Winnebago Quality & Service

[INSAFE]

Considering downsizing to a smaller RV and like the layout of the Itasca 25B - a Class C (no slides). However, after reviewing posts on this forum & other sites we are uncertain about the quality of Winnebago products, as well as the support provided by the company. We realize no RV is/will be trouble free. But reading about some of the manufacturing quality deficiencies, along with mfg. support issues has been surprising and alarming. Any thoughts, pro or con, would be appreciated.

[ArmandV]

I have a 2015 Minnie Winnie 22R that I bought in February and I couldn't be happier. Aside from a stuck bathroom ceiling vent problem (which could happen to any MH or trailer), the MH has been flawless and I am pleased about the workmanship.

I had a Gulfstream Conquest Micro-Mini 25 years ago and the 22R runs circles around it in quality.

We've taken the 22R to Yellowstone, Las Vegas and Lake Havasu (three different trips) and it performed great each time.

[JSE80]

Originally Posted by INSAFE

Considering downsizing to a smaller RV and like the layout of the Itasca 25B - a Class C (no slides). However, after reviewing posts on this forum & other sites we are uncertain about the quality of Winnebago products, as well as the support provided by the company. We realize no RV is/will be trouble free. But reading about some of the manufacturing quality deficiencies, along with mfg. support issues has been surprising and alarming. Any thoughts, pro or con, would be appreciated.

I think I would by the manufacturer nearest where I live. In the south Tiffin mid west Newmar etc.

[Bumps]

...we are uncertain about the quality of Winnebago products, as well as the support provided by the company...

My experience with Winnebago is just the opposite: We've had no major problems in our four-year-old-to-us 2005 Winnebago (knock on wood), and every time I have needed Customer Service (cabinet latch for a new cabinet we added, logo for the front of the nose protector we added, a light trim piece for one that I broke when changing a bulb, etc) the experience has been stellar.

\ken

[Hikerdogs]

We're on our second Winnebago product and have been more than satisfied with the service and quality. We had our first motorhome (2001 Adventurer) a little over 12 years and put on over 100,000 miles with very few problems.

We currently have a 2013 Adventurer. We have nearly 25,000 miles on it with only a couple minor problems that were addressed under warranty.

There seem to be a group of people who think that any and all problems throughout the life of a motorhome should be graciously repaired by the manufacturer at no cost to the customer. Many of those with negative comments have bought used units with no inspection before purchase, and no history as to the maintenance that was or was not performed.

Another factor that influences the satisfaction rate is whether or not the owners have read and understand any of the volumes of operating manuals that come with each new unit. I often read complaints about systems not functioning properly, when in reality the systems do work properly. The problem in many cases turns out to be that the owner has not bothered to read the operating instructions and just "assumes" that through some divine knowledge they know how operate everything.

The fact of the matter is that systems and construction methods do change over time. The operating parameters and instructions that applied to your 1952 Studebaker don't necessarily apply to your 2015 Winnebago, or anything other than that 1952 Studebaker for that matter. Many of the self inflicted crisis could be easily avoided if owners were to open and read the manuals supplied with the unit.

This phenomenon is not new. Many years ago I owned a repair garage several blocks from a Chevrolet dealer. I couldn't count the number of people who brought their cars in for problems that either didn't exist, or could have been avoided had they opened and read the operators manuals. The joke in those days is that "the least read books in the world were the operators manuals".

I'm not saying that Winnebago products are perfect. Like anything designed and built by humans there is room for error. What I am saying is that It's been our experience over the last 15 years that Winnebago does make quality products, and that when and if problems do arise the company handles them with timeliness, professionalism, and courtesy.

[BeachDude]

Don't be fooled by the Winnebago salesperson pitch. Yes, every part is replaceable, (but you will pay dearly for the replacement, because it's custom made). Yes, they have a steel cage around the driver, (but the insurance industry claims they are no safer than a coach without one).

My personal experience is that the entire rear fiberglass endcap popped off of my shiny new Vista about three weeks after taking delivery. It was held on by the wires to the tail lights. The Winnebago service writer attempted to treat me like any other newbee, (just leave it, and we will call you when its ready). No "great" service experience.

