Big disappointment with Menard's hopper

I definitely do not want to pile on because Mernards is doing a great job overall.  But my one complaint is the same as what you are describing.  The loose wheels have a lot of trouble going through switches because there is way too much play.  Some of mine have the front trucks go straight and the back go into the turnout.  Not fun.  If they improved those wheel sets to much tighter tolerances all would be right.

Tom Blevins posted:

You get what you pay for!

Not always, I've paid top dollar for stuff and gotten junk anyway.  At least Menards stuff is attractively priced.  Most of their products have worked out well for me.

I think its interesting that the two cars use different era versions of the Morton Salt Girl. I don't have one, so I cannot comment on the truck issue.

I find the trucks on Menard's to be total junk. The way I see it:

$20 for the car

$10 for shipping and related "service charges" (whatever those are)

$20 for good MTH or Lionel trucks (I prefer MTH as they are easy to find locally). 

$5 for mounting hardware and associated aggravation for mounting the trucks (and also taking off the "air brake" detail on the bottom that gets hung up on tubular track)

------

$55 total for the car. I might as well go to my LHS, support a local, small business and get a car that needs no work out of the box. That is not to say I have no Menard's products. I've got a few boxcars and the Morton Salt Factory. All are terrific quality (after the car trucks were replaced) but I don't see the cost benefit unless it is a car I really want or can't get from some of the bigger guys. 

Just my $0.02.....

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Tom Blevins posted:

You get what you pay for!

Not always, I've paid top dollar for stuff and gotten junk anyway.  At least Menards stuff is attractively priced.  Most of their products have worked out well for me.

Can't really agree more. I've gotten plenty of top dollar paperweights....

I've placed several orders with them including a pack of the N&W heritage hoppers.  I've had similar truck issues.  But, they have stood behind their products and made it right.  I've never felt the need to reach out to Mark, the customer service department has always made it right for me.  

Some issues on the trucks are assembly issues and can be fixed and sometimes I've stripped parts off of broken ones to fix others to minimize the ones that need to be replaced.

I suggest Inspecting each car closely when you buy them and reach out ASAP when you find a problem.

You're right Michael, the buildings are really nice!  The 14" flatcars are also very nice and have high quality sprung trucks as well.

Yeah, that is the only thing I do not like about Menard's cars.    I don't think I've had a delivery where all axles are in their side frames.    It's easy enough to pop them back in, but you need to do some careful bending to tighten them up or you get running issues like the OP. Once adjusted they run fine.   Very annoying though.

There are four small screws holding on the side frames.

One of mine came with 2.  The other 2 were missing. 

I also had one with all four screws but 2 of the screws were stripped and loose.

This caused the assembly to wobble badly in both events.

I used JB weld to resecure the loose stripped screws and 2 new screws I had on hand for the 2 missing ones.

The trucks now are super solid and the repairs did not affect the cars in any  way.

Dave

I have other Menard's cars that I am very pleased with.  I don't have any buildings but I look forward to getting some.  This seems like some form of assembly error. I hope for a positive resolution. I will keep everyone informed of how this goes.

Hey if you can't tweek the trucks to make them perform properly you're probably in the wrong hobby.

wild mary posted:

Hey if you can't tweek the trucks to make them perform properly you're probably in the wrong hobby.

I know I can fix it. The point is I bought something that can't be used as sold because it can't make a turn. The product is defective.  

The new Menards container well cars had zip ties around the trucks holding the sideframes tightly together. When the ties are removed the trucks perform  with no flaws. I haven't bought any other Menards cars so I don't know if this zip tie thing is a first for them.

Maybe all the cars should have the trucks secured with zip ties from the factory?

Mark

Menards will take care of its customer's problems.  This is proven over and over again.  Top notch customer service for inexpensive trains.

I changed out trucks on flatcars as too modern for me, as are most of the cars, so haven't bought others.

I only have Menard's box cars so far.....every one was perfect.  I'm just lucky!!!  Truck swing on the hoppers was covered well when they first came out......IIRC someone came up with a easy fix.  Also all the buildings I have bought from Menard's have been GREAT too.

Yes, count me in. I have a good handful of Menard's box cars and some hoppers. Great stuff but the trucks issue hit me today. Just received a 4-pack of Western Pacific box cars and they look great. Unfortunately, two of the four have problems as described above.

Will give them another once over tomorrow to see if I can fix them. If not back they go.

