Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 09-09-2007, 03:49 PM   #1
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 729
There is a thread HERE talking about rust and of course there are a couple of Winnebago bashers (the same two every time) that state that Winnebago has rust problems.

You guys think rust is a common problem, or is the dealer who is at fault when a motorhome is delivered during the winter on salty roads and not washed by the dealer?
FrontRangeRVer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2007, 03:49 PM   #2
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 729
There is a thread HERE talking about rust and of course there are a couple of Winnebago bashers (the same two every time) that state that Winnebago has rust problems.

You guys think rust is a common problem, or is the dealer who is at fault when a motorhome is delivered during the winter on salty roads and not washed by the dealer?
FrontRangeRVer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2007, 05:05 PM   #3
Winnie-Wise
 
Thudman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Destin, FL
Posts: 494
I bought my rig Jan 31 03 from Lazydays. They did not do a proper job of washing the undercarriage after delivery from Forest City. The substantial rust is evidence of salt-covered roads enroute. And it was not undercoated.

The rust is not excessive, but it's there. It's a case of improper actions by the receiving dealer, not the manufacturer. Unfortunately the rust had not developed enough to be noted during my acceptance inspection.

Thudman
__________________
03 Adventurer 38G, W22, 22.5 Whls

Koni FSD's, TracBar rear, SteerSafe, 50A SurgeGuard, Eternabond; 2012 Honda CRV EXL w/Nav & AWD
Thudman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2007, 05:14 PM   #4
Winnebago Master
 
John_Canfield's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Back at the ranch
Posts: 2,041
There are two situations here.

One is chassis rust. The prime example was the fellow that bought his Horizon/Vectra from Lazydays 18 about months ago and he soon discovered there was an unusual and alarming amount of rust underneath on the chassis. Many have seen the many pictures he posted and while surface rust on steel does not concern me in the least, his rust was so pernicious and on every nut, bolt, hose connection, etc. it was a bit of an eye-opener. If it was my coach, I would be extremely concerned about the ability to service the coach due to the rust freezing everything together and making maintenance much more difficult.

There was lots of finger pointing - they didn't do this, and they didn't do that. It doesn't really matter. This is a bit of an aberration and like terrible accidents, it usually happens when several disconnected things go wrong at the same time.

This coach owner actually called me and we discussed his situation - he was very thorough in his data gathering and wanted to hear various perspectives and opinions about the gravity of the situation, and recommended remedy's.

Apparently it was much more difficult that it should have been, but he ultimately had a satisfactory resolution that was somehow shared among Freightliner, Winnebago and Lazydays. He would not revel the terms of the resolution which must have been the terms of the settlement. I got the feeling he wasn't exactly thrilled with the settlement, but it wasn't that bad either.

The other issue is rust on everything else. I have some rust to deal with in the plumbing bay which is simply a cosmetic thing. This winter I will dissemble some of the sheet metal facades in that bay and probably get them powder coated or make them out of aluminum sheet.

Bottom line - I think the rust is a very minor area of concern and certainly doesn't give me any cause for alarm about the overall quality of the product.
__________________
--John

2005 Horizon 40AD, 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD
John_Canfield is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2007, 05:19 PM   #5
Winnebago Master
 
Petro's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Weyauwega, WI US
Posts: 1,486
I had a 97 Adventure before my present one. I have had no sign of rust problems on either one. When ever I drive in road salt conditions I try to spray off the underneath as soon as possible I do not believe Winnebago has a problem with rust. Neither of mine was undercoated.

Don
__________________
Don & Bev Morgan Weyauwega WI, 05 Itasca Horizon 40KD, 400 HP Cummins, Delorme GPS LT 40, Toad 07 Saturn Vue AWD, Air Force One, TST 510 TPMS, Mayor of Weyauwega 2007 - 2013, Waupaca Co Board Supervisor 2010 - 2014
Petro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2007, 05:44 PM   #6
Winnebago Master
 
AFChap's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: ...hopefully on the road!
Posts: 1,653
We've had no significant rust problems on our '03. There was one metal strip that the paint was popping off of that I cleaned up myself. Winnebago does some impressive "corrosion testing" on most components at the factory.

I have heard a few complain of problems due to the windshield frame rusting and causing windshield leaks. I had both windshields replaced last June (long story) and saw only a small area of rust on my windshield frame where a leaky clearance lamp was allowing constant water in. The rest of the frame looked great.
__________________
Paul (KE5LXU) ...was fulltimin', now parttimin'
'03 Winnebago UA 40e TRADED OFF JUL 2023 / '17 Jeep Grand Cherokee toad
AFChap is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2007, 04:39 AM   #7
Winnebago Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,080
We've driven our coach almost 60,000 miles through all kinds of nasty weather including several blizzards without any significant rust problems. The key it to clean it thoroughly after driving all day on the salt covered roads.
__________________
Hikerdogs
2013 Adventurer 32H
Hikerdogs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2007, 05:00 AM   #8
Winnebago Master
 
smlranger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Glen Allen, VA
Posts: 2,169
I've got some rust on mine and have spent a considerable amount of time and effort media-blasting, priming and re-painting. Some is on the sheet metal near the bottoms of the exterior compartment openings and much of it was under the rig near the rear.