Winnebago is essentailly no better or worse than any other brand of motorhome, (but they typically retail for 30% to 50% more than their direct competition).

All that being said. You will find a very active user base for clubs and rallys.

[AFChap]

I did very extensive research and personal inspection of several brands before narrowing down to just a few. In the end, Winnebago was at the top of the list for build quality and owner satisfaction in the price range we were targeting. We bought a dealer demo coach w/5k miles on it and have never regretted buying a Winnebago. We have experienced more than one incompetent and/or untruthful dealer service department, but by working with Winnebago Owner Relations via email or phone were always able to get things worked out. We have had the factory service several items on two occasions when attending the national rally, but have never had to return to the factory specifically for a repair. Of course, things do change over time, but Winnebago is in fact one of the few RV mfgers that is still the same company it was years ago ...no bankruptcies, reorganizations, buy-outs, etc.

Our coach is now 12 years old with 97k miles on it, and as I said, we have never regretted buying a Winnebago.

[530ktm]

Originally Posted by INSAFE

Considering downsizing to a smaller RV and like the layout of the Itasca 25B - a Class C (no slides). However, after reviewing posts on this forum & other sites we are uncertain about the quality of Winnebago products, as well as the support provided by the company. We realize no RV is/will be trouble free. But reading about some of the manufacturing quality deficiencies, along with mfg. support issues has been surprising and alarming. Any thoughts, pro or con, would be appreciated.

I have had 2 Winnebagos and I think they are a very good coach. Buy something else and you may wish you had chosen the Itasca. I will not name any names but there is some real cheap junk out there.

[Tom-NC]

HI.
I agree with Hikerdog and Winnebago does make a fine coach no matter what model you buy.

Sure they have had problems but not more than any other RV maker. They stand behind their product and will bend over backwards to help you.

As far as the steel cage up front I would rather have that than wood.

A lot of problems have been that the coaches when shipped to the dealer have not been gone over by the dealer in case Winnebago forgot to do something or check something. After all the people that make these coaches are human and make mistakes like we all do .

As far as Winnebago goes their quality is number one and I'm on number 4.

[Artcie]

My husband owned a Brave years ago (a 1970 something) and I've heard it is still on the road somewhere. We purchased a 2014 (new--the last 2014 on the dealer's lot) Itasca Suncruiser 37F on April 30th and LOVE it! We went to the Winnebago Grand National Rally last month in Iowa and it was really worth the trip. We learned more about our MH and Customer Service took care of the punch list while we were there. Winnebago couldn't have done much more to be courteous and helpful. If you buy a Winnebago product, try and go to the Rally. Seminars, clubs, factory tour, entertainment, transportation around the grounds and to town at no charge, craft classes, etc. You can participate at what ever level you please! There was one person I talked to that was on his 8th Winnebago. We did a lot of research (over 4 years including Hershey 3 times) before we purchased and have absolutely no regrets. I KNOW we made the right decision for us. And we'd make the same one again.

[Trwolff]

Hikerdogs is right on the mark. As a newbie, virtually every problem with my 2005 Voyage was my lack of understanding how things work. Now that I've read the manuals for the THIRD time, everything makes a lot more sense and my "problems" are fewer! My only complaint now is the manuals don't have the level of detail I would like.

[reinerka]

In our experience - over 2 RVs only, Forrest River Solera and Winnebago Brave - this is only personal experience.

Looks and floorplan - Brave wins hands down. Fit and finish the Solera ran circles around Winnebago and we are disappointed after hearing all those who way how well they are.

Dealer experience is just as important and here Ihad the worst with Winnebago authorized. Watching TV and listening to the radio was all they did - not a single issue got fixed or even touched at all. Tge Forest River dealer did send a tech over to fix the issues at our home.

At the end ot depe,ds on the dealer - our Winnebago one was so bad I refuse to step into their shop. Bad thing is that it reflects on Winnebago.

