Now, sounds like good things may happen!!
Larry
Menart's has been great all along, I had no doubts that they'd sort this out. I sure don't want to see them go away, I've been able to flesh out my rolling stock a bunch since they started in the train business. 
It is refreshing to see responses so quickly. 
Dennis GS-4 N & W No. 611 posted:Bad news! Thanks for the post. Unfortunately I just ordered a couple other roadnames to run when playing with two young boys. The following truck is added free as a promotion to the purchase of some freight cars:
1:48 Union Pacific Box Truck
Model Number: 2793839 | Menards® SKU: 2793839
For $19.95 and a free truck, I thought it would be a wise purchase.
Thanks Gunrunner. I was notified this morning by Menard's that my order was successfully cancelled.
Soo Line posted:I for one am impressed with Menards response and correction of this issue.
So nice to see a train maker offer to make things right so quickly.
I'm expecting my first purchases (O buildings) and have bought with confidence.
Dave
Yes, and even more impressive given that model/toy trains are not even their primary business (far from it, in fact). It's nice to have them around.
Jim
I purchased a string of 8 Great Northern hoppers. The appearance is great! The price is unbelievable/unbeatable. But, I do have sparks fly going through some, not all, of my Gargraves turnouts. I was able to adjust the switch by gently bending various parts with a small screwdriver.
I did have my very first issue ever with a Menards car on a Ross switch.
All in all, there's just no way to beat this cars for the appearance and price; even if you do have to work on the a few track switches.
John C. posted:I purchased a string of 8 Great Northern hoppers. The appearance is great! The price is unbelievable/unbeatable. But, I do have sparks fly going through some, not all, of my Gargraves turnouts. I was able to adjust the switch by gently bending various parts with a small screwdriver.
I did have my very first issue ever with a Menards car on a Ross switch.
All in all, there's just no way to beat this cars for the appearance and price; even if you do have to work on the a few track switches.
Same issue with my one and only Menard's car - a boxcar. Fireworks every time it passed through my Ross switches/crossovers. There was no obvious solution so $25 later, I replaced the trucks with MTH trucks. No issues now but I'm not really interested in buying another one. Figure $20 for the car, $25 for the trucks, plus any shipping charges and I might as well go to my LHS and buy a MTH/Weaver/Lionel/Whatever car for the same price or a tad more and a lot less aggravation.
SJC posted:There was no obvious solution so $25 later, I replaced the trucks with MTH trucks. No issues now but I'm not really interested in buying another one. Figure $20 for the car, $25 for the trucks, plus any shipping charges and I might as well go to my LHS and buy a MTH/Weaver/Lionel/Whatever car for the same price or a tad more and a lot less aggravation.That's precisely why I cancelled my Menard's freight car order from yesterday. IMHO, when you are buying new, a great price is only a great value if the product looks and runs well.
I looked at my Menard's hoppers and they have an issue with the trucks as well. The plastic step ladder sticks down too far on one side and hits when the hopper car goes through a curved section of track.
Lee Fritz
Yep, I'm sure it's a standard design feature, I doubt different road names have a different design.
Just printed out a FEDEX Return Shipping Label that was provided by Menards Customer Service. 
It will be on it's way back to Menards tomorrow and a replacement hopper will be sent back to me (No Charge). I must say that Menards Customer Service is "Blue Ribbon" and "Top Shelf" 
BTW, I'm pretty sure that careful removal of the rivet holding the truck in place can be accomplished with a bit of "Precision Drilling" taking care NOT to create excessive heat which will destroy the plastic mounting plate. 
After which, the truck clearance can be increased with a small (thin) washer in between the truck and the plastic mounting plate. A small machine screw (or a small shoulder screw) and nut can be used to re-attach the original truck. 
Problem solved. Hey, some of you guys are willing to "Fix" $1000.00 locomotives that should NOT need to be fixed at that price, so, at the price Menards is charging maybe a little "kit bashing" could be in order. 
For the money, these are nice cars! Just sayin'
Chief Bob (Retired) 
If they had steel truck mounting plates, I'd undertake the fix at it would be quicker. However, spending the time to fix 18 hoppers is not in my schedule. It take some time to drill them all out, and no matter how careful you are, the plastic may be damaged. Then I have to come up with the proper sized hardware to mount the trucks after I get done drilling them out...
gunrunnerjohn posted:If they had steel truck mounting plates, I'd undertake the fix at it would be quicker. However, spending the time to fix 18 hoppers is not in my schedule. It take some time to drill them all out, and no matter how careful you are, the plastic may be damaged. Then I have to come up with the proper sized hardware to mount the trucks after I get done drilling them out...
Gunner,
Heck no, I'm not saying to fix 18 hoppers, and yes, it will be time consuming. 
However, for the guys, like me, that only purchased a few cars, it's not gonna be a problem. You are extremely busy with all of the stuff you're into. Me, I'm just retired lookin' for stuff to do (don't tell my wife I have nothing to do).
Chief Bob (Retired)
gunrunnerjohn posted:Yep, I'm sure it's a standard design feature, I doubt different road names have a different design.
I hope Menard's makes the appropriate fix over time. I would sure be willing to purchase their product if and when it regularly runs well out of the box. Personally, I'd rather spend the time working on the layout - or running trains - rather than repairing new items. Such repairs can be expensive, time-consuming and, oftentimes frustrating for some of us who prefer to have a repair shop work on many of our non-working trains. (I suspect that is one of the reason some brands have authorized repair stations, since many repairs are made out of warranty.) Unless you have the time, and the experience, making such repairs can become challenging.
I really like the way Mark stepped up and is looking to tell his partner's/manufacturers what the problem is and to work on a solution.. we NEED more of this in our hobby.
Yep, I sent him my list, I'm interested in getting the response.
E-UNIT-79 posted:I really like the way Mark stepped up and is looking to tell his partner's/manufacturers what the problem is and to work on a solution.. we NEED more of this in our hobby.
AGREED......I kinda feel we are piling on Menard's right now.........
But the fixes are easy for a manufacture to correct. Make the truck plate from metal or even a good engineering plastic like a nylon or delrin derived plastic that will not warp. (it may even just be a mold cooling issue) The to tight rivet is also very easy to fix DURING manufacturing. I'd have the wheel gauge double checked too.....another easy on for manufacture.
I only have box cars....found NO ISSUES with them. And the fact they are nicer than the WbB versions.....still a deal.
AMC Dave Posted:
"I only have box cars....found NO ISSUES with them. And the fact they are nicer than the WbB versions.....still a deal."
That's great to hear. I'll give them a try as they are very handsome.
No matter how cheaply priced the cars are, they are not a 'good deal' if they don't work, or need to be fixed to run correctly. Eighteen cars into it, it's hard to go back. Remember the jingle as it should be sung.
Get ripped off on quality at Menards...
Got a Pennsylvania NS hopper today. Looked great nice graphics ànd details. When I put it on the track one wheel was about 3/8 of an inch off the track. Did some exploring and found the wheels were not in the holes on inside of the truck. Pushed the axel in and tried to bend the outside of the trucks in a little. Also did some cutting on the steps to negotiate curves. Still not a bad deal for $19
Marty
I've already come to the conclusion that I'll probably have to lop off the steps. It's probably not that noticeable anyway.