In my case, I believe the following is true:

1. some of the coating/paint on sheet metal was less than ideal or thorough from the get-go. Undercoating was applied hap-hazardly.

2. previous owner of my rig lived in Northern Illinois and traveled to Florida every winter. While he did all required maintenance and kept the coach very clean, I think he failed to pay sufficient attention to the under belly of the rig. While I checked under the coach before buying it, I did not see the rust that I have subsequently found as I have spent more time under the 'beast.'

I've dealt with it and am not worried about it. However, I've learned a very important lesson...never buy a coach that lived north of the Mason-Dixon line and spend a lot more time on a creeper with a bright light before buying.
__________________
'07 Country Coach Allure 470 Siskiyou Summit #31578, Cummins ISL 425; 2014 Ford F150 toad; Air Force One Toad Brake.
Glen Allen, VA; Smith Mountain Lake, VA.
smlranger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2007, 06:05 AM   #9
Winnebago Owner
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 195
I also saw the same post, and over all I didn't think it looked all that bad. His 1st problem was buying something that he was already uncomfortable with. He should have had them fix the rust 1st then buy it, but that's all water under under the brige.

Driving my rig mostly in the winter to go skiing, I havn't seen any large amount of rust on my rig. But out west here little if no salt is used on the roads. Just tons of sand and gravel.

So no, I would say in my experience rust is not a common problem. Maybe he just got a poorly painted/coated rig.
__________________
rvcarpenter

Seattle, WA
rvcarpenter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2007, 07:45 AM   #10
Winnebago Camper
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 32
My underside has what I would say is too much rust. Was like that from the get go. When I installed the Bilsteins I had to fight all the nuts off. Dealers should rinse off the underside when new coaches come in the winter months. Little by little I am scraping and painting. But most of the hardware as well as transmission and hydraulic line fittings are in bad shape.
__________________
2004 Winnebago Adventurer 37B W22 Bilsteins
bowats is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2007, 08:01 AM   #11
Winnebago Camper
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: New Bern, N.C., USA
Posts: 13
I just traded in an '04 Brave 32v for an '08 Adventurer 37B. I was very pleased with the '04 Brave except for 2 rust areas. The first was on the white rear driver's corner strip that covered where the sidewall met the rear wall and the second area was in the water/electric compartments where the black paint rusted and peeled away. Can't say I can blame it on road salt as it's never been in any or salt water as we kept the coach about 100 miles from the ocean. In any event, Rustoleum and sand paper was a quick fix at trade-in time and the buyer was well aware of the "touch up".
__________________
NEW BERN RON

2012 Winnebago View 24M
NEW BERN RON is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2007, 12:37 PM   #12
Winnebago Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 530
Tom, it looks like everthing that is corroded there would be workhorse issues not installed by winnebago. But it is still a Winnebago product.

Jim
__________________
2011 Mobiles Suites, 2011 Chevy 3500 Dually

Our Webpage
jimandsue60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2007, 02:29 PM   #13
Winnie-Wise
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Oh.
Posts: 317
After looking at Tom's pics and seeing the pics on the other forum it would appear something has broken down somewhere however does anyone know how this compares to Freightliner trucks or other none Winnebago motor homes with Freightliner chassis after the same amount of time? I hope I am not hijacking a thread with this question as it still relates.....I think? Sorry in advance if I am hijacking.
fun time is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2007, 02:05 AM   #14
Winnebago Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,520
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom N:
Factory order, 30 months old and 8000 miles. I requested undercarriage to be power washer before I took delivery.

Is this excessive rust???

-Tom

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Tom,

Looks like your coach was driven through an area of high road salt usage and not cleaned properly when it arived at the dealership. The Florida heat and humidity will greatly accelerate the damage from the road salt residue afterwards.

The dealer really messed up big time here.

This is the major reason why I would not take delivery on a coach that was transported to the dealer in the winter.
__________________
Neil V
2001 Winnebago Adventurer WFG35U
NeilV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2007, 04:52 AM   #15
Winnebago Master
 
John_Canfield's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Back at the ranch
Posts: 2,041
Tom's pictures are exactly consistant with the gentleman who initially brought chassis rust to the forefront over a year on rv.net. The conclusion then and it appears now in Tom's case is that it was caused by road chemicals.

However, there were also several reports of people who routinely use their coaches in the winter and presumably drive on roads treated with chemicals and don't have this sort of problem.

