How to file a warranty claim

Go to caminojourney.com/pages/claims-form, fill in your HIN, ship-to address, and a description of the issue, attach photos or video, and submit. The CAJO Claims Team reviews same-day or next business day and ships known-issue replacements at $0.

If something's wrong with your Cajo — a defect, a missing part, freight damage, a known-issue swap — this is the path. The whole flow runs through one form, the Claims Form at caminojourney.com/pages/claims-form. This article walks you through exactly what to gather, what to fill in, and what happens next.

Quick coverage check first

Before you file, a quick sanity check on what's covered:

Hull — limited lifetime warranty on defects in materials and workmanship
Traverse Pedal Drive — 5 years
Parts (rudder, steering handle, hardware, seat components) — 1 year
Known-issue swaps — $0 regardless of when (steering handle, missing rudder, prop alignment, etc.)
Freight damage — handled through the claims form same as warranty

Not covered: damage from top-loaded landing-gear style carts (Boonedox, Wilderness Freedom Launcher, Sidekick), normal wear, impact / grounding damage, modifications outside the factory bolt patterns, UV degradation beyond expected lifespan.

If you're not sure your situation is covered, file anyway — we'd rather review and tell you than have you assume "no" and miss something we'd have covered.

Step 1 — Gather what you need before you open the form

You'll save yourself time if you have these ready before you start filling out the form:

Your HIN (Hull Identification Number)

12-character serial number etched into the hull on the starboard side of the stern (right side of the back). See HIN location for the exact spot with reference photo.

If you can't find it (worn off, hard to read), take a photo of where you're looking and note that in the form — we can usually pull it from the dealer record.

Your shipping address and phone number

Where the replacement should go. Phone number is for FedEx (the carrier for parts shipments from our TN warehouse).

Your dealer info (if you bought through a dealer)

Dealer name and approximate purchase date. For hull replacements, we coordinate through the dealer.

Photos and/or a short video

This is the single biggest factor in how fast your claim moves. Strong evidence:

3–4 angles of the issue (close-up + wide + from a distance for context)
Good lighting (daylight or bright indoor)
Both the defect itself and surrounding hull / drive / part for context
A short video (10–30 seconds) showing the issue in motion if it's a mechanical or moving-part problem

Specific guidance by issue type:

Hull crack or defect — wide shot showing where on the hull, close-up of the crack with a coin or finger for scale
Steering handle binding or cable fraying — close-up of the cable at the handle and at the U-connector, video of the handle binding if applicable
Prop at 45° (not vertical when indexer locks) — photo from directly behind the boat, drive engaged
Pedal arm cross-threaded / won't seat — close-up of the threads on both arm and head
Missing parts — photo of what came in the box laid out, with the kit's expected contents annotated
Freight damage — photo of the crate (the outer packaging), the damage itself in context, and a close-up

A short description of the issue

You don't have to write an essay. One paragraph is enough — what's happening, when it started, what you were doing when you noticed it.

Step 2 — Go to the Claims Form

URL: caminojourney.com/pages/claims-form.

The form is the same for hulls, drives, parts, and freight damage. We route internally based on what you report.

Step 3 — Fill out the fields

Field by field, what to expect:

Field	What to put
Name	Your full name
Email	Best email for replies
Phone	Number FedEx can call if needed
Shipping address	Full address with zip — where replacement goes
HIN	12-character hull serial number
Model	Outpost 100 / Outpost 128 / Terra 116 / Highlander 100 / 120 / 140T
Date of purchase	Approximate is fine
Dealer	Who you bought from (if applicable)
Issue description	One paragraph, plain language
Photos / video	Upload here

Submit when you've got everything in.

Step 4 — What happens after you submit

Within 24 hours

The CAJO Claims Team receives your submission. Initial response is usually same-day or next business day in chat / email.

Within 1–3 business days

Review and decision:

Known-issue patterns (steering handle, prop alignment, missing parts, cross-thread): replacement order placed immediately. You get a confirmation email with tracking when the label is generated.
Hull or drive replacements: we coordinate with the dealer (if applicable) and confirm the swap path.
More information needed: the claims team replies with what's missing — a clearer photo, a video, additional context.

Within 3–7 business days

Parts in your hands for direct-ship items from the TN warehouse. Hulls and freight items take longer (LTL transit + dealer coordination).

What happens if we need the defective part back

For most known-issue part swaps, we don't need the defective part back — you keep it or dispose of it.

For full drive swaps and a few other specific cases, we include a return shipping label with the replacement. You ship the defective part back at our cost using the label.

Common reasons claims get delayed

No HIN — we can usually work around this, but it takes longer
No photos — almost impossible to process without them
Photos that don't show the issue clearly — blurry, dark, too zoomed in or too zoomed out
Dealer info missing on a hull claim — slows the dealer coordination step
Issue description that's too vague — "kayak broken" is hard to act on; "starboard scupper has a 2-inch crack starting from the drain plug area" is clear

If it's freight damage and you're filing the same day

For freight damage on a fresh delivery, file the claims form the same day if possible. Mention in the description:

Whether you noted damage on the BOL
Whether the carrier name and tracking number
Whether you refused delivery or accepted it with notation

Freight damage claim windows with the carrier are tighter than warranty windows. Speed matters here.

What we replace at $0

Confirmed from past claim handling:

Traverse Rudder Steering Handle (known issue — full handle, $0)
Missing rudder + steering handle from Terra / Outpost first-run kits
Missing rudder locking bolts (M5 × 12mm, 316 stainless)
Cross-threaded Traverse Drive pedal arm (full arm assembly)
Mis-angled (45°) Traverse Drive prop (full drive swap with return label)
Hull manufacturing defects (coordinated through dealer)

If your situation matches any of these, file with confidence — we'll get it handled.

A note on the "create an account" workflow

If you've seen older instructions that say to create an account at account.caminojourney.com and add a shipping address to start a warranty case — that's an outdated flow. The Claims Form replaces it. Account creation is only needed when you're buying a paid spare part directly (e.g., an extra Quad Rail), not when you're filing a warranty.