If you look closely you can see in this photo sent to us from RV Sales of Oregon (from the day we drove the RV home,) the correct D3 License plates were provided to the RV. Our Sand Colored Toyota Truck D4 plates are visible and should never have been used to register our RV. Click image to enlarge.
From Left: Rhonda Chase, "Midnight" Service dog, Anthony Chase (my husband)
From Left: Rhonda Chase, "Midnight" Service dog, Anthony Chase (my husband)
From Right: Kaleb 11, Ashley 14, and Miss Kitty "Isa" adopted June 2020
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The Reason for the RV:
Not everyone who follows me knows, because I don't share personal information about my kids out of respect for their privacy and my own, that my children have chosen to stay with their father in California for the past few years. We had basically traded off from the previous arrangement and now they do the school year with their dad. We get them every summer and every other Christmas. The arrangement was already proving a success for the children as they received student of the month accommodations first year! (Super proud mama bear.) We had only experienced this dynamic for 1 year before the Pandemic of 2020 arrived.
In March the world was moved into lockdown. I had only a few months to figure out whether or not I was going to be able to see my kids at all in 2020, I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever see them again. We discussed this with the children and their other parents. (Co parenting is already hard, but as many know the pandemic really ups the anti.) The original arrangement had been approved because it was in the children's best interest for schooling and social advancement, along with the advancement of my disabilities the children desired the change and we had no reason not to oblige (except the longing of the heart.) With Corona's new requirements in travel needing to be considered, was it possible to still make the trip to see the children? One option was acceptable to all parties and parents involved. We would seek out an RV. |
On a very limited budget and with no former knowledge of RV's, we hunted for a viable option. I wasn't comfortable with the sizable payment of a new RV and prefer to purchase used when possible. We were able to find two options at an RV shop in Eugene Oregon and scheduled the visit. The drive from our remote homestead is a little over an hour one way. Unfortunately there weren't any available RV's in the size we were looking for locally. When we arrived the salesman informed us one of the RV's had been sold the day before. He mentioned that the available RV had been prepared to be sold but the buyer had backed out for some unknown reason. I figured "What luck, the RV has already had most of it's preparations done and should be ready for bringing home."
He buttered us up good, going so far as to secure a Portrait Commission with me for his wife's dog. This would mean a job for me; however, I have not been able to contact him about that since attempting to contact him about the RV problems.
We were told that there had only ever been one owner who had taken very good care of the RV, barely using it with only 69,000 miles on a 1986. New fancy fridge, 45 gallon gas tank, 12 miles to the gallon maybe and working everything. "Oh the paneling is coming down... you noticed that... Ignore that. We will fix that for you before you drive it home," the salesman Craig Thompson assured me. Everything was done to keep us comfortable and unquestioning. The original asking price was $14,999. Arrangements were made for us to arrive and pick up the RV after some preparation, in about a week. When we arrived for our appointment a week later with the vehicle plates they panicked, "Hadn't Craig called to tell you we weren't going to be ready yet before you drove an hour one way?!" They attempted to talk us into burning some time in town and coming back but we weren't interested in that. We wanted to secure the RV (paying cash) and leave our permanent Oregon disabled plates to be put on and used for registering the RV. (Oregon gives one set of permanent plates to a disabled veteran. A very cool thing about living here. As long as I don't buy unique or multiple vehicles, or need to renew my license I don't have to go to the DMV.) We paid for the registration and RV Sales of Oregon assured us they would take care of all of it. How cool I would still not have to go to the DMV, yay!
We returned the next day to receive our RV and do a walk through of the unit with a mechanic. After starting the walk though we were told during the inspection, by the kindly mechanic, that the generator in the RV didn't work at all. They reassured us we could get another generator very inexpensively. The salesman promised to secure us an external generator that would work on the RV "And on your house too!." It was difficult to understand which parts of the RV we could and couldn't use without a working generator. No plugs, Gas could take care of the fridge and the heat and the cooling... but not at the same time? There was the "Plug in option" when applicable. I knew we wouldn't have time to get a new generator installed in the RV before the trip to get the kids (let alone be able to afford it), but maybe this "External generator" would work? (Where ya gonna put that external thing huh? I don't know anything about a generator or how to get it to work.) If I hadn't thought "This is the only vehicle that will get me to my children next week" I would have backed out and gotten my money back. Unfortunately I believed all the other lies I was being told and thought there was enough good about the deal to warrant completing the purchase.
