As A Winnebago New Owner

TXDrifter165 · 04-22-2007, 01:09 PM

I am currently located in CA. Since I have bought a brand new right off the assembly line 2007 Winnebago Adventurer 38J motor home I have consistenly hit dealers who do not want to honor or repair my motor home while it is covered under warranty. My issues are still not resolved and now were going over 60 days since it has been in for repair:

Issue #1: The manufacturer left the plastic over the air intake for the gas heat. This was not found until 2 months later which for my electric bill for 1 month has cost me over $400.00 in electric bills due to the heat pump was not working either which I will explain later. The Manufacturer does not have an easy access to this space which I had to cut out an access hole out of the bed liner under the bed in order to get access to the filter. This is a manufacture defect as well as engineering over site. If you can have an intake filter for the heat pump as well as an easy access then there should be a filter on the air intake for the gas heat along with an easy access.

Issue #2, we received the motor home which we tested everything but as soon as we started utilizing the heat pump it started blowing the fuse. It has not worked ever since we bought it. This is the reason why my electric bill was out of sight. Winnebago's negligence of quality control, not making sure everything was working properly prior to leaving the company's lot. The plastic covering the gas heat air intake which there was no heat reaching the coach especially when temperatures were dipping well below freezing. As of this date, I checked to see if the suggested dealer by Winnebago customer service had repaired the heat pump, I had the generator running and the heat pump on. It took 10 minutes for the heat pump to blow out air at room temperature when the outside temperature was 70.

Issue #3, the bedroom TV shelf has not been right since we reported to the selling dealer. You can see how the shelf is warped and may have been the cause of the TV to fall out and damage to the counter along with the laundry door. If metal supports are not used then engineering needs to install LCD televisions than an analog TV that puts to much weight on this shelf.

Issue #4, I have two windows that are sweating within the double pane. One window is part of the set of three windows on the dinette side and I have the window in the bedroom above the head of the escape window. These windows have been sweating ever since I have been utilizing the motor home for the past 60 days. As of this date, no repairs have been made.

Issue #5: Compartment: no seal
The manufacturer did conduct quality control due to a compartment has never had a seal on one of my compartments. I verified that there was suppose to be a seal by another 38J unit. Still no repair has been made as of this date.

Issue #6: Water leak/ Mold
We found a leak above the sofa on the motor home. We found it by the discoloration of the valance. Also found mold. In accordance to manufacturer limited warranty policy, the warranty states for leaks and mold that if it's a manufacturer defect the repairing facility will clean and repair. As of this date, not cleaned nor the valance and blinds replaced.

Issue #7: Vinyl flooring buckling
As of this date, no repairs have been completed.

Issue #8: Satellite TV/Antenna
I had requested from the manuafcturer to add the bedroom on the satellite dome. I received the motor home with nothing hooked up to the bedroom TV. Nothing worked.

Issue #9, Microwave/Convection Oven
Microwave caught on fire after the first use, when used found small pearls. As of this date, no repairs have been made.

As of this date April 22, 2007, after writing to the manufacture which I have not been contacted nor has the service warranty dealer has contacted me, I am heading to legal. My wife and I searched motohomes for 3 years and then after careful consideration and searching through forums where people have not voiced the oppisition against Winnebago Industries, we decided to purchase our motor home right of the assembly line a brand new coach from Winnebago.

I am writing this notice to anyone who wishes to contest this issue. The company leaves you out in the cold. My wife and I were going to utilize this as our home for a year so that we can travel after I retire. Now everything is on hold. Go Rving is just a ploy to gain more money out of the pockets of consumers. I would be better with a tent or a motel. Cheaper and less frustration.

No GO Rving for me!

TXDrifter165 · 04-22-2007, 01:09 PM

I am currently located in CA. Since I have bought a brand new right off the assembly line 2007 Winnebago Adventurer 38J motor home I have consistenly hit dealers who do not want to honor or repair my motor home while it is covered under warranty. My issues are still not resolved and now were going over 60 days since it has been in for repair:

Issue #1: The manufacturer left the plastic over the air intake for the gas heat. This was not found until 2 months later which for my electric bill for 1 month has cost me over $400.00 in electric bills due to the heat pump was not working either which I will explain later. The Manufacturer does not have an easy access to this space which I had to cut out an access hole out of the bed liner under the bed in order to get access to the filter. This is a manufacture defect as well as engineering over site. If you can have an intake filter for the heat pump as well as an easy access then there should be a filter on the air intake for the gas heat along with an easy access.

