Winnebago Quality Questions

Wmlunt · 05-11-2024, 06:07 AM

Why do manufacturers put a drill in the hands of assembly workers? Likely way too big for the job!
Almost every screw I’ve seen on my 2024 218FBS is stripped! All of the camera prep lites have the screws buried, stripped, to the point of cracked plastic, I guess they don’t know when to stop!
Self drilling screws stripped everywhere exterior lites, puck lites with 2 screws when the fixture has 3 mtg holes…
Panels held on with screws in stripped holes - this may be the stealershio carrying on the tradition :(
Anyone have a fastener solution for the panels? Blind hole fastener for wood?

Sorry for the WBGO quality rant…
Bill

Bigbird65 · 05-11-2024, 10:50 AM

Bill, that sure can be a frustrating situation for a new owner. We bought a 2250DS new in 2018 and still have it. I have never run across the problem with the stripped screws. In fact, the build quality of our 2250DS has been very good, so different from the problems reported on the later units.

Wayne M · 05-11-2024, 01:01 PM

As a 2024 I would expect it to be under warranty. Take it in and have them fix it.
How is their problem.

Just thinking out loud but I would take a guess that Winnebago has a list of workers and what they were working on. If they don't, they should.

**creativepart** · 05-11-2024, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne M

As a 2024 I would expect it to be under warranty. Take it in and have them fix it.

Wayne, you are correct BUT!!! The vast majority of dealers don't want to do warranty work, there's not enough profit it in. And, to their peril Winnebago has chosen to not put meaningful pressure on their dealerships to do the work.

So, the dealer will say they're busy and give you an appointment 45 days away. Then when that day arrives they have you drop it off and you're lucky if they complete the warranty work in 3 or 4 weeks. If at all. It's equally likely they'll keep the RV for 3-weeks, tell you they're done and to pick it up only to find it not fixed or not fixed properly or sometimes even made worse.

You buy an RV in early Spring all shiny and ready to go. Then on a shakedown trip you find a list of broken things and call the selling dealer. You get the 45-day and 4-week delay and now camping season is darn near over and you've not had the use of the RV all Summer.

I tell folks all the time, saving a few hundred dollars by having the RV fixed under warranty is not worth losing out on using the thing for a whole Summer or camping season.

It's a shame. I assume Winnebago knows all of this. But so far have done nothing to remedy the situation.

No1Hunter · 05-12-2024, 07:20 AM

The few things we had to have repaired on our TT we had done at the end of the season. We brought it to the dealer, who was 130 miles away, gave them the list, and had them winterize it. Then we went back in the spring and picked it up.

Worked out great for us as we had to get our parking area ready for the TT.

As for stripped screws, I found one on the outside on one of the fenders. Our panels were strapped, and a couple did come loose. I used cabinet screws to fixed them. For your striped screws in wood, Elmer's and toothpicks work great to fill the hole and once cured, reuse the screw.

**creativepart** · 05-12-2024, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No1Hunter

The few things we had to have repaired on our TT we had done at the end of the season. We brought it to the dealer, who was 130 miles away, gave them the list, and had them winterize it. Then we went back in the spring and picked it up.

Worked out great for us as we had to get our parking area ready for the TT.

I hate to tell you we've some some dealers bad enough they would take the TT in at the end of the season, fail to repair it, fail to winterize it and fail to protect it. So, when picked up in the spring you'd end up in even worse condition.

You have to be super cautious trusting the dealer.

No1Hunter · 05-12-2024, 02:00 PM

Yeah, I am sure there are a lot of bad dealers out there. We tried to stay away from the big chain dealers and bought from a family owned lot. I believe you get better service from those type of dealers. At least it worked for us.

They did forget to winterize the outside spray attachment quick release port, but had it fixed before we picked it up. Everything was address, though the weeping toilet still wept. They said it passed the air pressure test. It has since stopped. Add in the 5 months of free storage, we were pleased.

eatSleepWoof · 05-13-2024, 02:07 PM

My 2022 has lots of sloppy work, but it's all minor, and not functionality-related. Haven't found a single stripped screw at this point. Lots of crookedly installed ones, lots of non-cleaned-up messes behind panels, but nothing actually functionally wrong.

Wmlunt · 05-13-2024, 07:54 PM

Yes, all panels have chunks of paneling, sawdust, etc. that is left up to the owner to clean. I think they mix black dirt in with their RTV as well.
Sad that there are no tradesmen coming along and the work is being done by minimum wage workers.
A few more generations and we will have to have robotic assembly, no one will know anything…
Bill

Morich · 05-13-2024, 08:32 PM

When the execs meet in their high dollar once a month "job", what do you think they discuss? Is it the quality of the product or is it how to increase the profits?
If the guy at the top doesn't care, why would we expect the guy at the bottom to do any better?
Maybe the solution is to break up any company that has more than a hundred employees? That way everybody could tell who was actually working and who is just living off the fat of the land!

wahoonc · 05-14-2024, 09:52 AM

I have been messing about with RVs for over 45 years, and have even built a couple from the ground up. There have been quality issues for years. Unfortunately, most RVs are built by people who get paid by the piece, not the hour, and there are no repercussions if they don't build it correctly.

When we purchased our Class C in 2016 we looked at several different models. We found two identical units on a dealer's lot that were built within 2 weeks of each other. One was put together reasonably well, the other looked like it was built by someone clueless.

We had a 2014 Dutchmen product that was very basic sticks and tin construction, which has been used in the RV industry for nearly 75 years. The basic interior framing was over an inch out of square in 4 feet. That one also had a couple of screws run into the wiring bundles, where someone used a 2" screw where a 3/4" would have sufficed.

Since COVID-19, many skilled workers have left the industry and now they are dealing with the leftovers. And it isn't in just the RV industry.

Adding insult to injury the warranties are only as good as the dealers. The smaller independent dealers are being sucked up by the big corporate owners whose only goal is to make money now, and who are also suffering from a skilled labor shortage. It never ceases to amaze me that you can, in many cases take your unit back to the factory to have things corrected, that never should have left the factory in the first place.

Aaron