(Sept. 29, 2016) — Did you buy a brand new RV in the last year or two? Would you please leave a comment if your experiences with the new RV were good, not bad? Has your new RV been largely problem free? How about service? Have you had satisfactory or even superb service?Â
Please take a minute to leave a comment. Feel free to offer praise where due to the manufacturer of your RV as well as the dealer where you bought it, including any details about “service after the sale.” — Chuck Woodbury, editor
We have a 2015 Expedition 38K which we bough new.
We made our purchased from a dealer in Northern California and proceeded on a three-week shakedown cruise.
We found some items that needed to be fixed and corrected, we expected issues to pop up from past experience.
We live in the southern portion of California Central Valley and took the coach to Camping World in Bakersfield to have Warranty work done.
Long story short Camping World drag their feet and when they did fix items they damaged others. We complain to Fleetwood and Fleetwood then contacted Camping World and work with them to try to get our warranty items fixed and our coach back to us.
After approximately a months of Camping World unable to fix items or continue to damage other items Fleetwood stepped up and had a transportation company come and pick up our coach and take it to a repair site in Riverside to have everything corrected from items that came out of the factory lacking quality control to damaged items that need fixing. Fleetwood then had our coach returned to us in 2 weeks. On top of that Fleetwood extended our Factory Warranty day for day that it sat at Camping World for repairs and the repair site in Riverside, also cleaned our coach inside and out for us.
We purchased a 2014 Forest River Sierra 43′ 5th wheel new in April 2014. We are full-timers and have put about 40,000 miles on the rig in the 2 1/2 years we have owned it. We love the overall design of the. rig. However the build quality is terrible. Since we are full-timers, it is impractical to leave the rig with a dealer for repairs, so I have learned how to fix pretty much everything on my own.
I have redesigned many things (many not serious, such as replacing clothes rods, shelving, wall paneling, wood and plastic trim. These components were so flimsy, it is amazing they didn’t fall off during transport from the factory to the dealer.
I have made changes to the wiring system to correct faults from the factory. Of course the factory does not provide wiring diagrams, and it has been a treasure hunt to find the locations of many electrical components (eg: fuses, the inverter), and the factory does not even follow normal color code conventions. I have found wiring splices, where the wire color changes. However, three university degrees in electrical engineering have helped in sorting out the mess.
Of course, the cheap “china bombs” OEM tires were replaced within a few months – shortly after having one blow-out (2000 miles from new), that chewed up the wiring, hydraulic lines for the landing gear, and the lower aluminum skirting.
With constant maintenance, and fixing things quickly, plus many, many upgrades, we now have some confidence in the robustness of the rig.
We love the full-time lifestyle with the RV, and have pretty much sorted out all the design flaws, but I sympathize with folks that are not handy in fixing things.
We bought a 2016 Lazy Daze 24-foot Twin King motorhome, Chuck, and it’s been wonderful. You order direct from the factory and the coach is built for you and that process took about 9 months from ordering to delivery. So, we had to wait but we had a Volkswagen Westy we could camp in in the meantime. Dealing with the folks at Lazy Daze was great – nice friendly, reliable people who do what they say they’re going to do. The craftsmanship of our new motorhome is exceptional and we love living in it on the road. If anyone is interested in learning more about our new Lazy Daze, I put up a webpage on it with lots of photos, here: https://jimlangley.net/2016LazyDazeMotorhomeRV.htm
Love your newsletter!
Jim
I bought a new Montana High Country in December 2016 [sic]. I tried to think of some good things about it but it is difficult. It looks nice and has nice furniture but overall the workmanship and attention to detail is not good; closet door fell off on first trip, stickers for holding tanks were mislabelled so when I went to empty gray water black came out, not funny; the dealer told me there was nothing wrong with it and if I had trouble with it again don’t come back; refrigerator doesn’t work properly; interior trim fell off; closet clothing rod fell down; tiny screws hold the ladder in place so it is an ornament as opposed to being useful; screws fall out of the fenders; and one of the slides does not come in or out smoothly, vibrates something fierce and rubs hard even after attempting to lubricate. Other than that it is fine tows nicely but I have discovered over the years these trailers are not made to be used but to look nice.
Purchased our new Jayco Jay Feather 23RLSX from Gayle Kline RV in Mountville, PA (near Lancaster) in January. We have been incredibly happy with it. Yes, there have been a couple of minor warranty adjustments needed, but overall the quality is good and there have been no nasty surprises. Everything works, can’t ask for much more than that. Our dealer has been excellent on the relatively minor issues that have come up, so major kudos to them. We’ve enjoyed more than 40 nights of excellent camping since May, including a great trip to Maine.