Issue #2, we received the motor home which we tested everything but as soon as we started utilizing the heat pump it started blowing the fuse. It has not worked ever since we bought it. This is the reason why my electric bill was out of sight. Winnebago's negligence of quality control, not making sure everything was working properly prior to leaving the company's lot. The plastic covering the gas heat air intake which there was no heat reaching the coach especially when temperatures were dipping well below freezing. As of this date, I checked to see if the suggested dealer by Winnebago customer service had repaired the heat pump, I had the generator running and the heat pump on. It took 10 minutes for the heat pump to blow out air at room temperature when the outside temperature was 70.

Issue #3, the bedroom TV shelf has not been right since we reported to the selling dealer. You can see how the shelf is warped and may have been the cause of the TV to fall out and damage to the counter along with the laundry door. If metal supports are not used then engineering needs to install LCD televisions than an analog TV that puts to much weight on this shelf.

Issue #4, I have two windows that are sweating within the double pane. One window is part of the set of three windows on the dinette side and I have the window in the bedroom above the head of the escape window. These windows have been sweating ever since I have been utilizing the motor home for the past 60 days. As of this date, no repairs have been made.

Issue #5: Compartment: no seal
The manufacturer did conduct quality control due to a compartment has never had a seal on one of my compartments. I verified that there was suppose to be a seal by another 38J unit. Still no repair has been made as of this date.

Issue #6: Water leak/ Mold
We found a leak above the sofa on the motor home. We found it by the discoloration of the valance. Also found mold. In accordance to manufacturer limited warranty policy, the warranty states for leaks and mold that if it's a manufacturer defect the repairing facility will clean and repair. As of this date, not cleaned nor the valance and blinds replaced.

Issue #7: Vinyl flooring buckling
As of this date, no repairs have been completed.

Issue #8: Satellite TV/Antenna
I had requested from the manuafcturer to add the bedroom on the satellite dome. I received the motor home with nothing hooked up to the bedroom TV. Nothing worked.

Issue #9, Microwave/Convection Oven
Microwave caught on fire after the first use, when used found small pearls. As of this date, no repairs have been made.

As of this date April 22, 2007, after writing to the manufacture which I have not been contacted nor has the service warranty dealer has contacted me, I am heading to legal. My wife and I searched motohomes for 3 years and then after careful consideration and searching through forums where people have not voiced the oppisition against Winnebago Industries, we decided to purchase our motor home right of the assembly line a brand new coach from Winnebago.

I am writing this notice to anyone who wishes to contest this issue. The company leaves you out in the cold. My wife and I were going to utilize this as our home for a year so that we can travel after I retire. Now everything is on hold. Go Rving is just a ploy to gain more money out of the pockets of consumers. I would be better with a tent or a motel. Cheaper and less frustration.

No GO Rving for me!

NeilV · 04-22-2007, 02:42 PM

Sorry to hear of all of your troubles with your new coach.

All save the heat pump and thermopane issues that came up afterwards should have been caught during your PDI.

You do have to open and try everything when you do your PDI walkthrough even to reheating a cup of coffee in the microwave, inspecting the roof and the seals on the compartment doors. Then you do not sign off and take delivery until after everything has been fixed.

I stayed overnight in my coach before I even considered signing off on the delivery. I did experience electrical problem afterwards which were mainly attributed to the original owner (yes I bought used but checking everything still applies) while others were clearly damage from extended low voltage brownouts.

The heat pump problem could be due to insufficient electrical service or an extended brownout at your home site also.

A coach that has been cut up would leave many dealers put offish with getting involved in the warrenty work too.

The rear TV is held in place by a steel band clamp which should have been checked during the PDI also.

Improper tire inflation (over inflation especially) can also cause much damage to a coach and rattle things apart. More so during agressive driving over rough roads. This could be on the part of the delivery driver who transported (drove) the coach cross country to your dealer.

A bad dealer is another matter and as I understand one of the biggest in California is also considered by many to be one of the worst in the country.

Work with your dealer and see if you can encourage him to work with you and get everthing corrected.

