2011 Sightseer 35J Very Disapointed

[Wyatt53]

Order a 2011 Sightseer 35J pick it up late August from dealer. Second Trip fist time used sofa bed it is a air mattress it was leaking then the dash A/C stop putting out cool air. So brought it back to dealer I had several minor things wrong they fixed all of them but did not get to mattress. Said that Winniebago did not charge system. Dash A/C worked ok then we went on a long trip and it started blowing hot air again. I asked the service Tech if there were any leaks and he said no. Next trip we found small hole in mattress at seam on top looks like they had pinched the mattress in the latch for the sofa. Also we have started having trouble with some of the locks and the entry door lock getting key to go in. I lubricated them and did not help.

[KJINTF]

Sorry to hear others are having quailty issues.
My 2009 Itasca 26P dash air con had problems from day one. I found after adding green dye the clam shell style Delphi compressor was leaking on the top of the engine. A few of the coach related issues, The generator exhaust system fell off on the road (as a replacement Winnebago sent me the 6ft engine tail pipe), the fresh water tank leaked from day one, the CD player never worked. As far as the chassis issues are concerned I believe the SEVERAL issues we have had are all related to the fact that the chassis is a year older than the coach. My guess it that the chassis w/ engine was left out uncovered in the weather for the year.

[Wanabee FTer]

Sorry to hear of your concerns,
It seems to be common place in the RV industry to need to allow a year or 2 to remove all the bugs from a new unit.
Coming from an automotive back ground it's hard for me to understand why this is the norm. New car owners would never return if they had received this type of treatment from an automotive company. This is why Chrysler and GM are in the spot they are in today.
This is one reason why so many people will purchase a pre-owned RV that has already had all the bugs taken out. Only problem is, If RV manufactures don't step up QC, there won't be any good used MH's left on the market.

[MntDriver]

If those two minor problems are all that you find, consider yourself VERY lucky!

Try having a complete roof/ceiling replacement a month after driving it off the lot....now THAT will make you lose sleep!

[Easyrider]

We were lucky, a few problems when new but all taken care of by the dealer under warrenty. Other than a foggy side window and the brake recall all has been good for a few years now. The brakes will get fixed when we take it out of winter storage and I will try to fix the window myself this coming season.

[Stevegd007]

Break-in problems are common on new rigs. Keep up your chin and just get the things fixed. We all have had them. Remember a motorhome is an EarthQuake on wheels. Things are ALWAYS shaking an rattling. Depend on our highways to not be helpful. LoL.
Many happy trails.

[Midniteoyl]

These are basically custom built by hand. Its just the same as buying a new home - there's always something that was missed.

[zippo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wanabee FTer Sorry to hear of your concerns, It seems to be common place in the RV industry to need to allow a year or 2 to remove all the bugs from a new unit. Coming from an automotive back ground it's hard for me to understand why this is the norm. New car owners would never return if they had received this type of treatment from an automotive company. This is why Chrysler and GM are in the spot they are in today. This is one reason why so many people will purchase a pre-owned RV that has already had all the bugs taken out. Only problem is, If RV manufactures don't step up QC, there won't be any good used MH's left on the market.

I also come from and automotive background, 33 years. It seems good to finally hear someone else say they don't understand why the customer puts up this poor QC the RV industry has. The QC has really gone down hill in the last 3 or 4 years. So many posts I read the customer seems willing to expect all these problems. They speak of how complicated these RV's are, what is so complicated about an RV. And the customers almost expect it to rattle and fall apart. I drive my car down the worst road in the county everyday and I don't expect it to fall apart. We owned two Winnebago units before this new one and had no real problems with the 1998 and the 2000 model, but this new one has many minor things and a couple major problems that it should not have.

[emmmw]

Most of us with older versions, 2007-2008, have reported very few problems in here and other forums I frequent. We've been very lucky and have had nearly zero issues, from our initial inspection to 3 years later with many months of use (2 full summers and at least a trip each month). The few issues we've had were pretty minor and all corrected by Winnebago. Sorry to hear about your problems with your 2011.

[maybesoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zippo I also come from and automotive background, 33 years. It seems good to finally hear someone else say they don't understand why the customer puts up this poor QC the RV industry has. The QC has really gone down hill in the last 3 or 4 years. So many posts I read the customer seems willing to expect all these problems. They speak of how complicated these RV's are, what is so complicated about an RV. And the customers almost expect it to rattle and fall apart. I drive my car down the worst road in the county everyday and I don't expect it to fall apart. We owned two Winnebago units before this new one and had no real problems with the 1998 and the 2000 model, but this new one has many minor things and a couple major problems that it should not have.

EXACTLY. I can't believe how many still want to compare a motorhome to a house, the cliches about how it is subjected to hurricane force windows and forces equivalent to earthquakes and on and on. Those are nothing more than excuses and exactly why things haven't gotten better.

It was way past time to hold the fire to the manufacturers who just want to get something out the door and collect your money, then have you the customer do all the quality control and pray and hope the dealer knows how or is willing to fix it.

If they are making these by hand then they ought to find better hands. In this day and age they could have rocket scientists building these things. My 09 Journey has had item after item go wrong. We have yet to take a trip anywhere and not have some issue come up. That isn't the way it is supposed to be.

There is no way any reasonable quality control checks are being done when door locks don't work, shower surrounds don't mate to walls, you find loose screws under cabinets, water heaters don't light and this after 4-5 trips back for the same problems. Bad dealers are the factories fault. What ever happened to a factory rep owning a problem until resolution? All they do now is hand off the problem to anyone they can. That goes all the way to the top of the company.

