Same question , different brand

Dixiechick wrote:
All motorhomes have some issues. The question is does the manufacturer stand behind his products? We took our Tiffin motorhome to Red Bay to have some work done that was covered by insurance. While there we were told we needed to have the end cap rails replaced. The original material was a very expensive fiberglass purchased from a well known manufacturer, industry standard at the time, that had a tendency to crack. It was replaced with aluminum. The slides and wet bay was examined. Our wet bay was ok but one slide floor needed work.
How much did all this extra work cost us? Nothing! This is why we will never have anything but a Tiffin product.

I think the best indication of Tiffin's problems can be found on the Tiffin Forum. One poster had made three trips to Red Bay to have his roof replaced or fixed three separate times. The issue that I see is not that Tiffin does not take care of their customers after the fact, but that there are major issues with the product before it ever leaves the factory. When a customer has to make three trips from Canada to Alabama and then still has problems, well, that is not good customer service by any definition.

427435 wrote:
Well, our Winny (Itasca) is 13 years and 74,000 miles old. There is no delamination nor roof problems. It runs like a champ (Ford V10) and is very comfortable. The only real problems I've had were a bad fuel solenoid on the furnace (hard to find) and a blown fuse on the water heater (my fault as pressure release valve leaked on it). I paid $52,000 for it 7 years ago and have put less than $600 in repairs into it (that doesn't count tires, added air bags, or routine maintenance).

It rides and handles fine and is quite quiet after $150 of sound deadening (included in the $600 above). I'm glad I didn't spend more (higher depreciation) nor do I have to worry about expensive diesel repairs and maintenance.

It floats my boat, anyway.

I think you will find in all brands quality has gone down a lot in 13 years. They are making them much lighter and thinner wood panels etc.

All motorhomes have some issues. The question is does the manufacturer stand behind his products? We took our Tiffin motorhome to Red Bay to have some work done that was covered by insurance. While there we were told we needed to have the end cap rails replaced. The original material was a very expensive fiberglass purchased from a well known manufacturer, industry standard at the time, that had a tendency to crack. It was replaced with aluminum. The slides and wet bay was examined. Our wet bay was ok but one slide floor needed work.
How much did all this extra work cost us? Nothing! This is why we will never have anything but a Tiffin product.

Well, our Winny (Itasca) is 13 years and 74,000 miles old. There is no delamination nor roof problems. It runs like a champ (Ford V10) and is very comfortable. The only real problems I've had were a bad fuel solenoid on the furnace (hard to find) and a blown fuse on the water heater (my fault as pressure release valve leaked on it). I paid $52,000 for it 7 years ago and have put less than $600 in repairs into it (that doesn't count tires, added air bags, or routine maintenance).

It rides and handles fine and is quite quiet after $150 of sound deadening (included in the $600 above). I'm glad I didn't spend more (higher depreciation) nor do I have to worry about expensive diesel repairs and maintenance.

It floats my boat, anyway.

I might be a bit biased but it wouldn't hurt to add a Beaver to your list for consideration. The older ones are known for their quality construction....especially the cabinetry. I just found out recently that the wood all comes from the same tree and grains match throughout.

There is no coach built today that does not have some kind of problems over time,if you are looking for something that has the quality you want in a class A you need to look at the upper level of Monaco,Newmar,and Foretravel,check out the all the forums you can find and talk to people that own the brand you are looking at,we own a Foretravel that we bought in 2005, it does not have any press or particle board , the cabinets are all solid wood,the floor is 3/4 inch plywood,these are some of the thins that were important to use when we bought our coach.

I have to agree with Bruce. Winnie and Tiffin are big producers who crank them out very fast and furious. Tiffin has a ton of issues that are major with things like roof cracks, end cap cracks, rotting wet bays, major slide issues and more. We had one Itasca/Winnebago that had an electrical issue and when Winnie sent us the schematic the inverter was in the opposite direction from the schematic.

If you are looking for a quality rig, you are going to have to look beyond the "bling" that shows up on the inside of so many rigs.

There is some salesmanship in this video but it does show how a hung wall is built;

Side Wall Construction

I've worked on them both and if it were me I'd keep looking - but thats just me. I know a ton of people like them, but get past the looks and into the heart of the construction. I'm not a fan of laminate construction, which most are.

A Monaco/Holiday Rambler, Travel Supreme/Entegra, or Newmar are all hung wall construction.

If it's not laminated it can't de-laminate.

Here is a recent Winnie project I worked on. Notice the lack of structure in the wall;