Fleetwood Review

[rapid rick]

To be fair, I have also done many changes to my unit to suit my standards, my problem is, I have the standards of a newell type quality, and the budget for my terra. I would love to buy a new newell for 100k,not gonna happen, anything less than that has trouble meeting my personal standards,so I choose to make those changes myself to upgrade what I have, eat the costs of doing so and move on. No one works on my unit because no one cares about my unit the way that I do. When all is said and done, will I have a newell, no, I will just have a unit that I can be comfortable enough with to get away from all this stinkin snow and go rest my weary bones on a nice beach, beer in one hand, wife's hand in the other, and no worries of vacuflush.... that post for another day.

[mojoracing]

Tom and Jimmy, I have a fleetwood with your exact outside entertainment center so I speak from experience. I don't believe fleetwood is blowing smoke about letting air circulate around the tv. The could have just as easily not had the cut out behind the tv. Ive used mine for going on two years in 100 plus weather and below 25 degrees and never experienced a problem with it bothering interior temp, bugs or god forbid those fuzzy little rodents with the suction cup shoes they would have to use to climb up the side of my rv to get inside my rv through the secret entrance behind my tv. I would listen to the engineers and hope my tv didn't go out from overheating or god forbid cause a fire.

[OV Southwind]

I bought a Southwind 36L a few months ago after looking at my model, the Bounder 35K, the Tiffin 36LA, the Winnebago Vista 35F, and the Terra 35K. Went with the Southwind because the salesman at the dealer selling all the Bounders in the area pissed me off and we walked, and the Southwind was the second choice.

My impression after seeing each of the above models was that the Tiffin had a few more bells and whistles, and if it's price had been a bit more negotiable I would have probably gone with it. The Southwind and Bounder were within my price range and weren't very much different (in my opinion) than the 36LA. The Vista and Terra didn't seem as nice but had a drop down bed. I dropped them from the list however, because the holding tanks were smaller (I dry camp almost exclusively) and the radius cut exterior doors made larger objects difficult to stow underneath.

I drove the Southwind home 200 miles and have taken it out a few times so far, and the only thing I can find wrong is we had no vent cover installed on the fridge vent. I've run everything numerous times, and have had an eight year old slamming doors and pushing buttons to see what they might do. So far very happy with quality.

[Tomandjimmy]

I do not understand why someone has to go on the defense of Fleetwood. Especially when they are fighting a losing battle. I am not looking to pick a fight. I am merely pointing out a flaw. Here we go again. mojoracing: You currently have a 2014 Fleetwood Bounder. Your exterior TV backs up to your sink. HENCE the fact that there is a board between the TV and Sink wall. Which also means that you "Do Not" have the same cavity that I dealt with. I am happy that your rodents need suction cups to climb up stuff. We here in Texas have snakes that can climb up a tree lickity split. So I don't put it past other "pests" getting in there. Oh, I also looked at exterior pictures of how the TVs are mounted. Not the same way either.

[JohnRR]

Posting as an individual not an Admin it really seems like we're beating a dead horse here when you all express an opinion on a subject and it's not agreed with by others that's just the way of life. To keep on expressing that opinion to change the mind of another person who is also set with their belief comes under the heading of

[mojoracing]

Yes it backs up to the sink but it also backs up to a cabinet on the end of the sink base. My rig is currently in Georgia but when I fly down on monday I'm going to take a look. I just can't see it being a problem as when I'm done watching tv, i close the door and even so its so high up on the motorhome I don't see a problem IMHO. My daughter has been staying in it the last two months while training at a racing facility and has not complained about any drafts even in 20 degrees. Not to hijack a thread but I think a bigger problem with the tv enclosures is corrosion. While at the red coconut in FT. Myers last month we ran into another couple with a 2012 bounder. The steel box that encloses the tv and is mounted into the opening in the sidewall was corroding badly. It was blistering the paint and the paint was coming off and rust showing through all around the edge where the lip of the steel enclosure met the fiberglass wall. Looked terrible! I would warn everybody to keep it caulked well. It was so bad that I was thinking about having an aluminum or stainless steel enclosure fabricated and painted to replace the factory unit. The rust stains were running down the side of the coach. Wondering if anybody else was having this problem.