Isn't it time we all stopped making excuses and started holding the manufacturers responsible? This isn't 1950 and the methods to make a high quality product are there. Instead of saving a dollar in manufacturing costs but shafting the customer who will then spend hundreds in diesel fuel, more in lost time, how about just doing the job right the first time?

There is no reason you sholdn't be able to pick up your new motorhome and use it for 5 years without problems.

They aren't giving these things away. One day, someone will put the customer first, build quality in and that will be the end of all the makers currently out there.

Sorry for the rant but here I am, 18 months out from a new purchase and just before a trip, something else goes wrong. I didn't buy cheap, too bad the manufacturer doesn't see it that way.

[JC2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maybesoon EXACTLY. I can't believe how many still want to compare a motorhome to a house, the cliches about how it is subjected to hurricane force windows and forces equivalent to earthquakes and on and on. Those are nothing more than excuses and exactly why things haven't gotten better. It was way past time to hold the fire to the manufacturers who just want to get something out the door and collect your money, then have you the customer do all the quality control and pray and hope the dealer knows how or is willing to fix it. If they are making these by hand then they ought to find better hands. In this day and age they could have rocket scientists building these things. My 09 Journey has had item after item go wrong. We have yet to take a trip anywhere and not have some issue come up. That isn't the way it is supposed to be. There is no way any reasonable quality control checks are being done when door locks don't work, shower surrounds don't mate to walls, you find loose screws under cabinets, water heaters don't light and this after 4-5 trips back for the same problems. Bad dealers are the factories fault. What ever happened to a factory rep owning a problem until resolution? All they do now is hand off the problem to anyone they can. That goes all the way to the top of the company. Isn't it time we all stopped making excuses and started holding the manufacturers responsible? This isn't 1950 and the methods to make a high quality product are there. Instead of saving a dollar in manufacturing costs but shafting the customer who will then spend hundreds in diesel fuel, more in lost time, how about just doing the job right the first time? There is no reason you sholdn't be able to pick up your new motorhome and use it for 5 years without problems. They aren't giving these things away. One day, someone will put the customer first, build quality in and that will be the end of all the makers currently out there. Sorry for the rant but here I am, 18 months out from a new purchase and just before a trip, something else goes wrong. I didn't buy cheap, too bad the manufacturer doesn't see it that way.

I agree 1000% and believe manufactures should be held accountable. I have no intention of buying any new car/truck or rv until the quality improves. I have never understood how people can spend 1000's of $ on these things and then say, "oh well", that the way it is. I have not ever kept silent on any poor quality issue involving my vehicles. Had a Winnie dealer fix my hood latches (3) times until it was done right. They wanted to argue about it until I made them an offer they couldn't refuse. I will not use them again and I have steered others away who needed major work done on their rigs.

[Wanabee FTer]

God save us all if China builds a good, dependable RV.

[KJINTF]

maybesoon

I understand your pain - Personally I will NEVER again purchase a Winnegabo / Itasca product. I feel I wasted my hard earned money. We were told many a time by both the dealer and Winnebago that "Our more expensive models have that" and it actually works. We have had two Itasca RV's, the second confirmed look elsewhere for quality. I have no problem spending my money for quality and would have easily spent thousands or even 10's of thousands more, money was not and is not the issue, Lack of any semblance of quality is. A complete lack of Craftsmanship is what we have seen in our rig. Slap it together, get the money and the customer is on their own.

Maybe the folks in China could do a better job

[Midniteoyl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maybesoon EXACTLY. I can't believe how many still want to compare a motorhome to a house, the cliches about how it is subjected to hurricane force windows and forces equivalent to earthquakes and on and on. Those are nothing more than excuses and exactly why things haven't gotten better. It was way past time to hold the fire to the manufacturers who just want to get something out the door and collect your money, then have you the customer do all the quality control and pray and hope the dealer knows how or is willing to fix it. If they are making these by hand then they ought to find better hands. In this day and age they could have rocket scientists building these things. My 09 Journey has had item after item go wrong. We have yet to take a trip anywhere and not have some issue come up. That isn't the way it is supposed to be. There is no way any reasonable quality control checks are being done when door locks don't work, shower surrounds don't mate to walls, you find loose screws under cabinets, water heaters don't light and this after 4-5 trips back for the same problems. Bad dealers are the factories fault. What ever happened to a factory rep owning a problem until resolution? All they do now is hand off the problem to anyone they can. That goes all the way to the top of the company. Isn't it time we all stopped making excuses and started holding the manufacturers responsible? This isn't 1950 and the methods to make a high quality product are there. Instead of saving a dollar in manufacturing costs but shafting the customer who will then spend hundreds in diesel fuel, more in lost time, how about just doing the job right the first time? There is no reason you sholdn't be able to pick up your new motorhome and use it for 5 years without problems. They aren't giving these things away. One day, someone will put the customer first, build quality in and that will be the end of all the makers currently out there. Sorry for the rant but here I am, 18 months out from a new purchase and just before a trip, something else goes wrong. I didn't buy cheap, too bad the manufacturer doesn't see it that way.

Agree... think about what would happen if light planes (that take a LOT more abuse) were built to the same standards as RV's.... Or cars. Oh ya, there was, it was called a Yugo. Wonder what happened there?