Perception of Fleetwood being "low end"??

[B&TA]

The DW and I are looking at moving up from a TT to Class A MH. We've started the long process of looking at and narrowing down our list of potential MH's.
For some reason, my "perception" of Fleetwood is one of the "lower end" manufacturers. Why? I don't know. Obviously there are lots of Fleetwood products on the roads. So where better to find out opinions regarding their products than right here.
Are you satisfied with your rig? Why did you buy Fleetwood?

Thanks,

[B&TA]

The DW and I are looking at moving up from a TT to Class A MH. We've started the long process of looking at and narrowing down our list of potential MH's.
For some reason, my "perception" of Fleetwood is one of the "lower end" manufacturers. Why? I don't know. Obviously there are lots of Fleetwood products on the roads. So where better to find out opinions regarding their products than right here.
Are you satisfied with your rig? Why did you buy Fleetwood?

Thanks,

[jdoc]

We have owned 4 fleetwood products since we started Rving, 1 Prowler, 2 Wilderness', and our current one. Of those 4 rigs the only one we ever had any major problems with was the Prowler. The Bounder 38N DP we have now we are really enjoying. Other than a few minor problems that can happen with any new rig there have been no major problems.
If we had it to do over again we would most likely go with the choice we made when we bought the Bounder. It truly gives you more bang more the buck.

[Lynnvt]

We had a Mallard TT which was a Fleetwood product. It was a low end trailer but that doesn't mean we had problems with it. The interior wasn't as cushy as higher end trailers but it certainly was servicable. Like with anything, if you take good care of it and don't abuse it, it will last. The Mallard was our intro to trailers and we had lots of good times in it. We now have a Forest River Cardinal which I see as a mid level. Some of the differences are day/night shades (which I hate) rather than blinds, surround sound, solid wood cabinets rather than particle board, pull out bed couch rather than goucho. I can't comment on construction because I don't know much about that. So don't think if the price is low that it's going to fall apart immediately. I guess it's like buying a pair of store brand jeans compared to Levi's.

[lwmuddy]

We bought a 2004 Fleetwood 37A that was 3 months old. The owners traded it in for something bigger after only 3 mos. Price was about $100K with a MSRP of $139K.It had 2400 miles on it and was immaculate. A loose csrew here and there, but otherwise perfect.

Since we couldn't afford a Monaco or Newell I consider this an entry level coach. Upscale would be $250K and up.

Both Fleetwood and Winnibago make good coaches in both Gass and Diesel. For a better ride and much more power I would go Diesel if it's within your budget.

Every moho can and will have little things wrong from time to time unless you spend $2 Million and then there is a chance that something could go wrong.

Fleetwood, yes. Go for it,
BUT:
If you by new or used, CHECK IT OUT THOUROLY.
Go down a bumpy road. Make EVERYTHING in the coach work before you sign.

When we bought ours I saw a couple tour through a coach on the lot and without even starting the engine and driving it they bought it. MORONS.

[alvinc]

Hang with me, I get to why we chose Fleetwood, eventually.

We went to an RV show in Portland, OR and looked at everything from large Class C's, to gas Class A's, to low end diesel Class A's. Class C's were eliminated because nothing we looked at had greater than a 3500 lb towing capacity. At the other end the diesel Class A's were out, due to cost. We had looked at enough units, including used ones to know that 2 slides were a requirement and the flat floor on the slide out was important. Remember, in 2002 the flat floor slide out was a relatively new thing.

This left the gas Class A's. We looked at the different manufacturers, the floor plans at the shows, the floor plans and features in the brochures. Then we realized that the queen beds in many of the RV's was not a true queens, but short queens. A short queen is 60x75, a real queen bed is 60x80. For comparison a double bed is 54x75, so the short queen is really a wide double bed.

Both of us approach 6' and a queen bed was a requirement. This eliminated at least half of the alternatives in 2002.

When we got right down to it, the Fleetwood Southwind 35R won the day for the following reasons (in no particular order):<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>2 slides<LI>flat floor slides<LI>queen bed<LI>build quality, no better or worse in the same price class<LI>Energy Management System (EMS)<LI>flatter engine cover (W22)<LI>roof air, this means it had twice as much basement storage as the competing Winnebago product with basement air<LI>floor plan<LI>5000 lb tow hitch<LI>the right price[/list]What it really boils down to is that the decision is a compromise of a lot of things. If cost was no object, then I'm sure we would have ended up with a Pace Arrow, or even a diesel. We looked at some other more expensive gas Class A's but were unable to clearly distinquish why they cost more.

We have had our Fleetwood four years now and have been happy with it. There have been some problems, many of them described in this forum. I have looked at other units since our purchase and have seen nothing that would make us change our minds. Although 22.5" wheels would be nice, and the even flatter doghouse that is available now.

I do not believe that you will be making a bad decision if you get a Fleetwood.

[Paulin]

We are on our second Fleetwood MH and have had good luck with both. We bought for all the reasons Alvinc noted in his post plus the fact that all water tanks are located on top of the chassis rails in the center line of the chassis. All recent Fleetwood MHs with the Power Platform have this feature. This has a major influnce in the weight distribution, balance and handling of the rig. Also note that the ACs are located to place their weight between the axles for better weight distribution.