[rreichar]

We own a 2014 Tiffin 36LA that we bought about a year ago. It has had a couple of relatively minor issues but with 12,000 miles nothing that really matters. There are a few puzzling items where screws are driven in 30 or 40 degrees crooked but in general it all works and I would buy one again in a heartbeat. It has a 7000 watt generator and seems nicer than most gassers IMO. I did cross shop with Bounders and liked them as well I just liked the Tiffin more. My wife really preferred the Tiffin and the floorplan in the 36LA.

After a year of using the 36LA we are looking at trading on a 40X Expedition because of a few issues related to the gas vs diesel debate rather than Tifin vs Fleetwood. The Expedition is much larger inside with the opposed slides. Finding gas stations that the 36LA fits into is a PIA much of the time. With the Expeditin we should be able to pull through most truck stops. Of course with a 100 gallon tank we would have to fill up less frequently. We mostly use the MH to go to events all over the country so when we drive it tends to be in long stretches where time is a factor, so going further between fuel stops is a good thing. We also usually dry camp at the events so the 105 gallons of fresh water in the Expedition is a plus as well. Having the generator in front might be nice as well. In the Tiffin it is right under our bed. It doesn't bother us much but I much prefer the idea of it being up front. Much of the other equipment is similar. I am guessing the problems are most likely to be similar. If I want a new diesel then it won't be a Tiffin. We don't like any of the Allegro RED floor plans and we really can't afford a Phaeton. I know several folks on the Tiffin forums who also own 36LAs and they have been mostly trouble free as well. There have been one or two with larger issues but it seems they are mostly worried about general QC issues in the industry rather than brand specific things. Even top end coaches have some real head scratcher issues that shouldn't be able to get by the average 3rd grader.

I am not overly concerned by the General QC of one brand over another. They all have lots of room to improve. I worry more about design issues like some brands that seem to have used Schwintek slide systems that are too small for the coach. I don't see things like that with Tiffin or Fleetwood. No motorhome is perfect. Not even close. Be prepared to deal with minor problems and be ready for dealers who move in slow motion to repair warranty issues. I know with ours that little things like a bad USB plug in the dash took a long time to be approved by Tiffin. Or maybe it took the dealer a long time to ask. We have had no issues that have kept us off the road or affected how we enjoy our coach. If we pull the trigger on the Expedition I will hope for similar types of small issues.

[stkt]

HGC, we have an American Dream by Fleetwood and have had it now for 17 years and 118,000 miles. Every coach manufacturer has issues, and many times it comes down to how those issues are handled in the factory service. I can only speak for me when I say the service we receive from the factory in Decatur, Indiana is one primary reason we've held on to our coach for this long. They are responsive and have reasonable prices. We've visited the Tiffin factory also and saw some good work. I would suggest if you have time visit both factories to gain better insight on the differences. For Fleetwood you can contact Tom Liechty for tour information. He knows where all the skeletons are buried. Unless it's changed, he can be reached at 1-800-854-1344.

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by pagosajoe

You'll find lots of similar questions and discussions on Fleetwood quality by using the iRV2 search function at the top of the page. Here are but two examples:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/ques...ty-223879.html

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/flee...ty-184266.html

You'll find that Fleetwood customer service is excellent. There will be issues in any motor home - they're complex critters.

Hope that helps - others will chime in...

I've learned to be equally unhappy with al builders....

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by JohnRR

Posting as an individual not an Admin it really seems like we're beating a dead horse here when you all express an opinion on a subject and it's not agreed with by others that's just the way of life. To keep on expressing that opinion to change the mind of another person who is also set with their belief comes under the heading of

I seem to like your style as a person... and like the rebuilds storys you do, nice job all around..
if ever in vegas hit me up

[JohnRR]

Thank you