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Maxwedge413 · 10-01-2016, 08:42 AM

About 3 months ago I purchased a new 2016 HR 33' built by Fleetwood in Indiana. As most new RV's the Motor Home came with the usual warranty problems. After 3 visits to the dealer they recommended that we take it to the factory for warranty repairs. I was told that the factory service department would have the "Red Carpet" out for us and will repair all issues. Arriving in Decatur they had no idea who I was nor why we were there. Since we were a Drive in without appointment they would only fix 3 major problems of my choice. The Expierence was good. They treated us well and fixed the 3 warranty problems. We decided to continue our journey and return to the dealer this coming November to fix the remaining issues (if they can). As we traveled about 4000 more miles things have not been well. The repaired windshield leak at the factory resulted in the windshield trim coming off on I-80. Dust tape re secured the trim. Every day there has been some sort of problem. Everything from saw dust falling out of cabinates to radio quitting, and furnace not working. The F53 chassis is a horrible ride and now I have severe brake dust forming on front wheels. The engineering and construction of this RV sucks. REV Corp. should be ashamed of ruining the Holiday Rambler name. I am not a novice RVer (4th RV) and I am a good tech ( hot rodder, engineer). I take responsibility for my poor purchase and I am damned to be stuck with this thing. Buyer beware.

lfdeluca2 · 10-01-2016, 09:10 AM

You are nowhere near alone with your issues with REV Corp. and perhaps it is worth considering a class action suit against this company. These rigs cost in the six figure range and the workmanship is shoddy beyond description. Everyday one hears more horror stories from the road and even when the fault is obviously caused by poor workmanship once out of warranty you are on your own. Anyone ealse out there with a Fleetwood product interested in taking action?

pointrow · 10-01-2016, 09:39 AM

Your dealer really dropped the ball since they didn't make an appointment to fix everything on your first trip there.

Leaving saw dust in the cabinets should have been cleaned up by the dealer on pdi.
I'm starting to see the dealers sending a lot of warranty work to the factory repair centers just so they don't have to mess with it/lose money.

I have had excellent service work done at Decatur and in fact my mh has never been back to the dealer and never will be.

good luck

pointrow

biggcrisp · 10-01-2016, 10:34 AM

Wait a minute now. Is there nothing at all good about your purchase?

I also have the F53 chassis and it rides okay on good roads. The terrible conditions of our federal highway system is not a good reason for blaming ford for a rough road. Our taxes have gone to foreign countries where we have built perfectly smooth roads after all.

Let's try and put things in perspective. Please start over by listing how fortunate you are to own a motorhome, and yeah it had some sawdust left in a cabinet that you will have to have someone clean up. And the maid service. Don't get me started on the lack of a maid service showing up to wash the dishes and make the bed.

NC25T · 10-01-2016, 09:41 PM

I had a Fleetwood RV, Purchased a new bounder a few years ago..... Local dealership was horrible to deal with which resulted in a few trips to Decatur and my experience with them was excellent. Only negative is that it would take weeks or months to get a appointment however once there they always fixed everything to A+ condition when they were done, for me it was more of a red carpet experience.

Your fords ride isn't a REV issue, it's a ford gas class A issue.

Isn't the brake dust issue also a ford-chassis problem?

I do agree, very frustrating which I think is why many state they will never build a new house, or buy a new RV again. Buy something used so the bugs are worked out.

I do think it's sad that for what these things cost, that they are not like a car where it's rare for the vehicle to not be in perfect working condition. Seems like the norm for RV'a is

computerguy · 10-02-2016, 06:04 AM

At this price point this is what you get. Sorry. It is what it is. It's not just REV. Look at some of the other forums. My experience with the dealer was probably much worse than yours. I have commented on it in many threads here so much I am not allowed to comment on it any more.
My experience with the service center was the exact opposite of the dealer experience. I made an appointment and spent as long as it took to finish everything (and then some) of everything on my list. The service center fixed it, correctly and with a smile to my satisfaction. They also fixed the things the dealer "said" they fixed and really didn't.
My handling on the F53 wasn't good at all when purchased. I determined what the problem was and I rectified it. It was very simple to correct and now it drives down the road very nicely. All it took was proper tire pressures, proper weight loading, cheap handling fix, and a RSSA steering stabilizer. Total cost was about $400.
One can complain about it or do something about it. I did something about it.
The industry is all about making money. Apparently it is cheaper to fix the mistakes after the fact than by correcting problems made by rushing through initial construction.
Good luck trying to do something about it.

mrfix · 10-02-2016, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxwedge413

About 3 months ago I purchased a new 2016 HR 33' built by Fleetwood in Indiana. As most new RV's the Motor Home came with the usual warranty problems. After 3 visits to the dealer they recommended that we take it to the factory for warranty repairs. I was told that the factory service department would have the "Red Carpet" out for us and will repair all issues. Arriving in Decatur they had no idea who I was nor why we were there. Since we were a Drive in without appointment they would only fix 3 major problems of my choice. The Expierence was good. They treated us well and fixed the 3 warranty problems. We decided to continue our journey and return to the dealer this coming November to fix the remaining issues (if they can). As we traveled about 4000 more miles things have not been well. The repaired windshield leak at the factory resulted in the windshield trim coming off on I-80. Dust tape re secured the trim. Every day there has been some sort of problem. Everything from saw dust falling out of cabinates to radio quitting, and furnace not working. The F53 chassis is a horrible ride and now I have severe brake dust forming on front wheels. The engineering and construction of this RV sucks. REV Corp. should be ashamed of ruining the Holiday Rambler name. I am not a novice RVer (4th RV) and I am a good tech ( hot rodder, engineer). I take responsibility for my poor purchase and I am damned to be stuck with this thing. Buyer beware.

