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HD4Mark · 08-02-2014, 09:40 AM

I will try to keep this as short as possible. Last fall we searched RV Service Reviews to find someone to repair our flat floor (HWH Storemore) side out that could not retract without tearing up the carpet only in the front behind the drivers seat. We selected a dealer a couple of hours from us over others close by because their ratings were excellent. After three weeks plus it was "done". It turned out after $2600 it still would rip up the brand new carpet if we didn't jam under the plastic slides they provided and after not to long DW had to stick a large screw driver under to get it started. They were willing to have us bring it right back but we were two weeks from leaving for Florida for the winter so they agreed to making it right in the spring. It ended up summer but that was not their fault.

Fast forward to now. It has been back to them for five weeks. They kept blaming the new carpet we had installed until I explained to them it did the same thing to the old one and we had to shove a piece of sheet metal under the slide to keep it from ruining it. So after dodging all of the excuses they are now saying the slide out needs to be removed but they will credit us the original $2600. Credit not refund.

So what would you do? Even though they seem to be dancing around with this they seem willing to work with us. My problem is after literally months of fooling around it is still not fixed so how do I trust they will be any better this go around?

My first thought is to tell them give me a refund and a written estimate them we will talk. They never really explained what was done to "fix" the problem.

adonh · 08-02-2014, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

I will try to keep this as short as possible. Last fall we searched RV Service Reviews to find someone to repair our flat floor (HWH Storemore) side out that could not retract without tearing up the carpet only in the front behind the drivers seat. We selected a dealer a couple of hours from us over others close by because their ratings were excellent. After three weeks plus it was "done". It turned out after $2600 it still would rip up the brand new carpet if we didn't jam under the plastic slides they provided and after not to long DW had to stick a large screw driver under to get it started. They were willing to have us bring it right back but we were two weeks from leaving for Florida for the winter so they agreed to making it right in the spring. It ended up summer but that was not their fault.

Fast forward to now. It has been back to them for five weeks. They kept blaming the new carpet we had installed until I explained to them it did the same thing to the old one and we had to shove a piece of sheet metal under the slide to keep it from ruining it. So after dodging all of the excuses they are now saying the slide out needs to be removed but they will credit us the original $2600. Credit not refund.

So what would you do? Even though they seem to be dancing around with this they seem willing to work with us. My problem is after literally months of fooling around it is still not fixed so how do I trust they will be any better this go around?

My first thought is to tell them give me a refund and a written estimate them we will talk. They never really explained what was done to "fix" the problem.

Looks like they didn't do anything at all but charge you $2,600 and tell you it was fixed. The question now should be what are you going to do to fix it after removing the slide?

1mainiac · 08-02-2014, 10:13 AM

Pics would help I don't think the room needs to be pulled but depending on plumbing and wiring that is only about 6 hours to do in and out. I may need to bring my library to my office from storage if I am going to hang out here much LOL.

HD4Mark · 08-02-2014, 11:34 AM

I wish I could provide some pics but it is a couple hours away. If you look at it when the slide is out the floor of the slide is visibly higher in the middle than the front and back. Like it is bowed. Last time after we picked it up the only changes I could see other than the two plastic slides was a couple of new self tapping screws and they tacked down a section of the brand new carpet in an attempt to make it flatter. It looks like part of it had something heavy on it for years. Not pretty.

DW is really unhappy about it and she doesn't lose many battles like this so they better be ready for a #@&% storm.

bamaboy473 · 08-02-2014, 02:26 PM

How long have you owned the coach, and has the slide's floor always been bowed?

Is the new carpet thicker (i.e. pad placed under carpet)?

HD4Mark · 08-03-2014, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamaboy473

How long have you owned the coach, and has the slide's floor always been bowed?

Is the new carpet thicker (i.e. pad placed under carpet)?

We bought it in 2009 and there was no problem until 2013 when we noticed it rubbing on the carpet at the forward edge. That progressed to ripping the old carpet. We hoped that the new one that is a lower pile would not have the problem but it would also have been torn by the slide if we did not place something under it. Both had/have padding.

The RV dealer kept trying to blame the new carpeting until we asked him why only the front was the problem and why not the back edge or the middle. That and no matter what was causing it we paid them to fix it. If they couldn't do it all they had to do is call and explain but any contact with them was initiated by us except when it was time to charge us.

DD788Snipe · 08-03-2014, 12:52 PM

Mark, I would contact the factory and maybe make a trip to Iowa if the guys in customer service sound like they know of a solution. It sounds to me like something has changed in the sub-floor of the coach not so much the slide itself. Now if its the slide it could be a roller in the front assembly has gone kaput and the slide itself it dragging lower. If that is the case the slide room will have to be taken out. There are height adjustments on both mechanisms. But I'm just speculating. I haven't found many techs that are really "slide room" savvy and the factory people seem to be the best go to guys in major repairs and don't make it too complicated. The old adage of KIS for "keep it simple" works in a lot of issues. I've owned 2 Winnebago's and they are great coaches.
Hope I was of some help.

Craig & Carolyn Roberts
Apple Valley, CA.
2006 Newmar Kounty Star KSDP 3910 Spartan MM Chassis
2002 Saturn SL2

smlranger · 08-03-2014, 07:07 PM

It sounds like you have broken/crushed slide guides on the sagging side. Winnebago calls them slide bearings. They are nylon and not easy to replace. We had a similar issue (did not snag the carpet) on our 02 Journey. Local Winnebago dealer did not want to take it on so we planned a vacation that took us thru Iowa and to the factory in Forest City. They fixed it and never had an issue afterwards.

Not sure how close your are to Rochester but you may want to check with Don (Pusherman) at Caledonia RV Repair. He is a great guy, runs a top flight repair shop and is a Winnebago owner himself.

HD4Mark · 08-04-2014, 05:51 AM

They finally got back to us and said the slide needs to be removed but they will credit us the original $2600. So after almost six weeks we start over? I am pretty sure if they were talking fixing it for less than the original amount there would be no need to credit anything. We are tempted to just take it home if they will refund the money and start over with someone else.

As far as the nylon bearings I downloaded a service bulletin from Winnebago that has pictures of good, worn and broken ones. As far as I could tell they look good. There are no rollers but the slides were supposedly replaced.

It is a ways off but we leave in Oct for Florida and I have some things I need to get done to it like oil change, replace front tv and stuff. It is tough to do when it is been in the shop for months.

HD4Mark · 09-02-2014, 06:58 AM

Finally after almost nine weeks they actually made good on it without having to remove the slide from the coach. First they welded some angle iron to the bottom edge to straighten and reinforce it. Then they fabricated what they called a "shoe" out of stainless steel. It wraps around the leading edge of the slide where it was catching the carpet and extends out underneath all the way out to the outside edge. It is about 10-12" wide and makes the slide ride up and slide in on the carpet easier without damaging it. You can only see about 2" inside the coach, almost not noticeable since most of it is under a sofa.

Since it was redone with no extra charge I am thinking I will not post an unsatisfactory review in rvservicereviews.com. The time it took and the lack of communications was ridiculous though. Nothing happened for weeks and weeks until the service manager got involved.

lajuene · 09-02-2014, 07:39 AM

I think we will wait until we get to Winnebago next time to get ours fixed/adjusted. HWH did all they could but said it is structural. They adjusted it as far as possible but it still catches in the front a little. For now we just don't put the slide all the way out. We put it out about 2 inches shy of all out. As soon as the slide floor starts going down the ramp we halt it there.