Bennington Quality

[nvhguy52]

Let me start by saying we "Love" our Bennington. It's a 2011 2075 GLI. We decided to spend the extra money on a Bennington vs other brands with the belief it would be the last boat we would need to buy before heading into retirement. Sadly, I have run across some quality issues that make me question our purchase and what the future will hold as far as it holding up long term.

Since "Bennington" is supposed to be synonomous with "quality", I am compelled to write about this. It has to do (partly) with the location of a plug that is used to pressure check a chamber in the pontoon. One of mine (plug to pressure check the pontoon chamber) is located directly under a crossmember rendering it completely useless. The issue is less about the uselessness of plug and more about how it was overlooked in the first place. I found it when I was underneath the boat cleaning the pontoons before winter and fixing a few "oops'" regarding the rigging of misc cables/ fuel lines/ and such by my Dealer. I'll take that up with him in the Spring.

Another issue is a lump in the seatback of my rear bench. It's about the size of a small hand's fist. My Dealer took pictures and was going to contact Bennington about it. That was early August of this past summer (2012) and I haven't heard from my Dealer or Bennington. Still wondering about that one.

So how does such a high quality manufacturer such as Bennington let something like this slip by? And, what other things escape the scrutiny of those whose responsibility it is to ensure the highest standards of quality are maintained? In the "Big Picture" the problems are relatively small yet, this was no "cheap boat". The cost of the boat was high enough that our expectations haven't been met and, short of selling it, face the prospect of having to live with it forever.

Hopefully someone reading this can provide a name, phone number, or other contact info that will eventually lead to a satisfactory conclusion before I get the "Your Warranty has Expired" speech.

Happy Boating to all. Have a safe winter and dream about getting the boat "Wet" again in Spring. I know I will.

 

[SEMPERFI8387]

Hello,

Congrats on owning what I consider the best brand out there. On that note, I will give my 2 cents.

1. The pressure bung should be a non-issue as it is really only for Bennington (or your dealers) use. In no way do I think they intend for owners to be testing their toon pressure, and quite possibly, that may be the reason it's placed where it is. It's possible they designed it that way to discourage "novices" from blowing their toon apart.

2. The seat sounds like a warranty issue, BUT, this should be addressed again with the dealer. Did you call them and question why you have not received a response. Bennington does not typically deal direct with owners, that's what dealers are for. With that said, it's possible, Team TB may chime in here to get your dealer info so they can possibly follow up with them. If it were me, I'd be calling the dealer weekly to find out what's going on.

Trust me, I had some quality issues initially with Bennington, but after looking CLOSELY at the competition, the difference in quality was HUGE !!

Remember, you do have 5 years bow to stern to have issues addressed. I know what you mean about the warranty expiration, but you have plenty of time yet to address it,

and now is the time for your dealer to step up over the winter months and get it fixed.

Smitty

 

[BulldogsCadillac]

Here is a link where TB talks about "pressure in toons"



As for the seat issue, get on your dealer! Bennington is a top quality company, so if you have these couple minor issues with their boat, imagine the problems with those other manufacturers!! Haha

Oh one more thing, the quality of a company is not only measured in the product they put out, but in how they stand behind it and resolve any issues. Before you think bad thoughts about them, give them the opportunity to remedy the situation.

Derrick

 

[floves]

I won’t add much because I feel that Semper response was right on with both issues. All I can say is that I am thoroughly impressed with Bennington standards and quality. I was at the Bennington plant yesterday as I was bringing my boat there to have the ESP package added. I was given a personal tour of the factory by someone that has been with the company from the beginning.

Very informative and I was thoroughly impressed with Bennington. I have over twenty years in manufacturing and have seen many operations, Bennington is first class. The tubes are fabricated on the premises and as soon as it completely manufactured, they have someone test the pressure and also have someone that checks for leaks on all the welds. If anything is found to be incorrect, it immediately goes back to someone 10 yards away and is fixed. I’m on my second Bennington in two years and have only had a few small issues that most likely happen in transport or while at the dealer. I plan on buying my third in a few years. Now go call that dealer again for the seat problem. Happy boating!!

 

[nvhguy52]

Hello,

Congrats on owning what I consider the best brand out there. On that note, I will give my 2 cents.

1. The pressure bung should be a non-issue as it is really only for Bennington (or your dealers) use. In no way do I think they intend for owners to be testing their toon pressure, and quite possibly, that may be the reason it's placed where it is. It's possible they designed it that way to discourage "novices" from blowing their toon apart.

2. The seat sounds like a warranty issue, BUT, this should be addressed again with the dealer. Did you call them and question why you have not received a response. Bennington does not typically deal direct with owners, that's what dealers are for. With that said, it's possible, Team TB may chime in here to get your dealer info so they can possibly follow up with them. If it were me, I'd be calling the dealer weekly to find out what's going on.

Trust me, I had some quality issues initially with Bennington, but after looking CLOSELY at the competition, the difference in quality was HUGE !!

Remember, you do have 5 years bow to stern to have issues addressed. I know what you mean about the warranty expiration, but you have plenty of time yet to address it,

and now is the time for your dealer to step up over the winter months and get it fixed.

