safari trek info.wanted
george gibbons
what service can I expect mpg. how does it pull up hill and how good is the
power train in general
george
J Sutton
things about the Isuzu model (pre-'95, I bleieve) except that the lowering
bed is over the driver's area -- may not be correct on this, but I'm glad
mine is over the living room area. The tracks on the bed over the driver's
area that I've seen go through the driver and passenger windows and to me
obstructed the view. Just something for you to consider. The Trek is a
great motorhome!
duke cola
I have a 96 trek w/GM6.5TD so I don't have direct experience with the
Izuzu. But... have spoken to many Trek owners during my travels and the
Izuzu gets two thumbs up. The engine will last nearly forever, Izuzu
makes a quality engine (have owned two Izuzu vehicles w diesels). I
believe the next GM diesel will be an Izuzu to replace the 6.5. I have
heard that the Izuzu in the older Treks is a bit underpowered, but none
of the owners seemed real concerned. Most got 15mpg! A worthy tradeoff
for sure. As for Safari, best non-luxury motorhome out there IMHO.
R/Bob
Richard Giampietro
you have will be answered and then some. RG
BPOWL
Izuzu deisel owner who loved his motor bout was having the same problem as me
with my bed coming off the tracks. Here is my sad story
Subj: Reply to Trek Electo-Majic Bed Query
Date: 98-02-16 00:21:24 EST
From: BPOWL
AN ELECTRO-MAJIC BED NIGHTMARE
In June of 1997 I purchased a used 95 24 ft Safari Trek with a diesel motor
from a private party while on vacation in Alaska. The day following the
purchase the motor on the bed died while we were moving the bed to the up
position.It stopped about halfway up and would not move.I checked to see if we
had power, checked the fuses,
and could not determine the reason for the malfunction. I called the Safari
help line.They were clueless and told me to take it to the nearest dealer who
serviced Safari motorhomes. This turned out to be about 180 miles away in
Anchorage.We left for Anchorage with the bed in the stuck position which made
for a very uncomfortable position to drive with. We got to the dealer at about
8PM on a Thursday.We slept on the floor of the Trek in the kitchen area afraid
of the bed falling if we tried to sleep on it. To get from the driver/passenger
area to the exit door,toliet,etc we had to crawl under the bed.The next day the
repair people took the bed apart and announced that the motor had failed.They
called the factory and ordered a new motor to be air expressed to Alaska. I
was told that the failure was very, very ,rare;and hat this motor was made of
space age materials using the very latest technology and just never failed! I
was also told that my motor could not be repaired and it had no salvage
value.The cost for the motor ,shipping and labor would be $1200.00.
We slept on the floor of the Trek Fri, Sat, Sun, & Mon nights. There were
no hotel rooms available in the city.When buying the motorhome , I had
purchased a three year warranty on it. I discovered that the bed was not
covered in the warranty.Finally on Tuesday the new motor was installed
and once again we continued on our Alaska adventure. We went down the Kenai
Penninsula to Seward.In the middle of the second night we were awakened from
a sound sleep with the bed free-falling about 6 inches. Thank goodness neither
my wife nor I were injured. Once again we headed back to Anchorage. We arrived
mid-day Friday and were told once again that the motor had failed and one would
have to be shipped to Alaska, from the factory in Oregon;but it was too late to
get it out this day so it couldn't be shipped until Monday and wouldn't arrive
until maybe Wednesday. At this point my Southern good nature was taxed to the
limit and I started raising Hell.The service manager got on the phone and
finally pleaded long enough to get someone to make a trip to the airport and
get the new motor on the plane that afternoon.The service people sawed some
2X4s to put under the bed so that we wouldn't have to sleep on the floor.
again.We just had to crawl back and forth under the bed to drive,then back
to go to the toliet,then crawl out to go eat,etc. By this time I was cursing
everyone who had ever had anything to do with this bed. On Monday the
repairman went back in and discovered that the bed had been improperly
installed! Repeated calls to the factory finally revealed that the wrong
instructions had been sent the first time. The first instructions were hand
printed and sketchy.The second instuctions were printed and detailed and very
different from the first ones! So this space age motor had failed a second
time.At this time I discovered that this bed weighs 300 plus pounds! I asked
the service manager what would have happened if one of my grand children had
been sleeping on the sofa below the bed when it fell. He just rolled his eyes
and rapidly changed the subject by telling me that I was getting a new motor at
no charge and everything would be just fine.
