looking for owners of 2004-2005 Pace Arrows

Bbur7 wrote:
We have experienced the same problem with the awning not dumping water on our '04 37C. I remember the salesman touting the feature when considering the purchase. Funny, when I brought it up with service the first time back, the tech told me that those things don't work and if it were him, he would just bring the awning in every night.

Last weekend we were out with rain in the forecast. I used a bungee card to pull and hold the rear support down in the position it would be in from the water weight. The awning still filled up without dumping.

Another peeve about this awning is having the tube slot to put in lights but having to get the ladder out every time to put them up. We have stopped using our awning lights unless we are some place more than a weekend.

My unit is in the shop for other problems, but I will check these numbers when it gets back.

Now let me vent about the things its in the shop for now.

We bought in August 2004, indoor winter storage both winters, under 12K miles by us.
1) Packing for weekend, the left frontmost basement door would not close. Front hinge tore through. Support rod fought the closing of the door, and clearly contributed to the stress on the hinge as its the one directly on top of the support. This did some damage to the trim molding above until I removed it. Took both of us to get the hatch secure. Quoting the PA 2004 brochure
"Improvements abound! A redesigned front and rear cap, new luggage doors and hinge system"
Dealer said out of warranty, this is my problem. Good Sam Extended Warranty will not cover either.
2)Better half went to remove something from the under bed storage in bedroom, and found the bed platform not square on the bed frame. We removed the bedding and mattress and found the platform had separated from the hinge on the side toward the rear of the coach. When we lifted the platform, the stress from the support rod ripped the platform apart on that side. Like the door, the support rod force would not permit our putting the bed back in place. This platform is constructed of pine 1x4's on the flat, with 2 sheets of luan like laminate glued and stapled to it with solid foam insulation fit into the sandwich. It is obvious the glue failed and then the strength of the piston of the support rod pulled it apart. I had to crawl in the storage area and remove the rod to get it to close, plus remove 3 dozen staples protruding from the damage so they wouldn't rip the mattress. Dealer said out of warranty, this is my problem. Good Sam Extended Warranty will not cover either. Again quoting from brochure Let serenity be your theme tonight. Retire in grand style with Pace Arrow’s queen size bed with pillow top mattress... Serenity my @#$!!

Frankly, I will would not let them fix this back the way that it was originally - if you have 2 adult people sleeping in this platform, this is not going to hold up the way it was constructed - truly a piece of junk. I will replace myself with cabinet grade birch 1/2" plywood.
3) Washing breakfast dishes Sunday morning, turned water on in kitchen sink, the facet head literally flew off the metal hose. Was using city water with my always present pressure regulator at the supply. Dealer said out of warranty, this is my problem. However Good Sam extended warranty is going to cover this.

I called Fleetwood and expecting that since their "...mark of excellence is a pledge of quality." and "Every Pace Arrow is inscribed with the Pace Arrow insignia as a testament to its enduring elegance, character and craftsmanship." , I expected these obvious lapses in quality and craftsmanship would result in some consideration.

This is our 2nd Class A; our previous rig was an '02 Thor Hurricane, it was a nightmare. We thought the higher price tag and at the time reputation of the Pace Arrow would get us in a rig that was well made and reliable. We love the layout and the mechanical platform, but are getting pretty tired of the failures that occur in the coach and it spending more time at the dealer than with me. Is this the standard for RV manufacturers - not caring about quality and workmanship and then crossing their fingers for one year while they and their inept dealers stall you so they can then say tough luck?

Had planned on upgrading again when ready to go fulltime, but don't know if I'm up to putting up with another round of headaches from another unit.

Since I posted this the dealer confirmed we had the wrong awning and Dometic replaced it; a new kitchen faucet head was installed, but it has the same kink in the hose that the original had - still waiting to here if this is normal; I built a new platform for the bed with cabinet grade plywood edge wrapped with maple; and 5 more basement doors have had had hinge failures - I suggest to all that you buy a rivet gun.
Am also experiencing a problem listed elsewher in this forum regarding the jacks retracting all the way - right rear remains down about 2 inches.