We recently visited the factory in Riverside, CA and saw the building of the gas Southwinds, Bounders and Pace Arrows. Most of the assembly is not automated but done by hand. This can cause some variables from unit to unit, but quality control at each station appeared to be good.

We would buy another Fleetwood product. Like othe mfgrs. they build various models from less expensive to the very pricy American line of luxuary MHs. Obviously the more expensive will have more features and better fit and trim. Overall, we definately do not consider them low end.

[JRP]

Bill Allen,

Since Fleetwood is the largest RV manufacturer and one of the most financially stable, they must be doing something right. They, like most large consumer product mfg, try to have a model in each price segment of the market, to cover low end to high end customers and everything in between. No one could call the Fleetwood American Heritage a low end product.
For most of us who can't quite afford or justify the $600,000 for an American Heritage or similar coach, choosing the "best" is a compromise between what we need and want vs what we can afford or are willing to pay.
The key to balancing that compromise in your favor is understanding which critical components and systems are worth paying more for, vs those which add significantly to the price but are just fancy bells & whistles or window dressing.
When I went thru the process youre in now, I ended up with a 2005 Fleetwood Discovery diesel MH and after 2 yrs and 12,000 miles I'm still happy with my choice.
My primary complaint is not specifically Fleetwood, but with the overall RV industry tendency of Mfgs putting off their final detailed product inspection onto their dealers and then the dealers putting it off onto the new owner.

Jim

[Frankie]

After all is said and done,I think it boils down to the actual units quality.we looked at 3 of the 34n we eventual bought at 2 different dealers and swear they all had something a little different about them.Like the old saying ,never buy a car built on a mon. morning, or fri. afternoon.Go thru it w/a fine tooth comb.Also having the right dealer can make a difference when it comes to qc issues.

[Catdave]

I hate to say it, but if your perception is that negative this early on in the process you'd likely do better by looking at some other brand. Whatever brand you buy IS going to break, and when it does you'll feel a lot better about it if it's a Monaco or Newmar than if it's a Fleetwood. If it's any other brand you'll likely fix it and move on, but if it's a Fleetwood you'll probably wish you had followed your first instinct, avoided it as an inferior brand, and bought something else.
I'm not saying I can read your mind, and you may not react this way at all, but I have seen it happen on more than one occasion and with several different brands.

Fleetwood is no more a "low end" company than Monaco, Winnebago, Newmar, or any other high-output manufacturer. If your idea of high-end is Blue Bird or Newell, then yes, Fleetwood (and most other brands on the market) would be considered low-end. But in the grand scheme of RV manufacturers, Fleetwood sits right about in the middle with the majority of the other manufacturers.

My first MH was a new 2004 Tiffin, a company which has the reputation of being a high-end manufacturer and has many, many cheerleaders in the various forums that tout it as being "one of the best." I got rid of it after only 10 months due to poor workmanship, horrible build quality, and an inability to fix problems faster than they would pop up. They're a great company for customer support, but the ruined travel plans and frequent trips back to the dealer and factory for repairs made for a terrible ownership experience.

We had a Fleetwood fiver in the mid-90's and it gave us years of great service. So when I dumped the Tiffin I looked at Fleetwood's motorhomes and saw a tremendous improvement in the build quality over my Tiffin (and the other new Tiffins on the lot) so I bought one.
This motorhome has been a joy to own- very nicely put together, very reliable, great build quality, and it had very few PDI items to fix.
Believe me- if and when I ever buy another RV I'll look at Fleetwood first. If the quality is still there, I'll buy one. If it's not, I'll move to another brand.

Best of luck in your search for your new RV.

[Hitchhiker]

I had a Fleetwood Wilderness 5th wheel back in the early to mid ninety's and it was a good trailer. It served us well and we had no problems with it at all.

Entry level? Probably.

I wonder if an owner of an American Heritage considers his or her coach as an entry level coach?

[TXiceman]

Late 80's we had a Prowler and had very few problems. It was not fancy but did the job. later we had a Pace Arrow motor home and I definately was not happy with it. The Avion we have now was built in the Kansas factory before Fleetwood moved the plant. Quality went down hill and not near what Avion owners were expecting in the later years. Ours is a good trailer.

In short, Fleetwood has built some good products in the past. Some of the newer RV's are OK, but you do hear of some dis-satisified customers.

When you shop, take along a flash light and look in the dark corners of lockers, cabinets and pull drawers to see how well an RV is constructed. See if cabinets are stapled together or glued and screwed. There is a lot more to an Rv than the surface glitz.

Ken

[Gary RVRoamer]

Anybody who says Fleetwood products are "low end" has obviously never seen an American Eagle, American Dream or American Heritage or American Tradition.

Sure Fleetwood builds a lot of entry and midline brands, but so what? Pace Arrows and Southwinds, Prowlers and Wildernesses to name a few, are very popular rigs.

I've owned two Fleetwood products, a fifth wheel (Wilderness) and a motorome (Southwind) and wqas quite happy with both of them. Got good value and a lot of fun from both of them.

[eghershey]

It doesn't matter what brand of RV you purchase. Its who you purchase it from and how they deal with problems that will ultimately be the guage of what your perceived quality of RV turns out to be.
We traded in a Newmar Dutch Star for a Fleetwood Expedition. The Newmar dealer was less than adequate for the few items we had problems with. The Expedition's had a few problems, but the dealer has willingly taken care of them without any whining. This is our second Fleetwood and will stay with them.