I sorry to hear about the trouble you are having with your coach. I would make an appt. At the Decatur facility and give them a chance to take care of your issues.
We have a 2015 holiday rambler 36debt since last August and have over 18000 trouble free miles on it. In the beginning we had a few warranty minor issues that were taken care of at the Decatur facility. My experience at the service center was extremely positive, made an appt. We were greeted upon arrival and in one and a half weeks all the issues I had and some I didn't know about that were found by the techs were all taken care of. The completed work was done in a professional manner by techs that worked with finesse. I would purchase another REV motorhome again, I feel the fit and finish and quality of construction are as good or better than most.

Maxwedge413 · 10-02-2016, 08:17 AM

Class action suit? Sure but all the lawyers will love it. Keep feeding them $$$ and they tell us how we can win this. In the end REV has bigger lawyers, more $$$ and we loose.
As for the good things? Yes...we like the basic coach, storage, and price. The dissapointments are making the fun experience not so fun.
I am a loyal Ford fan and have owned Fords, will buy a new Ford product in the future. Even had a fast 5.0 Mustang and my son has a 5.0 that runs well also. This RV had a rear trac bar issue and Ford said it was body to frame mounting plates defect. That was the reason for the factory trip. One Ford truck dealer said they did not like working on Motor Homes and would not necessarily honor warranty repairs.
Yes....the roads are absolutely terrible everywhere! We are to blame for this. We. keep voting in the incompetent to take care of these issues.
One of my past RV's was a Work Horse chassis Chevy. It was a smother ride for sure. The big block V8 performed well. This new V10 6 speed trans Ford has not met my expectations. It dose get better fuel mileage than I expected but maybe the press over rates it. Sure Ford will fix the brake thing but I hate having to deal with a problem that should not be there.
One final comment. At the factory service center in Decatur the over all feeling of the owners was the same. We paid a lot of money for these things and they let us down. I took the factory tour and there were disgruntled owners who would argue with the tour guide. At the 2016 Tampa Super RV show we noticed that most manufacturers were building poor quality RV's. Yes maybe buying older RV's could be the answer. thanks to all who shared my concerns.

JBDISCOVERY · 10-02-2016, 02:24 PM

"BUYING AN OLDER RV". Sounds great. However, even if the original owner may have solved a number of issues, but being a moving machine, new ones will crop up.
We have had our FW Discovery for over ten years. Traveled over 100,000 miles. Had a good number of issues. Most of which I solved and repaired myself. Best investment was a GoodSam major repair insurance policy. Used it twice. Good comfort for our peace of mind.
The coach is what we are comfortable with. Top quality for a 1999 coach.

So, in the long run having a RV is like having a boat. "Hole in the water to throw money into"! Been there, done that. Our experience is enjoy Rving. It is wonderful to travel, visit, meet new people, and see the USA.

JimB

Maxwedge413 · 10-05-2016, 07:35 AM

One thing for sure. If we bought a hi end Mercedes, Lexus, Chevy or Ford, mega buck Truck, or a Chrysler Pricy Hot Rod and discovered the radio quit, doors rattled, windshield leaked, brakes faded we would be severely complaining and filing lemon law actions all over the place. Yet RV manufacturers expect us to put up with poor products, unsafe vehicles, provide us with incompetence technicians and charge us with big money to buy these things. All this and we put up with it, adjust to our unpleasant situation, and at times do repairs on our own. One can say this is what RVing is all about. But we move on, enjoy our freedom, glad that we have each other to share our fun, and help each other through the good and bad times. :-)

z3406 · 10-05-2016, 07:02 PM

Max
Specifically which one of the conditions your are referring to is making an unsafe coach? I have heard you mention brake dust before but brake fade in a new issue. Please clarify.
You have stated you are not a first time RV buyer so did you test drive the coach prior to buying it and if so what changed between the test drive and delivery?
I respect your dilemma but your tune seems to be changing, in your first post here when you said you were responsible for the purchase what has changed?

Maxwedge413 · 10-06-2016, 03:16 PM

Hey Al,
I was just saying an "example" of problems not referring to my RV. Basically saying the common buyer of a vehicle would not be happy If those "examples" we're wrong with their new auto purchase. Us all as RVers usually encounter issues with thier new RV product and deal with it because at times the dealer does not fix the problem etc.
I decided to "deal" with my new purchase the best way I can and thankful I have this forum to listen to my venting and appreciate everyone's words of wisdom and advise.
Yes...I do have excess brake dust and no brake fade as in my example. If I came across confusing to everyone I apologize for that.
I have been RVing since 98 and started with a new Class A. It was a good one and had basically no problems. This is why I am frustrated with this unit. Yes I checked out this RV stem to stern but my my problems started after I was out on the road after purchase. Windshield leaks, brake dust, etc. you know the old saying " they don't make them anymore like they used to".
I am responsible for the purchase...the manufacturer is responsible to fix it if they can.
Thanks for the reply. :-)

z3406 · 10-06-2016, 05:34 PM

Actually as I type this I'm in the lot at Decatur. Total number of issues on the coach was over 60. Some serious some not so much none safety related. Biggest issue I have is communication, if your not staying with the coach some of your concerns may get misinterpreted. The folks here have listened to and acted on every issue I have ever brought to their attention. Another plus for this location is the local Ford dealer works on RV's so it's possible to have chassis issues and coach issues taken care of in a single trip. Good Luck with your coach.