Am I Expecting Too Much

[TUGCAMP]

Traded in the 5er last January for a Winnebago Vista 32K bunk model. I really dealt until the dealership gave me a better price than anyone other dealership in Southern California. Since I have taken delivery I have had issues with the wallboard covering (wallpaper) There are at least 10 areas where the paper has bunched and wrinkled around slides, windows, the shower fixtures, etc. In the bathroom, where the dealership attempted a repair on an area that was really bad the paper is not loose in other areas near the repair. Recently the paper on the entry door has started to peel and bunch so the problem is getting worse. I have had the motorhome to the dealership twice, the first time for nearly 7 weeks and the second time for nearly 6 weeks. I seems that they wait till I call them for the motorhome because we have a trip planned, they tell me everything is finished and I pick it up only to find the work has not been done and the wallpaper issues do not get addressed. I'm a working man with kids, DW is a teacher so we use the motorhome when DW and the kids are off. The factory warranty is ending at the end of January and these problems still exist despite several calls to Winnebago Customer Service and Giant RV Service Center in Corona, CA. I did not have this issue on my Fleetwood Wilderness Advantage 5th Wheel so it was not something I was overly concerned with when I took delivery other than pointing it out to the service manager during the walk through.
At this point I am wondering if this is an issue in all motorhomes and I am being overly picky. I was happy with my 5th wheel prior to this purchase but we needed something we could tow the boat with and not have to rely on others. This brings me to my nest concern, we spend much of the summer at resorts in the Lake Havasu area where the heat regularly reaches 115 degrees. I'm worried that the wall paper will get worse in time and I will be stuck with this problem long after Winnebago writes this off. I email Winnebago and proposed the following remedies. 1) To repair all areas and offer a warranty on the areas repaired for an additional 5 years. 2) Replace all the wallboard in the motorhome me a 1 year warranty on the wallboard installation. 3) Refund me the purchase price of the motorhome minus 10% for the 1 year of use and I will purchase another brand and cut my losses.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this and give me advice. I just don't want problems patched now that will become big problems in the future.

[ChileRick]

We purchased our 2012 Winnebago Sightseer 30A in February of 2012. In April of that year we noticed that the cabinet fascia's and slide room moldings were de laminating. Your experiences with your dealer are way too familiar to us. You can read our posts about the details of our experiences in this forum, I don't want to repeat all of them. Anyway, here it is almost 2 years later and we finally have almost everything repaired. (A couple issues left and an open negotiation with Winnebago pending) It wasn't until we got Winnebago involved and got a service rep from them to "babysit" the repairs that things began to happen. You may have a shot at getting Winnebago to extend your warranty, but we tried to get them to buy back the coach and were unsuccessful. In the end, we're happy that we still have it, but t shouldn't take 2 years to finish a coach they took 4 days to build in the factory, and the process is more than painful.

[fla tom]

it can be very frustratingI am having quite a few issues trying to get the dealer to fix items on our new coachI will be taking hours to the factory to get it fixed and don't know that I will buy another one of their products their dealer network is very poor
on service we have had the same issues of leaving the coach for weeks and nothing being done although they will tell us that everything has been done

[cmpncrsaider]

To answer your question Absolutely NO!! Your not asking to much! That is a FACTORY DEFECT! The dealership might be barely staying afloat or whatever, that's not your problem, it's the factory that has to make it right! If that's a bad batch of mar light or whatever product they're using trust me they already know about it. Deal with the factory guys, they're a good co. And do care about customer satisfaction. Keep calling them, it's under warranty and IMO they'll make good on it. I hate hearing this especially from working people who just don't have time to waste chasing people around.

[StevieG]

It sounds like the batch of glue used to adhere the wallpaper to the wall board is defective. The good news in all this, is that from what you have stated, it's only the wallpaper... It could be a lot worse... I would suggest that in addition to talking with the dealership and corporate guys, I would send a certified letter to the President or CEO of the company detailing the issues and timeline. Request the issues be resolved to your complete satisfaction and that they guaranty the work, or you will pursue the matter legally. I guarantee you will see results...

[MartySQ]

Originally Posted by StevieG

It sounds like the batch of glue used to adhere the wallpaper to the wall board is defective. The good news in all this, is that from what you have stated, it's only the wallpaper... It could be a lot worse... I would suggest that in addition to talking with the dealership and corporate guys, I would send a certified letter to the President or CEO of the company detailing the issues and timeline. Request the issues be resolved to your complete satisfaction and that they guaranty the work, or you will pursue the matter legally. I guarantee you will see results...

Wouldn't hurt to include photos of the problem in your letter.

[NeilV]

The local dealer flim-flamed me for a while untill I called Winnebago directly and asked them for assistance. I did not demand or threaten just told them how much I liked my coach and what a bad rep the dealer was giving their product claiming lack of materials and support from the manufacturer.

The next day I got a call from the dealers service advisor appologizing for any misunderstanding and assuring me that of course Winnebago stands behind their products and they were just waiting for them to manufacture the items I needed as they were out of stock. I then let the service advisor know that when I called Winnebago the previous day they assured me the parts had never been out of stock and were available for overnight delivery to prevent trip interruption.

After 13 years of flexing and a trip down the ALCAN the backing on the wall panels has started to creep on mine too but that is to be expected after all these years in hard service. On a motorhome you will get more torsional forces than on a trailers when you go down uneven roads which will make this more likely to happen. A trailer has only 3 points of contact when underway which are the pin/ball on the hitch and the rear axles while a motorhome has two additional wheels up front on the steer axle and the chassis flexing as it follows the road fighting a square box mounted on its back so they will be more prone to some movement around the door and window frames.

Of couse the question comes up with the dealers attitude and demonstrated lack of expertise in dealing with this, even if they are strong armed by Winnebago can you really trust them to do a good job? On mine I just took the parts and installed them myself which took less time and bother than driving the coach over there dropping it off being followed by my wife to drive me home afterwards, calling to get progress reports, being told the coach was ready, arranging for someone to drive me to the dealership only to find them not ready making so I had to come back another day after compensating the person who drove me the 40 miles round trip and then arranging a ride for another day then to only find the work was not done completely so the cycle would start over again.

It worked out with installing everything myself taking less time then it would have taken to drop off and pick up the coach just filling out some paperwork without leaving it. The work was done right the first time too and I gave the guy who did the work (hey that was me) a pat on the back and treated him out to a burger and fries with ice cream for desert at a local Mom and Pop dinner that takes pride in what they serve. What I saved on gas by not driving round trip to the dealer more than paid for the treat too.

[motohomer]

If possible you should arrange with Winnebago to have the repairs done at the factory (Forest City, Iowa), in the spring. They will be able to do a much better, more thorough, & faster job than your dealer can.

We had a multi-cabinet delamination issue (bad batch) in ours. The factory took care of it in a couple days while we were in town for the GNR. No drama.

[rream]

Just wondering why you posted this here and also on the Good Sam Forum after a year.

In your post of 4/24/13 you did not mention any problems. Perhaps a summer in 115 heat would fry alot on a motor home.

[jerichorick]

I agree with going to Forest City. I had this problem on my '05 Vectra and I am now seeing it on this, as of this past May, new to me rig. I am out of warranty and the second owner.

As far as dealer work goes, higher the paper boy. He knows as much about these things as the dealer shop does!