Double AA Sleeper

charlee

Seasoned Expediter
FYI...Double AA sleeper has been sold.....what does this mean? Well my first experience so far has been that the "new" owner cares far less about customer service and satisfaction than the previous owner did. We had an issue with a 07 96" sleeper that blew an inverter....Bentz warranties the inverters for 36 months, AA for just 12 months, now they want to charge 600$ for a XANTRAX inverter (12 month warranty) A Cobra is just 250$ and it even has a 24 month warranty. I had Freightliner change out 2 batteries and had no inverter problems before...went back to freightliner and they said "inverter is fried" and double aa says freightliner fried it.....if it were my bentz sleepers it would be covered period. When I told him that in the future my trucks would have bentz sleepers he told me not to bother sending in the invoice for a WARRANTIED VAVLE in the sleeper because if I was not going to buy AA sleepers then he was not going to honor his warranty. Bentz it is from now on....just a word of warning . I know that previously I could take a sleeper into double aa that was way out of warranty and he would do what he could to fix the problem, and keep charges minimal because he knew we would be buying new sleepers. I did not even know that the company was sold until this experience...I guess it just happened the beginning of the year.
 

Lawrence

Founder
Staff member
DD,

I flicked my monitor - I thought I had a bug on it. It's your Avatar - - that is too funny!!!
 

charlee

Seasoned Expediter
rofl.....i love the bug. Yeah after I said "excuse me? you are NOT going to cover a warranty issue now because I question your quality when I can spend the same amount on a Bentz sleeper and not have any worries? " Then he said to fax him the invoice AGAIN. I do not have the time to fight with vendors, especially when the issue is borderline at best quality. I will let my dollars do the talking.
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
That bug's not so great. He was no match for Winchester Silvertip. That could be a good option for the cast off pieces from the sleeper too. It's very soothing.
 

dieseldiva

Veteran Expediter
That bug's not so great. He was no match for Winchester Silvertip. That could be a good option for the cast off pieces from the sleeper too. It's very soothing.

I hear that worked wonders for Elvis back in the day!!;)
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
lol....then i would probably end up with stitches and no tweezers to take them out!

Tweezers are not such a biggie. It's when it's on top of your shoulder so you can only sort of reach with your off hand. No need for stitches anyway unless using a 1911 design with a very small beavertail and too high grip.
 

charlee

Seasoned Expediter
How to screw over your customers 101 by Double AA.


Use low quality componants with inferior warranties.

Charge almost double what the component costs to replace it.

Xantrex pro plus 3000 watt inverter:

FRYS.com | Inverters

Xantrex Xpower-3000 : Power Inverters / Batteries And Cases



Larry ( the previous owner) I am certain would have taken care of this issue. We were told at the shop that this inverter has been a problem to them. The new owner thinks that a 64% markup is ok......The only reason that I am even putting a xantrex back into the truck is for convenience of the drivers since they are there at the shop and do not know how to install an inverter. So why would a company that has made its money off the backs of expediters turn the screws a little bit more by such a huge markup of replacement parts?


-charlee
 

dieseldiva

Veteran Expediter
How to screw over your customers 101 by Double AA.


Use low quality componants with inferior warranties.

Charge almost double what the component costs to replace it.




-charlee

Forgot one: When in doubt, contact another (rhymes with junk) unscrupulous sleeper maker for advice!
 

Tennesseahawk

Veteran Expediter
Well... I've heard gripes on all three big sleepers: AB, AA, and Bentz. What I'm getting from it is an integral sleeper is the way to go.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Because I may never buy a custom sleeper from two of the three companies mentioned (mainly because of what I am experiencing right now in NC), so I am wondering what the big deal is... the manufacture of the product is the one who really warrantees the inverter, not the jobber (custom builder).

I would venture to guess, and this is only being speculative, that the jobber is not getting involved because 1- it is an electrical item, 2 – that there was work done to the truck. I would also think that the manufacture would be the one who would actually make a determination whether the thing is burned out by the batteries being replaced (doubt that) or because of other issues.

I have one of these inverters I will be putting into my new truck, Freedom Marine 30. It came out of a boat, the owner gave up on the electrical system (he was a wantabe electrician) but was replaced three times by Xantrax because of a ventilation issue. It has a 30 month warrantee, which has not been activated yet.

So the question is, did you contact Xantrax about the problem?
 

charlee

Seasoned Expediter
My issue is that of all the componants that are being used to build substantially expensive sleepers, Double AA chooses to use the most inferior products out there, with terrible warranties and then charge DOUBLE the price of the unit to replace it. If I am spending the same 117,000 on a truck, it will come with a bentz sleeper, that does not skimp on the componants and also does not provide a 67% markup when you do have to replace something.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
My issue is that of all the componants that are being used to build substantially expensive sleepers, Double AA chooses to use the most inferior products out there, with terrible warranties and then charge DOUBLE the price of the unit to replace it. If I am spending the same 117,000 on a truck, it will come with a bentz sleeper, that does not skimp on the componants and also does not provide a 67% markup when you do have to replace something.

I understand where you are coming from but my point is that if you know about who manufactured the unit, then what was the problem of contacting them directly?

I don't get the warranty thing at all but again, I think Bentz has very poor customer service (they have yet to answer my questions and have not returned my phone calls from when ever) and the unit I have on my truck needs a bunch of work done to it and I find some of the manufacturing quality very very poor. I took it upon myself to fix what needs to be fixed, improve the unit and modify it to fit a standard that it should have been in the first place.

Jim, yes I want to upgrade - I have been planning on something like this for more than a year and want to go to an Argosy. The other day, thanks to that COE thread, I got my tape measure out, knocked on the door of one sitting near me and took more measurements to make sure I was not losing my mind. I also called Freightliner and was in a panic because my intentions are to do what some of the escapees have done with their Volvo's - extend the sleeper 20 to 30 inches. Since someone said I was wrong in the thread, all the planning went right out the door but now looks like it will work.
 

Tennesseahawk

Veteran Expediter
What did they say about extending the sleeper?

I thought of that same thing tonight... gee willicurs it would be nice to have an 84" sleeper in an Argosy. Squeeze a 26-28' box on there, and you'll still outload the cookie cutters. After everything is said and done, you're probably looking at $130-150k. Not bad, IMO, for a work horse that'll last a good 10-15 yrs. I want one! Anyone know tomorrow's powerball #s?
 

jay shipley

Seasoned Expediter
I am really sorry to hear that Larry sold out. Nice to know that there won't be any warranties left with the new owners. I know we won't be buying anymore AA sleepers if that is the case. Good-bye, Larry....you were fair to drivers, and we will miss you. Sad to think that someone who treated us right is gone. :(
 

jay shipley

Seasoned Expediter
Really sorry to hear that Larry isn't in the sleeper business anymore. If the new owners can't deal with problems rising from their product, then guess our money can go elsewhere. Our inverter went bad on us, and we called Larry. He told us that, the next time we were in the area, to stop in and he would take care of it. We didn't get there right away, but, when we did....he got his people on it right away, plus they put the remote, up in the cab, so we no longer had to raise the bunk to turn it off. He also repaired some small items that were wrong, AND filled our water tank with good water before we left.....all at NO charge! Guess the new owner is only after the cash, which will most likely dwindle anyway, due to his attitude towards our industry. Good-bye, Larry. Sad to see good people disappear. :(
 
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