goin camping
Explorer
If anyone in So Cal wants to go over my J30. You are welcome to come over and check it out.
Ursa Minor Pop-Top Jeep JK
- Thread starter cobblecrazy
- Start date
nwoods
Expedition Leader
That is so cool. Can I try it out April 12-17th?
LOL
goin camping
Explorer
Sure Nate, No problem. It'll be in my back yard. Help yourself and enjoy your stay.
P.S. The bed is seven feet long so you should be comfy.
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goin camping
Explorer
Congrats to you! Looks good too.
rubicon91
Explorer
Thanks ratled only options I added was the side top perimeter lined and side and rear awning mounts. Did the battery meter and all the usb 12 volt plugs. Outside that nothing else just a standard j30. He'll I couldn't afford anymore lol
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rubicon91
Explorer
Awning is on. Goose gear floor plate and cubbies back in along with the fridge on its slide. Just have to put the Teraflex cargo rack back in and it will be ready to head out Saturday morning. Worn out to say the least. Not going to add a rear awning yet but wanted the mounts for when I do.
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
Caelan
New member
Well... a few weeks in on our Ursa Minor J30 and things are already looking rough around the edges. The double stick tape that holds the rain gutters in place is failing on both sides. The extra strip on the rear door to keep the window sealed tight is trying to run to the hills. Put that together with a few issues with the custom work I requested (I'm still missing the parts to make the cargo rails work, for example) on top of an impressive lack of communication across the board and it makes for a pretty sour cloud on a very expensive purchase. I do love our J30 and the unit itself is wonderful, but I miss Tepui's excellent customer service and attention to detail.
Anybody have suggestions for getting rubber to firmly attach to Line X and painted metal? Gaffer's tape is great, but it's not the long term solution I'm looking for.
Anybody have suggestions for getting rubber to firmly attach to Line X and painted metal? Gaffer's tape is great, but it's not the long term solution I'm looking for.
cowboybirder
Observer
After a year no such problems with our J30.
Communication is terrible though, been waiting a month for a response on a set of awning brackets. No word from John at all.
Communication is terrible though, been waiting a month for a response on a set of awning brackets. No word from John at all.
rubicon91
Explorer
During my build I found Wednesday and Thursday afternoons eastern time to be when I could reach him the best. Hope that helps. Do not even bother emailing just call.
Caelan
New member
I just got off the phone with John. Apparently there's a small batch of units with failing rain gutters who all came out of the same shipment of parts. It sounds like the supplier changed their adhesive, so he's looking at different tape options over the weekend and doing a test run on Monday. I'm going to call again on Tuesday for an update, but he said that once he finds a solution he's satisfied with he'll ship a new set of rain gutters and the new adhesive fix.
Having a J30 since early 2012 I have worked with John quite a bit and have been to his shop several times. What I found is email is a challenge, looking over his shoulder as he pulled up my email I could see he has tons of just inquires that he has to answer daily + sift through owner emails. That combined with a small shop and a few workers I can see why it would be challenging. I have good luck when I called and he has always taken care of me including fixing parts/adjusting almost 5 years later.
Not saying email couldn't be better but the actual customer service is outstanding.
Not saying email couldn't be better but the actual customer service is outstanding.
Caelan
New member
I guess you and I have different opinions on what outstanding customer service entails. John is incredibly friendly and helpful, but his follow through is horrible at best. It feels like adding the shop in Portland has broken the communication chain since John still handles the bulk of customer relations but everything is built down in Chula Vista. Even with that, the complete lack of communication without me hounding them with phone calls is unacceptable.
I had them order some cargo rails through Front Runner for my J30. I sent them a link to the parts I wanted, complete with the item number. When I got my invoice, I discovered that they'd ordered a different, similar part at over twice the cost. Zero consultation with me throughout that decision making process and I'm still waiting on the tie down rings to arrive that'll let me actually use the rails as intended.
Their ordering system didn't process my deposit when I placed the order. Again, zero communication until I went to pay and unexpectedly needed to cough up an extra $1200. I'm not the only one that bug hit and they apparently knew about it well before I went in for an install. They just neglected to let me know. On top of that, after bugging them for an invoice once the unit was built and waiting for the install, the final invoice included many more hours of labor than the invoice they sent me before I drove down. All in all, the final amount I had to pay on the spot was about $2000 more than what I was lead to believe. That unexpected shock should have been addressed by phone or email before I was sitting in their office.
The rear window didn't close completely when they finished the installation, leaving a good half inch gap and a window that shook while driving. I had to turn around and go back to the shop, adding an extra three hours drive time to the trip. For an accessory that costs just shy of $10,000, I'd expect this sort of major detail to be checked in the shop.
I placed my order in October. I didn't hear from them again until I finally got someone on the phone in late November (after a week of leaving messages and emails). They gave me a mid December install window. December comes around with no more communication, so I call them back to confirm. After trying for several days, I get John on the phone to find out that the install needs to get pushed back to January. Again, zero communication unless I track them down.
At this point, I'm still waiting for my missing parts to arrive. John has been great to chat with when I can get him on the phone, but for the prices we pay for these units, the very least he can do is to be more proactive with his communication. I'm very used to dealing with small businesses. I prefer small shops because I get more personal service and can develop a relationship with the company. To compare things to my recent experience with my roof top tent, Tepui is another small California company. They have about as many employees as Ursa Minor. I know most of them on a first name basis. Even with a massive work load and a tiny work force, their proactive customer service blows Ursa Minor out of the water.
I'm very, very happy with my camper and look forward to enjoying it for many years. Hopefully this abysmal customer service and lack of communication is a symptom of growing pains that will get smoothed out over time. As it stands now, though, I can't praise Ursa Minor as a company in good conscience.