Reiner

[Gordon Dewald]

Have had positive dealings with both our dealer (Lichtsinn) and the WGO CS folks.

Early in the game we has a small leak in the leveling system. We took it in to the dealer and the tech determined there was also an issue with the jacks. The parts department and WGO did not have the jacks in stock so they took them out of production.

I have talked to CS regarding a cabinet that was loose. CS was willing to let us get a mobile tech in to fix the issue. Only thing is they would not warranty the work done. Suggested the problem was not serious and could wait until we could get it to our dealer.

I have complete confidence in Lichtsinn and Winnebago to take care of our coach and treat us very well. The Lichtsinn tech has found several issues that we were not aware of and Winnebago followed up.

[ChasA]

We are very happy with our Journey, in spite of breakdowns. We have not had any problems with the quality of Winnebago assembly. Our biggest problems were attributable the Cummins engine or Freightliner chassis.

[Beabop]

We are on our 3rd Winnebago in 15 years, 32' gas Adventurer, 36 diesel Journey, and now a little class C. We would have not have stayed with Winnebago if we had had poor service. When I was shopping for the c, I saw prettier but they didn't have sensible items like ducted air, fiberglass roofs and adequate outlets.

[boba1106]

We have a brand new 2014 42e. It had several faults that should have been picked up at the factory. My advice. If you have a good dealer that will repair quickly under warranty, buy there, otherwise which factory repair shop is closest. We do really like our Winnebago but it has spent four of its first 7 months in the shop. Winnebago and camping world both share blame for that statistic.

[Petro]

Our present Itasca Horizon is our 3rd Winnebago in 15 years. All were purchased used. When and If I purchase another motor home it will be a Winnebago. MY first 2 had only minor problems most of which I was able to repair myself.

Our Horizon has had several problems which can't be blamed on Winnebago because they were powertrain problems. I don't blame the power train manufactures but rather the previous owner who did not follow service recommendations.

Don

[Old Crows]

I saw this thread a couple days ago and since our experience with our '14 View Profile 24G has been good, I decided to pass commenting. Only screw popping out of the top of the rear end cap. Replaced by dealer. Came out again as it was stripped. Replaced myself. Grommet missing from the hole in the rear slider where the wires for the camera enter the body. Replaced by dealer. Thus the end of the dealer assisted repairs. Retaining cable on hatch door un attached.

Failed microwave on first trip. Replace free by I had to foot the labor... thanks WBO!

Some 14 months old, the LP regulator failed. Much hand waving about 'bad regulators'...oil or water in the LP system.....freezing (in central TEXAS???), etc.. OoW, replaced it at my expense rather than argue. (Same deal with my neighbor's, VP, only a month older than mine. What are the odds of that happening? )

Intolerable noise outside and in from the Coleman Mach 8. Shrugs and blank looks from the dealer and the local Coleman dude. Didn't bother trying to work through WBO. Found fix from iRV2 and YouTube. A fan upgrade. Did that twice as there were running changes at Coleman as they tried to get a fan that would hold together. Another chunk of change to fix what should not have been a problem. While I was at it, I MacGyvered a sound deadening repair to the A/C's bonnet and the noise level is now more than acceptable.

Had to reposition the struts holding an overhead cupboard door open. It would position about 2" lower than the adjacent one..... DETAILS! DETAILS! It's all OK until you hit your head on it!

Probably the more important items are what follows:

After our second long trip and some 7K miles the floor of the shower would remain wet and small puddles collected along the edge of the shower side and the floor pan. This went on for a bit until I had time to check into it. As it turns out.... the leak was coming from where the PEX lines mate to the shower supply handles right behind the service/access panel. No biggie, right? That'll tighten right up. Not until you figure out that one of the pipes is cross threaded on to the faucet and the other is just leaking. So you get to do brain surgery in a tea cup!!!! The cause was due to the seals being damaged on installation. Two hours driving to several different RV shops in town and located $2.50 of new parts. Fixed. Fortunately, no water damage as the water ran down the back side of the shower wall and out the overlapped area on the floor pan. Thankfully, WBO did a p-poor job caulking the overlap and the water could drain into the floor pan and not on to the wood bits. Guys! YOU NEVER CAULK that area!!!! for the very reason that you want leaks to be inside the pan!!!!