I’ve been extremely pleased with my Phoenix Cruiser motorhome (bought new from the factory in 2012 for full-timing). The Phoenix people have been eager to request suggested improvements, field phone questions and fix anything that has gone wrong. Once I even protested to the owner (Kermit Smith) that he should charge me more $ for repairing problems I myself had caused (broken sewer line). Another time, I thought I had broken a door side panel but Smith stated that they found the panel to be defective and insisted on replacing it at no charge to me. Other Phoenix owners tell me they’ve had unexpectedly good experiences from the company.
I have had repetitive problems with Camping World’s service wait times and parts knowledge especially here in Asheville, NC and I’m very disappointed in them. Now I think I’ve found an independent that so far has provided good service and advice.
We have a 2016 Pheonix Cruiser 3100. Just got home (Florida ) from 5 months in Canada and Alaska. Drove 15600 miles. Only a few very minor problems even driving Top of the World (100 miles of terrible gravel road). Essentially full-timed for 156 days. LOVED IT! Stopped by factory on the way home. All items fixed at NO COST. Had a class C from well known manufacturer. It was in for repairS more than at home. Looking forward to many more miles with our Pheonix Cruiser.
The materials used in our Arctic Fox is top quality. The finishing details were lacking. Where the plumbing or electrical went through walls or floor inside a cabinet, a huge hole was cut, not the smallest necessary, and the hole was left open. Electrical wires underneath the rig were just hanging in big loops, where they would have caught on any bush or tall grass. Cabinet hardware needed adjusting and tightening, Plumbing fittings needed tightening, construction debris like dropped screws and odd pieces of wire were found. And one tool. Thanks for the ratcheting screwdriver Arctic Fox! The biggest of all is the sewer hose tube in the rear in the rear. Welded in a spot where the frame blocks access, making it useless. That one I cannot fix myself..
I should not have to spend a week of my time crawling underneath and inside things finishing up what should have been done in the factory.
My wife and I have had a total of seven RVs (plus 2 sailboats); Three VW conversions; two Class C’s; one Class A and now a Class B. Of all of them the class Cs were the best and most trouble free. The maker is Lazy Daze of Montclair CA. Manufacturer direct. You put in your order and in 6 months they build you the best Class C any where. We owned a ’72 and a ‘2000. Both were trouble free and built like an aircraft with all electrical and plumbing tied down. If you had any questions a quick call to the factory would answer them. The wait for a new rig is now up to 18 months but the wait is worth it. Lazy Daze owners are a loyal bunch. I wish we still had the 2000 Lazy Daze 26ft Midbath. A perfect RV.
We purchased our Jayco 32RLDS last April when I retired.
Have used it in RV resorts, Boondocking with a generator, national forests & beside a few lakes for up to 1 week at a time.
Very satisfied with the camper, have had only 2 issues which were minor & rectified almost immediately by the Jayco dealer.
This floorplan of 1 bedroom with an outdoor kitchen & slide outs in the living room fit our style of camping / resort tailgating perfectly.
Have noticed the more involved & educated you become performing minor maintenance yourself the better camping experience.
We purchased a 2013 Heartland Big Horn four years ago and have been happy with it so far. The first year, under warranty, we had a few minor problems that were mostly fixed at the dealer and others we had fixed at a local RV Service Center. We purchased the RV 3 hours from our home, but have been able to use an RV Service Center that is about an hour away for any problems.
The only “major” concern that we had with the Big Horn were the tires that came on it. We had problems with 2 of them, but caught them before we had blow outs. We have since purchased much higher quality tires that should have come on it from the factory as far as we are concerned.
If we were to ever purchase another RV, we would definitely keep the Heartland Big Horn on the list.
We purchased our one and only RV, a new 2012 Tiffin Allegro 34QFA from Poulsbo RV. They do the warranty work and most issues have been minor and resolved quickly. We LOVE the brand are quite happy with the dealer. Staying up on maintenance is paramount.
We bought a 2015 Redwood 38RL in August ’16 and full timing now over 5000 miles. I’ve tightened a few screws and ice maker line had a pinhole leak. Love this rig and had more maintenance on S&B home.
We bought a 2016 Coachman Sports Coach and have had a few minor repairs. We were not thrilled with the service where we bought the coach but have had some maintenance done at the factory and could not have had any better service. We will definitely buy another Coachman if/when we purchase another one.
We bought a new Allegro Breeze 32 – smallest diesel pusher on the market – in Dec. 2014. Six months later the front A/C gave out. One year later the rear A/C gave out. In both cases, Tiffin shipped new A/Cs to the RV Repair Service of our choice (full-timers), paid for the installation and return of the broken ones. Total cost to me. = “0”
This coach is solid, well built and trouble free.
