Fleetwood Ratings?

[Gary B]

Fleetwood Ratings?

HI Chelse, sorry about that, :blush: maybe we got the only bad one they made! And of course I know we got the only good Fleetwood ever made, course that because I'm such a nice guy :laugh: . All kidding aside are you going anywhere this winter, of course I know your in AL. and winters aren't real bad there. Guess your starting to look fondly on the Ford logo now . Speacking of fjohn56 its his fault for letting me now about how easy the faces are. Just kidding John :sleepy:

 

[fjohn56]

Fleetwood Ratings?

No Problem!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Gary.......They changed this on the reply board too; didn't they? :approve: I tell youse guys dis heer board just be gettin' bedder an' bedder all the time now :shy: :laugh:

 

[ralphie]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Gary, I might just try that. And Chelse, I wouldn't think about accusing you of anything. :laugh:

 

[C Nash]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Hang around Ralphie and I'll bet you can accuse me of something :evil: cause I do like to give my opinion and wife tells me all the time that I'm wrong and you know these better halfs are always right learned 43 year ago not to argue with her (to her face) :bleh: .
Gary, probably will not be going anywhere this winter and the winters do get cold down here. freeze to death when it gets down in the 30s :angry: . Went out and set behind the wheel in the M/H the other day, put in a travling video and set back and dreamed. Finally cranked the motor so it would seem more real. Oh, got sick and finally realized it was the ford emblem on the wheel that was causing the sickness :evil: put a piece of tape on the emblem, glued a bow tie emblem on ,cranked the engine and enjoyed the rest of the trip :clown:
PS- fjohn plese ck all those little dots and marks and speling and edit for me! dont ForgeT to coRreCt where aLL thosE BiG and LittLe leTTerS go THANKS and it is good to see all the new people taking part John :approve:

 

[bootsbuck]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Gary B -- It's a "Fleetwood thing" because Fleetwood choses to put Bargman No. 67 plugs on all their towables and new buyers should know what everyone else knows... and that is that Bargman plugs have a nasty tendency to work their way out of the socket while under way resulting in serious BRAKE-FAILURE SITUATIONS!!! It's not good to wailt until it happens to find out about this little problem. bootsbuck

 

[Gary B]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Boy thats a strech, every rv I've owned has had Bargman plugs on them, and I haven't had any problems. Well Bootsbuck, I got to thinking about your statement of this being a saftey thing, so while waiting for my better half to have her eyes examined, I went out and did a saftey check, so to speak on other RV's. Boy do we ever have to add a bunch of mfgs to the list of no good low down worthless heaps of junk, seen a Jayco, Starcraft, Tahoe, & a Coachmen in real short order that had these killer bargman plugs!!! AND boy those salemen at these places sure aren't interested in saftey, they had a fit and asked me to leave when I suggested they cut those killer bargman plugs off and replace them with a safer brand. Didn't have much better luck at Wally world either, notice a fellow there with a 40'+ 5er being towed with a MDT, nice set up but low and behold he had one of those killer plugs, he didn't think much of the idea of cutting it off and replacing it, he even got irate when I suggested the least he could do is tape it. :question: :disapprove: :angry:

 

[C Nash]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Boy did I mess up took one of them old Pollok connectors off a Airstream and installed a "FLEETWOOD" bargman plug and now I don't own the Airstream anymore. If anyone sees the airstream please tell him to get that thing off. Sure can't have no FLEETWOOD part on a Airstream Bootsbuck, what are we missing here :question: I'm confused, nothing new, like Gary i thought the Bergman, bargman was the most popular plug used and I am sure it could disconnect although I have towed quite a few miles and never had a disconnect Tell me more with some facts :approve:

 

[bootsbuck]

Fleetwood Ratings?

C Nash and Gary B -- Congratulations, I am truly happy for both you that you've been so lucky. I have heard from people from Florida to California that they have had problems with their Bargman 7-way connectors falling out under normal driving conditions. I'm not saying it happens to everyone. But if it happens to one out a hundred people, do you feel comfortable playing Russian roulette with the lives of your loved ones?? If a little tape around the cap and plug will keep the plug (and your electric brakes) secure, don't you want to do that??

Or are you saying these 7-way plugs never vibrate out under normal towing conditions?? Let's find out... Will anyone that has had their Bargman 7-way plug fall out under normal driving conditions please give us a response to this message. Also tell us if wrapping tape or plastic zip ties around the cap and plug works to hold the plug in place. This is an important safety issue, please respond. bootsbuck

 

[Gary B]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Hi bootsbuck, I and am quite sure Chelse, have no arguement against letting folks know of something that can be a saftey problem! What I had against your remark is you first tried to make it a Fleetwood problem and now a Bargman thing, it's not, its a general plug in thing and to try to inform folks is great and what these forums are about. Yes I have had a plug in come loose, and sometime they were pluged in and didn't make contact on one of the blades, generally when they came out it was because I didn't plug it in properly or had a worn plug. Yes I have seen folks tape them up, most of the time its because the spring in the cap of the truck end was broken and they had not replaced the plug yet, when it happed to me I put the blame where it belonged on ME not Fleetwood or Bargman.

