disbelief&dispair

[Old Forum Post]

[jim k] fleetwood is even worse in 2001. the short story is that quality is not job one , or two... i think that fleetwood should stop printing adds in any publication, and instead of spending money on race cars, spend it on warrenty service. hopefully this would be right after they spend some on making the prouduct better. the attention to detail at the factory level has become non-existant. i have asked the company to buy back my unit at the factory level and suggested to them that they pay their employees and them selves in my unit, but of course they declined to purchace my prowler back. they "can make it just like new" so i gave the factory all the time they needed and then went to pick it up when they said it was "just like new". this must be some fine factory(i thought to myself). it only took them 30 days to repair all 57 (yes fifty seven items). so for the second time , i drove to the plant 650 milesone way and started checking it out. i started looking for "candid camera". after giving up on anything that looked "JUST LIKE NEW" i climbed onto the roof and was shocked to find that they had calked over old calk and made the roof look as if the unit had ben the victem of an indoor monsoon and it had never leaked (water),from the cealing,just the FLOORS, DRAINS, HOLDING TANKS, PROPANE PIPING , SINKS, SHOWER and SEWAGE SYSTEM. we found that water and snow from the road is collecting on the floors and carpet at all three slides and that it was easyer to clean up after water and snow than it was to wash "THE ENTIRE UNIT AND ITS CONTENTS" as we must every time we travel on a nice dry day. on dry days we have to wash everything in every drawer (CANT EVEN KEEP DIRT OUT OF MICROWAVE OR STOVE) the refrigerator is the only place that dirt does not invade. this makes for an interesting pattern of mud flow if we go from dry to rain/snow or viseversa this is problem #1. more details to follow on a regular basis..... PROBLEM #2 we will discus the dangers that fleetwood is willing to put us all in for the cost of a lock-nut...jim k

 

[Old Forum Post]

disbelief&dispair

[Vern M] Yours is a tale of woe, Jim. But, as much as you are disappointed, yours also is a tale of one unit made by a corporataion that is the leading volume producer of RVs in the nation. It puts your complaints sort of in the same category as saying General Motors is building trash because your Pontiac leaked or wouldn&#039t run right.

We had a problem a few years back with a travel trailer that was sort of akin to what you describe. By being calm, reasonable, and communicating with the right person, we worked it out. I hope you can too.

Bigger, complicated RVs are hard for manufacturers, at best, to get it all right every time. Especially when consumers want so many gadgets and comforts. It was that way in the general aviation aircraft industry when I worked there. And the products have much in common as far as engineering and construction complexity is concerned. I think it is reasonable to cut the builders some slack as long as they are trying.

Vern M.
The Little House on the Highway (tm)
www.runningriver.com/modeland/littlehouse.htm

 

[Old Forum Post]

disbelief&dispair

[Cliff] I have been reading several BB&#039s the last couple of years, since I purchased a used (92)30" 5ver Cardinal by Cobra (now out of business, and purchased by Forest River).
I am always amazed when I read about the shoddy workmanship of manufactures such as Fleetwood. I understand they were once a very good outfit. But what amazes me even more, is that so many people are of the opinion that they should be "cut some slack" because they have so many problems.
I think that if I were to spend in excess of 40 grand on a new RV (or anything else), I would expect it to be right the first time. I don&#039t think I would be in the mood to cut them any slack at all.
If I did my job the way they seem to do theirs, it wouldn&#039t be long before I was full time RV&#039ing, because I certainly wouldn&#039t have my job. And if I treated customers the way they seem to, my company wouldn&#039t be in business long.
I think if I ever wanted to start my own company, it would be in the RV industry, because the customers appear to be very easy and forgiving, and I wouldn&#039t have to work so hard.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Cliff
>I&#039ve given up on enlightenment and now I&#039m just hoping for a reasonable fantasy

 

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disbelief&dispair

[Vern M.] I guess I&#039d sum up what I wrote, Cliff, by saying they must be doing something right since they are still in business and are turning out a lot of units, big and small, that a lot of people buy and must be satisfied with.

One bad apple doesn&#039t mean we should chop down the tree.

Vern M.
The Little House on the Highway (tm)
www.runningriver.com/modeland/littlehouse.htm

 

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disbelief&dispair

[Cliff] Vern,
I certainly hope you are right. However, I have been reading several other BB&#039s and Fleetwood stands out consistently with stories similiar to the one above. But not just Fleetwood. The theme running through all of the horror stories seems to be that you must expect to return to the dealer/factory with your new RV (and put up with poor service and attitude) until they finally get it right...then you can enjoy your RV with pride for many years to come. What&#039s wrong with this picture?
I remember the situation with American cars until Japan came into the market, and the US Big 3 were forced to improve or die.
Hope the same doesn&#039t have to happen to the RV industry...I prefer to buy American (when I can).
BTW...I do enjoy reading this BB even tho I seldom post. Just couldn&#039t resist this one.
Cliff
>I&#039ve given up on enlightenment. Now I&#039m just hoping for a reasonable fantasy

 

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disbelief&dispair

[jmerritt] Fortunately we have a system in this country that usually takes care of this situation and it is called capitalism. Eventually poor quality and service will ultimately result in lost revenue and profit and finally closing of the business. Hopefully this doesn&#039t happen to Fleetwood but it could if they really do have quality and customer service issues. It will eventually catch up with them. Unfortunately, this doesn&#039t give any satisfaction or relief to the folks who purchased a product and are having quality and service problems. If you keep contacting your dealer and the manufacturer with your problem(s) and still don&#039t get any satisfaction then it is probably time to get in touch with your state Attorney General. Let&#039s not forget that just because Fleetwood is the biggest and has been good in the past protects them from financial failure. This wouldn&#039t be the first time a very successful company went belly up because of quality and service problems. Let&#039s hope not.

 

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disbelief&dispair

[Mark] Jim,

I&#039m sorry to hear about all your problems with your rv. Most states have what&#039s called a &#039Lemon Law&#039. If they can&#039t fix it after several tries, I believe I would look into that to see if your state has a similiar law.

Good Luck!
Mark

 

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disbelief&dispair

[Sandy] There is no way that I would buy one of Fleetwood&#039s products after reading this.

 

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disbelief&dispair

[TOBBY] DOES YOUR STATE HAVE LEMON LAW. TO MANY PROBLEMS AND THE MANUFACTURE BUYS THE UNIT BACK.