Dmadzia · 04-22-2007, 03:11 PM

Wow, sorry for your troubles. Was the water (roof) leak fixed? I would be most concerned with that problem.
I got mine out and exercised (drove) it to the dealer (haven't driven it in 4 months due to winter) to get a few accessories. They had a used 2007 38J in the lot that we went in and drooled over. I have always loved the 38J floorplan and tried and tried to get that model (used) but it was out of my price range. Got the 'G' instead. G-J at least they rhyme. Having the TV on the floor in front of you is a great idea, plus you can dine and see your camp site.
I hope you get your problems fixed so you can start enjoying your new coach.

TXDrifter165 · 04-22-2007, 05:34 PM

Dmadzia,
To answer your question, did I ever get it fixed. None of my repairs have been fixed and it has been sitting 2 hours away at a service department that Winnebago Industries so called customer service sent me. At which it has been sitting over there 60 days and counting. Would I buy another Winnebago? **** No! Would I buy another manufacturer RV? **** NO! I am done....

Jersey Bob · 04-22-2007, 05:38 PM

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles

I am on my 2nd MH the First Dealer I bought from was Ok - then decided that you could not drop your vehicle at night, only during day hours. This would mean that I would have to take vacation time to get simple maintenance.

This forced me to look a little harder to find a dealer that would work with me. I found a great dealer and bought my 2nd MH from him.

Sometimes having good honorable dealer can make all the difference in the World. Anytime I bring my MH in for service they take good care of me and have always fixed any warranted Items right a way.

I hope your able to get everything straighten out so you can start enjoying your MH and all the pleasures that should come from RVing

John_Canfield · 04-23-2007, 03:10 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TXDrifter165:
--snip--The company leaves you out in the cold. My wife and I were going to utilize this as our home for a year so that we can travel after I retire. Now everything is on hold. Go Rving is just a ploy to gain more money out of the pockets of consumers. I would be better with a tent or a motel. Cheaper and less frustration.

No GO Rving for me! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Real sorry you have a collection of issues but I disagree that Winnebago leaves you out in the cold. I couldn't be more pleased with their response at getting all of our new coach issues put to bed. I certainly do feel your pain about the quality of work and the treatment you receive at local dealerships. Some are excellent, some are dismal and many are somewhere in between.

The "Go RVing" 'ploy' to help consumers open up their pocketbooks is absolutely correct - it's called marketing

DonavonP · 04-23-2007, 06:10 AM

There are people following this forum who would like to buy your 39J. Just a reminder that you can advertise it in the classified section of IRV2.

Good luck in your new adventures. Hopefully less aggravating.

jimandsue60 · 04-23-2007, 07:11 AM

Have you tried to call winnebagos customer service and discuss the problems with them directly? It has been easy for me to talk to someone directly over the phone.

Jim

cappy · 04-23-2007, 07:07 PM

You have to understand how Winnebago's warranty works.They keep your motor home as long as possable until the 1 year warranty expires and they hope you go away. This has been my experience with my Sightseer it has been in for service 6 out of the 8 months I have owned it .

Gary the Wombat · 04-23-2007, 07:59 PM

THE RESULTS SO FAR...

For those who bought their Winnie NEW only, how much time was it off the road for repairs in the first 12 months?

a. One month or less -- 4 (including myself)
b. One to three months -- 2
c. Three to six months -- 2
d. More than six months -- 0

Waiting for parts/service seems to be a common thread (from other discussions as well) that takes up much of the time. In my own case it sat for 3 weeks without being looked at and then was fixed (kinda) in one day.

Fakrwee · 04-23-2007, 09:05 PM

Txdrifter I'm really sorry you're going thru this. I can understand you're anger and frustration, but don't let this cloud you're judgement in making decisions to resolve these issues. In you're most difficult moments don't lose sight that you are in you're right and should receive what you paid for with you're hard earned money. Don't get mad, get what you deserve.

Call winnebago customer service and ask to talk to a manager.

Proceed with a complaint through the BBB. You can place one for the dealer and one for Winnebago. BBB will interview you and send them an official letter asking what they plan to do to settle the matter. That will rattle their cage a bit.

Send letters to all involved. State the problem and what you expect them to do. Put time limits on them.

Go to consumer affairs in you're city and see what type of legal recourse you might have.

Take a couple of day's off and go somewhere fun and relax. You'll be amazed how fast the problem will be solved once you take control. "In life you don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate."

