(July 25, 2020) — A Virginia couple is suing Jayco, Inc., claiming the 2019 Entegra 44B Aspire motorhome they bought in 2018 contained wood-boring beetles. John and Audrey Gleske, of Gore, Virginia, accuse the Indiana company and its Entegra division of being in breach of warranty.
According to a story in yesterday’s Elkhart Truth, the Gleskes paid $364,450 with a five-year warranty.
During a walk-through inspection of the RV in Elkhart, John Gleske says he noticed what appeared to be sawdust inside. He thought it was left over from its construction. The couple noticed more sawdust later whenever the RV was cleaned. The lawsuit states they also noticed tiny holes in multiple locations plus the carcasses of dead insects.
An exterminator examined the vehicle and reported the holes and “sawdust” were caused by powderpost beetles, noting the beetles lay their eggs only in bare, unfinished wood, which the Gleskes claim was used in the RV’s construction.
The Gleskes say the beetle infestation significantly decreased the trade-in value of the RV, possibly to zero. Among other things, they accuse the company of fraud, of being in breach of warranty and of violating the Indiana Products Liability Act through negligence in manufacturing as well as the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
##RVT958b
It’s not at all surprising to hear of such a thing happening in an RV industry that is so single-mindedly intent on churning out as many units per day as possible. In such a fast-paced production line it is very doubtful that the typical low wage, unskilled line worker would be expert enough to recognize such a problem as a borer insect infestation, or if he was aware that he would care enough to report it, or even if he did report it only to hear a supervisor tell him to ignore it and use the materials anyway rather than halt production and inspect all the lumber. These companies probably figure they can just wear down any “problem customers” by delaying everything in the after-sales repair shop or by dragging things out through months of litigation and counter claims in the courts.
I would think the RV manufacturers would be aware of such a possible problem. Why wouldn’t they treat the wood and other components BEFORE starting the build. Makes sense? The excuse may be that takes time? No kidding. But if started then it would be in the process and no more extra time since now all materials are in que . Is that hard to understand? I’m an engineer. And as an engineer, we always look at the what if’s.
If one RV has this problem , I would bet the RV’s built before and after have the same problem.
In my opinion, this all comes down to quality control/inspection. They should have someone inspecting all equipment and materials that they buy AND have each phase of the build inspected. This would enable them to use materials that would not fail and systems that would work properly. When they close up the floors and walls before they check to make sure the plumbing is connected properly and the electrical is checked/tested then YOU WILL HAVE PROBLEMS!!!
Additionally, who the heck is managing those who are building the unit. If they would keep records of the crew, their area of work, and units they they were responsible for then maybe they can identify problem employees who make the same mistakes over and over again.
Year after year it is the same crap!
Forest River units are also reported as having the same issue. It seems that roughly 2016 – 2018 was when this happened to FR as well. Perhaps they all buy the wood from the same supplier.
LOL..GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE..THEY ARE GOING TO CLAIM YOU GOT THOSE OUT CAMPING SOMEWHERE!
Friends of mine had this happen to the table and 4 chairs in their 2005 Sunnybrook. Once it was discovered what it was almost 2 years later Sunnybrook stepped up to the plate and replaced it all. Things like this happen from time to time. Not really the RV companies fault but the suppliers they buy from. Be interesting to see how this plays out
I bought a brand new Prime time travel trailer 2014 Lacrosse 318 BHS it is complete junk from the beginning , water leaks destroyed wall and floor, electrical lucky it did not burn up service man said it was not grounded, now is is junk awning falling off , outside kitchen door fell off paint faded so bad on cap after I paid extra for a gel to protect, they said bad gel , not there fault 2 years after I purchased travel trailer,I was out of warranty, I had an extended warranty. They did not help at all , Thanks Prime Time , I never buy from General RV again . so I am stuck with junk travel trailer, which no RV dealer wants, I cant use and I still owe $ 8,000 on this , NOT A HAPPY CAMPER
To me this is a form of theft. Selling a product that is defective is a case of the rich manufacturing giants stealing. Why is it lawful for giant companies to sell expensive products that are deffective. The lemon law was a serious improvement for automobile purhases. We need more lemon laws. It is not acceptable to leave a person stuck with a useless hunk of metal.
Another reason why we desperately need Lemon Laws as this industry regulate themselves, call all the shots and cause so much pain and stress in people who have given them their hard earned money. It took me almost 3 years to have all my warranty issues taken care of while THOR and the dealership played cat and mouse with each other and dragged everything out as long as they could with empty promises and lies galore in order to convince me not to call a lawyer. Had I known what they were going to put me through I would have absolutely taken them to court. This industry are cutting corners left right and center using cheaper components and poor quality control. Don’t these companies realize the sales they lose as word of mouth spreads through the internet at the horror stories people go through! I wish the Gleskes well in their lawsuit and hope we can have updates to hear a positive outcome for them.