The salesman drove to our house and dropped off a Coleman generator. It is currently sitting in a box in the shed. It's quite big. There is no way we could take it with the RV without some sort of attachment to the outside of the RV. Craig suggested a rack and said he might know someone who had one, but never contacted us again. We didn't like how it would add length to the RV (without any racks the RV barely fits in our garage bay space. There is no room for attachments. Maneuverability being complicated when length is extended. Extra weight adds to reduction in gas milage. None of which we would have bought into had we known at time of sale)
He buttered us up good, going so far as to secure a Portrait Commission with me for his wife's dog. This would mean a job for me; however, I have not been able to contact him about that since attempting to contact him about the RV problems.
We were told that there had only ever been one owner who had taken very good care of the RV, barely using it with only 69,000 miles on a 1986. New fancy fridge, 45 gallon gas tank, 12 miles to the gallon maybe and working everything. "Oh the paneling is coming down... you noticed that... Ignore that. We will fix that for you before you drive it home," the salesman Craig Thompson assured me. Everything was done to keep us comfortable and unquestioning. The original asking price was $14,999. Arrangements were made for us to arrive and pick up the RV after some preparation, in about a week. When we arrived for our appointment a week later with the vehicle plates they panicked, "Hadn't Craig called to tell you we weren't going to be ready yet before you drove an hour one way?!" They attempted to talk us into burning some time in town and coming back but we weren't interested in that. We wanted to secure the RV (paying cash) and leave our permanent Oregon disabled plates to be put on and used for registering the RV. (Oregon gives one set of permanent plates to a disabled veteran. A very cool thing about living here. As long as I don't buy unique or multiple vehicles, or need to renew my license I don't have to go to the DMV.) We paid for the registration and RV Sales of Oregon assured us they would take care of all of it. How cool I would still not have to go to the DMV, yay!
We returned the next day to receive our RV and do a walk through of the unit with a mechanic. After starting the walk though we were told during the inspection, by the kindly mechanic, that the generator in the RV didn't work at all. They reassured us we could get another generator very inexpensively. The salesman promised to secure us an external generator that would work on the RV "And on your house too!." It was difficult to understand which parts of the RV we could and couldn't use without a working generator. No plugs, Gas could take care of the fridge and the heat and the cooling... but not at the same time? There was the "Plug in option" when applicable. I knew we wouldn't have time to get a new generator installed in the RV before the trip to get the kids (let alone be able to afford it), but maybe this "External generator" would work? (Where ya gonna put that external thing huh? I don't know anything about a generator or how to get it to work.) If I hadn't thought "This is the only vehicle that will get me to my children next week" I would have backed out and gotten my money back. Unfortunately I believed all the other lies I was being told and thought there was enough good about the deal to warrant completing the purchase.
The salesman drove to our house and dropped off a Coleman generator. It is currently sitting in a box in the shed. It's quite big. There is no way we could take it with the RV without some sort of attachment to the outside of the RV. Craig suggested a rack and said he might know someone who had one, but never contacted us again. We didn't like how it would add length to the RV (without any racks the RV barely fits in our garage bay space. There is no room for attachments. Maneuverability being complicated when length is extended. Extra weight adds to reduction in gas milage. None of which we would have bought into had we known at time of sale)
How RV Sales of Oregon Lied about their mistake and then forged documents requiring a Disabled Veteran to Visit the DMV during a pandemic.
RV Sales of Oregon registered the RV per the purchase arrangement. Instead they registered the RV to the couples truck plates when they should have used the provided plates. When RV Sales of Oregon was called in Aug after we learned of the registration error, the management Leslie blamed the DMV for the mistake. I called back later and requested documentation from RV Sales of Oregon that I would no doubt need when talking to the DMV to correct the error. RV Sales of Oregon emailed altered documentation Nov 30 2020 from Leslie Stahl (office manager,) whiting out their error. I made an appointment with the DMV via the internet by coupling it with the Trucks registration and was given an appointment in Jan 2021.
I am unable to wear a mask due to my disabilities and attempted to call the DMV ahead of time (as they asked in the email about the appointment) to make arrangements. When calling Oregon DMV and following all the appropriate prompts the automated service would eventually hang up on the caller without proving any assistance. We tried to call a couple times but the same occurrence happened and we video taped it for posterity. "Called about ADA. No lines available. Told to call back by automated service. All circuits busy. Jan 6@ 10.20 am" They said there was a 14 week wait to get titles back in the mail.