So I suppose everybody can spend lots of time speculating about the root cause of chassis rust and assign blame to the dealer or the chassis manufacturer or Winnebago as they feel so inclined.

Then there is the issue of incidential rust in and around the house. My only rust issue is confined to the plumbing bay and it is a cosmetic issue only. I don't like it and I will be resolving the problem sometime this winter. I think my problem is very similar to Gary's (smlranger) so I'll be looking what he did to fix the problem as a model.

I'm still a happy camper with my Horizon coach and have zero regrets about the purchase.
__________________
--John

2005 Horizon 40AD, 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD
John_Canfield is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2007, 06:30 AM   #16
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 729
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John_Canfield:

However, there were also several reports of people who routinely use their coaches in the winter and presumably drive on roads treated with chemicals and don't have this sort of problem.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

John, first off, thanks for your posts on this subject. It does looks like Tom's was driven in road salt and not washed properly.

I am one of those who have no signs of damage caused by road salt, and I am constantly exposed to it up here. I do the following to keep it rust free (or minimal)

HERE IS THE KEYS to no rust from road salt:

1. Wash undercarriage before and after you drive in road salt. Not just a rinse....wear a rain coat and goggles, use your own power washer, put all slides out, crawl under the unit and POWER WASH every nook and cranny. I also use SALT TERMINATOR which breaks down road salt to much success. If you live in a humid area, and leave road salt on your unit, it will fester up QUICK. Power wash the DAY you get home or ASAP.

2. Don't depend on someone else washing your undercarriage. You have no idea what kind of a job they will do. (use a power washer also, and not just a hose)

3. Do NOT purchase a new unit that has any kind of road salt rust on the chassis from a dealer. Do the inspection yourself. YOu dont know how long this has been sitting and sitting on the dealers lot with road salt on it.

4. Don't assume that when you go to Blue Beacon that your undercarriage will be washed...IT WON'T BE! the unit isn't clean if they haven't cleaned the undercarriage.

You can drive the Winter roads only if you use the above cautions. If you don't properly clean your undercarriage, you have yourself to blame, and not Winnebago or the chassis manufacturer or even the dealer.
FrontRangeRVer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2007, 12:16 PM   #17
Winnebago Master
 
smlranger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Glen Allen, VA
Posts: 2,169
I agree that washing the undercarriage is vital after exposure to road salt. However, I do wonder if motorhomes are more prone to this particular problem due to stray currents running through the chassis from all the electronic devices??? I base that on the fact that, while I don't live in an extremely cold climate, all of my vehicles have been exposed to road salt (we do get snow and ice in VA). I always try to wash the vehicle soon after exposure but have not taken great pains to lay on my back and wash the underbelly (usually just spray in the fender wells and shoot some water under the vehicle as best as I can). I'm certainly not convinced the 'undercarriage wash' that you can get at many auto car washes are that thorough. I've never seen much rust on any of my cars, trucks or SUV's.....

?????
__________________
'07 Country Coach Allure 470 Siskiyou Summit #31578, Cummins ISL 425; 2014 Ford F150 toad; Air Force One Toad Brake.
Glen Allen, VA; Smith Mountain Lake, VA.
smlranger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2007, 04:26 PM   #18
Winnebago Owner
 
peter griffin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 233
I HAVE EXPERIENCED RUST ON THE STORAGE BAYS (SUNCRUISER) BUT THAT IS FROM DRIVING IN THE WINTERS MONTHS. I DECIEDED TO REMOVE THE RUST AND SPRAY RUBBERIZED UNDERCOATING MYSELF.
__________________
Peter Griffin
2011 JAYCO 24 Z TOY HAULER -
2011 F250 Crew gas
peter griffin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2007, 12:18 PM   #19
Winnebago Master
 
SCVJeff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Santa Clarita, CA.
Posts: 1,222
FYI that thread on RV.net was closed due to the Winne bashing children's continual complaining. I PM'ed the original poster and invited him to this thread because I think we all can benefit from the outcome of his misfortunes, maybe even ease the pain a bit.
__________________
_______________________________

Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350
SCVJeff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2007, 01:37 PM   #20
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 729
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SCVJeff:
FYI that thread on RV.net was closed due to the Winne bashing children's continual complaining. I PM'ed the original poster and invited him to this thread because I think we all can benefit from the outcome of his misfortunes, maybe even ease the pain a bit. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good! We're here to help and without the TROLLS!!
FrontRangeRVer is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Do you have the electric toilet....need your help? fun time Plumbing | Systems and Fixtures 20 02-24-2013 12:15 PM
If you have not replaced your Hot Water Heater check valves, read this. LK23 Plumbing | Systems and Fixtures 28 05-07-2010 12:51 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Winnebago Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:45 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.