Check out the Magnusson Moss warranty act. We cited it when our 2004 Sandpiper 5th wheel was returned to the factory 5 times in under a year for repairs. Forest River replaced it with a new 2006 and compensated our travel expenses between home & the factory. No big issues with the 2006. Sold it 11 years and approximately 150,000 miles later when we ordered a Class A.
I spent 43 years in the wood products business and while this problem is very rare, it happens. Luan (or what is often referred to as Philippine Mahogany) always needed to be fumigated for a specific micro beetle before it was shipped to the US. We went though a period of getting some wood not adequately fumigated and had drawers in kitchen cabinets turn to saw dust in a short period of time. The beetle would only affect mahogany and no surrounding woods. We fixed what needed to be fixed and made the customers whole. While Jayco is responsible for handling this correctly and making the customer whole in whatever fashion that means, it isn’t necessarily negligence or cutting corners that originated the problem. In our case we were a victim of something that went wrong farther down the supply chain, but it was our responsibility to take care of the customer.
Why must wood be used. So many problems with wood. Some RVs now have NO wood.
I found this very disturbing so I did some research and discovered this incredibly interesting and informative article. https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef616 There are several different wood boring beetles and their wood appetites are different. This *may* be a temporary condition. In other words, the beetles will not continue to eat until the RV falls apart. I also read some posts referencing this problem on iRV2.
Not an RV but our kitchen cabinets in a new custom built home had this issue. The builder ended up removing all of them. The cabinet builder dealt with cost and replacement via the wood supplier.
Fumigating will not kill them as eggs are laid inside wood
If my historical memory serves, I believe this was shortly after Thor took over Jayco. Jayco used to be one of the most highly regarded RV brands. While having work performed in Elkhart in 2017, I used a couple subcontractors to Thor/Jayco. They said Thor had immediately started cheapening down the Jayco line once acquired.
I feel long term warranties are useless in today’s new RV world. They won’t fix; can’t fix; can’t schedule in a timely manner;… Really don’t care, they’ve got your money. I’d buy used.
Yes I agree. I have 2005 Jayco TT and it’s built really well. I would not buy another Jayco since Thor bought them. Another example of big companies killing a good name.
Another Ill informed commenter! Thor Industries purchased Jayco in June 2016, two years prior to this incident. Hearsay from some subcontractor does not make it the truth. Talk to Entegra owners that have owned multiply Entegra diesel coaches and you will find just the opposite is true, the quality of Entegra coaches has improved since Thor Industries purchased them.
That’s it? There has to be more to this story. Please have an updated report later. I wish the Gleskes family all the best for a satisfying outcome.
$365,000 for an RV. Wow, That’s a lot of money. They had a 50/50 chance of having problems right after they bought it. No surprise there. I don’t think they will win their lawsuit unless other Jayco owners come forward with similar units infected. I feel bad for the Gleske’s. To spend so much money and now have nothing. I don’t know if I could recover from that.
So under your theory 10 people must have a member of their family murdered because just one doesn’t mean anything. How stupid. Jayco is responsible for building the RV with what would be considered substandard material. I’ll bet they settle because a jury will award cost of coach and damages. It’s time people stop buying this junk until it’s made well. There are well built motorhomes but you are going to pay more for them. It’s shameful that a350k product is falling apart. This is only the wood they can see. Lot of structural support for tanks are also wood. I’ve seen black tanks literally fall right out the bottom of a diesel pusher.
So then, under YOUR theory, Jayco is responsible for building the RV with what you state is substandard material. How stupid. Jayco didn’t put the beetles (or their eggs) in the coach, they came in what was probably the cabinets, which Jayco purchases from a subcontractor, –or– (and as another individual stated here), perhaps they were “acquired” whilst on a camping trip. WHOMEVER is deemed responsible, this issue doesn’t make Jayco RVs “junk” as you state, at least not in my humble opinion. And NO, we’ve never owned a Jayco. We DID however, purchase a NEW F. River Sunseeker & had nothing but problems – ended up trading it in after only 10.5 mos, for our current 2007 Fleetwood Expedition 38V, which we LOVE. Bottom line, NEVER buy new!!
I’m a guy who could afford to purchase a $350K class A but after researching for 2 years, have decided against it; all RV’s and TT’s. The potential problems would be way too much hassle for me. I will stay in hotel rooms instead when we begin travelling. As far as the lawsuit, unfortunately it’s very hard to prove. This will never get to a jury. I was referring to a possible class action suit if other owners had similar problems. Comparing what I wrote to murder is a bit extreme! If the Gleske’s have this kind of money for an rv, then spending another $10K on an attorney is very doable and practical. It’s upsetting, but these are wealthy people. Who else can afford these luxuries? Plus all the expenses that go along with it. Like I said, I’m not buying one. A few thousand more people like me and things will change.