We went to our appointment on January 11th. After explaining the situation through the door to the DMV personnel I requested reasonable accommodations and they were able to make a special appointment for us the next morning at 8:20 am Jan 12th. (It's quite cold outside this time of year, especially early in the morning.) At that meeting, held through an open door from the sidewalk, the clerk told us the form had been changed by the seller to cover up the mistake and that it was the fault of the dealer. It was up to the dealer to correct the error.
Not desiring confrontation I have been unable to decide what should be done. If it wasn't for the registration I would have done nothing, considering this a hard learned life lesson. After receiving the post card and encouragement from friends I have decided to create this page to hopefully inform others to be careful when/if choosing to purchase an RV, especially from RV Sales of Oregon.
If RV Sales of Oregon would like to email me to correct the situation I would be happy to receive their offer via email.
RV Sales of Oregon 1-888-389-3678
RV Sales of Oregon registered the RV per the purchase arrangement. Instead they registered the RV to the couples truck plates when they should have used the provided plates. When RV Sales of Oregon was called in Aug after we learned of the registration error, the management Leslie blamed the DMV for the mistake. I called back later and requested documentation from RV Sales of Oregon that I would no doubt need when talking to the DMV to correct the error. RV Sales of Oregon emailed altered documentation Nov 30 2020 from Leslie Stahl (office manager,) whiting out their error. I made an appointment with the DMV via the internet by coupling it with the Trucks registration and was given an appointment in Jan 2021.
I am unable to wear a mask due to my disabilities and attempted to call the DMV ahead of time (as they asked in the email about the appointment) to make arrangements. When calling Oregon DMV and following all the appropriate prompts the automated service would eventually hang up on the caller without proving any assistance. We tried to call a couple times but the same occurrence happened and we video taped it for posterity. "Called about ADA. No lines available. Told to call back by automated service. All circuits busy. Jan 6@ 10.20 am" They said there was a 14 week wait to get titles back in the mail.
We went to our appointment on January 11th. After explaining the situation through the door to the DMV personnel I requested reasonable accommodations and they were able to make a special appointment for us the next morning at 8:20 am Jan 12th. (It's quite cold outside this time of year, especially early in the morning.) At that meeting, held through an open door from the sidewalk, the clerk told us the form had been changed by the seller to cover up the mistake and that it was the fault of the dealer. It was up to the dealer to correct the error.
Not desiring confrontation I have been unable to decide what should be done. If it wasn't for the registration I would have done nothing, considering this a hard learned life lesson. After receiving the post card and encouragement from friends I have decided to create this page to hopefully inform others to be careful when/if choosing to purchase an RV, especially from RV Sales of Oregon.
If RV Sales of Oregon would like to email me to correct the situation I would be happy to receive their offer via email.
RV Sales of Oregon 1-888-389-3678
RV Sales of Oregon LIES confirmed by the DMV
Problems A Plenty:
"One Owner who rarely used it and upgraded it," they said.
"We'll fix that before you pick it up" they said.
"All of these things work perfectly fine" they said.
Always read the fine print. At Rv Sales Of Oregon the fine print says they aren't accountable for anything the sales guy says.... How convenient.
"We'll fix that before you pick it up" they said.
"All of these things work perfectly fine" they said.
Always read the fine print. At Rv Sales Of Oregon the fine print says they aren't accountable for anything the sales guy says.... How convenient.
After returning home with the kids the wind caught the door and slammed it into the awning mount, which happens to be against a window. The window shattered.
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List of unfortunate events: What we really got
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We are happy to allow RV Sales of Oregon to "outright" purchase this RV for the original purchase price so they can resell the RV with honesty, accounting for it's actual condition. Until then we will be posting a sign with link to this site, to inform the greater area about the sales practices at RV Sales of Oregon and how they LIE to veterans.
If RV Sales of Oregon would like to contact us regarding our concerns and their lies, they can use this contact form. We will not accept any phone calls regarding the matter. All correspondence must be in writing. If any one is interested in making an offer on the Rv you are also welcome to leave a message here May God bless you all. https://www.rhondachase.com/contact.html
The 111lb Generator
(reminder my husband and I are BOTH disabled)
