'06 Vectra Observations....She's HOME!!! - Page 9

Sweet40FD · 05-19-2006, 09:11 AM

Rebel; as bad as I hate to admit it, I feel the same as you. I think mine was done on a Friday also. Phone line not working, dishwasher holds about an inch of water after about 3 days of no use, a small water leak I just found yesterday around the outside holding tank area, undersink smell, undersink water leak that Rick had to fix, connection to ice maker had a major leak that Rick had to fix and a seal on the coolent that we had to fix. I'm trying to not get discouraged because I love this Coach. And I hate to complain alot.....
Cheryl

"007" · 05-19-2006, 10:58 PM

I would say Friday's can be a bummer with any MFG.

Had two toilets leaking,broken shade in bedroom, sliding door off track, leaking fluid in rear leveling jack and after 8000 miles find out drain pipe for one of the toilets falls out of floor flange because it was never glued, what a mess that was.

The coach sat on dealers lot for 9 months who with their right mind would buy a Newmar

with these problems that the dealer didn't fix. ME because I have previously own Newmars

I knew what kind of coach it could be.
Since I have fix the problems I couldn't be happier

you just have to not get discouraged its just harder to get it right for some items.

Sweet40FD · 05-20-2006, 07:25 AM

Your right 007. I know once all of this is corrected that I'll feel better. I know bugs are common on new MH's. But you'd think things would be checked more thoroughly before the MH leaves the factory. Or be checked before leaving the dealership. We had the major undersink water leaks the same day we picked the coach up.
Pride in work is not there any more I think. I bought a new Winnebago in the 80's and had it many years with no problems.
Cheryl

rebelsbeach · 05-20-2006, 07:36 AM

Cheryl, there were several things that should not have escaped the QA folks IRT my coach,not only in Forest City, but at my dealer as well...I truly think Winnebago is aware of this and is working to correct it.

As you know,they are VERY active as far as communicating with you to get the issues resolved.

John_Canfield · 05-20-2006, 08:15 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sweet40FD:
... dishwasher holds about an inch of water after about 3 days of no use...
Cheryl </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Cheryl - we had two Dish Drawers at the stick house and having a little water in them most of the time was a normal thing.

We have lots of little problems to deal with on our first year with the coach; most of the minor stuff was directly due to assembly line workmanship.

My thought is that it is unfair to compare the assembly line quality of a coach to an automobile for example. The assembly process for an automobile I think has much less of an engineering tolerance for incorrect assembly whereas the coach assembly depends quite a bit on the individual talents of the assembly line employee and the degree of quality control.

In another category are the infant mortality problems - things will have a greater tendancy to fail when they are new.

Then there are the products that aren't particulary well designed, or the application of them is not ideal. The A&E WeatherPro awning comes to mind. I'll wager the rain dumping feature works quite well when the awning has a suitable down angle when there is no curb-side slide in the living room. Since the popularity of multiple slides, designers have had to extend the awning more horizontal to clear the slide topper; the awning does not dump water as readily now.

In our case, Winnie spent quite a bit of money correcting all of the problems post assembly; surely it would be more profitable to prevent problems on the line than to pay dealers $70 an hour or their service techs (their loaded labor rate must be 70-100 dollars an hour) to fix the problems.

Expecting a coach to roll off the assembly with no problems is a fantasy, if such was a possibility the cost of it would be astronomical. Zero defects is standard of quality for the space program (and health care) but not for most consumer goods.

rebelsbeach · 05-20-2006, 09:21 AM

John, I agree with your thoughts with the exception of the paint drip....I saw the CDI inspection process,then the "final" inspection of the Winnebago employee stationed at CDI to do their inspection, before "accepting" the coach for Winnebago...
Again I say Winnebago has been GREAT to deal with.

Sweet40FD · 05-20-2006, 10:19 AM

Your both right. I agree with what you both say. I guess I might be over reacting. I am probably expecting too much. Because I know by past experiences that there will be minor things that need to be corrected on a new Coach. But this was the first high end MH I've ever purchased and thought it would be different. And I have always been satisfied with Winnabego MH's over the others I've had.
Thank you,
Cheryl

rebelsbeach · 05-21-2006, 01:42 PM

Just back from the first "real" trip out of the blocks and some observations...

