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#21 Happyjax

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Posted 18 February 2015 - 11:26 PM

Well I'm all for anyone who wanders down my neck of the woods. Would love to meet some of the fine folk I follow on this site:)


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#22 buzzman

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Posted 21 February 2015 - 08:09 PM

We have purchased a new Hallmark Ute for a build date in April. Sorry to hear about some of the below average customer service mentioned . So far, our experience working with Matt and the rest of the family has been great. Matt has been very accommodating to our wishes and customization and has offered some good advice about the various options. But, I have noticed that they do not respond to questions I have sent via email from the "contact us" link on their web site. A phone call or text message to Matt works best.

 

We had been looking for a new camper for about two years. Looked at both hardside and popup campers, decided to stay with a popup. The other brands, FWC, Northstar, etc. all build good campers, but the Hallmark floor plan and options hit the sweet spot for us. Our current camper, a FWC Grandby has been great, but we wanted a few more amenities, especially for our trips through the eastern half (the humid half) of the country. I almost hate to have to sell the Grandby. But I will have to post it on the Gear Exchange section soon.

 

Buzz, Sherri, and Spridgy the camper cat


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#23 Bigfoot

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Posted 22 February 2015 - 01:22 AM

We have purchased a new Hallmark Ute for a build date in April. Sorry to hear about some of the below average customer service mentioned . So far, our experience working with Matt and the rest of the family has been great. Matt has been very accommodating to our wishes and customization and has offered some good advice about the various options. But, I have noticed that they do not respond to questions I have sent via email from the "contact us" link on their web site. A phone call or text message to Matt works best.

 

We had been looking for a new camper for about two years. Looked at both hardside and popup campers, decided to stay with a popup. The other brands, FWC, Northstar, etc. all build good campers, but the Hallmark floor plan and options hit the sweet spot for us. Our current camper, a FWC Grandby has been great, but we wanted a few more amenities, especially for our trips through the eastern half (the humid half) of the country. I almost hate to have to sell the Grandby. But I will have to post it on the Gear Exchange section soon.

 

Buzz, Sherri, and Spridgy the camper cat

 

They're booked out to April right now? That's good for them. Yes, Hallmark offers a good combo of options and customization which was important to us, too. The buying experience with them was excellent and Matt was responsive--sometimes took a few days but he always answered. In contrast, the after-delivery support has been dismal with ignored emails and phone calls, not following through with commitments, and refusal to take responsibility for installation errors and omissions. Hard to understand this Jekyll and Hyde attitude in a small company. 


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#24 enelson

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Posted 22 February 2015 - 02:16 AM

They're booked out to April right now? That's good for them. Yes, Hallmark offers a good combo of options and customization which was important to us, too. The buying experience with them was excellent and Matt was responsive--sometimes took a few days but he always answered. In contrast, the after-delivery support has been dismal with ignored emails and phone calls, not following through with commitments, and refusal to take responsibility for installation errors and omissions. Hard to understand this Jekyll and Hyde attitude in a small company. 

 

Matt and Bill have both answered follow up questions for me.  Matt also mailed some replacement cabinet latches promptly under warranty.  Is the camper perfect, no, but which one is besides a XP or Earthroamer?  Maybe its just going a little too full bore at Hallmark right now?


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#25 Bigfoot

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Posted 22 February 2015 - 05:26 AM

Matt and Bill have both answered follow up questions for me.  Matt also mailed some replacement cabinet latches promptly under warranty.  Is the camper perfect, no, but which one is besides a XP or Earthroamer?  Maybe its just going a little too full bore at Hallmark right now?

 

Matt and Bill both answered follow-up questions for me, too, and they both denied that anything could be wrong with the turnbuckle installation despite the fact that 3 out of 4 came loose and one of them jammed. They acknowledged omissions on the order but could only suggest that I "drop by" and they would fix things; a thousand miles one-way for some minor parts? When I noted that was impractical, they said they would check on shipping them along with another repair item but didn't. Not a big deal in terms of the overall purchase but still disappointing. 