 

[bootsbuck]

Fleetwood Ratings?


Geewhiz Gary, why are you so defensive? I wasn't blaming anybody for anything. I was just trying to pass along some simple information that might save somebody from getting seriously injured. Like you said the Bargman plug can come out when you don't expect it. This can cause BIG problems. If wrapping some tape around the cap and plug can solve the problem, then I think this is something everyone should know. How many people have had their plug come out when they didn't expect it? Shouldn't we come up with some solutions to this risky situation? bootsbuck

 

[C Nash]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Hi bootsbuck,
No problem at all from here about warning of any safety issues, thats what makes these forums so great. :approve: Getting all this personal experence FREE. I would have no problem taping, tying or whatever means to prevent the plug from disconnecting and if it's a common problem the manafacture of the product should be informed. If the socket is tight, pluged all the way in and the latch spring is good I really see no way it could come out but, that's JMO. I don't think I have ever owned a Fleetwood product and I do like to hear of all problems, just don't like to hear the bashing that's uncalled for IMO. I don't think I have ever heard Gary bash the HR and he may have had a lemon. Never really paid that much attention to the different plugs but, I was thinking they all worked basically the same way. Every thing made (man made) can come out a lemon oh well, maybe our maker turns them out sometimes also (talking about myself). Remember all these post are just our personel opinions and keep passing along all yours. I could probably bash the last rv I had but, will hold my opinion untill I hear of others that have had the same problem. Maybe some others will jump in and say they have had problems with the plug and how they repaired. If it's a common problem, I am sure there are plenty of lawers out there that would love to take this one on

 

[np551]

Fleetwood Ratings?

quote:Originally posted by terry49

Hi
I am in the market for a 5th wheel. I have seen many post on this site that says Fleetwood has many quality control problems but no specific items are mentioned. Can anyone tell me of some problems that are commom to the Fleetwoow 5th wheels? I have found a 2001 Prowler that looks clean and seems to be in great shape but I am leary of it having heard of so many negative comments about this brand. Can anyone clue me in on some of the problems I might encounter with this 5th wheel?
Thanks Terry
Go to www.rv.org homeof RV Consumers Group and buy some good informationaboutthe relative merits of various makes and models.

 

[hertig]

Fleetwood Ratings?

I have a 2001 Terry Lite, and don't really have any serious complaints about it. Layout is darn near perfect, execution was fairly good. After its maiden (5000 mile) journey, there are some minor things which I'll attempt to get fixed under warrenty (minor leak in the roof, way noisy water pump, rotted valve stems on the tires (i'm not holding my breath on that one ), broken external shower head, and the like. And some things I had to fix before I went (AC took too much current to start - installed a easy start kit, put in 'real' batteries, threw out the trash 'set-up kit' they included, carry around a tube of glue to reattach the edge banding on the wood when it comes loose, vaccummed out all the construction debris from the vents, added reinforcement to the TV shelf, etc.

But it is rock solid to tow, and comfortable/reliable to use, and if I could call myself the day before I bought it, I'd tell me to go for it.

 

[hertig]

Fleetwood Ratings?

By the way, am I unique? My plug (I have no idea what type) has a shelf on it, and the spring cap on the socket in the truck bed has a prong sticking out of it, and when the plug is fully inserted into the socket, the prong engages the shelf to prevent the plug working loose. Don't know if it is foolproof, but I haven't had any problems yet.

 

[Gary B]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Hi hertig, no all the 7 way plugs are like that and I've never had one come lose that was properly installed and the lock engaged. I've had Jayco's Coachmen & a Terry 5ers and had to vacuum up shavings & saw dust from all of them, dealer prep really only covers what you see at first glance, and thats about it, of course some dealers are better than others. My first trailer a Jayco I never got a battery, and only 1 LP tank had about half a fill of LP. So we all go thur that kind of thing. By the way John our Fleetwood Terry 5er was one of the best trailers we ever owned good to hear your having a good time with yours. :approve:

 

[Prowler]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Hi Bootsbuck, Gary, and Chelse. I've got a Silverado 2500 pulling a 1996 5th wheel Prowler 33 5Y. I too have had repeated problems with the plug disengaging, and have to secure it with tape.

 

[cole]

Fleetwood Ratings?

I always secure the cover to the plug with a homemade bungie made from a 3/8" long section of inner tube and a short piece of wooden dowel.

 

[Prowler]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Gary, with my unit it's not a matter of properly engaging the plug. With the plug fully instered into the socket there is about a 1/2" gap between the tab on the socket and the tab on the plug. So the plug doesn't fall out but loosens up that 1/2" which loses the electrical connection.

 

[Gary B]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Hi Prowler, that definatly will cause a problem. I guess in that case I would check and see if a Pollak plug fit and locked beter, if it doesn't maybe the truck end is not right, I don't know if it came with the truck or not, mine didn't as my new truck is a 1993, so I had to install my own plug in, I too would tape it not having a connection is NO GOOD. :disapprove:

 

[C Nash]

Fleetwood Ratings?

Prowler, sounds like the set screw has come out of the truck connector allowing the plug to slide to far into the connector course, I would think this would cause a short.