Another new Hallmark
- Thread starter Bigfoot
- Start date
buzzman
Senior Member
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
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.buzzman said:
enelson
Senior Member
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?Bigfoot said:
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.enelson said:
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.
Mike&Becky
New Member
Very Nice! We love our Hallmark and I am sure you will enjoy yours for many years to come.
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!
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.Kylekai said:
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.
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.
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.
We had much the same experience with a few differences. It took all day to inspect, adjust, install and instruct. I appreciated that Bill showed me how to load and remove the camper. Bill, not Matt, did the checklist for us; he omitted a couple of key features and was wrong about one.GT-Jim said:
Our delivery was on a Saturday so we did not have the benefit of returning the next day for adjustments and questions as they are closed Sunday and Monday. As for "vendor problems," I expect Hallmark to know what they install and how to get it working properly. It's a big put-off for them to just refer me to the original manufacturer who has no knowledge of the particular installation. In particular, electrical problems are difficult to troubleshoot because Hallmark does not label wires and most switches, nor do they provide a schematic.
Follow-up customer service has been mixed. Sometimes they help whereas other times they drop the ball or ignore me. Email is typically useless--I sent one simple request 3 times with no reply although other times they used email to help explore a problem. Phone calls sometimes work but can end in a promise that is forgotten. I get the feeling they are understaffed.
In the end I fix what I can myself. I did need Hallmark's help on one unforeseeable problem caused by their design. Bill dealt with the damage quickly although I had to do the installation of parts they sent. I also had to devise a solution so it didn't happen again because they would not.
It's a well-built camper that is a notch above the rest in terms of options, materials and construction, but could be outstanding with a little more attention to detail and better customer service.
DoGMAtix
Senior Member
This discussion is very useful to us. We're not financially set up to buy a new Hallmark but are seriously considering getting one used. We'd almost certainly be dealing with the folks at the factory for renovations/ alterations such as an updated roof and solar panels, possibly a modification to increase "downstairs" sleeping space (they offer a couple of options for that). We live in Albuquerque, so I was thinking we would likely try to buy one in the Denver area and get it installed at Hallmark, but this discussion makes me think it would be better to study up on the tie-down systems and do it ourselves, then if we have issues we could get Hallmark to put in their 2 cents' worth of "expertise" (no offense meant by the quotes, but I'm a bit nervous about setting off down the road with a Hallmark-installed camper based on the posts above).
I wouldn't worry about the mounting too much. I was curious about how my mounting would be after reading the earlier posts too but it was all installed per the manufacturers instructions. I do agree that the front anchors seem to be too long for the Happy Jack Front Tiedown, I am planning on taking about a 1/2 inch off the anchor threads, seems like the threads are close to bottoming out when properly preloaded. My original build sheet showed Fast Guns were to be installed but they don't put them on anymore, they felt the jam nut is more secure for newbies like me and they seem easy enough to adjust anyway.DoGMAtix said:
I would check around your local market and see if they are prepared to make alterations to your used Hallmark. I bought one used this summer and wanted some minor options installed. I too thought it would be worth the extra travel expense to have the factory take care of these (solar, rear-mounted utility boxes, & roof rack). I was clear to Hallmark that the work could wait until the slow season, and asked for general feasibility and pricing.
I got no response. I get they don't prefer email, but if they have time to mess around of Facebook, surely they can respond to an email and line up some off season work.
As it stands, we have plenty of qualified RV dealers in Salt Lake City that are happy to do the work.
I got no response. I get they don't prefer email, but if they have time to mess around of Facebook, surely they can respond to an email and line up some off season work.
As it stands, we have plenty of qualified RV dealers in Salt Lake City that are happy to do the work.
DoGMAtix
Senior Member
Well, we went up and got our used Hallmark (08 Guanella) this past week, and had it installed at the Hallmark factory just north of Denver.
A few comments:
On the plus side, the Ward family is great. They were warm and welcoming, pulled out a big box of toys and let our toddlers totally take over their large waiting area, then spill over onto the actual factory floor. Our install date turned out to be Friday going into Labor day weekend, so we got invited to join them for their family/company barbecue. Even our dog ate well!
Bill looked over our camper to make sure there was no potentially disastrous structural issue before we finalized the deal. The seller was impatient and kept threatening to walk out and sell to any of another number of interested parties he claimed were ready to pay $1500 more than the price we'd agreed upon with him. We ended up paying an extra $500, which was painful but still a no-brainer since we'd taken 10 days off from work and driven up from Albuquerque to make the purchase.