 

Neither XPCamper's nor EarthRoamer's products are perfect, either, despite their higher cost and reputation. I don't expect perfection but communications and customer support are desired. 


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#26 Mike&Becky

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Posted 23 May 2015 - 11:11 PM

Very Nice!  We love our Hallmark and I am sure you will enjoy yours for many years to come.


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#27 Kylekai

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Posted 05 July 2015 - 06:20 PM

I purchased a new Hallmark Everest in 2011.  I previously had a NorthStar popup, but the build quality wasn't as good as I'd like, especially for off-road use.  I had thought about a Hallmark for about a year prior to purchasing.  I flew out early 2011 (from SoCal), decided what to get, and picked it up in June, 2011.  Prior to the purchase Matt was very good communicating via email.

 

One thing really surprised me after the purchase: I had to go out and buy some basic necessities such as a fresh water hose and a few other things.  Usually RV companies give you a starter kit, especially after buying a $26K item, but Hallmark told me where to find the nearest Camperland store instead.  Didn't really feel good about that.

 

So I had the camper loaded at Hallmark, and took off for Rocky Mountain NP.  But right before I got there I stopped at a grocery store and immediately smelled propane.  Turns out the propane tank was leaking!  So my first night I had to camp without propane and drive back to Hallmark so they could fix it.  What a pain.

 

Overall it was a well-made camper, but it had its issues just like any truck camper.  For example, the cabinet hinges kept breaking.  But the big issues was with the electric refrigerator. While it worked well, even with an 80 watt solar system, it would occasionally drain the batteries so I couldn't lower the roof in the morning.  I think I should have been told of that possibility and if so, I would have purchased more solar panels.

 

A few more sore spots: the batteries where stored in a compartment in the front part of the camper, and the only way you could access them is to take the camper off the truck.  Furthermore, the hinge for the battery compartment was so large that it stuck out and rubbed against the truck, scraping the paint off the truck. Not well engineered. 

 

Perhaps because their business was increasing, but after awhile I never received replies from my email.  Calling worked, but it's hard referencing a URL over the phone.

 

I enjoyed the camper but sold it about 6 months ago.  Part of the reason was my son was getting big, making the camper small for our family.  So I purchased an r-pod trailer.  When I purchased the trailer I had two choices: drive 400 miles and save $1,000, or purchase locally.  I chose the latter so I'd get better treatment when I brought it in for warranty issues.  Ironically, even tho the trailer is a relatively inexpensive trailer, I have had no warranty issues.  Yet with the Hallmark, being one of the top-of-the-line campers, I had it back at the factory a few times for issues that should probably never have happened.

 

Maybe I expect too much from a truck camper, I don't know.  I hope you found this interesting!


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#28 Happyjax

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Posted 05 July 2015 - 07:36 PM

I have been following Hallmark closely as it is one of my top choices but I am concerned about some issues I read especially considering the prime cost of the camper.....

Thanks for your story :)


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#29 Bigfoot

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Posted 06 July 2015 - 04:52 AM

 

I purchased a new Hallmark Everest in 2011.  I previously had a NorthStar popup, but the build quality wasn't as good as I'd like, especially for off-road use.  I had thought about a Hallmark for about a year prior to purchasing.  I flew out early 2011 (from SoCal), decided what to get, and picked it up in June, 2011.  Prior to the purchase Matt was very good communicating via email.

 

One thing really surprised me after the purchase: I had to go out and buy some basic necessities such as a fresh water hose and a few other things.  Usually RV companies give you a starter kit, especially after buying a $26K item, but Hallmark told me where to find the nearest Camperland store instead.  Didn't really feel good about that.

 

So I had the camper loaded at Hallmark, and took off for Rocky Mountain NP.  But right before I got there I stopped at a grocery store and immediately smelled propane.  Turns out the propane tank was leaking!  So my first night I had to camp without propane and drive back to Hallmark so they could fix it.  What a pain.

 

Overall it was a well-made camper, but it had its issues just like any truck camper.  For example, the cabinet hinges kept breaking.  But the big issues was with the electric refrigerator. While it worked well, even with an 80 watt solar system, it would occasionally drain the batteries so I couldn't lower the roof in the morning.  I think I should have been told of that possibility and if so, I would have purchased more solar panels.

