Expedition One experience

[Wilsonwanderings]

I wanted to post my experience with @expedition_one customer service so that anyone else considering purchasing one of their winch bumpers for a 1500 has fair warning. First off, I have nothing bad to say about the quality. The powdercoat may be the best I've ever seen and and build is pretty solid. I think I got one of the first ever 1500 ecodiesel bumpers, which probably explains about half of the issues, but the customer service was where they really fell short. Like all the way, worst purchase experience in my life bad.

• Ordered the bumper in 11/10/2021 with stated 16-20 wk lead time (eta April 2022) for 3,189.97.
• Was told it went into weld 2 state April 15 and powder the 20th which sounded good
• Finally heard back May 27 asking what truck model I had (uh oh)
• Finally got shipping notice June 30th
• Scheduled install with local shop and expedition one dealer Lolo Overland
• 7/28 Install day was terrible, no instructions available on website or included, tons of hardware apparently missing based on 2018 instructions, brackets welded in backwards, basically a total cluster taking them a whole day only to find when they put it up to the truck that it does not fit (installer had done one already on a 2019 gas model and had similar issues). No answer on phone or email in response to questions.
• Relocation brackets were apparently needed to drop it 1.5" and move it forward.
• Finally got them to answer email and they shipped brackets to me 8 days later (shop shuffled my truck in/out the whole time).
• Brackets arrived with still no instructions included or online. Appeared to still be missing hardware for parking sensors also. Lolo understandably said they could not dedicate more time to it without instructions and proper hardware.
• 8/10 Had to drive home with no bumper rather than leave it at shop for another unknown period. Paid $700 for shop time and took all parts home to figure out myself.
• Still no response to email or phone calls...
• Spent about 2 days figuring out how to get it installed with numerous trips to hardware store for grade 8 bolts.
• 8/12 got an email saying they'd uploaded instructions to the website, here's the link. Would have been helpful about 3 weeks ago, thanks.
• Requested reimbursement for the shop labor due to all of the above. Email thread pasted below (read from bottom for maximum wtf effect). At this point, I'm not expecting anything. Buyer beware. Never again for this guy.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Sarah Fonnesbeck <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Sep 8, 2022, 8:42 AM
Subject: Re: install for your 2020 RAM 1500 Front Bumper

Hi Brandon,
Per our terms of sale we do not cover any costs associated with installation, vehicle downtime, etc. As the equipment manufacturer only, and with no contracted relationships with individual installers we have no control over installer policies or pricing and therefore do not guarantee installer services, policies regarding customer services, nor performance. We do take into consideration when we have multiple complaints about installer practices and can suspend dealer rights for those that fall into that category. Our experience has been for the most part however that most installers are very familiar with the complexities of installing this type of equipment and are willing to work with their customers to achieve a reasonable and fair outcome for both parties as it relates to labor and time as their domain of product and customer services. I have noted your concerns in our system. Although we are unable to offer compensation for third party services such as installers, we have issued you a 30% credit towards your next purchase which is easily in excess of $900 off a rear tire carrier system and are happy to make recommendations for future installation services in your area or with one of our preferred local installers.

Best Regards,
Sarah

On Thu, Sep 1, 2022 at 8:04 PM Brandon wrote:

Sarah,

I haven't heard anything back from you on this. If you disagree with the logic of my reimbursement request for wasted installation costs due to lack of instructions, parts lists, and parts, please explain. If not, I'm expecting to hear that a reimbursement check is in the mail.

Regards,
Brandon
On Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 10:10 AM Brandon > wrote:

Sarah,

I appreciate you reaching out and the offer of future credit. I understand and knew about your policy of not reimbursing for installation related delays due to missing components in the shipment. However, and this is a pretty important point, how could your dealer/installer (Lolo Overland) possibly have verified the presence of parts prior to commencing installation without a complete set of instructions? They were not available for 2019+ models on the website as indicated and after multiple phone calls on the day of installation, they were eventually provided but for a different vehicle model. The provided instructions did not include any details for installation of the skid plate or intercooler relocation brackets. Furthermore, there was no mention at all of the required adapter bracket to relocate the entire bumper forward and down to fit my vehicle. It wasn't until the moment of attaching to the vehicle after 8+ hours of puzzling over missing instructions and piles of hardware (after everything stock had been removed and all new components were installed into the bumper) that they were able to fit check and discover this major incompatibility. So I ask again, how could they/we reasonably confirm the completeness of the shipment prior to commencing with the installation? I again, respectfully request reimbursement for the $700 shop labor charge.

