Dreaded Warranty work-turning into nightmare not good Winnie experience

[RONHEATER70]

We bought our 2021 Voyage 5th wheel first part of August, it has been in the service center since December 4, so just short of 3 months. So in 6.5 months of ownership, 3 months of those are in the service center. Some issues were fairly serious, but it seems the last little hang up is getting clearance for 4 hours of labor to fix a wiring issue, that's it just 4 hours. We have been waiting for approval for those 4 hours for weeks now and I have been nice and polite, so far.. But im losing it. I feel like the dealership, SOMEONE should just step up and finish it, get it off their lot and back in our hands.. Owning 5 rvs in 7 years I have never experienced this. We have stayed in it a total of 7 days.. (maybe less?) The Service Manager is a nice enough guy butIm at Wits end, Any suggestions

[RONHEATER70]

I Just spoke to the dealer a moment ago, and the approval came through so we are moving forward now. How dang ironic is that after my post..L

[creativepart]

Many of us think that this is a dealer issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_ls_jNWNnU

[RONHEATER70]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Many of us think that this is a dealer issue:

yea I had figured as much and read about this often and to be honest,it did cross my mind.. Really I was venting. It seemed strange because after 3 weeks they finally go it in to look it over, but Christmas and New years was in there as well as the Pandemic starting to get ugly again so I expected employees would be out for various reasons. Once it was in things progressed very quickly within 1.5 weeks, then there was this hang up. I tried to do my homework, I didnt buy from anywhere farther than 4 hours away, I read service department reviews closely, before we even visited the dealer. They do have very good reviews, and finally when visiting I talked to 2 of their techs.
I dont even know how to get in touch with Winnebago over a service issue.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by RONHEATER70

I dont even know how to get in touch with Winnebago over a service issue.

Simple... they have phone numbers and email contact forms on the Winnebago website:
https://www.winnebago.com/contact-us

[TravatoJohn]

I just contacted Winnebago customer care a day ago at [email protected] and got an answer back the next day. Travato John

[RONHEATER70]

good contact info, Ill need to remember that, thank you!

[tortoise]

Welcome to the infamous club of unsuspecting Winnebago owners that presumed the dealer that sold them their unit would treat them well. After five years of owning a 2016 Class A Winnebago Vista 30-T I could write pages of the sad tales I have experienced at the hands of La Mesa in Davis California. The most recent was paying to have the cove radius sealant replaced, on the first try they did not even touch it, merely went around and squirted sealant on top of screw heads around vents, when I returned it for a second attempt they again did a lousy job as verified by Winnegago customer relations after viewing my photos. But even worse they apparently did the work on the roof and were kneeling on the radius part of the roof and left extensive cracking in the fiberglass roof on both sides the full length of the roof. Thankfully my insurance company paid the $12,000 repair bill for a new roof under the comprehensive coverage. In addition they have installed two hydraulic pumps trying to cure problems with lift system, problem is still there along with several leaking hoses. Paid to check LP system due strong odor, charged $285 for "LP appliance service" and returned unit still leaking propane. I investigated myself and discovered the two stage regulator was leaking from the body of the regulator. Purchased new regulator, installed myself and adjusted the pressure to specs and system now is working fine. I could go on a lot longer but those are just a few of the most egregious examples of my long and sad history with a "Authorized Winnebago Service Center". I now do my own work or go to a small independent shop that is run by an honest mechanic. Good luck with your quest, I hope it does not get as bad as mine did.

[puttin]

Learn to do these repairs yourself- you can fix most of them with a little insight and research. I have an '08 coach and except for some slide issues I could fix anything else.

[RONHEATER70]

I just wanted to update this.. And yes I do agree that when i can do something myself I typically like to do it, but while under warranty I always feel like the dealer can be point man, and we knew we weren't going to be using it over the winter so thats why it went in.

SO I finally picked up our RV 2 weeks ago. I have to say I am impressed by the quality of work the tech did. I spoke with him at length and he said he wants to make sure he does a good enough job that he would be happy to tow it away and stay in it.
Our problems were a mix of Minor and kinda major..
Minor, and what I would call "typical small things" You expect to see with a new unit were :
Water leaking under shower door
a Blind that wouldn't roll back up
and a love seat that had a bent frame.

On the other end was:
A furnace that didnt work at all, and was found to not even be wired to the thermostat. This is a bit ridiculous, Im sorry its just stupid.

and the extreme end and what I call a safety issue was that the front living area slide pulled from the wall of the fame of the RV on the bottom corner.

Al has been repaired, we are happy and as a Bonus!!!
We thought the RV (a 2021 model) only had 2 heat ducts in the floor, while the 2020 had 4. It wasn't until we picked it up and the tech explained there are 2 additional ducts, one comes out from under the kitchen cabinets, and the other from under the bathroom cabinets. So That was a nice find!

[BobC]

Originally Posted by tortoise

I could write pages of the sad tales I have experienced at the hands of La Mesa in Davis California.

I've only been to La Mesa in Davis a couple of times for parts but it was always a zoo. Once I heard a guy trying to get an update on his repairs (it sounded like a simple roof leak) and was told that it was going to take them two months to get to it. He was from out of state and was going to be faced with flying home for work and flying back when the job was done.

DIY or use an independent for most things, major warranty work would be the exception. I do as much DIY as I can and also have a good independent guy who's good and fair. I also have two independent repair shops for my Workhorse chassis, one that I use for simple stuff, is less than a mile from my storage yard. The second is a full-service commercial truck repair shop that also does RVs (two of the sons in the "& Sons", own motorhomes) that I've used for more major items. The owner and one of the sons spent over an hour on the phone with me one evening (no charge) when I had a drive shaft issue on the road to a camping trip. I had my MH towed to the campground and paid the shop to send a guy to do the repair at the campsite. It cost me for the road service but my trip was salvaged and I didn't have to pay for a motel in a strange town, find a repair shop, etc. The repair itself took less than 1/2 hour so the cost was mainly for the road service. Economically it was probably a push compared to the local service option.

Several years ago I'd purchased a new Nash TT from a dealer in Coos Bay OR, the local Sacramento dealers couldn't even come close in price. During the warranty period, the front edge of the roof came loose. Northwoods Manuf., the manufacturer, authorized the work to be done at a local, independent shop. Easy peasey, it only took a couple of days. More manufacturers should do that. Customers would be much happier and it seems like the PR would be worth any cost difference, if any. Dealers are in business to sell RVs, not fix them.

If you live in the greater Sacramento, the full service truck shop is Mike & Son's (my "guy" there is Robert): https://www.mikeandsonstruckrepair.com/

[tim myers]

To be honest, I have never used the dealership for maintenance and warranty issues. When I had my Fleetwood Storm, I took it to Fleetwood in Decatur, IN. Of course the fact that they were only 3 hours away made that a bit easier for me than most. My 2007 Journey is WAY out of warranty, but if I run up against something I can't do I wouldn't hesitate to make the trip to Iowa to get in line.


I have also been putting a list together every time I find what I would call reputable RV Maintenance facilities, so I know how to adjust travels through their areas. The list is small, but growing.