I had 3 of 14 boxcars with truck issues which required Menards to be involved, they had me send them back and before I knew it the replacements were in hand. Based upon the whole timeline, they must have sent out the replacement before the returns even arrived to them. Outstanding service. Never any other issues with their cars or buildings, just one order of boxcars with any issue.

On the other hand when I have had issues with Lionel or MTH, the cobwebs will have grown in and the dust bowl blown through before anything is back from either service dept. 

I have found that some of the hoppers needed tweaking but overall all the items I have recieved have been great. The trucks and couplers on some items may need to be adjusted. 

Menards has done a great job making freight cars and buildings for us on a limited budget. Some may not be exactly scale and some are. You either choose to buy them or you don't. 

when I was into HO scale allot of us had the 3 foot rule. If you can't see the detail from that distance then it does not matter. 

I'm having fun with the Menards products and will continue to purchase what I like. I will also continue to buy products that fit my budget from the other mfgs also. 

E mail sent to customer service.  Another note - my army caboose did not light up, so dealing with that as well.  (Why isn't that gun swivel mounted?)

banjoflyer posted:

The new Menards container well cars had zip ties around the trucks holding the sideframes tightly together. When the ties are removed the trucks perform  with no flaws. I haven't bought any other Menards cars so I don't know if this zip tie thing is a first for them.

Maybe all the cars should have the trucks secured with zip ties from the factory?

Mark

This car had zip ties around the trucks.

SJC posted:

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Tom Blevins posted:

You get what you pay for!

Not always, I've paid top dollar for stuff and gotten junk anyway.  At least Menards stuff is attractively priced.  Most of their products have worked out well for me.

Can't really agree more. I've gotten plenty of top dollar paperweights....

I definitely agree!  Sometimes you pay top dollar and you "should" get what you pay for. I have not had many issues with Menards rolling stock but they have exelent customer service and they'll make it right. 

Tom Blevins posted:

You get what you pay for!

Yeah I pay 29.99 and I get a flatcar with a leopard Tank that hasn't have any issues. You can fix all the problems with the cars for a certain extent. MTH and Lionel wouldn't send you a replacement traincar if it wasn't working right. They would send replacement parts and hope that the right parts came and want you to fix it yourself. 

jhz563 posted:

E mail sent to customer service.  Another note - my army caboose did not light up, so dealing with that as well.  (Why isn't that gun swivel mounted?)

jhz563,

I'm sure you will hear back today from Customer Service. We will make sure you get replacements for the defective items. Sorry for the frustration!

-Mark the Menards Train Guy

One of the interesting aspects of having Menards in the hobby is that the firm operates according to principles of modern retail.  In this context, that means that the customer is generally correct (unless manifestly unreasonable), and that the retailer wants to make it right so as to not jeopardize future sales.  Moreover, the retailer has the financial ability to swap out the products without fuss.

It must be me, but I can't see why to complain about something that you know you're going to call Menards and get a replacement. All it does in my view is get a dislike/like war going. reread this whole thread and it is basically what you have. 

Yes they have problems, do they stand behind there products ? Yes

Does MTH, Lionel, Atlas or any of the others. Not as well from what I have seen. 

Yes most of the items are not scale, but if scale is that important to you go buy your cars from any of the above mention along with at least 3 others who will charge you at least double if your lucky, if not more and I'm hearing about problems with those cars also. 

jay jay posted:

I think its interesting that the two cars use different era versions of the Morton Salt Girl. I don't have one, so I cannot comment on the truck issue.

John one is Lionel and the other is Menards, two different companies taking the version they like better

rtraincollector posted:

It must be me, but I can't see why to complain about something that you know you're going to call Menards and get a replacement. All it does in my view is get a dislike/like war going. reread this whole thread and it is basically what you have. 

 

The point is that this is simply a discussion forum, a place where folks with similar interests can share their experiences.  Yes, I intend to get the problem resolved.  I also intended to start out a fun thread about the comparison between the current Menard's offering and the decades old Lionel offering.  When I opened the box and saw the truck assembly problems I was disappointed, especially because I don't remember anyone mentioning a problem with the truck assemblies during the first run of these cars.

I love the ogr forum as a place to learn, discuss, compare notes, and yes occasionally lament things.  Other than the price tag I see no conceptual difference between complaining about a brand piece of rolling stock not working or a premier/vision line loco that left someone disappointed.  I also intend to post how the situation is handled so that this topic comes full circle.  