Finally on Monday afternoon the second motor was installed using the
correct instructions.I should have been suspicious when the motorhome was
brought around to me with the bed up with four new 2X4s cut and placed at the
four corners of the bed to insure that it stayed in the up position while we
were driving. Now we had 4 short 2X4s to use when we let the bed down to sleep
and four long 2X4s to use while we traveled.,to make sure that it stayed up! So
we set out to continue our Alaskan adventure with 2x4s in our $50,000
motorhome! Wouldn't you know that night a camping neighbor came over to ask to
look at our rig.He said that he had been looking at the Trek and was thinking
about buying one. Needless to say I was extremely embarrassed for myself and
Safari.
Now we headed out for Valdez for an uneventful three nights.On Friday, we
stopped at Delta Junction to do laundry.I stayed in the Trek,lying on the sofa
and reading .We had our trusty Majik Bed 2X4 supports in place. In fact my
wife had become so nervous about the bed by this time that we didn't do
anything without the 2X4s in place.She came out of the laundromat with clean
sheets. We removed the 2X4s and started lowering the bed. It did not move more
than twelve inches before it came crashing down onto the tops of the sofa and
side chair backs.The bed had come completely off all four tracks!
Once again I go to telephone and call the RV repair people .This was on July
the 3rd and we were 400 miles from Anchorage and it iwas the July 4th weekend.
So we spend another four miserable nights on the floor and crawling back and
forth under the bed to get to driver's area. Finally we got back to Anchorage
to be greeted by some very embarrased service technicians.I was told this time
that the tracks were not plumb and it would be fixed free of charge and
everything would be just fine.I got on the phone to talk to the people at the
factory and asked why this happened.Did it have anything to do with the motor
and if it had ever happened to anyone else. I was assured that this had not
happened before and they were going to make everything right.I asked if they
realized what injuries could have happened if my wife or I had been under the
bed when it fell. At this time my wife came from the reception area to tell me
that there was another Trek owner out front who had an Electro-Majik bed that
had come off the tracks and fallen while he and his wife were in bed.I got his
name and address and went to see him.the next day.He had C clamps on his tracks
to make sure the bed stayed up. His bed position was particularly alarming
because it lowers down over where the driver and passenger sit. If the bed fell
while the Trek was moving it would be a real disaster.Anyway ,I recieved
nothing but the run-around and smooth talk from a vice president.at Safari. I
told him that my wife an I had to sleep on the floor of this TURKEY for 9 days
on my vacation,crawling back and forth under the bed.Because of this problem I
was unable to get my wife to sleep on this bed for the next two months.
The good news is that since July the 9th we have not had any more problems
with this bed. You can believe that we are very careful to get out of the way
when we are raising or lowering it. The safety pins that you are supposed to
put in when the bed is up are flimsy and bend. Do not trust them!
As all of this nightmare happened I took very careful notes. I have the
motor that failed and the two sets of instructions that dissagree.I feel that
this bed has some major design flaws and I cannot believe that me and the
other Trek owner in Alaska are the only ones who have ever had problems with
this bed. Certainly as time goes by this manufacturer is becoming more and more
vulnerable. This is a situation where a recall or at least a owner warning is
way past due.
Now I have said all of this and I can honestly say that I like my Trek.I
like the layout.I like the workmanship.(except for the flaws in the bed
design). I like the diesel engine. I get 10.5 to 11 mpgal towing a Saturn.The
bed scares me still even though I believe it is fixed. I don't know how long it
will stay that way. It rankles me to remember how many days we had to sleep on
the floor and spend waiting in Anchorage for repairs. We didn't get to see
Fairbanks and had to miss going to Haynes,Juneau,and Skagway.
That is the story of our Electro-Majik bed problems. If you believe it was
just a one in a million incident then come on down to Georgia .I've got some
lovely vacation property to sell you in the Okefenokee Swamp.
Be looking for me out on the road . The name of my motorhome is:
THE TURKEY TREK.!!!!!! with 2X4s holding up my bed.
BUYER
BEWARE,
Bill Powell
