What actions can be taken to get a major horse trailer company to stand by their warranty?

I purchased a LQ trailer (new) in July 2005 and just used it to go to local shows for the first couple of months.

When I took it on my first overnight barrel race I found a wet dish cloth in the cabinet over the sink (on the top shelf).  After checking I found water on the bottom shelf.  When I got home my husband ran water over the roof and found no leak.  The next heavy rain we had water showed up in the cabinet.  We got out there again and found a very small, almost drip running down the cabinet door when we used the hose on the roof.  Again we had a very heavy rain and no water in the trailer.

I took the trailer to the dealer where I purchased it and we found the floor had also been damaged in the kitchen and that one of the shower doors would not set right and water leaked out of there causing damage to the floor.  I had been cleaning up the shower water after taking a shower (a friend of mine has the same brand trailer and her shower does the same thing). 

The trailer company first tried to say that I must have gone under something and damaged the roof and when they were told by the place I purchased it there was no damage or scrapes on the roof they didn't have anything to say. 

So my trailer sits at the dealership waiting for the trailer company to make a decision, which I don't think is a hard one to make.  They need to fix the cabinet and floors and give me back my trailer, however I can truthfully say I will never buy that brand of trailer again, even though before this I owned one and loved it, but did not know how the company treated it's customers.

So, back to my main question what can I do to get them to fix the problem and get my trailer back? 

I contact the trailer dealership on a weekly basis to find out what is going on and am told the company is "thinking about what they are going to do."

Calling the dealership is not getting results by your post.  So to continue the same action is going to get the same result --- nothing.

Do a little research. The internet is great for public corporations. Find out how to contact the various levels of authority above the dealership in the trailer builder's organization.   Just going to the very top is sometimes successful but generally the action is taken by the middle.  So asking the middle level and top levels together is usually the way to get results.  Especially if you address names and titles in respectful comunication...

% $#@&#(&  is not very nice or effective.

It is my understanding that my interior was done by Sierra, but the dealer ordered several of the same trailers with the interior already in it.

Would any dealers who are on this forum do things the way they are being done on my trailer? 

I'm going to call the trailer manufacturer today and see if I can talk to someone who is familiar with my problem.  Yes I will be nice, I usually am because I believe in the old saying you can catch more flies with sugar than you can with vinegar.

I was told by someone that they called this manufacturer direct and were very satisfied with the results

I was thinking that buying a trailer was like buying a car.  If I buy a Ford I take it back to the dealership if something that is under warranty goes wrong and the dealer fixes it and it's up to them to get their money from Ford.  I don't take it to the Ford plant.  I guess that's not how it works with trailers.

Sometimes the roof would leak and sometimes it wouldn't, like when my husband and the dealer tried to get it to leak it wouldn't leak.  I don't think I made that clear in my first post, but it's early in the morning now and I'm not thinking to clearly myself.  

KCC:

As always, problems with a major purchase cause a lot of heartburn.  You have my sympathies.

A question:  was your LQ sent to Sierra by the dealer? Or by the builder of the trailer? If not, you've hit a problem faced by many in industry.  "Whose part failed?" and "Whos has to fix it?"  I fight this seemingly, every week. 

Since the dealer sold you the whole trailer, I think the dealer has a responsibility to help you.  Doesn't sound like your dealer is responding well... This is a very good reason to buy from a local dealer if one needs service.  If a trailer is bought from a far away dealer, it's hard to expect the local dealer to do anymore than what the manufacturer will pay for.  Even then, I had some inside experiance with FORD, they judge (or used to)their dealer on warrenty claims.  Seems like that practice would make a dealer resistant to servicing another dealers product.

Anyway.  Trailer leaks are very variable.  It may leak only if the trailer is in a certain position.  Nose high, Nose low, right side high,  etc (you'll get the picture)  I had a leak that was only when the nose was low and rolled to the right.  This didn't happen often, since the trailer when hitched was slightly nose high.  Only when I actually got the trailer in that position was I able to replicate and find the leak.  Having a finsihed LQ makes it that much harder to find.

Park the trailer at home, use the landing gear to simulate the nose angle,  Use a trailer-aid or planks under a wheel to simulate rolling the trailer.  Left and right..  You might have to combine motions to find the leak condition.

As of this morning, after I called the dealer I was told that arrangements were being made to repair the inside of the trailer and I would be notified of when I can expect to get my trailer back.

Since I have had to call the dealer each time to find out what is going on I don't think I'll wait very long for that call, but I'll call after a reasonable length of time. 

What I find so ironic is they know I want to purchase a bigger trailer with a bigger shower because my husband has decided to go with me and the trailer and shower are not big enough (it's a weekender type trailer).  I would think they would be doing everything they can since this was my second purchase from them and they have a chance to sell me another trailer.

To answer some questions.  I don't know who had the Sierra LQ put in the company or the dealer, but since it's the trailer company the dealer said they were dealing with I can only assume it was the trailer company.

I live in Louisiana and  purchased the trailer about an hours drive from where I live and the trailer name starts with an E.  I will say I was very happy with the first one I had and really not unhappy with the trailer I have now, because I know that you're going to have a leak in any trailer that is built sooner or later.  My problem is with the way things are being handled on something that is under warranty.

Thank you Mr. Smith for offering your help and I still may take you up on your offer.

I'll let you know what the results are in a week or so.