Community Forums

GreatWhite · 05-16-2005, 07:36 AM

I've sold my MDT and selling my Alpenlite in hopes of moving to a Class A. I've looked at Winnebago/Itasca and generally like them. I've heard mixed reviews of Winnebago's service response recently.. so, I'm going to ask a couple of questions.

1. Met a couple that had a '03 Itasca on a Ford Chassis. They said they had problems with rear wheel alignment. The coach was crabbing down the road. Bought the coach on a lark on the way home in Yuma, AZ. When they took it in for analysis at a local RV dealer (Still new, under warranty).. WI blamed it on Ford.. Ford blamed it on WI. Said the vehicle had been overloaded and the springs were sagging. They only had water on board other than normal stuff in the RV. They were towing a small Honda SUV. The couple ultimately spent $4000 of their own money to have the problem fixed and upgraded the shocks. They love it now.. BUT, why did they have to pay rather than WI working it out with Ford on their own. Where is ownership..? Should be with WI.. even if the problem belongs to Ford. Right/Wrong?

Subsequently, they said they pay particular attention to other Winnebago/Itasca gassers going down the road and said it has not been uncommon to see them crabbing.. the lady said she saw one so bad she could not even see the outside rear view mirror on one they were following. They followed this RV and when they pulled off, warned them of the problem.

I guess rear axle on their own RV was out by 1.5".. that's quite a bit.. had to cut the mounting brackets off and re-weld them back to properly align them

2. I was up at a WI dealer in the Sacramento area and mentioned this to the sales person. He was curious because he said WI has one of the best service policies in the industry. He did say that they service their own customers and fit in others if/as they can.. but, sounds like they don't go overboard to do this.

Then he mentioned why they were better than many WI dealers.. they belong to something called REDEX. If you buy from a REDEX dealer you can be assured that if you go to get your RV serviced by another REDEX dealer.. you will be treated as their customer.. rather than had you bought your rig from a non REDEX dealer.

What do you know about this?

GreatWhite · 05-16-2005, 07:36 AM

I've sold my MDT and selling my Alpenlite in hopes of moving to a Class A. I've looked at Winnebago/Itasca and generally like them. I've heard mixed reviews of Winnebago's service response recently.. so, I'm going to ask a couple of questions.

1. Met a couple that had a '03 Itasca on a Ford Chassis. They said they had problems with rear wheel alignment. The coach was crabbing down the road. Bought the coach on a lark on the way home in Yuma, AZ. When they took it in for analysis at a local RV dealer (Still new, under warranty).. WI blamed it on Ford.. Ford blamed it on WI. Said the vehicle had been overloaded and the springs were sagging. They only had water on board other than normal stuff in the RV. They were towing a small Honda SUV. The couple ultimately spent $4000 of their own money to have the problem fixed and upgraded the shocks. They love it now.. BUT, why did they have to pay rather than WI working it out with Ford on their own. Where is ownership..? Should be with WI.. even if the problem belongs to Ford. Right/Wrong?

Subsequently, they said they pay particular attention to other Winnebago/Itasca gassers going down the road and said it has not been uncommon to see them crabbing.. the lady said she saw one so bad she could not even see the outside rear view mirror on one they were following. They followed this RV and when they pulled off, warned them of the problem.

I guess rear axle on their own RV was out by 1.5".. that's quite a bit.. had to cut the mounting brackets off and re-weld them back to properly align them

2. I was up at a WI dealer in the Sacramento area and mentioned this to the sales person. He was curious because he said WI has one of the best service policies in the industry. He did say that they service their own customers and fit in others if/as they can.. but, sounds like they don't go overboard to do this.

Then he mentioned why they were better than many WI dealers.. they belong to something called REDEX. If you buy from a REDEX dealer you can be assured that if you go to get your RV serviced by another REDEX dealer.. you will be treated as their customer.. rather than had you bought your rig from a non REDEX dealer.

What do you know about this?

Gary CA · 05-16-2005, 09:40 AM

Greatwhite: I have not seen any Winnebago/Itasca products dog-walking down the road. I just saw an 2005 Fleetwood Pace Arrow gasser so far out of adjustment my wife spotted it first. I wish I could have told the driver but he hit a transition road first. This is easy to measure with plumb-bob and a tape measure. Ask a frame guy for the old hot rodder trick to see is a frame is square. Good luck......By the way, great carvings, you're a talented guy...

Duner · 05-18-2005, 09:20 PM

Gary CA: Got some questions for you....
Can you give me more detail on what yoou mean:
"This is easy to measure with plumb-bob and a tape measure. Ask a frame guy for the old hot rodder trick to see is a frame is square."

Winne extended my w22 from stock 248" to 266" on my 39T Chieftain. I had about 3-4" of offset with the rear tracking toward the curb. I had alignment checked twice & both said rear thrust angle ok. 1st alignment by Winne service said all ok. 2nd alignment I paid for and they found too much tow out. Now she tracks pretty straight but I think there's still about 1-2" offset. WH suggested driving thru water on flat street and measure the tracks and I can still see 1-2". Can the frame out of square and thrust angle still be spot on?