Trouble with my Weldbilt

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It's easier to just take them to small claims court...their lawyer costs alone make it cost prohibitive & they'll settle with you ahead of time.
 
I'm getting closer to making the 800 mile trip up to Backwoods to pick up my boat. The suspense is killing me! I want to find out if everything was fixed!

Anyway, I was just looking through my build thread, and forgot all about the trouble I had with my factory console. For $150 (I think) Weldbilt sold me a console that didn't last but a few months. I had cracks on all four corners of the console at the base, and ended having to buy a G3 console to replace it. Should have run away while I had a chance! Here's the post about my console. I wanted to post it so that all my problems can be seen in one thread. That way if/when this thread makes it to social media, people will know what to expect when they consider buying Weldbilt
mbweimar said:
OK fellas, here's a better pic of the nav lights. These things are BRIGHT AS HELL! Didn't realize they were 2nm lights, but oh well.



While I was wiring the console I noticed some stress cracks in the corners on the bottom...perfect timing! All that work for nothing. I'll be replacing this cheap-o console with one that is custom made to my liking.





 
mbweimar, Thanks for posting all this information and pictures (103 posts and going strong).
We are all hoping all goes well when you pick up your boat!
 
a few of my river buddys are weldbilt guys ... they where pushing hard for me to buy one .. i opted for the lowe, they have a great reputation ... at this point after the way weldbilt took care of OP i wouldn't pull one home if it was free. they have no morals and should be bankrupt, OP took a screwing HARD on this deal.
just my .02
 
Alright folks, Monday at 0800 I'll be at the Weldbilt dealer to pick up my boat. Then I have an 800 mile drive home with it. I'm trying to rehears everything I'm going to say if this thing isn't fixed right. I know one thing, I absolutely will NOT give them a second chance to fix it. And if it's not fixed to my satisfaction, and they make me pay the $200, I have half a mind to leave the boat with them and take my trailer home. I'm a patient person, and have given both the dealer and factory ample time to fix it. In the mean time, I'm hanging out with my parents in good ole Rocky Top Tennessee!
 
OK, first of all, sorry to make y'all wait so long to see the outcome. I've been super busy at work this week.

So I woke up at 5am to be at the dealer at 8 when they opened. Got there and had a look at the boat. Immediately I noticed they had not just repaired the broken welds, but actually strengthened the braces. The transom brace was also fixed, but not strengthened. They even touched up all the paint for me, however I'm still planning on repainting it gray.

When it came time for payment, I tried to haggle with them a little, but it was not negotiable. I wasn't as reluctant to pay after seeing the work done, and done right. When it was all said and done I think it was still cheaper to go this route, rather than having someone down here weld on it. Here's some pics of the work.

Side note, I did find one weld that wasn't fixed, but I didn't find it until after the fact.

















Here's a couple shots of the paint touched up. Looks like they sprayed right over the dirt.





And the one broken weld they missed.
 
Well it look's like they welded all the cracked weld's and yes it look's like they did strengthen these area's.
I have been watching this post since the very beginning :shock: this will help me decide if I do in fact go with Weldbilt. They sure gave you the run around and you do have the patience of a saint. :roll: What gets me is the fact that they still charged you. [-X Are you happy with the work they have done ?. As for me, if I do look at any Weldbilt products it would definitely be a bare bones model where as I can see all welds and decide from there, good to see something good has happened =D>

Regards; greg
 
Someone else here had pics of their 1860 Welbilt. It's had the same bracing from the factory. I'm not sure why they wouldn't add it to every boat...I would even pay a little extra knowing it was braced in key locations.
 
It's an 1870 all .1 gauge.
I didn't know it had bracing till I got it home and lifted the floor. In my personal research of the Weldbilt brand, I've read that some of their boats are built differently based on the dealer their going to. Backwoods being their largest, highest volume dealer, may end up with the short end of the stick as far as build quality, on their in stock units.
 
Well they did beef it up, but some of the welds looks like the guy is learning how to weld. They should not have charged you for that job.
sorry.
 
Riverrat, believe it or not, Backwoods (being the large dealer it is,) actually distributes boats to some of the smaller details. I'm not sure how it works out. Maybe weldbilt only delivers so far.
 
Probably. I know the dealer I got mine from drives down from PA to pick them up, Weldbilt and SeaArk. It was something I saw in my research of the brand, from the crap slinging interwebs, so who knows if there's any truth behind it.
 
Definitely a Weldbilt, lots and lots of c**p sorry very poor welding. Rough as guts! They did not even clean the welds after they were done. Very poor workmanship. I think you need to get rid of this hull as soon as possible. The way they have now welded this hull it has introduced a lot more stress into the skin of the hull and it will just end up developing a lot of cracks again. I would never have bought this type of hull in the first place. But I guess it comes down to price and what we can afford at the time.
 

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