First, I am leaning toward a "wiring harness" fix as being what it wrong with my cameras,as I was "fiddling" with the turn signal arm some and it certainly "felt" sometimes like I could manipulate the performance of the cameras by wigglng the arm....Might be wrong, but I'd like to investigate that further....

Secondly, the 56 degree wheel cut is really something....Makes for easy maneuvering when you make that wrong turn....

Electric heat pump was pretty much all I needed this weekend,although I did kick the gas furnace on last night....Sure seems to me the electric heat is "noisier" than the gas furnace even...
My neighbor this weekend (MCPO RET) remarked that the water heater was loud at night....I never heard it.....ZZZZZZZ

Wondering what everyone's thoughts are IRT to the "in motion" dish in the campground....While I love it for going down the road,I got to thinking about that thing "spooling" as we watched TV in the campground....I of course turned it off when we weren't watching TV, just seems like something working a lot,thus more likely to wear out prematurely...

Storage seems to be a non-issue,something I had been worried about since seeing John C.'s report from Lazy Days when he saw the 40KD...Storage is ample,although I HAVE noticed the street side "Storemore" compartments are not as deep (front to back) as I would prefer...
I would seriously consider NOT getting the behomoth TV in the first compartment and instead do the Big Trace conversion myself with a flat screen and pick up some more storage...I also have an issue with the weight of that TV in the Storemore.

Lighting seemed very adequate,although I would do the "Canfield dimmer" mod to the bedroom....MAN those things are bright at night!!
I enjoyed the "bug eyes" over the couch and the dinette table....

I am not satisfied with the monitor panel...As Joe-K and several others have done,I would prefer to actually SEE the percentages....I filled up the tank in the driveway before leaving and couldn't get it to ever show more than 2/3 full....
Cycled it in PA when hooked up to the City again,it'd never go higher than 2/3...

Pulled the Trailblazer for the first time,never knew it was back there for the most part...REALLY like (and recommend) the Silent Partner from SMI....Hooked up, plugged in, flipped the toggle and was on the road....

OK!! That's it for now,with the first toad pulling trip and "purely pleasure" trip under my belt...

John_Canfield · 05-21-2006, 05:52 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rebelsbeach:
Wondering what everyone's thoughts are IRT to the "in motion" dish in the campground....While I love it for going down the road,I got to thinking about that thing "spooling" as we watched TV in the campground....I of course turned it off when we weren't watching TV, just seems like something working a lot,thus more likely to wear out prematurely... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Bob - one of the camp set-up things to do is to put the King Dome into the "idle/hold" mode. That way it won't hunt if you have a rain fade. I think you can even power it off without affecting anything.

Couldn't agree more about the fluid gauges - the 1/3 resolution just does not work in the real world.

We have been very pleased with the SMI Silent partner after towing with it for maybe 7,500 miles.

You will have many more 'discoveries' as you use the coach more and more!

AdrianLee · 05-22-2006, 04:01 AM

Bob,

When I was haveing all the problems with my King Dome, one of the replacement units they sent me was very noisy and would not lock on and stay locked to the satellite. It would continuely hunt. It was extremely irritating and should not have been like that. The new unit I now have does not have the problem. When I pull into a camp ground I check to see if the dish is locked onto the satellite. 90% of the time it is and I leave it alone. Occasionally we will have changed zones and I might have to reset the zone we are in.

As John said, press the ON button and put the dish into IDLE / HOLD mode and it will stop hunting. Otherwise, talk to King Dome.They are pretty good about trying to make customers satisfied. They have a pretty good dome antenna and.

rebelsbeach · 05-30-2006, 05:35 AM

Turn Signal Cam Update:

Winnebago Tech Support has apparently sent my dealer instructions on a possible wiring "fix" to my turn signal problem....I have appointment with dealer in morning,where I was told they will be pulling the turn signal wiring cluster apart and following Winnebago's instructions for troubleshooting this issue...

Keep yer fingers crossed!!

rebelsbeach · 05-31-2006, 06:52 AM

Just home from the dealer where the apparent "fix" was to reverse the headlight wires....didn't work....back to the drawing board.

All was not lost though as I ran into the local City Police "Motor Carrier Unit" and they weighed the Vectra.....Full of fuel and water, grey and black empty and nothing in fridge..