We now have our 3 rd. Jayco Travel Trailer in 6 years. Our current 2014 Jayco Eagle 266 RKS and previous Jayco trailers have been very reliability units. These trailers are and were towed over 6000 miles per year.The 2 year Jayco warranty gives peace of mine, that if something does occur, it will usually happen in that time frame. My only concern with RV ‘s today are the tires. Not because of any problems , but I usually replace all 4 OEM tires after 2 years and up grade to the highest load range I can get for the size tire I have. Tires are one area I wish I could upgrade at the time of my RV Trailer purchase as we usually require the dealer to factory order our trailers .We have only used the Dealer Service one time on our current trailer and a prearranged appointment and the dealers procurement of the required parts from Jayco was made and the item fixed to my satisfaction. The trailer was at the dealer for less than one week.
Yes I do make some minor repairs myself but these are tightening a few screws , adjusting and general maintenance .
We would certainly purchase another Jayco.
I bought a 2016 Grand Design Momentum 350 M brand new in May and have towed it nearly 4000 miles so far this year. This is my second toyhauler, and I have to say I’m extremely impressed. The build quality, fit and finish, attention to detail, function and performance are outstanding. Everything works, and works well. No issues with build, but I did lean too hard on the couch and pulled out a mooring screw. (my fault) I think these Grand Design folks are out to make a name for themselves, and are working hard to gain a good reputation. Friends of mine who bought another brand (think Jurrasic Park) are in a quagmire of issues and cannot believe what a great rig we have.
Dave, in case you have not heard, Winnebago just announced that it’s acquiring Grand Design.
https://www.rvtravel.com/winnebago-to-acquire-towable-maker-grand-design/
We, too, have had good experience with our Grand Design Solitude 369Rl. We bought it new in Feb 2p2y, started full timing in June, and the only issue we had was taken care of with no problem. We’re I very happy with our Solitude snd hope Winnebago is as conscientious as GD is.
What a bummer. One of the reasons that I thought that Grand Design was so great, with trailers is because it was independent. Now under Winnebago will the company go down the same road as others. When I was shopping for a RV I did look at the Winnebago and its fit and finish was really bad. Just hoping Grand Design does not go down the same path
Last April we bought a Thor Hurricane 36C. from Reines (rhymes with Finest) http://www.reinesrv.com in Ashland VA. We had the very best experience with them. It was our second motorhome, we bought our first one from Dodd in Yorktown. We had two warranty items replaced after we bought it. One was a known issue of the led awning lights not working correctly, the second was that a screw was mis-threaded on our ladder. We have had NO problems with the RV itself, though we did have some adjustment issues coming from moving from the older RV to the new one. Reines has been awesome with service and we get the work done quickly and with no problems. I highly recommend them and Thor.
As a motorhome technician sine 1986 I’d say what you have today is for the most part very well built. If you look back 40 years and see what we had then and see what we have now there is a very big difference in quality. We now have every type of accessory there that you can think of. The more you have the more there is to go wrong. This is true in you car, truck and in you motorhome or trailer. So for the tech repairing has become much more difficult. Plus as the last fella said a little maintenance can go a long way. Over the last 14 years we have had 2 class C Tioga motorhomes and over all have been very pleased with the Quality. So enjoy the road life it’s great
Bought a 2012 Rockwood 8244 and later traded for a 2015 Cougar 277RLS to have a little more space. Other than a few loose screws and things of that nature that I fixed myself, never saw either dealer again after leaving the dealerships. I feel a 1 year warranty is in the buyers favor. The pain of possibly having to go back to the dealer with a problem is over in a quick 365 days.
We got our 2015 Wildcat Maxx 28RKX in fall 2014 so we couldn’t use it until spring 2015 (live up in the cold North). I was VERY concerned after reading all the problems and flat out disasters it seemed so many people have with their new trailers. When we used it I was almost waiting for one of those disasters to fall on us, but none did! the ONLY real problem we had that first trip was the water pipe to the toilet wasn’t installed correctly and it started to drip. undo and re-attach the fitting that had been cross threaded and no more leaking. No tires blew up, no leaks with the roof or windows, no slideout problems or power stabilizer jack issues as I’ve read about.
Yes we got a list of small cosmetic things since it was under warranty, which was a mistake as it took over two months to get it back last fall when we took it in before the first year was up.
Then this year we went on an over 2 week and 2500 mile trip with again, no problems.
We took it to our same dealer for the “Forever Warranty” annual inspection and the day we were hooking up to take it down (2 hours away) the power tongue jack quit working, it would go up but not down.
They had the trailer completed the same day! and the extended warranty even covered most of the cost of a complete replacement tongue jack! We are very happy with both the trailer and the dealer.
Our only concern now? We’re thinking about going back to a 5th wheel for some more storage space, and will we be as lucky again?