 

A few more sore spots: the batteries where stored in a compartment in the front part of the camper, and the only way you could access them is to take the camper off the truck.  Furthermore, the hinge for the battery compartment was so large that it stuck out and rubbed against the truck, scraping the paint off the truck. Not well engineered. 

 

Perhaps because their business was increasing, but after awhile I never received replies from my email.  Calling worked, but it's hard referencing a URL over the phone.

 

I enjoyed the camper but sold it about 6 months ago.  Part of the reason was my son was getting big, making the camper small for our family.  So I purchased an r-pod trailer.  When I purchased the trailer I had two choices: drive 400 miles and save $1,000, or purchase locally.  I chose the latter so I'd get better treatment when I brought it in for warranty issues.  Ironically, even tho the trailer is a relatively inexpensive trailer, I have had no warranty issues.  Yet with the Hallmark, being one of the top-of-the-line campers, I had it back at the factory a few times for issues that should probably never have happened.

 

Maybe I expect too much from a truck camper, I don't know.  I hope you found this interesting!

 

 

Our experience with a 2014 model has been similar. Hallmark's communications is excellent during the buying and building process, but once delivered it's phone calls during business hours only--difficult when I need to send photos or to reference links. Solving problems is like pulling teeth although with enough persistence they seem to respond. 

 
For such an experienced builder they miss some surprising details. Overall they are good but fail to go the extra mile that would make them first class. Some of it is a "good enough" attitude, but I also got the impression that they have a hard time getting skilled help and are stretched thin. They keep a clean, organized shop but are seat-of-the-pants in terms of getting stuff done. Because every camper is semi-custom it is easy for things to fall through the cracks. 

 

The problems you mentioned were non-issues in our camper, replaced by other things. It may just be the nature of small production pop-ups. Standardized, high-volume RVs are probably easier to get serviced although I know that they have their share of problems, too. We have to buy what suits our needs, budget and maintenance abilities. 

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#30 GT-Jim

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Posted 12 July 2015 - 06:23 PM

We recently brought our brand new K2 home from our first trip, 2500 miles and 10 nights. All went good and everything was constructed very well.  Two screws missed the framework under the dinette and squeaked and had a couple of vendor relate problems common to all manufacturers but were taken care of first thing the next morning (stayed close the first night). I have stayed in touch with Bill and Matt since buying it because we are newbies and I have questions.  I don't have problems getting in touch with someone by phone during working hours and don't expect them to be at my service 24/7; emails occasionally need a follow-up but have always gotten a response. 

 

We have the same battery location as described in the post by Kylekai, not the most convenient but perfect for mass centralization which I prefer, they are heavy.  I wanted to check them and it wasn't a big deal, jacked the camper up a couple inches and pulled forward two feet and climbed in the front of the bed.  Opened the door and wrangled the batteries out, they are tight and cables could be a little longer but no big hinge rubbing the truck as described previously.  I only plan on doing this once or twice a year and will probably switch to AGM anyway.  Oh, and we did get a water hose.

 

The fit and finish is top notch, my wife loves her kitchen.  Everything is very well detailed inside and out, the base cabinets have vinyl flooring inside not bare wood, the under bed storage is all gel coat not bare wood, all the wires are neatly routed and bundled.  It rained (snowed) the first three days we camped and not one leak and my favorite part is the one piece roof. The cassette toilet is spectacular on cold rainy nights and very easy to use, my wife was the first of us to dump it and she came back just beaming about how easy it was.

 

Hallmark took two people that were absolute newbies that new nothing about campers (we have tented for 25 years).  They taught me how to load the camper (didn't show me, they actually had me do it) and then went through everything with me and my wife.  They sent the two of us out on the road with a brand new rig and we were able to operate everything almost like we had been doing this all along. We had a couple of moments but between the two of us one of us always remembered what Matt showed us.

 

This thing is sweet, couldn't be happier.

 


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