I’m seriously wondering, if you decided against buying any kind of rig, what is your interest here? I’m not trying to be nasty, just trying to understand your reasoning. For example years back I wanted a boat of some kind and started looking into it and researching the initial costs and maintenance costs. I decided against it, because for me it looked like another bottomless pit to throw money into. I don’t follow boating, because of this, and RV’ing caught my interest. I did jump in carefully and am glad I did. From time to time I see posts or comments from someone who says they decided against RV’ing, but here they are some time later following RV’ing newsletters and other social media outlets for RV’s. It sounds to me that you still have the itch, and at some time in the future you will pull the trigger and get your first RV. I can’t promise you happiness and I can’t promise you will not have problems. But for most of us things do even out.
These continuous rv issues have reinforced my decision which I did not make lightly. I won’t purchase an rv. Millions of people don’t have an extra $1,000 for an emergency but we here are discussing $300K vehicles that are built like crap. I’m hoping others will not make the same mistakes these rv “dreamers” are making. I own Toyota’s. Normal wear and tear. I did have the itch to buy,and I am very disappointed. My research and common sense says NO.
I feel your pain. I’ve been researching for several years and I’m now beginning to lean in the direction of possibly not getting an RV, which has been my dream for many years. Wish the industry as a whole would improve the quality of their service, construction and products used in RVs.
With all my wife’s health problems and that she does not like to fly we mainly travel in the RV – our 1986 Winnie Chieftan. Rock solid reliable gas Chevy big block no computers no slides to break one piece aluminum roof so no leaks ever. She likes to be able to move about when needed and to have her own toilet to use at any time. We also have an expert mechanic who travels with us everywhere (aka Me). Whether we get there right away or have an interruption it is all too fun. Y’all can keep you fancy pants behemoths with the electronics and enormous payments – we pass everything except a gas station (5 mpg) lol
And of course room for the 4 puppies
Apparently. Grand Design is loaded with bugs they replaced one unit one vin # away from another they denied forest River it’s not one company read Post on Grand Design OMG 😳 it’s all company s it appears 🤔
I suspect there’s more to this story than meets the eye. If the owners had an insect problem they should have fumigated and presented the bill to Jayco. If Jayco refused to pay the owners should sue n small claims court.
I suspect the owners of the coach have buyer’s remorse and are trying to get Jayco to take the coach back. Due diligence of one’s RV needs and a good pre-purchase inspection could have prevented all of this.
Probably did. That’s why the exterminator was called in.
Willie, you are incorrect on buyers remorse. I am John Gleske. We totally love this coach. It is the best coach we have ever owned. Unfortunately I can not comment any further because it has now gone to litigation. My suggestion is you go to “Elkhart Truth” to read the actual documents filed in court. The full story is there.
This article is behind a pay wall unfortunately.
Hi Mr Gleske , my husband and I bought a 2019 Jayco Jay Flight SLX,We are having the same problem with these beatles.They bugs are present, They are eating 0ur booth and I am also seeing this same saw dust in our tv cabinet.I tought this was from the build so I vac and each time we have camped it comes back.i have taken pictures but I don’t know what to do next. If you could help I would be most grateful. our dealership has never heard of ths problem.
John I feel your pain with post beetles. I recently had a building made from general shelters of Texas in July 2019. the 2 inside walls have post beetles. I have been seeing the sawdust on the floor at the baseboards for years now. I thought it was my cat clawing them. I didn’t have a clue until it got worse and started seeing the dust on my light switch and I knew she didn’t get that far up. so the post beetles are in my paneling which I heard this paneling is the same used in RV s. i need to find where the materials come from in my shop. if I had them you can better believe more people out there have them too. I just had my shop fumigated, which was costly, hoping it killed them. it has been a nightmare with this whole ordeal. best of luck to you.
It is my understanding that fumigation does not work.
Newmar recalled 5 coaches in 2018 with this problem but they approached it very differently…..they removed and replaced every wood component on the coach’s!!
Do you happen to have a source I could reference on the Newmar recall? I would like to follow up on this.
John who are you using for lawyers I’m currently having the same problem you have with a travel trailer. Please email me at stereofreak6907@yahoo.com
If you got a answer, could you please e-mail me what to do about our travel trailer?
The Gleskes paid $364,450 with a five-year warranty.
Now, these are people that paid a lot of money to live their mobile dream , i hope they win their case and that they still have enough energy left to go out again and live their dream …
And i too want rv travel to follow this case !
Is RVTravel going to follow this story through to the end?