The install seemed to go well at the time. Andy put in a bar across the front of the bed with tie down points and cone-shaped rubber bumpers to fine tune the camper's location against the front of the bed; He also installed tie down points on the sides of the rear bumper. It all looked good, but that's when things started going wrong (I know now in retrospect). The prior owner had installed the camper on a Ford F250 with higher side rails and a longer bed by a few inches. That meant that his camper had extra tall supports/spacers placed width-wise at intervals across the bottom of the camper (where it sits on the bed) to raise the camper and clear the side rails. This presented 2 issues which were not addressed at the time of the install: 1) Since our truck bed's walls are lower we don't need such tall extra supports/spacers; 2) The rear most support sat right on the end of our bed and when we did any rugged uphill driving, the whole support fell off the back and our camper perched at a slightly odd tipped-back angle (hard to notice at first but definitely not right).
Now this would have been not so big a deal, except for the fact that our turnbuckles were problematic as well. Bill threw together 4 no-frills aluminum turnbuckles (I don't even thing they're a name brand) hooked to our camper and truck with seemingly random lengths of chain (some links sealed, others open and pinched together where they overlap. He assured me this system was every bit as good as the fancy spring loaded ones, and I, like a fool, believed him. We set off on a fairly modest jeep pass (rated green circle, or "easy" in the CO jeep roads book), and within half an hour or so of rugged driving all four turnbuckles were loosening up and snapping tight, regardless of how often we stopped to adjust. Sometimes they'd get so loose they'd unhook on one and and dangle free. One open chain link broke open completely and one of the tie down hooks straightened itself to a right angle, which would no longer hold. We had to limp into Leadville with a compression strap on one rear tie-down. Worse yet, the camper had shifted a few times and a few small dings will now need fixing.
One new turnbuckle and a bunch of quick links later we were back on the road, but nothing more than smooth graded dirt for the rest of the trip home to ABQ.
Our plan at this point is to fine tune the install ourselves by taking down some of the height on the spacers that sit on the truck bed, and moving the rearmost one forward so it sits squarely on the bed. We'll also be ordering some dedicated turnbuckles (torklift, I think - I'll be reviewing posts to see what people generally tend to like best, but will probably also ask for specific feedback from folks running Guanellas on short bed Dodges). I'd have thought/hoped Hallmark would have caught these things and sent us down the road with a better chance at success, but based on things I've read in this forum I must say this should have come as no surprise.
On a totally separate note, we noticed water leaking around the drain valve at the passenger's side rear, and took up floorboards to investigate the plumbing. Turned out somebody had poked a hole in a pressurized tube with a hose clamp just next to the rear drain spigot and it was leaking when the system was pressurized (mild water staining of plywood just next to the spigot hole, but everything seems structurally sound). We bought new tubing and installed it, but ended up having to replace a cascade of pieces of poorly installed tubing and connectors with the addition of a number of new hose clamps to finally get everything water tight.
Overall we love the camper, and are chalking our "issues" up to being totally green when it comes to campers, cutting corners on inspection, and putting too much faith in people we don't have reason to trust. We're thankful we haven't done irreparable damage to the camper yet, and are learning as we go along.
I would definitely recommend Hallmark campers (the new ones we saw in the shop were phenomenal, and even our used one which is showing signs of age is still an amazingly comfortable and solid rig which makes camping a joy). I'll be posting our adventures in modification somewhere soon. For now we're a day out of return to home (Albuquerque) where we'll be ordering parts and doing minor structural modifications for the next rough-road trial.
A few comments:
On the plus side, the Ward family is great. They were warm and welcoming, pulled out a big box of toys and let our toddlers totally take over their large waiting area, then spill over onto the actual factory floor. Our install date turned out to be Friday going into Labor day weekend, so we got invited to join them for their family/company barbecue. Even our dog ate well!
Bill looked over our camper to make sure there was no potentially disastrous structural issue before we finalized the deal. The seller was impatient and kept threatening to walk out and sell to any of another number of interested parties he claimed were ready to pay $1500 more than the price we'd agreed upon with him. We ended up paying an extra $500, which was painful but still a no-brainer since we'd taken 10 days off from work and driven up from Albuquerque to make the purchase.
