Winnebago Earns "Fully Meets" Rating From Ford

[DriVer]

Winnebago Industries earns "fully meets" rating for Ford quality

Greg Gerber posted on January 11, 2010 10:44 RVD@aily News

FOREST CITY, Iowa -- Winnebago Industries, Inc., the nation's top-selling motorhome manufacturer, was once again recognized by Ford Motor Company for receiving the "fully meets" classification as part of their truck quality program.

The truck quality program is the highest honor awarded to vehicle modifiers, the company said. It is based on an assessment of a modifier's engineering capability, design and build process controls, management commitment and quality control procedures.

According to Ford, the purpose of this program is to assure vehicle modifiers have the capability and processes in place to complete the vehicle in a repeatable manner that maintains the integrity of the Ford chassis system, meets Federal and other standards in place at the time of the build and provides end users with a quality-built vehicle that meets their expectations. Winnebago Industries has received this award since the program's inception in 1997.

"We are extremely proud to earn the 'fully meets' classification from Ford's Truck Quality Program," said Winnebago Industries' Director of Quality Control Chuck Hughes. "We believe we have excelled in this program due to the advanced technology we utilize in the development and manufacturing process of our motor homes with industry-leading designs, as well as by employing seasoned manufacturing engineering staffs and manufacturing management with the commitment to adhere to these stringent guidelines.

"Winnebago Industries also has ingrained a philosophy of continual improvement into all areas of the company. We work closely with our suppliers, such as Ford, to maintain the integrity of the purchased components in order to provide a superior product for our customers in the market place," said Hughes. "The vehicle chassis is a critical element in our motor home design and we put a lot of time and effort into achieving these exemplary ratings from Ford. It continues to be a priority for us in order to meet and exceed our customers' expectations for the quality found in each Winnebago and Itasca motor home that we build."

SOURCE: Winnebago Industries press release

[Izzyblueye]

Probably the first promo that I actually believe.

[John Mo]

Ford must not expect the front end alignment to be right when they roll out the door at Winnebago.

[DriVer]

Originally Posted by John Mo

Ford must not expect the front end alignment to be right when they roll out the door at Winnebago.

Most often chassis are initially aligned as the last step in the assembly process. Winnebago does a 2nd alignment when they finish putting the box on. When an owner puts all their stuff in the rig plus fully loaded fuels and such, it isn't unreasonable for the owner to check and rule out whether or not the alignment changed from the time it was done in Forest City. One also has to rule out however unlikely that the ferry driver might have whacked something on the way to the dealership.

[John Mo]

Originally Posted by DriVer

Most often chassis are initially aligned as the last step in the assembly process. Winnebago does a 2nd alignment when they finish putting the box on. When an owner puts all their stuff in the rig plus fully loaded fuels and such, it isn't unreasonable for the owner to check and rule out whether or not the alignment changed from the time it was done in Forest City. One also has to rule out however unlikely that the ferry driver might have whacked something on the way to the dealership.

I had an unhappy go round with Winnie over alignment. The do not check the full alignment at any point. They only check the toe. Mine came with a ridiculous caster misalignment. That was probably Ford's fault as it seems pretty unlikely that adding the box or whacking something could alter the caster. Winnie blamed Ford. Ford blamed Winnie. Everybody pats everybody on the back for doing such a nice job.

Sorry, but it struck me ironic that Ford says Winnie does such a great job after an experience like I had.

[two-niner]

My daughter and son-in-law delivered new motorhomes for several years.(convoys)
If you knew what happens between the factory and the dealer, you would NEVER buy one off the dealers lot.
Yes I did buy from a dealer but we had a lot of things done before taking delivery.
I suggest as part of the deal, a complete alignment including rear thrust. (think clean) Mine was off 8 degrees.

Kerry

[John Mo]

Originally Posted by two-niner

My daughter and son-in-law delivered new motorhomes for several years.(convoys)
If you knew what happens between the factory and the dealer, you would NEVER buy one off the dealers lot.

I've heard this and don't doubt it much. Unfortunately, when speaking with Winnebago about my problem, I was told multiple times that the delivery driver didn't note any problems on my unit. Didn't note or wasn't asked? It's unfortunate that there's not any real accountability on things like this. Winnebago blames Ford. Ford blames Winnebago. Winnebago says it was fine when they left it at the dealer. Buyer beware.