Smitty

 

[nvhguy52]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will take your advice. However, my dealer closes down for the winter so the warranty repairs will have to wait until spring. I agree with all who responded to my post that Bennington is still THE BEST PONTOON BOAT on the market. I sing the praises of Bennington every chance I get and will continue to do so.

As far as the pressure port is concerned, of the 6 that exist between the two pontoons there is only one out of position. It's not a problem for me...more of a problem for the Dealer should it ever become necessary to pressure check the chamber for leaks. The only way they can get at it will be by lowering the pontoon from the deck...not a small job.

Anyway, will follow up with the seat issue in the Spring and hope it gets resolved.

Best Regards,

nvhguy52

 

[RiverBill]

nvhguy52,

Having some of the same concerns. Our 2012 Bennington 22SSi XL 150 is our second Bennington, our first Bennington was a 2006 2275 GL 5.0L IO, except for a power steering leak on the Volvo Drive no problems with 6 years of use! Our new Bennington has had many issues, first it was not delivered as ordered (missing center tube fuel tank & missing bimini tow arms & broken live well switch & missing engine, placed on order) with negotiations we excepted the boat without the center tube tank. First trip out the starboard tube filled with water and rivets popped on the side panel by the tubes. The first trip the front ratchet strap on the trailer frayed and had to be replaced. The leaking tube had a area that was not welded on the rear of the tube, how did this pass the pressure test? Lower drive Sag was damaged at the dealer during the 25 hrs service. Boat was at the shop for 2 weeks for a factory recalled for a Mercury 150 alternator replacement. We picked the boat up on June 1st 2012 and we have 42hrs on the boat! Having a long warranty is good, but not if you need it on a regular basis! I too hoped this would be our last boat, I guess time will tell. I know that some of these problems are not Bennington's fault, but it's a package deal (dealer & manufacture) one supports the other!

We like the new boat, it does everything we expected it to do. Just hoping we have the bugs worked out!

PS. We use the boat all year out here in SoCal.

RiverBill

 

[LT1GMC]

I looked at a lot of pontoon brands before deciding on Bennington, and I believe they are the BEST. If you were crawling underneith you surely noticed how much thicker the crossmembers are, the closer spacing, thru bolting, ect. I am very impressed with the build quality and the design. My boat exceeds the performance numbers I expected, rides like a Cadillac, and is quicker than the brand X (SB) on my pier with a 300 on it. That un-named (SB) was new this year and had a broken front gate within a month or so, along with some other issues I noticed but have already forgotten about. Pontoons are built by humans, and the dealers install alot of the parts after delivery due to the fact many choices are made after manufacture. (engine choices for one) That is why dealer choice can make it or break it. Same thing with cars, I drive 60 miles out of my way to get my car worked on (when it was under warranty) by professionals, the local dealer's service manager and techs are stooges, seriously!

Don't forget, Bennington can only fix or support what he dealer actually tells them about. The dealers are not owned by Bennington,

I hope you get the issues taken care of so you can enjoy your new boat.

 

[Dan's Benny]

I'll add a couple of oops on my Bennington 2011 2275 FSI with 115 Yamaha. Front livewell leaked (reported previously) at the tank fill connection and Bennington was on top of methodstrying to help by sending multiple thickness gaskets and a replacement penetration fitting however the problem was an over-sized hole (1 1/4" drilled hole for a 1" fitting) that gaskets (all of the same diameter) would not seal. I wanted to add an aerator to the livewell which needed a 1 7/8" discharge to the tank so I drilled out the hole for the aerator return and repositioned the tank fill valve to another location with a 1" hole. No more leaks.

New issue just found and not reported to the dealer yet - the floor plywood at the side gate entrance is buckled both on top and underneath, feels like it soft all the way through. I know Bennington has a lifetime warranty on the floor but I will need to unload all of my fishing equipment and gear to return the pontoon (80 miles away) to the dealer for hopefull winter repairs and available for fishing next Spring.

Another weak area that I self fixed is the dash panels. The bolts are held on the cover plate by epoxy. One panel was loose and I found 1 bold that pulled loose from the panel due to back bonding with the epoxy or over-tightened bolting. I took all panels off and re-enforced/repaired all corner bolts on the panels. I suspect one of the bolts at the factory was over-tightened. I did find 1 bolt where the nut had vibrated off the bolt. Caution is necessary to ensure nobody over-tightens these bolts as too much tension will pull the bolt/epoxy loose from the panel.

I'm still a Bennington fan and know they and the dealer will stand behind their product which is a great comfort but some of these issues could be avoided either through an improved quality or design program. I still use Benny, Pontoon, and Yami for my computer passwords, so Bennington is still on the top of my list for qaulity pontoon suppliers.

 

[Link]

As others have said Bennington Service is the BEST and I have found this true at both the manufacturer and the dealer level. I would think that when you build with so many models plus numerous availablle options the manufacturing process can be a nightmare yet Bennington still is known for being the best of the best. Not long ago thgere was a graph on here relating to customer satisfaction and Bennington left the others in the dust. This year I upgraded to my 2012RL and almost immediately noticed I had a problem. I contacted my dealer and sent the warranty department at Bennington, who asked for a picture. The day after sending the picture I recieved an email from the warranty department saying my replacement had been approved. This is just one incident but I have heard stories like this over and over so nvhguy I expect that soon you will soon be joining the choir in singing praise to Bennington.