Left and right front 5700 each for 11400 total
Left rear 9400 Right rear 9300 18700 total

Total 30100

AdrianLee · 05-31-2006, 06:57 AM

Still sounds a like a switch problem to me.

rebelsbeach · 06-03-2006, 01:43 AM

New issue last night to troubleshoot this morning....

Came in from outside to turn on the under cabinet light on the microwave and I've lost the microwave power....
I'm on a 50A site here and everything else works....

Checked the breaker under the bed last night,but decided to go out and enjoy the campfire and visit with the folks and deal with the issue this morning...A/C works,water heater is working on 110V,fridge is even on 110V.

Wish me luck?

rebelsbeach · 06-03-2006, 05:04 AM

Checked the outlet this morning with AdrianLee's meter,as well as another "corded" appliance and it now seems there's a short somewhere in the microwave...

rebelsbeach · 06-04-2006, 08:44 AM

I'm beginning to think "some" of my microwave issue was caused by the inadequate campground power in Walnut Hills this weekend,but it's a certain bet that something is fried in the Advantium...

This morning,the campground power wouldn't let me turn on the furnace....

Turn signal cam situation is almost manageable,as I've gotten pretty good at needing a right turn signal,then switching ALL the way over to left then center to reset the cameras...

Hopefully we can get that and the microwave fixed....

The Shadow · 06-04-2006, 10:39 AM

For this reason, we got a Surgeguard as it cuts power when the voltage is too low or too high. It has triggered several times for high voltage. It will be interesting to see if they cover yours under warranty as I suspect the warranty doesn't apply to use with inadequate power.

Don

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rebelsbeach:
I'm beginning to think "some" of my microwave issue was caused by the inadequate campground power in Walnut Hills this weekend,but it's a certain bet that something is fried in the Advantium...

This morning,the campground power wouldn't let me turn on the furnace....

Turn signal cam situation is almost manageable,as I've gotten pretty good at needing a right turn signal,then switching ALL the way over to left then center to reset the cameras...

Hopefully we can get that and the microwave fixed.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

rebelsbeach · 06-04-2006, 01:18 PM

Don, I had plugged into the campground power as I hooked up,then went back and put the Progressive Industries surge guard inline....The problem was that there was a storm that came through the campground before I recalled "not" putting the Surge Guard inline and there was a brief "spike" of on and off power....Yes, I realize I "should have" done it right away,but was alone and trying toget everything set up....

As there are no instructions that specify "compulsory" usage of surge guards in anything I've read from Winnebago after owning two of them, I'm thinking the warranty will pick up the microwave.
If there was a mandate that I "HAD" to use a surge guard,I think I'd have a problem...

There were several in our group that, after my issue was announced, made mention of low voltage...
I WILL be writing the campground a letter,as an information item, to let them know of the issues with the electric,as well as the issue of several trees that made ingress to the sites really tough.

You can rest assured that I will abide by whatever decision Winnebago makes....I truly believe they've been more than accomodating with the issues I've had with the coach....Yes, they're still trying to figure out the turn signal cam issue,but at least they're trying...

smlranger · 06-04-2006, 01:32 PM

Bob:

Wonder if the power problems may have been specific to the pedestal you were connected to? This morning, I turned on the heat pump and it started and ran fine...along with the gas furnace.

In your letter to WH you might want to mention low water pressure also.

The Shadow · 06-04-2006, 01:38 PM

I've almost become paranoid and donot plug the MH 50 amp cord into anything until the Surge Guard is in first and gives an all clear.

This even applies at home where I have a 50 amp outlet. Last year we suddenly got fluctuating voltage from half the outlets in the house. Of course, it turned out one leg of the supply line had corroded badly and the power flow was jumping all over. Burnt out one of the pumps in our hot tub. Expensive lesson.

My point on the microwave is that you will likely find in the manual that it is to operate within a specific voltage range. You operated the unit outside that range. Also, I believe the warranty is from GE not Winnie. We had problems with our Sharp in the Journey and the warranty claim with Sharp was handled by the dealer. It didn't go near Winnie.

The new one didn't work much better and the same model is in our current MH and the convection feature won't reach preheat properly in it either - regardless of the voltage. (We got a countertop oven and DW seems to find it fine.)