New RV, more issues than any previous

[Gizmoneer]

Howdy!

New user to this forum, not a new Winnebago owner. We purchased our 3rd Winnebago in early May and a bit disappointed as to where their quality has gone. Our first RV was a 2008 Minnie Winnie Class C (31b), our 3rd RV was a 2018 Micro Minnie (2016FBS) and our 5th RV is now a 2023 Travato 59K. Unfortunately, the Travato came with so many issues (a broken generator, broken cabinet doors, a defective JBL sound bar, a defective digital TV antenna, phantom coach battery drain, Dodge uConnect issues, -- and on and on...

Yes, our other two Winnebagos had a few small issues (usually water seal leaks); however, the Travato came to us with oh so many things that not yet been resolved that I am really questioning our choice to purchase it.

BTW - the dealership has been going through a change of ownership and we had to wait over two months to get an appointment for warranty service where it sat for another week with no work. Now we are waiting for parts (in 2nd week of waiting). A couple of issues with cabinetry and an electrical issue, I was able to repair myself. (Where a piece of hardware is involved, only the dealer can preform warranty service. The dealer cannot service the generator or the Promaster 3500 chassis. We had to drive over 1750 miles to get Cummins generator warranty service.)

While traveling over 6000 miles (with a broken rig) during a recent adventure, we had a number of folks approach us about the Travato. I smiled and did not go into the gory details. It is fun to drive and a breeze to setup/take down. And the parking - (oh, my!) one of my favorite parts. No longer am I having to park on the outskirts of a city or not be able to boondock just about anywhere. Now we can fit in pretty much any spot -- even with the added length of our spare tire rack (note: we primary travel in the west where the closest tire store may be hundreds of miles away in any direction.)

I am trying to continue to be a good ambassador for Winnebago (even with all the issues) while I would prefer to be a GREAT Winnebago ambassador. Like I said, our Travato is our 3rd Winnebago over the past 15 years of RVing -- unfortunately it is the most costly and the rig with the greatest number of problems. We bought the Travato assuming a level of quality we had seen on our other two Winnebagos. You know what they say about assuming....

Still hoping the issues will be resolved soon. We leave again soon for another adventure and currently planning almost 15,000 miles of US/Canada adventuring in 2024.

C'mon Winnebago, get your act together and definitely have a chat with your QA department. I'm pretty sure most all the issues we have encountered could have been revolved before the rig ever left your plant.

One final note - the dealer swayed us away from the Revel because of the "limited Mercedes dealers in US". Funny thing is -- of the multitude of Dodge dealers in the Seattle area -- so far only one is able to service the Travato...

BTW - if anyone is interested in the detailed list of the issues we are have and/or are dealing with -- drop me a note.

Be well and keep moving forward. Not all who wander are lost!

-Bruce

[Eagle5]

Hi Bruce,
Wow - that is a long list. With the exception of not knowing the cause of the battery drain issue, is pretty much everything repairable/replaceable? Hopefully, everything will be ready for your 2024 cruise around North America.
Are you talking about Roy Robinson being bought-out by Camping World? That is where I bought my Minnie Winnie 22M, and I was in shock to hear about Roy Robinson throwing-in the towel.
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

[creativepart]

Given your history I’m sure you realize that 2/3rds of the issues you listed are supplied by other companies and are not at all indicative of Winnebago’s quality.

I get it, a problem with a Winnebago Travato is a problem with Winnebago’s quality. We all feel your pain, honestly.

And Winnebago dealers are not the only source for warranty repairs. You can also go directly to a 3rd party’s website for repairs and replacements directly from that manufacturer or distributor.

I’m curious though why you had to travel 1750 mi to get Onan generator warranty service. Cummins, which owns and services Onan, has service facilities all over the country? What necessitated that long trip for repairs?

I know RVs have serious quality issues, and I’m not trying to sugar coat that fact, but when my Atwood water heater fails, I think it’s fair to blame Atwood or Lippert Controls but not so appropriate to blame Winnebago.

[Gizmoneer]

Yep. We have bought multiple vehicles from the RR family over the years including 2 RVs.

