a new bash thread is started?

racer

swikertrob · Dec 8, 2011

Aaron, your trailer is out of warranty. We offered to repair your trailer at cost, meaning we made exactly zero dollars in an effort to make you happy. The reason why we didn't completely repair your trailer for free was simply because of your attitude. Obviously, by the content of your posts, we couldn't make you happy and made the right decision.

dale dalueg · Dec 8, 2011

Rob that's harsh, don't push a guy to the point of being angry and then turn around and blame it on his attitude. You do that far too much, take a look at all the threads and info and you'll see you do that fairly often. Step up, not everybody can bring the trailer to Idaho is that your only option.

swikertrob said:
Aaron, your trailer is out of warranty. We offered to repair your trailer at cost, meaning we made exactly zero dollars in an effort to make you happy. The reason why we didn't completely repair your trailer for free was simply because of your attitude. Obviously, by the content of your posts, we couldn't make you happy and made the right decision.

swikertrob · Dec 9, 2011

It's a shame.
It has come to my attention that Dale Dalueg made up his whole story concerning his Mirage Trailer.
He claimed to be the original owner; and he is not, when questioned, he then claimed he co-owned the unit with the original owner, he did not.
He claimed the axle failed after 12 months, it did not.
He claimed the repair cost was $5200, it was not.
He claimed Mirage ignored him, we did not.
He claimed he called the dealer where he purchased the unit, he did not.
He claims to be a “victim”, he is not.

He was very aware the warranty was not transferable from the original owner and did everything, including compromising his integrity, to deceive Mirage.
Mirage offered to repair his unit at no charge if he returned it to the factory, we now realize why he decided not to choose this option.
If he would have been honest from the start, there would have been a totally different outcome.
The fact that he started his own personal "smear" campaign based on lies, is disappointing to say the least, and directly reflects the absence of morals in some individuals.

This concludes this matter.

DeepPow · Dec 10, 2011

Was looking at a Mirage trailer but after reading this I'll buy the Interstate trailer.

wilbilly · Dec 10, 2011

it is what it is

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just my 2 cents, and not looking for any warranty considerations, it is what it is. In the winter of '09, my wife and I were in a position to purchase a snowmobile trailer of our choice on the market. Price was not an issue. We chose to buy a Mirage trailer. The day we picked it up, we found so much substandard trim work, the dealer was personally embarrassed and took the trailer back to the factory himself to have the issues taken care of. After that, there was a bubble that came up in the rubber floor, after that, the trailer went back for an axle mounting recall, after that, a tail light went out, the dealer could not get the same light, and removed one from one of his unsold trailers on the lot to get us going, after that, all the rubber bumbers on the doors have fell off and been remounted, after that I washed the trailer in my yard, and a 4x4 area of paint came off on the towel. All this occured in the first year we owned it. Now keep in mind the trailer has only been back to the manufacturer twice, as I do not have time to take this trailer back and forth to the manufacturer or it would last all winter of doing so. In the last couple years I have owned this trailer, the hinges, door steps, splash guard on the front door are all rusting, the powder coating or paint is coming off the trailer at an exelerated rate. When you look at the trailer from underneath, they scabbed a 2 ft piece of steel into the frame which is never a good thing. I would trade this trailer off, but from year one, I would have lost too much money in doing so. Therefore, you live and learn, and don't make the same mistake twice. I have no problems with things like axle failures ,jack failures ETC. these things Mirage is purchasing from a vendor but I feel most of my problems are in craftmanship. I am not bashing Mirage just telling the form of my experience owning a 09 4 place enclosed Mirage trailer . Take it for what it is worth .

Bestyet · Feb 24, 2014

Best Trailer

I have owned two motor homes, and two other toy boxes, (sierra and weekend warrior), My 2007 18 foot Balboa is still the BEST RV I've ever owned. I bought it new 7 years ago. Just my experience with the product.

ndC7M8 · Feb 24, 2014

Doesnt Heath Frisby run Mirage trailers? Granted, he's sponsored so he probably got the best of their best for a great deal. Even being sponsored I'm sure he wouldn't run something that is junk given how many miles a guy like him is pulling his sleds and equipment across the US & Canada. I guess I personally have only really seen one several-year-old Mirage in my life and I guess I wouldn't have called it junk, certainly not the fanciest trailer ever.

AndrettiDog · Feb 24, 2014

ndC7M8 said:
Doesnt Heath Frisby run Mirage trailers? Granted, he's sponsored so he probably got the best of their best for a great deal. Even being sponsored I'm sure he wouldn't run something that is junk given how many miles a guy like him is pulling his sleds and equipment across the US & Canada. I guess I personally have only really seen one several-year-old Mirage in my life and I guess I wouldn't have called it junk, certainly not the fanciest trailer ever.

If I got them for free I wouldn't care about the issues near as much. I really doubt Heath would give a non biased opinion either way.

Regardless...it's tough to see posts where someone is bashing a product. Most of the time there is another side that contradicts his. It seems there is some quality issues with Mirage but it also seems this dealer worked with him. It's a necessary debate for the rest of us to help find the right product. I have a 2002 Haulmark that hasn't missed a beat. So happy none of these issues have ruined any of my trips. I'm afraid to upgrade to a new product because they are so pricy and so problem prone.

ndC7M8 · Feb 24, 2014

You really think he got a $20k trailer with every bell & whistle for absolutely nothin though? I could see maybe half price or less since he's sponsored. Free on something like that seems a bit much

christopher · Feb 24, 2014

While I just bought a brand new $30K trailer from Mirage I really am trying hard to be honest with everyone in what I Like and what I HATE about it in that monster thread of mine.

I think the most honest thing that can be said about Mirage is that they ARE working "HARD" at making a much better product than they made years ago.

My feeling was that they were VERY aware of what all the competition is doing and that is driving them to up their game. In my world, competition is always a good thing in a capitalist marketplace. It drives innovation and better quality.

MIRAGE / BALBOA TRAILERS ARE JUNK!!!

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