New Navion/Sprinter: Broken and/or missing
Two days ago we finally got the new RV in the driveway and as was the case with the last one, I am discovering problems that were not apparent during the walk through. We were supposed to pick it up the previous week when we did the final paperwork, but we were in a hurry due to other family concerns. When the rear bedroom slide was being demonstrated, something got caught, maybe the mattress was not moved correctly and the bed pedestal got ripped apart. That did not sound good and lots of screws flying everywhere. So, we had to leave it for repair. Now at home most everything seems to be in order. There are a few things such as misaligned cabinet door latches and an access panel with screws not actually sunk into the framework behind.
Our 2009 Navion had lots of dumb quality control issues and I was hoping that this would be better this time. No, pretty much the same. My opinion is that the type of problems I find trace back to the person doing the original fabrication or installation work. It is impossible to imagine that that person did not know it was not right as it was being done and just let it go as is. I know I did not do my job that way. Some stuff is obvious and should have been caught by the factory inspector or the pre-delivery people at the dealer. Rather than make the 100 mile round trip to the dealer, I make things right. But, with a new unit, I will make a list of problems I discover and make one trip and hopefully everything after that will be the normal RV wear and tear.
I do have some questions. On the engine (2016 Sprinter Chassis 3.0L V6) there is normally a shroud that covers the top concealing the turbo charger and fuel filter and such. The air filter plenum sits above this cover. it is missing and looks as if it was never installed. My first guess is that a decision was made to ommit the cover due to heat entrapment. Anyone with a late model RV on a Sprinter chassis observe this? If you can see the fuel filter sitting on top of the engine, you will know the cover is missing.
The gear shift knob and boot pulled right off almost on it's own. The gear shift knob installer did not complete the installation by turning the retainer nut below the knob inside the boot. Maybe first day on the job. When it flew off, it went airborne and my dog thought I was throwing a ball. Good dog, just drool and no tooth marks.
Somewhere between the dinette and the bedroom in the RV, the installer must have forgotten what the interior choice was on the build sheet. The window treatments do not match. Maybe they ran out of that color pattern. Not a deal breaker because it is attractive enough and who says every room in your house has to match? Just sort of odd and maybe it is typical of Winnebago's notion of quality control.
Another question: Driving home (55 miles) from the dealer, I found that the front wheels shook pretty badly and any speed above 45 MPH. You mean to tell me the delivery driver drove about 1,900 miles and said nothing to the dealer? Give me a break. On my 2009 Sprinter, the original Continental and later Michelin tires were smooth as silk. We have scheduled a shakedown cruise before the first return to the dealer for repairs, but I don't want to make a 100+ mile round trip for shaky wheels. It really is THAT BAD. I was thinking of just going to a local tire place that I buy tires from and have them look at it and at least see if it is just a balancing issue. Now that I think about it, when we got the 2009 Navion home from the dealer, I found three large screws in a rear tire that was nearly deflated. Yeah, same same. Now this thing has alloy wheels; anyone else have issues?
99% of everything else is pretty awesome, so that's cool. A few avoidable issues sort of takes the shine off the experience. In a separate post, I will cover some personal observations that might be useful to anyone considering a new View or Navion. We did make a special order from the factory as a nationwide search turned up nothing set up the way we wanted in options and choices. I'm glad we did; everything we wanted and nothing we did not.
I
Our 2009 Navion had lots of dumb quality control issues and I was hoping that this would be better this time. No, pretty much the same. My opinion is that the type of problems I find trace back to the person doing the original fabrication or installation work. It is impossible to imagine that that person did not know it was not right as it was being done and just let it go as is. I know I did not do my job that way. Some stuff is obvious and should have been caught by the factory inspector or the pre-delivery people at the dealer. Rather than make the 100 mile round trip to the dealer, I make things right. But, with a new unit, I will make a list of problems I discover and make one trip and hopefully everything after that will be the normal RV wear and tear.
I do have some questions. On the engine (2016 Sprinter Chassis 3.0L V6) there is normally a shroud that covers the top concealing the turbo charger and fuel filter and such. The air filter plenum sits above this cover. it is missing and looks as if it was never installed. My first guess is that a decision was made to ommit the cover due to heat entrapment. Anyone with a late model RV on a Sprinter chassis observe this? If you can see the fuel filter sitting on top of the engine, you will know the cover is missing.
The gear shift knob and boot pulled right off almost on it's own. The gear shift knob installer did not complete the installation by turning the retainer nut below the knob inside the boot. Maybe first day on the job. When it flew off, it went airborne and my dog thought I was throwing a ball. Good dog, just drool and no tooth marks.
Somewhere between the dinette and the bedroom in the RV, the installer must have forgotten what the interior choice was on the build sheet. The window treatments do not match. Maybe they ran out of that color pattern. Not a deal breaker because it is attractive enough and who says every room in your house has to match? Just sort of odd and maybe it is typical of Winnebago's notion of quality control.
Another question: Driving home (55 miles) from the dealer, I found that the front wheels shook pretty badly and any speed above 45 MPH. You mean to tell me the delivery driver drove about 1,900 miles and said nothing to the dealer? Give me a break. On my 2009 Sprinter, the original Continental and later Michelin tires were smooth as silk. We have scheduled a shakedown cruise before the first return to the dealer for repairs, but I don't want to make a 100+ mile round trip for shaky wheels. It really is THAT BAD. I was thinking of just going to a local tire place that I buy tires from and have them look at it and at least see if it is just a balancing issue. Now that I think about it, when we got the 2009 Navion home from the dealer, I found three large screws in a rear tire that was nearly deflated. Yeah, same same. Now this thing has alloy wheels; anyone else have issues?
99% of everything else is pretty awesome, so that's cool. A few avoidable issues sort of takes the shine off the experience. In a separate post, I will cover some personal observations that might be useful to anyone considering a new View or Navion. We did make a special order from the factory as a nationwide search turned up nothing set up the way we wanted in options and choices. I'm glad we did; everything we wanted and nothing we did not.
I
