Do you think Newmar ( Matt Miller ) is reading IRV2 forum

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by Johninar

Great points made on this subject. I don't expect Matt or anyone else to directly address this forum. If he did, it would be chaos. What I do expect of Newmar is to recognize when there is a pattern to a problem, to address it. It appears, as in the window failures, they are tone deaf. As was mentioned, the slide bolts coming loose is a huge issue for a customer when it breaks. I've fixed mine. It was not hard and it will never come loose again. They could fix it for less than $10 a coach. Why have they not fixed it? I guess because they can do a few warranty cases and the rest are left to deal with it. Broken motors, inconvenience, bad will. All are issues they apparently are willing to live with.



I love my coach and have no plans to upgrade or switch. I just read some of these threads on the forum and scratch my head and think "really?".


Safe travels all.

Well said
As a bare minimum I would expect Newmar to issue Tech Service Notification to owners and dealers and offer a free repair / upgrade kit with studs, nuts washers & locktite to FIX the slide motor problem.
What could it cost $10 / kit!
Just think of the dissatisfaction and bad will this fiasco has created and from what I hear still not resolved.
I bought my VTDP used and never even contacted the factory. When I tried to get info from a dealer all they would tell me is bring it in and we'll look at it but repair apps were way out there and dealer was 4-5 hrs away.
Designed and built a reinforcement for a breaking bracket and had a local shop weld it in while I waited.
Owners on this forum are very knowledgeable and helpful THANK YOU!

[Johninar]

Originally Posted by outlawten5

I know the Dynamax GM responds frequently on the forest river forums. It's not impossible. I actually think it brings them a lot of business. Does red locktite not solve the slide motor problem?

You will get several answers. My solution was to install studs with red locktite and a Nord-lock washer followed by a ribbed flange nut.
Very easy to do. No removal of the motor, just remove the bolt and install the stud.



If the motor fails in the future it is easy to remove, studs and all.

[hattitude]

Originally Posted by Johninar

I don't expect Matt or anyone else to directly address this forum. If he did, it would be chaos. What I do expect of Newmar is to recognize when there is a pattern to a problem, to address it.

I agree with this statement.....

Based on the responses in this thread, any attempt to answer questions or complaints on this forum would turn into a free for all...

I certainly don't expect the CEO of a large company to answer my questions directly, or to answer to me specifically... But I would hope their company has a pathway for me to get answers and support. I believe Newmar has a system like that in place..

It's good to know that Newmar reads this forum... That means they are aware of people's problems, and people's perception of these problems..

There can be numerous reasons why they don't publicly address our concerns..

As some have mentioned, some of these problems are out of Newmar's hands. I'm sure they go back to their suppliers, when a problem is uncovered, and expect them to fix the problem, like we expect Newmar to fix theirs.

Newmar may have information on problems that we don't have. Specifically, as it pertains to the number of units with issues, compared to the number of units that don't have a specific issue. They may have info that suggests to them some problems are either not as wide spread, or not as severe, as they seem to us.

Newmar may also be making running production changes to fix some issues, without announcing the changes. Let's face it, we live in a litigious society. They would do well to keep quiet about anything that could even flirt with the possibility of turning into a product liability lawsuit.

Eventually, with any improvement/upgrade/fix it will boil down to a cost/benefit analysis... and I believe Newmar does consider "perception" of a problem and their reputation in that equation. But they may come up with a different assessment of a problem and it's scope than we do.. Doesn't make them wrong and us right, just shows that reasonable people can look at the same situation and come up with different conclusion.. happens all the time, in almost anything you could debate..

I'm not trying to make excuses for Newmar. I expect them to deliver a good product, and offer good support to their customers.. I believe in most ways, and most of the time, they do this... They are not perfect, no company is. Nor will they always make business decisions, the same that I would.

Overall I am very pleased with their product and their support... That is why I bought a Newmar product and they will be on my short list when I shop for my next motorhome..

[Clemson]

I just got an email and phone call from Matt Miller’s office over an issue with the vinyl covering coming off on the front door, lounge chair spring failure and tank sensor issues. They scheduled an appointment at NIRVC to take care of these problems and I’m one year out of warranty. Lesson learned years ago is knowing how to deal with people

[Steele]

Originally Posted by outlawten5

I know the Dynamax GM responds frequently on the forest river forums. It's not impossible. I actually think it brings them a lot of business. Does red locktite not solve the slide motor problem?

Red is not the answer. Heat needs to be applied to the fasteners to get it free. There is an orange Permatex that is high strength but releasable. That is what I put on mine. But I have to redo one as the grades in the transmission failed not the motor bolts. SMH 🤦*♂️

[NCC-1701A]

Originally Posted by R.Wold

They say the window failure issue has been addressed. And yes they read that thread too. But it was a Lippert issue. Not Newmar. And it occurred after Lippert bought Hehr which was the previous supplier and didn’t have the problem. So it seems obvious to me that Lippert cut corners and caused the problem and Newmar has had to shoulder the burden of it all.

