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my VAN AMBURG ENT experience

I feel your pain..
Tunnels can be tricky... not for a faint at heart... even the factory ones are challenging to get just right... so don't be put off... take a breath and look at it... figure some serious time to chagne it out... especially if you have never done it before.

I've had nothing but good interactions with VE and Mike personally.... Good products too.

I don't understand your post however...Did you install the tunnel yet??

When did you receive the tunnel and when did you discover that you your stock parts are destroyed?

To be fair... did you only try to contact Mike today or has this lasted longer? Not really fair to blame the damaged parts on Mike, the VE tunnels are and have always been sold as replacement tunnels and not tunnel repair kits.

I'm pretty sure that the replacement tunnels from Polaris do not include your damaged part either.

Can you post some photos? Lots of people on here that may be able to help you out.

Some shops work four 10's and take off friday... Don't fret... I'm sure he'll get back with you.

The WPS price...are you sure that is current?? The printed prices on tunnels etc can change, there is a disclaimer in the catalog on that... or do you get a discount??

Contact Snowdawg on here... He's done it... If you are polite and ask for help...You can usually find someone on here that has "been there, done that".

Good luck.

BTW... Do you have the proper adhesives and prep supplies to re-bond the parts removed like the chaincase? A pneumatic/hydraulic rivet gun?




.
 
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Let me reiterate a little bit.. I'm also not here to bash Mike or speak ill of anyone. Just a little bit irritated that I pay more for a better product, which i know has better cooling and is certainly made better ( We all know that to be a fact), and not receive the necessary parts to throw my tunnel on.

I know that the Pro Tunnels do in fact come with this bracket, and are not available for individual purchase, because I worked the parts counter at a Polaris dealership last year. I double checked again this week and they are not sold individually :(.

I understand that a tunnel project is not for the faint of heart lol, It's a pain..and I knew that going in, I just figured that Mike would know a little bit more about what comes on a stock pro tunnel. I'm sure he's busy and i understand how that goes, we all go through it.. i've just been reading alot of ill repute on the forums about his customer service lately.

I mean let's be honest.... if you paid that much for a tunnel kit, wouldn't you expect that it had all the necessary parts? After all , it is sold on his website as a KIT.

I have a pneumatic riveter and the glue.. on another note, when i initially spoke to mike, he stated that the glue was unnecessary, and said polaris really had no reason to put it on. Luckily i have a belt drive so i don't have to deal with the chaincase.


http://picturepush.com/public/12369423

Here is an image of my problem, It's bent a good inch inward where the red circle is, and the lines in the bracket show where it's cracked in half



Once again, sorry for getting upset about the issue, it's just very frustrating to be off the snow, and have a tunnel you can't put on because you don't have a part to mount it! Not riding SUCKS!

Thanks for your help mountainhorse!
 
Take the old one down to a metal shop and have them make you a new one with just the necessary rivet holes and drive axle holes in it. I have made a set for my VEI tunnel. They are also part of the stock bulkhead seperate from the tunnel is why Mike won't include them.
 
Must be lucky...

I feel for those that have had bad experiences with VE. I had a custom hillclimb tunnel and u-cooler made for my last M-series cat. Other then it taking longer then anticipated, the quality was first rate, and the only cutouts in the tunnel were for the diamond drive... So, it did take a bit of fabrication and a lot of measuring to install the tunnel - this is where you had better be capable with tools and measuring equipment. There is always two sides to every story, although I'm not doubting yours...
 
Still waiting

It's Tuesday and I have not gotten a response or callback from mike. I've been to his shop, I know that his wife answers the phone, it's a pretty large operation there, not just much of a ma and pa shop anymore. The fact that I haven't got a phone call back is quite disconcerting. At this point, it's just neglect and poor customer service, no way around it. I've had the tunnel for 3 weeks now.

Will most likely never buy a Van Amburg product ever again, which is sad to say. But I won't buy from a company who won't even answer the phone when an issue needs to be resolved.

If I could, I would gladly return the tunnel, and get a stock one with other reinforcements.. But their return policy is pretty much cut and dry, they don't do them.

Sorry to say that Van Amburg Enterprises lost another customer today.
 
Snodawg said:
I do know that VEI does not visit forums. They have seen to many other companies go backwards by doing so. Often times it is a no win situation. Just sayin'...not defending.
Click to expand...

This post is not a dig against u snowdawg at all, just to be clear. I have appreciated your level headed comments.