The install seemed to go well at the time. Andy put in a bar across the front of the bed with tie down points and cone-shaped rubber bumpers to fine tune the camper's location against the front of the bed; He also installed tie down points on the sides of the rear bumper. It all looked good, but that's when things started going wrong (I know now in retrospect). The prior owner had installed the camper on a Ford F250 with higher side rails and a longer bed by a few inches. That meant that his camper had extra tall supports/spacers placed width-wise at intervals across the bottom of the camper (where it sits on the bed) to raise the camper and clear the side rails. This presented 2 issues which were not addressed at the time of the install: 1) Since our truck bed's walls are lower we don't need such tall extra supports/spacers; 2) The rear most support sat right on the end of our bed and when we did any rugged uphill driving, the whole support fell off the back and our camper perched at a slightly odd tipped-back angle (hard to notice at first but definitely not right).
Now this would have been not so big a deal, except for the fact that our turnbuckles were problematic as well. Bill threw together 4 no-frills aluminum turnbuckles (I don't even thing they're a name brand) hooked to our camper and truck with seemingly random lengths of chain (some links sealed, others open and pinched together where they overlap. He assured me this system was every bit as good as the fancy spring loaded ones, and I, like a fool, believed him. We set off on a fairly modest jeep pass (rated green circle, or "easy" in the CO jeep roads book), and within half an hour or so of rugged driving all four turnbuckles were loosening up and snapping tight, regardless of how often we stopped to adjust. Sometimes they'd get so loose they'd unhook on one and and dangle free. One open chain link broke open completely and one of the tie down hooks straightened itself to a right angle, which would no longer hold. We had to limp into Leadville with a compression strap on one rear tie-down. Worse yet, the camper had shifted a few times and a few small dings will now need fixing.
One new turnbuckle and a bunch of quick links later we were back on the road, but nothing more than smooth graded dirt for the rest of the trip home to ABQ.
Our plan at this point is to fine tune the install ourselves by taking down some of the height on the spacers that sit on the truck bed, and moving the rearmost one forward so it sits squarely on the bed. We'll also be ordering some dedicated turnbuckles (torklift, I think - I'll be reviewing posts to see what people generally tend to like best, but will probably also ask for specific feedback from folks running Guanellas on short bed Dodges). I'd have thought/hoped Hallmark would have caught these things and sent us down the road with a better chance at success, but based on things I've read in this forum I must say this should have come as no surprise.
On a totally separate note, we noticed water leaking around the drain valve at the passenger's side rear, and took up floorboards to investigate the plumbing. Turned out somebody had poked a hole in a pressurized tube with a hose clamp just next to the rear drain spigot and it was leaking when the system was pressurized (mild water staining of plywood just next to the spigot hole, but everything seems structurally sound). We bought new tubing and installed it, but ended up having to replace a cascade of pieces of poorly installed tubing and connectors with the addition of a number of new hose clamps to finally get everything water tight.
Overall we love the camper, and are chalking our "issues" up to being totally green when it comes to campers, cutting corners on inspection, and putting too much faith in people we don't have reason to trust. We're thankful we haven't done irreparable damage to the camper yet, and are learning as we go along.
I would definitely recommend Hallmark campers (the new ones we saw in the shop were phenomenal, and even our used one which is showing signs of age is still an amazingly comfortable and solid rig which makes camping a joy). I'll be posting our adventures in modification somewhere soon. For now we're a day out of return to home (Albuquerque) where we'll be ordering parts and doing minor structural modifications for the next rough-road trial.
The fact that Hallmark would install your camper in such a slipshod manner makes me wonder a lot about the rest of their stuff. What good is the best camper in the world if it falls off the back of your truck..... I have my doubts about them and am putting them at the bottom of my list which is aggravating as I really liked the look of the camper. If this were an isolated situation maybe not but have heard other things which make me wary..... Glad you like it and hope it serves you well 
DoGMAtix
Senior Member
To each his own, Happyjax. Despite the issues described above, I can't think of another camper we'd prefer given our needs and price point, and we did a lot of research. if you have different needs or resources I can see that you may prefer to go with another company. Regardless, just make sure you go into purchase as prepared as possible (hopefully a lot more than we did!) and try to learn from others' mistakes.
An adventure indeed, but sincere congrats on your new camper. Use the heck out of it and get out there and have fun.
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