While I can sympathize with Newmar taking the brunt of the issue from customers, if Lippert is Newmar's vendor and provides parts with quality problems, it IS Newmar's to shoulder...in front of the customer anyway. If Newmar has a Procurement team worth their salt, they have all this covered in their contracts and Lippert is indemnifying Newmar for the costs involved with a pervasive quality issue (as well as normal quality failures). That's the way it should work....customers want the end manufacturer to deal with the issues and they should.

The RV industry in general is an anomaly in that it seems to think that if they don't directly make the part, it's someone else's problem. What if auto companies thought like that? What if computer companies said..."Oh...that's Intel's problem that your processor isn't working." If they don't have a mindset that it is their responsibility, they have little incentive to improve on total quality...and we all know that's a huge problem in this industry.

Newmar is better than many or most in the RV industry in taking responsibility and trying to help clients, but even they have room for improvement in this category. When I bought my Baystar new (years ago) I had some early warranty issues and I had to go deal with Onan and Flexsteel on my own to get them fixed. Both of those companies took care of the issues, but I had to drive the process to get anything done. But, that's the way the RV industry works.

[F4Gary]

"At this point, what difference does it make?"
Newmars are flying out the door and they sell every one right now. There is no incentive to fix things. That's on the dealer as far as they are concerned.
Reminds me of the later C3 Corvette years.

They could have put a 5-speed in it, better/faster power steering, and upgraded the handling/suspension. But they were selling them as fast as they could make them. No incentive to make it better.

[ydduB]

Originally Posted by outlawten5

I know the Dynamax GM responds frequently on the forest river forums. It's not impossible. I actually think it brings them a lot of business. Does red locktite not solve the slide motor problem?

I used Blue and check them annually. (I thought about Red, but decided I MIGHT want to get in there someday.)

[Johninar]

Originally Posted by ydduB

I used Blue and check them annually. (I thought about Red, but decided I MIGHT want to get in there someday.)

That's why I put studs in with red. Using a single Nord-lock and flange nuts. Motor will come out without any issues.

[Krikati]

Hey Newmarites,

We just splurged on a NewAire (not yet delivered) and I am pleased to be hearing from other owners. Is this the best forum for Newmar motorhomes? Or are there others?

We upgraded from an Airstream/Mercedes Atlas which we loved but we got a little tired of lowering the Murphy bed each evening and having to make it up. Also we travel with two standard poodles.

Where is Newmar's service center? Is it in Indiana? Do you have the address?

Any tips for things to look out for?

Many thanks, Kiribati

[buc1908]

I understand that Newmar was bought by Winnebago years ago.

[BrassPlayer]

I have always voted with my wallet; seems the only logical thing to do when uncaring is the culture, below the dollar. The real problem arises when there is NOTHING out there that is worth my spending my money on, because people continue to buy things that are not worth buying. I sold my TT a couple years ago and have gone to look two times....I saw brand new units with doors that wouldn't shut, nothing fit, absolutely crap construction, and frankly I will get a nice aluminum horse trailer and outfit it before I will buy an RV. I simply will not support what is going on. And that's across the board, not just RVs. I'm driving my 15 year old car until something falls out in the road, and then I'll pay someone to put it back together again.

[ronboatplane]

I want to pass along: My 2019 Dutch star has had many problems but most have been addressed finally. Independence has put more hours into this thing than the factory. I have had issues with vendor products like most of the LED lights, the full wall slide breaking just off the lot, wiring not working in slides, water leaks under the refrigerator, leaving off sealant behind the front wheel so that water flooded under the entrance stairs etc.
As an electrical engineer I discovered why my 4 TVs never worked right as the installation utilized only 4 way splitters. Newmar didn’t realize that there substitution for 2 way or 3 way splitters with unused ports would ruin the performance of all the TVs. I could not understand why a cheap travel trailer parked next to me could see the basketball championship game when I could not. Numerous quality issues showed up that could have been avoided by pulling some units off the line for inspection. While it might be too late for my unit; Newmar if listening take note! It is a long way from my 2005 Dutch Star to my 2019 DS. Your future is in you hands. Probably my last coach due to age but thanks to Paul at independence I will enjoy it anyway.

[Doc Burry]

I had an out of kilter slide out, and called Newmar tech line. The technician talked me through going into a basement storage, pushing some buttons on the controller, and was able to correct the entire system by myself. The guy was brilliant Sharp do exactly how to help me and I was able to accomplish what I needed. This is the second time I’ve had to call the technical line in the first time or something that was completely my error and they corrected me. What a high-quality RV and I am so happy that we’re talking to 2009 Newmar Ventana 3961!