Quality of the new Fleetwood

We have had 6 motorhomes and 2 TT ,since 1978,in our RV ing life and now have a "New" 2012 American Tradition by Fleetwood...a 43M....the last 2 DP ers we had were Newmars..a 99 DSDP and a 2004 MADP....we owned them a total of 12 years and drove them just shy of 170,000 miles..the MADP had 99,000 miles...we actually went to the dealer to look/buy a 2012 MADP but DW saw this Tradition...which i have to agree had a lot and looked quite nice...BUT..

Quality Control does not seem to exist or is considered very important at the American plant,in MHO,On their tour, you never see it or is it even mentioned at all.
The saving factor for American is their Factory Service Center, if you go there to get "fixed",this service ctr and the people that work there, know their coaches...and can fix them......They are Fantastic.....They should be the Quality Control Dept

In the first 6 months...6,000 miles...here are some of the problems we ran into : Residential Refrig just stopped cooling;two hyd lines were on top of the radiator cooler and melted..hyd oil all over and no jacks;rear a/c in bedroom not blowing cold air....a block of foam left in air vent when installed;both captain chairs would not turn;driver's seat tearing in seam;moulding on inside of slides fell off as brought in..fixed 3 times;elect locks on full wall slide worked only when they wanted too..fixed 2x's;trim around front tv-falling off;one section of slide out, never buffed out at paint shop;air leaking in around cover in rear bath from engine;broken hdmi connector for tv.......these are what I can remember......

Now the Service Ctr spent in 4 days nearly 140 man hours to fix all of these....and fix them all they did...a Great Service Ctr
Now all units have their problems but our Newmars never had this maby items in 12 yrs...also was a few yrs back, I admit
If Fleetwood had a 24 month warranty period....for new RV's...then these items would all get fixed..We were lucky that the Tradition actually "Fell Apart" in 6 months and didn't go past the warranty period
the jury is still out on Would We buy a new American.....But you can be sure we will be looking at the Newmars.....Chuck

fredbon wrote:
Interesting, only one posting from an owner of a "New" Fleetwood product.

fred

I can only ofrer limited comments. The new Fleetwood has many of the same great service people of the former. Their service is about as good as it gets from them. That counts for a lot for many who caan't or don't desire to do it themselves.
The prices are a little higher than the old. The cabinetry is not as great however. Gota keep it honest. the Eagle etc do have the good wood . The paint is a great this time around as are many mfgs.
The fit and seal of compartments is better. Ths ound system and refrigerator and electric features and so on are just fabulous in the higher end ones. The heat pumps are quieter. The new frames really opened up a lot more storage bay area. The independent front suspension is worlds better than our coach. I think the insulation is better also but don't know.
Things I would like to see is more fresh water, gray water, and black tank capacity. Sure it adds weight but it is great not to limit dry camping because you both take showers etc. Strengthen the frame if necessary. Insulate the tanks and piping so that cold weather is not a concern or requires monitoring. Make the awning full coach length or close anyway and drop down tie downs that detach automatically if the wind or weather causes the awning to be automatically retract. A little electric signal and magnetic latch, maybe.
And paint and clear coats at least as thick as Semis so bugs and rocks especially cause less or no damage on front cap.

I have a fleetwood 40x dp that I bought new and We had a few minor problems, only one thatbI had to take to the dealer and the others were little stuff that I took care of myself because I did not want my coach to sit at the dealer for a month to get the work done.
Love my Fleetwood DP and would buy another one

I came out of a Newmar and into my Fleetwood Both are very good coaches. I have had zero problems from both. I would buy Fleetwood again.

fredbon wrote:
Interesting, only one posting from an owner of a "New" Fleetwood product.

fred

And none from a new DP owner.

Interesting, only one posting from an owner of a "New" Fleetwood product.

fred

We have a Fleetwood and have had NO problems with the coach at all, except a power surge. My fault, not Fleetwood's.

Ours is 2002. Runs strong and well built in my opinion.

Most people who have bought a brand new home thru a builder are very familiar with the "walk thru" and "punch list" that is part of the closing process when you are taking posession. Its much the same with large boats and RVs. The bigger and more complicated the more likely there will be small issues. Good local dealers resolve them quickly, buying from an out of state discounter can make the the process more difficult. It would be great if everything left the factory perfect, but 4 brand new RVs later I expect minor issues that are easily resolved. Thankfully I have never had a major issue.

We purchased our 2009 Fleetwood Discovery 40' DP last November, I love, Love, Love it, I looked on the internet for months and we looked at several, but this one only had 5078 miles on it and some of the equipment had never been used. Like the washer/dryer, stove, oven, table leaf, I could go on and on, but we talked on the phone to the previous owner and he said he traded for a 2013 and there wasn't any problems with the Discovery. It is great compaired to our 1990 Fleetwood Pace Arrow, we replaced just about everything on it, and it was still a 1990.

We are considering buying a DP motorhome, but I have read and heard statements like this many times. I just can't accept that a very expensive piece of machinery will have a "laundry list" of issues. Somebody needs to be in charge of quality control and if he/she can't do it, then be replaced by someone who can. Just my opinion.


Even yachts have a laundry list of issues. Look at the Dreamliner. every aircraft has growing pains. even buses have issues. it is a very complicated unit a motorhome is. and lots of systems integrated into a vehicle that is not normally found in passenger cars. Motorhomes are more hand built and therefore not mass produced like a television. So expect a lot of issues. be thankfull you can afford a DP.