Sincerely,
Brandon
On Wed, Aug 17, 2022 at 9:36 AM Sarah Fonnesbeck <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi Brandon,
Quilla took the time to update me on difficulties you experienced with your order and I wanted to reach out and apologize for the inconvenience you experienced. I know in the initial product offering for the new 1500 RAM models there were multiple differences identified between models and packages that led to longer than anticipated lead time in the installation guides and parts for which we are very sorry. As a thank you for your patience and understanding I have issued a 30% credit on your next purchase of any Expedition One manufactured products. We do appreciate your business and are working hard to improve service and delivery timelines. Regarding your request for reimbursement of installation costs, our policy per terms of sale does not allow any sort of reimbursement for vehicle downtime or install related costs and because back ordered parts are not uncommon with current supply chain issues we go to great lengths to remind end users to verify all parts are in process prior to scheduling or beginning installations. I apologize that I am unable to offer anything towards your installation but we do hope that the in-store credit will be a major savings to you in the future and know you will be pleased with the high quality of your product. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Best Regards,
Sarah
On Wed, Aug 17, 2022 at 8:57 AM Expedition One <[email protected]> wrote:

-QH

Expedition One, LLC
113 N 700 W Bldg 5C Bay 1
Ogden, UT 84404
801.627.2921
www.exp-one.com
Ex1 on Facebook
YouTube Expedition1TV


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Brandon
Date: Sat, Aug 13, 2022 at 9:04 PM
Subject: Re: install for your 2020 RAM 1500 Front Bumper
To: Expedition One <[email protected]>

This would have been helpful about 2 weeks ago when the shop started fighting with the install. At this point, much of the hardware was installed in the wrong location, which works but leaves other areas short. I've sourced additional 1/2" grade 8 hardware locally to complete the installation. I've got easily 20 hours of my own time into this installation on top of the day of labor ($700) that I paid for at Lolo Overland. I expect expedition one to compensate me for this expense as it was a direct result of no instructions, missing parts, and complete lack of customer service.

Regards
Brandon
On Fri, Aug 12, 2022, 9:19 AM Expedition One <[email protected]> wrote:

Hey Brandon,

Just following up from our phone call. We got that install manual uploaded so here's the link: https://www.exp-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/19RAM-1500-FB.pdf

Please review page three of the install manual and compare it to the hardware you have, this will give us clarification of what exactly is missing from your hardware kit.

Thanks,
Quilla

Expedition One, LLC
113 N 700 W Bldg 5C Bay 1
Ogden, UT 84404
801.627.2921
www.exp-one.com
Ex1 on Facebook
YouTube Expedition1TV

--

Sarah Fonnesbeck, Vice President
801-627-2921 office
GSA Vendor
www.exp-one.com
113 N. 700 W. Bldg 5C
Ogden, UT 84404

 

[boogielander]

wow... that's terrible. i was interested in the Expedition One bumper after watching Ed Shin's video, but im not sure if i can deal with problems like this

 

[Terrible_One]

Big fat NOPE

 

[Wilsonwanderings]

wow... that's terrible. i was interested in the Expedition One bumper after watching Ed Shin's video, but im not sure if i can deal with problems like this

Yeah, I actually reached out to Ed after a long period of silence from Exp1 to see if he had a contact there that he might be able to bump. He did, and I got an email and a call back that day. Didn't solve anything, but in case you were wondering where their priorities lie...

 

[boogielander]

Yeah, I actually reached out to Ed after a long period of silence from Exp1 to see if he had a contact there that he might be able to bump. He did, and I got an email and a call back that day. Didn't solve anything, but in case you were wondering where their priorities lie...

well sometimes youtubers have personal relationship with vendors and shops. Not saying that I've done things like that before but i do take care of my personal friends when they come to the shop and vise versa.
Could Ed's guy at Exp1 do something about this situation? not likely but at least he was able to help you escalade it and get a response instead of having you waiting till the world's end for a response.

Also part reason why I want to do a video series with my Ram. Part of that is I want to document my build and journey, another part of that is if I run into problems that I cannot resolve, at least I will have some kind of influence that vendors need to consider before really pissing me off.

 

[Wilsonwanderings]

Possibly, but I've already given more mental energy to it than it's worth to me. They win, but I did want to put the experience here in hopes it prevents someone else from going through the same thing. Unfortunately there aren't any other diesel winch bumper options out there yet.