This is a great hobby.  I am confident Menard's will make this right.  I am also confident that Menard's will make this right at a faster pace then a similar problem would be corrected by the some of the traditional toy train manufacturers.  In fact if it were not for this forum, I probably wouldn't even know about Menards O gauge offerings because I don't live in one of the regions served by the Brick and Mortar locations.

JHZ, the problems you have with the truck itself are one issue. The other issue is the steps (or stirrups as they are actually called) coming down from the platform that the truck is attached to.

Lionel used sheet metal for this assembly, so if there was a problem with the swinging of the trucks, the stirrups on the Lionel cars can be gently bent outward a little bit to allow clearance of the truck.

The stirrups on the Menards car appear (correct me if I'm wrong) appear to be molded plastic as part of the platform itself. From your photos, they are also thicker than the sheet metal Lionel steps. So you may have the same identical clearance problem with a replacement car or parts.

It appears to be a design flaw with the Menards platform on these cars. The stirrups need to be molded with a slight bend outward to avoid these clearance issues. It is also possible that when Menards vendor developed this car, that the other Menards plastic truck used on some of their rolling stock cleared the stirrups, while this newer die cast truck does not.

You could try heating up the steps using a blow dryer, and then slowly bend them outward a little bit. That's what I would try to do. Or you could cut off the steps, which would certainly then allow truck clearance.

The sheet metal steps on the Lionel cars are not without liability either. I've purchased used cars with the sheet metal steps that were bent either too far inward or outward. When I attempted to bend them gently to the right clearance, they broke off.

Just for an added bit of info, there's also variation in the trucks themselves. I've replaced the Symington Lionel trucks with the late postwar plastic Lionel trucks. The Symington trucks cleared a stirrup while the PW Lionel plastic truck did not without some adjustment to the stirrup.

Received notification that a return shipping address label is coming to me.  Recieved this response the same day I notified them of the problem.

I have the Menards Morton salt hopper from the first issue when I purchased the Morton salt building.It will go through 072 and 042 curves with no problems and the couplers work nicely.I have not seen any of the second issue so I can't comment on them.I did purchase some Menards box cars that the trucks needed some tweeking.

Hopefully, Menard's can get this truck issue corrected as they go forward. I thought they had it corrected, but I guess not.  

Michael Hokkanen posted:

I think Menards forte is their buildings.

Yes and no. Some people have had issues with buildings too. The cars is 75% problem free now with a different way of securing the cars in the packaging.

banjoflyer posted:

The new Menards container well cars had zip ties around the trucks holding the sideframes tightly together. When the ties are removed the trucks perform  with no flaws. I haven't bought any other Menards cars so I don't know if this zip tie thing is a first for them.

Maybe all the cars should have the trucks secured with zip ties from the factory?

Mark

The newer releases are coming in with the zip ties.  The older stock still ships sans zip ties.  i just got an order two weeks ago - the UP box cars and Morton Salt cars had zips. The Suzie and NP box cars didn't; about half had the wheelsets falling out.

Brendan

My issue is with the title of this thread, "Big disappointment with Menard's hopper."  Yes, it gets attention but it is not at all fair to Menard's.  It may be technically accurate (the customer was disappointed) but the impression it leaves does not take into account that Menard's  is doing what it takes to make the customer happy.   As a title or headline, it is negatively misleading, and it may be all that many people see. 

I think now that the OP is being taken care of by Menards he should as Rich or someone in management to have this post deleted! Menards is doing what they do best and taking care of the costumer!

mike g. posted:

I think now that the OP is being taken care of by Menards he should as Rich or someone in management to have this post deleted! Menards is doing what they do best and taking care of the costumer!

On the contrary as the OP I intend to keep this thread open so i can let everyone know how the situation is resolved.  I think it is only fair to let everyone know how things are handled.  That being said, I received my shipping label and will be boxing things up to return today.  I look forward to changing the title of my post when things are resolved.  

Well...I am going to close this thread because it appears that Menards is doing exactly as they have said they will do...back up their products by taking care of the customer and doing so by replying right here on this thread....as well as ACTIVELY supporting the forum through their other threads.

To the OP.  You can start another thread about how your problem was taken care of by Menards.  This thread had gone past just talking about the particular problem you are having and has as usual evolved into a complaining session.  The admins did some editing to pull it back into the topic. 

Sure wish we could get folks to start more threads about what they like instead of what they don't like...would be a much more positive way to convey to manufacturers and hobbyists.

Alan