Complaint Review: A C Fabricating Macon Georgia

I first contacted Bruce Everett at American Custom on 15 Mar 2013 after seeing his trailer on EBAY. I explained to him that I was leaving for Alaska on July 1st and wanted to know how long it would take to get a trailer. I explained to him that I needed to save a few bucks before I ordered. We also talked about the shipping cost. Flat rate was $189.00 and he told me it would be very close to that. He told me it would only take 3 weeks from the day I ordered to get to me. The shop was going to be closed down for a couple of days anyway because of Daytona bike week. On April 4th I ordered the trailer and at that time I paid $1638.00. On May 1st I called Bruce for an update. He told me he was waiting on tires and it would be at least 1 more week. I asked him if I could add to my order. I paid for the bars on the lid, Interior LED Light and marker lights. I told him that I would install them if it held up the shipping. his reply was “it wont really slow anything down --- I would rather do it for you. Thanks --- Bruce”. For the add on’s I paid another $267.00.

On 15 May I sent him an email asking about shipping status, his reply “Hey Jon --- I will give you a pro # and when you track it it will show exactly where its coming in.   Bruce”. On 23 May it was shipped. I still didn’t get a pro number. After that he wouldn’t take my calls or answer my email’s until the 3rd of June. Thats when he sent me this email “Hey buddy -- been moving the shop into a new better place thour unit is coming VIA southeastern freight to Auburn. OD had freight restrictions to Seattle and would not take it at this time without a surcharge of $ 150.00  ---  happens sometimes. Cookie will be charging to your card whatever additional freight charge there is -- you can see where your trailer is by calling Southeastern Freight toll free (800) 637-XXXX and referencing your last name or just wait till they call  Bruce”.

On the 4th of June I picked up my trailer in Burlington, Wa. I didn’t find any damage and left it rapped up on the pallet to get it home. As I was taking the plastic off I noticed the marker lights were not installed. When I opened the lid I noticed the interior light was not installed. The bars on top were there. I clled Bruce and he blamed Cookie, said she didn’t write it up right. He said he would put them in the mail that day. I noticed that night that there was no VIN anywhere on the trailer. I called and asked Bruce about it and he told me I just needed to use the invoice and shipping paper work to get it licensed. That is not so easy in Wa. Here we need to have any new/home built trailer inspected by Wa state patrol. I was able to get an appointment on the 27th of June. The state patrol Officer was a little confused at first. On the invoice there are 3 different companies listed, American Custom Trailers, Florida Marine AV, inc and American Custom Fabricating. They did decide to give me a Vin# and a plate for $268.00. 27 June still no lights... I went to Auto Zone and bought lights. 29 June marker lights showed up. To this day I have not received the interior light. I had never towed a trailer with a bike before, thats why I ordered it 3 months early. I got 3 days to practice.

On 01 July we started our trip to Alaska. On 5 July we hit our first rain storm. That is when I figured out that the sides of the box are 1/4” taller than the front and back sides. 1/8” foam does not seal with that gap. We also figured out the pins for the latches were not installed correctly. Went to Walmart and replaced the seal. Fast forward to July 23rd. I was 36 mille out of Glenallen, AK and 4500 miles into my trip when the axel broke for the first time. I heard a loud pop, the tire rubbing and then it blew. It took about 8 hours and $380.00 to fix, glad I got AAA before I left home. The welder that fixed was one of the few qualified to weld on the big oil pipeline. I asked him why he thought it broke and his answer was “when you build something cheep it will brake”. The axel should not have been made out of such thin walled tube. We also noticed that the leaf springs were not installed correctly. If you have looked at one of these trailers there is a forward and an aft mounting bracket for each leaf spring. The head on the very aft mounting bolt for the aft bracket was rubbed away on both leaf springs. There is a big gouge from the chaffing in each leaf spring also. I called Bruce and asked him if he would honor his warranty. On the invoice it states “Guarantee — For 2 years , if you can break it under normal circumstances ...we will fix it …….. Period ! He had me send him a copy of the bill and assured me he would take care of it. He told me he was going to have some experts/engineers look at the pictures and figure out what happened. We did inspect the rest of the axel before it was re-installed and didn’t see any more damage.

That night we headed for Tok, AK and the next day for Haines, Ak. We made it into Canada and were 11 miles from the customs check point when the other side of the axel broke. I was fast enough this time to save the tire. I got it moved to a shop in Beaver Creek, YT. The guy that welded it this time wasn’t very good and didn’t get it straight. Good thing he only charged me $50.00. next day I called Bruce and let him know the great news. To his credit he did say that if I could stay in one place for a few days he could ship me a new axel. I had to be home by the 31st. A couple of days later I had a friend in Skagway, AK weld angle iron all the way around the axel. I tried to call Bruce several times, but he wouldn’t answer or call me back. The trailer didn’t pull the same, but I made it home on July 31st. I left Bruce a message letting him know that I made it and he called me right back. He said he needed to talk to his brothers but that he would make it better then right. (Bruce does not have any brothers) He promised to send me a new axel, new leaf springs with mounting brackets and hardware, new tires and that d**n interior light.

Here it is over 2 weeks later and he will not call me back. No status on parts and he has blocked my cell phone number. So here I sit with a trailer that I have $2753.00 invested in that I can’t do anything with. Thank you Bruce M. Everett! Bruce did call me tonight acting like he was sick. Nothing was ever shipped and he is not going to help me out. He told me to do what ever I want and then he hung up on me. I did talk to his competitor and they are willing to build me a new axel and send me the correct leaf springs. I did notice on another post against Bruce where a guy named Hal replied and said “Seems like your asking a really cheap shot at an American business. Funny you will smear Bruces name throughout your " report " but you are only listed as " Greg C "     Comment by  -- Viet Nam Vet Hal Brook. Well, Hal I too am a Vet. I served this great Country for 26 years and am a 100% service connected disabled Veteran. Bruce Everett has this reputation because that is the kind of American he is. I wouldn’t expect company in America to treat their customers this way, and he has the gall to name his company (or one of the names) American Custom.... I do have videos and pictures of everything I talked about. You will be able to see a video on youtube named motorcycle trailer as seen on ebay by Bruce soon.. Jon AMCS (AW) USN Retited