I wish you the best of luck. Keep us posted, winnebago reads these post.

Tom

GG1 · 04-24-2007, 03:46 AM

To Gary the Wombat
One to Three months every year for the past five years

Izzyblueye · 04-24-2007, 03:58 AM

My first year of ownership, my Itasca was in and out of the dealer for 3-6 months of the year. I documented this time for which the coach was not available for my use, due to manf problems. I then ask Winnebago for a warranty extension of the same amount of time. They gave it to me. Now they did not offer this, but when asked, I was given a fair deal. It proved to be the best thing to do, right after the regular year warranty was up. My extension saved me big bucks on a ceiling repair, due to faulty adhesive. This would have cost me several hundred dollars had I not received the extension. Winnebago is a good company, probably the best. Like all RV manufacturers they need to tighten Quality control up and police their dealer network extensively.

jtharley · 04-24-2007, 10:06 AM

My '05 Journey was in the shop for a total of 30 days in the first 2 years.

JD Allen · 04-24-2007, 12:19 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gary the Wombat:
Enough with the anecdotes and generalizations already--how about a real survey...

For those who bought their Winnie NEW only, how much time was it off the road for repairs in the first 12 months?

a. One month or less
b. One to three months
c. Three to six months
d. More than six months </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My answer is a. Less than one month in two years.

Tom-NC · 04-24-2007, 12:44 PM

Drifter,

I would like to say congratulations on the purchase of your new Adventurer. I am sorry to hear that you are having so many problems.

First off most of the problems are your fault as when you wentr through the PDI you should have found these problems and have them fixed right then. I purchased my Adventurer in Forest City and stayed there 3 days at Winnebago's Campground to make sure everything was working and I was familiar with the coach and its equipment. I bought mine from Lichtsinn Motors and when I found a number of things wrong, I took it back to them before I left Forest City and they repaired all of them.

Second I have had other problems since then and either my dealer (in NC) has repaired them, Winnewbago has repaired them or a call to Winnebago has solved the problem. The folks at Winnebago will bend over backwards to help you.

Third is the fact that yes a lot of dealers will not give you warranty service. I found that out when I got home and couldn't find one. I then called winnebago and asked if they pay their warranty bills which they told me they did however they also told me that when a dealer signs on to be a Winnebago dealer they must repair all Winnebagos in warranty no matter where they were bought.

No matter what RV Manufacturer you buy an RV from they all have problems however I feel that Winnebago will make good on all your problems. I am on my 3rd Winnebago and they have or different dealers have solved all my problems.

I will leave you with this, try driving your stick house down the road and see what happens, Please give them the benefit of doubt and let them repair it and contact the factory they will "Make you a Happy Camper."

Fakrwee · 04-24-2007, 12:47 PM

4 months owned-5 days in shop. First visit after sahake down cruises. 5,980 mi.

vicsryd · 04-24-2007, 01:05 PM

Comments on various points in this discussion:

We had 14 weeks (3+ months) actually in the shop in the first year. A month of that was for 4 attempts to fix a windshield leak. After the 3rd attempt we were lemon law territory in my state and Winnebago stepped up real fast.

So far there's been only a few issues after the 12 month Winnebago umbrella warranty expired and those have been covered by individual suppliers. Just had a HWH jack fail this past week and thankfully there's is a 3 year warranty on those.

Asking a manufacturer to extend the umbrella warranty by the amount down is a really good idea. I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time.

In my experience Winnebago dealer network is spotty at best. It seems there are some great ones and then there's everyone else. Using on-line resources to research dealers as much as the brand is the best bet. That said if you don't have a dealer near home base where you can get an appointment in less than a couple of weeks and it's easy for you to leave the coach for a week at a time then it's going to be a rough ride.

Next time I think we'll buy property near the factory and just move there first.

The Shadow · 04-24-2007, 02:01 PM

2004 Journey 39W - about 3 months out of the first 12. Some of the wait was due to slow shipment of parts by Winnie. When we dumped it after 15 months the buckling floor tiles were still not fixed. Winnie virtually said we had a lifetime warranty on them since three fixes were tried and nothing worked. They really didn't want to bite the bullet for the major fix as we were told a an interior wall was shifting. What puzzled me was how much it shifted when it stood still i Florida for 5.5 months.

Don