What has happened to Winnebago Quality?

[Jim_Stehn]

I am a dedicated and loyal Winnebago motor home owner. I purchased my third new Adventurer several months ago. My first a 2000 35U, my second a 2005 38R, and my latest a 2015 38Q. I purchase Winnebago products because of the superior workmanship, design, and engineering. But I am very disappointed in my 2015 38Q. It does not measure up to the high standards I have come to expect from Winnebago. In terms of workmanship, cabinet doors are warped and misaligned, latches improperly installed, switches miss wired, screws in the bathroom light fixture not seated & heads stripped, window casing damaged, the main door holder was not installed, and in one bathroom, the gas heat duct was not even connected. . Where was Quality in all this? And most distressing of all, in nearly every case, the installer knew the job was not done right and let it go. In terms of design and engineering, the thermostat remote temperature sensors are located above the gas heat floor vents, ignoring the most basic principle of HVAC design. In one bathroom, the light switches are mounted above the fan and pump switches. In the opposing bathroom, the light switches are mounted below the fan and pump switches. How unnecessarily confusing is that? The Ideal Rest bed is a poor substitute for the Sleep Number bed in terms of ease of use. The controls are hard to use and the corded control is an unnecessary nuisance. The galley faucet runs slow and I called Customer Relations to inquire about it. Not only did Winnebago not know the specification for flowrate but gave me the name of the manufacture which turned out to be the supplier not the manufacturer and a part number that no one recognized. A major disappointment in your Configuration Management system which I have so often lauded. This whole experience has severely eroded my loyalty.

[Dadio24]

I agree with almost every post. My Winnebago has become a money pit. When I contact Winnebago for help, the 1st thing they ask is the age of the coach and then say "not under warranty, sorry" and hang up. They don not stand behind their bad slide designs, bad electrical, bad glue, cheap everything...except their LOGO is placed for everyone to see. The Winnebago of the past (that made them who they are) is gone...now we have to deal with bad everything from all makers...RVing is still fun, but now we judge a trip on the lack of problems we had during the journey...No problems, good trip!

[katoomer]

The cost of real quality has just become too expensive for most people to afford. I build custom homes that cost from $300 to $1000 per sq ft to build. We just completed a nice home with a building cost of $1.7 mil. The home next door is the same size and it was built for $800K. The level of quality in the house next door is atrocious. My wife buys a vegetable peeler at the dollar store for 3 bucks. It lasts about 6 months. I bought a Rosle peeler for $45 4 yrs ago. Mine is still sharp and will never rust. A Winnebago is $300K. A Foretravel is $900K. The only way RV's can be made affordable is to cut corners on quality and workmanship. Unfortunately spending a few hundred thousand on a motorhome does not guarantee you quality.

[mike_brez]

RLS7201 wrote:
This whole thread only reinforces why I keep polishing my 95 Bounder.

Richard

Same here. No squeaks or rattles nice ride still shines. I'm going to keep on polishing her also.

[RLS7201]

This whole thread only reinforces why I keep polishing my 95 Bounder.

Richard

[Effy]

Echoes what I have been saying on here for a long time. Quality is down across all manufacturers. You can go to a show, and walk through 10 MH's of the same level, not knowing the brand and you can't guess who made them. Some claim better quality but I think it's more of the emperor's new clothes. Give me 5 minutes in any brand and you can pick apart all kinds of stuff. I look forward to the day when foreign manufacturers start competing in the US market to drive competition.

[jerseyjim]

While I surely sympathize with the OP, I wonder, other than WANTING, why he had so many motorhomes in such a short period of time. His choice, of course, but to me, like my car(s) pickup truck(s) and motorcycle(s), once I realize I got a "good one", I keep 'em until they start giving me the "nickel and dime dance".

Surely, with a motorhome, a couple of hundred, even a couple thousand once in a great while for maintenance and/or repairs is surely better than HUNDREDS of thousands, just to keep up with the imaginary Jones'.

Just me.

[BennieH]

We have watched the quality slip over the years. Used to be you could look at certain manufacturers and you would see well built motorhomes. We have watched the overall quality get bad at the RV shows we go to. Pretty sad when you can see it in the models they bring to the shows.
There was a time when all of the builders had the low end to high end units and their "high" end units were good.
People wanted lower cost and they got it. They also bought what was offered and that reinforced the low cost mentality.
That is why we bought our Monaco last year. The quality is seen everywhere. The fit and finish is excellent.

[Hedgehog]

I can't figure how it is mentioned that the quality is price driven. Equivalent gas class A's have gone up in price by over 25% while the quality has plummeted.

[Raymon]

The entire RV industry is much like the US auto industry back in the 60's and 70's. The auto makers produced junk and because there was no other viable options at that time, the American public bought junk.

Then something mysteriously happened; the arrival of foreign-made quality cars. With many former buyers of American-made cars beginning to buy foreign cars, the US auto makers had to refocus from making large profits to making quality products.

The same thing needs to happen to the US RV industry. Of course most buyers only purchase based on price, not quality.

I hate to say it, but the best car I ever owned was a 1984 Honda Accord that I bought new. Went over 220K miles and still did not use.

[NorthOrSouth]

darsben wrote:

mike brez wrote:

NorthOrSouth wrote:
Well if it's any consolation you're making me feel really good about buying a 92 Monaco Crown Royale for our first DP. I just lie in bed and look at the wood grain, the fit and finish, the precision craftsmanship of every door and trim and marvel that I could buy this quality for less than my friends new Honda Accord.

My mantra is I'd rather have older quality things that have been well cared for than new things. This also goes for my wife.

So you like a older wife with a nice fit and finish :B

as long as she was well cared for before he took over;)

As long as she lets me admire the craftsmanship, I'm not complaining 🙂

[fla-gypsy]

Saw some posts earlier claiming the Winnebago was making high quality TT's now. I just chuckled and let them think they got something special.

[Fleet_Man]

I have been back to Forest City for non warranty work twice in the past two years, roof to sidewall trim pulling away from the body due to screws corroding and backing out and the repair of some self induced body panel damage. I was amazed at the number of people who came back to the factory with virtually brand new Winnebago motor homes - many top of the line - with more than a dozen complaints, virtually all of which could be attributed to LACK of QUALITY CONTROL on the production line. Could it be those items worked during final factory inspection and at the dealership at the time of sale but failed shortly after going into real life use?

[NorthOrSouth]

Well if it's any consolation you're making me feel really good about buying a 92 Monaco Crown Royale for our first DP. I just lie in bed and look at the wood grain, the fit and finish, the precision craftsmanship of every door and trim and marvel that I could buy this quality for less than my friends new Honda Accord.

My mantra is I'd rather have older quality things that have been well cared for than new things. This also goes for my wife.

[imgoin4it]

Yours sounds like a 2001 journey I bought new. Many same type items plus a few others. I had the motor home for five years and put on 8ooo miles dedicated to warranty work including one trip back to the factory for and entire 39 foot long sidewall replacement. At five years winnebago was still doing warranty work covered by the one year warranty so I have to give them credit for that. I talked to other journey owners in every RV park we stayed in and I never found another owner with problems like ours so I figured every now and then they just screw up. I had 2 adventurers before the journey and all were pretty much trouble free but the journey finished me off of winnebago.

[3oaks]

smacdiesel wrote:
I believe most new class a's are just junk, hear this same mantra with almost all manufacturers.

Not just class A's, but most of the RVs manufactured today. As long as people keep buying, manufacturers will keep producing...........