Disappointing experience with Ft Knox Locks

[TheLexx]

Normally I'm not one to vent. But I'm a little miffed today. I ordered the King Pin lock from Ft Knox Locks. It seems to be a well made unit and should be very difficult to cut.

What's disappointing is the lock was shipped in a rather small box and poorly packaged with hardly anything to protect it from damage. So I guess the carrier must have thrown it around. When I opened up the box, one corner was dinged and the paint chipped off. I'm thinking it may rust as a result.

So I contacted the manufacturer by email and with a photo. I had not heard back so I called. Well, the man who answered (presumably the owner since he did not identify himself), stated he sent me back an email. I had already checked both my inbox and spam box and nope, no email was received.

He basically stated that "you're going to be throwing this thing around so it'll get dinged and chipped anyway". My reply was "no, I actually take great care of my things and I don't expect to chip it. Nevertheless, if I am the one who chips it, then it's on me. I did not expect to pay close to $150 to receive a damaged product."

He got very defensive and stated that shipping is expensive enough as it is, that it's packaged the way it is to save on shipping costs. He refused to send out a call tag to exchange the lock, only agreeing to refund my money if I ship it back to him.

Since I need a lock and I'm in a time crunch, I really have no choice but to just grin and bear it. But still, it's a rather disappointing experience. I still think the product is good. I'm just not happy with the response to the damaged product I received.

[TucsonJim]

Time to let social media do it's thing. Write lots of negative reviews. A few lost sales will certainly impact his profit margin more than paying for return shipping.

Jim

[perfpix]

Why do you think you need a lock before you use your 5th wheel? If you are that worried there a other things you can do, like locking a heavy cable through a set of wheels. I bought such a cable at Lowes for around $20 to lock bikes up with. Of course it wouldn't stop a determined thief, but one might move on if they had to cut a cable to steal the rig. Putting a set of x-chocks helps too, during a seminar on 5th wheel maintenance, the person giving the talk mentioned that they knew of an attempted theft at night of a 5th wheel that was stopped by the x-chocks. They pulled the 5th wheel about 3 feet leaving gouges in the grass as evidence, and then unlatched and took off. Of course they didn't know they x-chocks were in place and gave up.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Master-Lock...-Lock/50371776

John

[offtohavasu]

Why do you think you need a lock before you use your 5th wheel? If you are that worried there a other things you can do, like locking a heavy cable through a set of wheels. I bought such a cable at Lowes for around $20 to lock bikes up with. Of course it wouldn't stop a determined thief, but one might move on if they had to cut a cable to steal the rig. Putting a set of x-chocks helps too, during a seminar on 5th wheel maintenance, the person giving the talk mentioned that they knew of an attempted theft at night of a 5th wheel that was stopped by the x-chocks. They pulled the 5th wheel about 3 feet leaving gouges in the grass as evidence, and then unlatched and took off. Of course they didn't know they x-chocks were in place and gave up.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Master-Lock...-Lock/50371776

John

Doesn't matter what his reasoning is. He's conveying the poor customer service he received from Ft. Knox Locks to make sure buyer beware.

[perfpix]

Doesn't matter what his reasoning is. He's conveying the poor customer service he received from Ft. Knox Locks to make sure buyer beware.

Understood, but he won't send it back to get his money back because he "needs to use it". Just wondering why the need is so pressing. If I were he I'd get my money back and use a cheaper easier to get solution. Just my 2 cents.

John

[powerscol]

Depending on where he lives in this country he may well need it. Some places are not as safe as others. Perfpix - I like the idea of the cable - probably wont mark as much as a chain through the tires.

Lexx - I would be pissed too especially with the customer service you recieved. However from the pictures the weld under the paint does not look so hot, I was trying to figure out if it was powder coated or just enamel paint (their web page does not say). Is this one of those king pin locks?

Have a good one - Keith

[TheLexx]

It's a king pin lock. Based on the design it's pretty robust. Nothing is going to stop a professional thief. I just want some security. The cable lock through the wheels is an interesting idea. I already have the x-chocks but I'm not convinced that's enough.

I may end up sending this thing back. I'm just not happy that the owner had such a bad attitude about an dissatisfied customer who received damaged goods.

He did say that Krylon Sunset Yellow is a perfect match for the chipped paint.

[minnow101]

I was looking at those locks the other day myself. Looked pretty well made but they certainly are proud of them for the money they want. Apparently however not too proud to package it up properly for shipping. Almost ordered one.

Find the rattiest box you can, throw it in, insure it and send it back. Although you'll be out some cash for the postage, to me it's now a matter of principal. From reading his response to you, I guess the cost of bubble wrap must of gone thru the roof recently which is why he couldn't of placed a 12" x 12" around that lock.

Based on his reply to you, I'll be spending my money with someone else. Thanks for saving me some cash.

[gbkims]

I use the war-lok. I slip a bag over the greased kingpin then the lock, helps keep dust, dirt, water off between uses.

[J&G garage]

Sorry to here your vendor doesn't give a crud. I drove off with X-Chocks in place once. They just pop out on the ground. Don't count on them to stop a thief. For a king pin lock I use 12" of really good chain and quality pad lock. Cheap and effective. Chain gets pretty greasy though.