Found out about the sale to CW two weeks after Travato purchase. I must say though -- the transition to CW was a huge set of unknowns for the RR crew, actually getting warranty service has proven to be not too bad. It was the old RR processes that forced out our warranty appointments to over two months. CW has told the old RR crew to "git 'er done!". Now the hold up is Winnebago and all their suppliers (plus Dodge for a windshield replacement issue). The supply chain is still broken and apparently some of the parts used to build this rig in early 2023 are not available or are outdated. Go figure...

[Gizmoneer]

When we bought the Travato, it only had the miles from the factory to the dealership in western Washington. The generator only had .4 hours. During the walkthru with the tech at the dealer, he hit the generator button to show us it would start and turned it off less than 30 seconds later.

Fast forward to a month later. The rig had been parked in our driveway on shore power as we completed family obligations and prepped for a 6+ week trip. I went to "exercise" the generator a week before heading out and no joy, it would not start. I immediately called the dealer for warranty service - except they cannot service. Only Cummins can service. I called Cummins and all local service centers were backed up at least 4-6 weeks to even have a look to see what might be wrong. I then started calling Cummins service centers along our proposed route. The closest I could find that would not detour us too far (or mess up the schedule as we had to be back in the PNW by a certain date) was in Williston, ND. (They were very nice folks to get us in last minute). As we had to arrive their facility by a certain date, it did mean a whole lot of extra miles plus through a nasty thunderstorm that lasted hours, a large crack in the windshield from a rock off a farm truck in northeastern Montana, and camping in their driveway next to a busy highway. The nice folks in Williston, then figured out the issue (bad fuel pump) - only thing was - none in stock until following week. They did call ahead to another Cummins service center along our proposed route (again nice folks).

While the service center did not have the part, they could order and (hopefully) have it available IF we could wait a few extra days. We then drove further eastward to Fargo, ND (1750+ miles from home) and arrived night before part was to arrive. About 11am next day, part arrived and within less than 2 hours - we were happy campers with a fully functioning generator.

Costs were: a few hundred extra miles of driving; taxis and an day-use of a hotel in Williston (the service center did not have a customer waiting area and it took about 5 hours to diagnose issue); cancelling several preplanned reservations; and a broken windshield. Of course, do you think our dealer, Cummins, or Winnebago will reimburse any of these costs (about $500 plus $1000 windshield deductible) for a warranty repair? (only in our dreams...)

Now if we can get all the other stuff fixed in the next week. We're personally ready to hit the road again. We have a short window to travel before the water starts getting shut off in state parks and the snow starts flying.

[Gizmoneer]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Given your history I’m sure you realize that 2/3rds of the issues you listed are supplied by other companies and are not at all indicative of Winnebago’s quality.

I get it, a problem with a Winnebago Travato is a problem with Winnebago’s quality. We all feel your pain, honestly.

And Winnebago dealers are not the only source for warranty repairs. You can also go directly to a 3rd party’s website for repairs and replacements directly from that manufacturer or distributor.

I’m curious though why you had to travel 1750 mi to get Onan generator warranty service. Cummins, which owns and services Onan, has service facilities all over the country? What necessitated that long trip for repairs?

I know RVs have serious quality issues, and I’m not trying to sugar coat that fact, but when my Atwood water heater fails, I think it’s fair to blame Atwood or Lippert Controls but not so appropriate to blame Winnebago.

\

Please see my response below as to why 1750 miles.

As for blaming Winnebago? Not blaming, just pointing out their QA failed them. PLUS some of the items I did not go into great detail on were cabinet door failures (built by Winnebago in their shop) and wiring issues (poor quality quick connect assembly) - again, work completed at Winnebago.

And at the sake of repeating myself - with a number of issues - if they had been tested before leaving manufacturing facility -- we wouldn't have had to be dealing with them now.

Note: We are not newby Winnebago and/or RV owners. This is our 3rd Winnebago and 5th overall RV. The Travato is definitely the most expense we've purchased and the unit with the most issues new off the lot.

Be well!