Well, I wouldn't be writing this except another failure yesterday due to p-poor attention to detail. Took the RV out to exercise and fill the diesel tank. Stopped at post office. Came out to discover the gray water tank heating pad was hanging down like a mud flap!!!! Inspecting it.... you could see there were two quarter size dabs of glue holding the front 2/3s on to the tank. Can't drive like that!! for fear of ripping it off and screwing up the wiring. Laying on 125F concrete 98F temperatures to field expedient repair using 100 mph tape. Got it home and scrounged up some silicon caulking. Cleaned it all up, re-glued and covered it with aluminum faced HVAC tape. That pad should have NEVER come off.....

My point isn't to recount all the sad tales but to highlight what I see as a problem with WBO, and perhaps, other manufacturers. Some are much worse than others and WBO seems to be generally above average. HOWEVER.... the issue I see is that there is this chronic critical lack of attention to detail and a lack of QA/QC over vendor supplied items. An owner should not have to deal with 'just' out of warranty issues with things like defective LP regulators. (I'm not buying that 'we got a bad batch.... everyone had had trouble this year.... or, a UFO buzzed my RV .... excuses.) We can bet that many components are provided by lowest bid. WBO has the muscle to get defective components off their units. The Coleman Mach 8 is another example.... it clearly doesn't meet anyone's expectations for quiet performance ... sticking one on a $15K trailer used in the oil fields is one thing. Putting them on expensive coaches??? Really?

Its silly things that annoy the owner and lead to 'do-overs' either at the dealer or paid for by WBO. Dad-gummed flip open cabinet door that doesn't match the other three because it doesn't open all the way???? Screw head on the generator case grounded against the steel chassis frame? (Wonder why you have noise and vibration in the coach?) Water leaks due to cross-threaded fittings. Even if you don't care about their customer..... WBO should care about their bottom line. DO-OVERS cost money and customer good will when service is denied or delayed.

If Toyota can build a car that virtually never requires Do-overs or post sale repairs....Why can't the RV manufacturers?

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by Old Crows

I saw this thread a couple days ago and since our experience with our '14 View Profile 24G has been good, I decided to pass commenting. Only screw popping out of the top of the rear end cap. Replaced by dealer. Came out again as it was stripped. Replaced myself. Grommet missing from the hole in the rear slider where the wires for the camera enter the body. Replaced by dealer. Thus the end of the dealer assisted repairs. Retaining cable on hatch door un attached.

Failed microwave on first trip. Replace free by I had to foot the labor... thanks WBO!

Some 14 months old, the LP regulator failed. Much hand waving about 'bad regulators'...oil or water in the LP system.....freezing (in central TEXAS???), etc.. OoW, replaced it at my expense rather than argue. (Same deal with my neighbor's, VP, only a month older than mine. What are the odds of that happening? )

Intolerable noise outside and in from the Coleman Mach 8. Shrugs and blank looks from the dealer and the local Coleman dude. Didn't bother trying to work through WBO. Found fix from iRV2 and YouTube. A fan upgrade. Did that twice as there were running changes at Coleman as they tried to get a fan that would hold together. Another chunk of change to fix what should not have been a problem. While I was at it, I MacGyvered a sound deadening repair to the A/C's bonnet and the noise level is now more than acceptable.

Had to reposition the struts holding an overhead cupboard door open. It would position about 2" lower than the adjacent one..... DETAILS! DETAILS! It's all OK until you hit your head on it!