I do however find it interesting, not surprised though, that mike is too busy to see what his customers feedback is, positive or negative. & by doing so he makes the money then leaves it to guys like MH(thx for all your input), to try to give support to those that need help.

I understand your point snowdawg, if your working with any irrational customer, you can't make everyone happy - but I think people can see that & see that you made some kind of effort. And that is a positive end result. So I understand your point but respectfully disagree with mikes choice to ignore.

If someone is unhappy with me & my business, I want to know.


That pretty much sums up VEI for me. It's Mike's way or no way. Their business model is to sell product, not establish long term clients. Don't expect more than that & you will be happy with them. I wish them the best of luck.
 
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1racer said:
Take the old one down to a metal shop and have them make you a new one with just the necessary rivet holes and drive axle holes in it. I have made a set for my VEI tunnel. They are also part of the stock bulkhead seperate from the tunnel is why Mike won't include them.
Click to expand...

It's not considered part of the bulkhead, it's considered part of the tunnel. It's MACHINE riveted into the tunnel. Look at the parts diagram for the Pro's. . All things aside, I just paid MORE for a product. Why would I take it to a fab shop and have them fab one up half ***? Point being, Mike Is selling it as a tunnel KIT, as it should be.

By the Polaris diagrams, I spent 1,400 dollars more for half a tunnel. Thanks Mike Van Amburg.
 
Hope in VEI again.

Just got a message from Mike's son. Said they will pay for shipping and CNC machine a brand new bracket provided i send him the old part. Don't know if he was reading the forum or just decided to make it right. Very appreciative of the decision, and If all goes well, I retract my last statement that I won't use VEI again. Regardless of what was said, He's attempting to make it right, even with the lapse in time and poor communication, and I am very grateful for that.

Will keep you all posted on the outcome!

Thanks for all the support and sorry for the frustration.
 
You also can't buy the tunnel from polaris without the bulkhead is he supposed to include that to? I have installed many tunnels over the years and there are always parts that you have to reuse and or replace.
 
I had a bad experience with the VE shop a few years back. One of the gals in the office was just plain nasty. I am self employed and would never treat customers like that because they wont come back.
 
Never again

1racer said:
You also can't buy the tunnel from polaris without the bulkhead is he supposed to include that to? I have installed many tunnels over the years and there are always parts that you have to reuse and or replace.
Click to expand...

Yes you can buy the bulkhead without the tunnel.. I know because I've put them on before. Part Numbers are 1018520 and 1018520.. you glue them together. Just so everyone's up to date on my van amburg experience, my VEI boards BOTH broke over the course of my first two weeks of riding this season. The powdercoat is peeling like no other and it looks like crap, and to top it off, i've had to fix 2 coolant leaks on the tunnel at the beads! Very disappointed in this whole entire process and would never ever recommend that anyone deal with these guys again. The funny part about the whole situation is that I work in the snowmobile industry year round. Definitely not worth buying anything from them IMO.
 
Wow. Your experience is like sending a $30 steak back because it's undercooked. Then they send you a new a steak doused with salt. Only difference is that this was a $2600 steak.
No vanemburg business in my future.
 
Well they've been around a while and sometimes after a company enjoys some success and growth they the typical original owner has the opportunity to off load some of his duties onto someone else, employee or family member. Quite often that new person isn't of the same mindset or philosophy when it comes to customer satisfaction or believe now they're big, they're above all that.
Not good, but happens a lot, and if it's a family member it puts the founder in a tough spot.
 
Slick said:
Well they've been around a while and sometimes after a company enjoys some success and growth they the typical original owner has the opportunity to off load some of his duties onto someone else, employee or family member. Quite often that new person isn't of the same mindset or philosophy when it comes to customer satisfaction or believe now they're big, they're above all that.
Not good, but happens a lot, and if it's a family member it puts the founder in a tough spot.
Click to expand...

Curious if you know this, as in a family member took over operations at the VE shop, or are you just speculating why he had such poor customer relations?
Would make some sense, but curious if there is any merit to your comment?
 
I would like to say, I had a great experience with VE back in 2010. Ordered a Boondocker tunnel.
They built it in the projected time, they powdercoated it in a gloss color that was suppose to be Matte.
I caught it before it shipped, they stripped it and re-coated it.
other that the powdercoating chipping more that what I felt was acceptable I was 100% satisfied with there product and customer support.
That was 4 years ago, though!
 
As far as I know mike and his wife are still in charge. He seams to be a great guy to me. I have never done business with him but I know him personally.


Ridin da Yamacat
 
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