Probably the more important items are what follows:

After our second long trip and some 7K miles the floor of the shower would remain wet and small puddles collected along the edge of the shower side and the floor pan. This went on for a bit until I had time to check into it. As it turns out.... the leak was coming from where the PEX lines mate to the shower supply handles right behind the service/access panel. No biggie, right? That'll tighten right up. Not until you figure out that one of the pipes is cross threaded on to the faucet and the other is just leaking. So you get to do brain surgery in a tea cup!!!! The cause was due to the seals being damaged on installation. Two hours driving to several different RV shops in town and located $2.50 of new parts. Fixed. Fortunately, no water damage as the water ran down the back side of the shower wall and out the overlapped area on the floor pan. Thankfully, WBO did a p-poor job caulking the overlap and the water could drain into the floor pan and not on to the wood bits. Guys! YOU NEVER CAULK that area!!!! for the very reason that you want leaks to be inside the pan!!!!

Well, I wouldn't be writing this except another failure yesterday due to p-poor attention to detail. Took the RV out to exercise and fill the diesel tank. Stopped at post office. Came out to discover the gray water tank heating pad was hanging down like a mud flap!!!! Inspecting it.... you could see there were two quarter size dabs of glue holding the front 2/3s on to the tank. Can't drive like that!! for fear of ripping it off and screwing up the wiring. Laying on 125F concrete 98F temperatures to field expedient repair using 100 mph tape. Got it home and scrounged up some silicon caulking. Cleaned it all up, re-glued and covered it with aluminum faced HVAC tape. That pad should have NEVER come off.....

My point isn't to recount all the sad tales but to highlight what I see as a problem with WBO, and perhaps, other manufacturers. Some are much worse than others and WBO seems to be generally above average. HOWEVER.... the issue I see is that there is this chronic critical lack of attention to detail and a lack of QA/QC over vendor supplied items. An owner should not have to deal with 'just' out of warranty issues with things like defective LP regulators. (I'm not buying that 'we got a bad batch.... everyone had had trouble this year.... or, a UFO buzzed my RV .... excuses.) We can bet that many components are provided by lowest bid. WBO has the muscle to get defective components off their units. The Coleman Mach 8 is another example.... it clearly doesn't meet anyone's expectations for quiet performance ... sticking one on a $15K trailer used in the oil fields is one thing. Putting them on expensive coaches??? Really?

Its silly things that annoy the owner and lead to 'do-overs' either at the dealer or paid for by WBO. Dad-gummed flip open cabinet door that doesn't match the other three because it doesn't open all the way???? Screw head on the generator case grounded against the steel chassis frame? (Wonder why you have noise and vibration in the coach?) Water leaks due to cross-threaded fittings. Even if you don't care about their customer..... WBO should care about their bottom line. DO-OVERS cost money and customer good will when service is denied or delayed.

If Toyota can build a car that virtually never requires Do-overs or post sale repairs....Why can't the RV manufacturers?

I think you picked the wrong manufacturer for comparison. In the last 10 years Toyota has had to recall over 645,000 hybrid cars for software problems, over 1.37 million cars for air bag problems, and 2.3 million cars that had unintended acceleration problems. They got fined 1.2 BILLION dollars for hiding the problems associated with the acceleration problem.

Toyota has had to recall more vehicles than the entire RV industry has made in the last 10 years. So much for perfection.

[Old Crows]

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

I think you picked the wrong manufacturer for comparison. In the last 10 years Toyota has had to recall over 645,000 hybrid cars for software problems, over 1.37 million cars for air bag problems, and 2.3 million cars that had unintended acceleration problems. They got fined 1.2 BILLION dollars for hiding the problems associated with the acceleration problem.

Toyota has had to recall more vehicles than the entire RV industry has made in the last 10 years. So much for perfection.

Sorry Bud.....disagree. Toyota is recalling vehicles to correct problems. RV mfgr's also recall for safety issues. Numbers are meaningless as Toyo, GM, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler field vehicles in numbers that are orders of magnitude greater than RV builders. Airbag recalls are due to Takata who supplies many other manufacturers. Yeh...1.2 B fine.... Allegedly hiding UA issues.... Never had an issue with my hybrid... Nor has anyone of my many friends who have them. My point is Toyos rarely have cosmetic and installation issues that we associate with poor QC/QA. Fit, finish & functionality is of high quality.