Fleetwood Storm Quality?

[pamljadams]

DON'T BUY ONE! We have a 2014 Storm 28F. When we bought it in 2016 it had 10K miles on it. The dash bounced a little from the beginning and it got really bad. It turns out that the "box" of the coach had detached from the chassis. We were originally told that Fleetwood knew of this issue and had a kit to fix it. When we spoke to the service person assuming that Fleetwood would take responsibility for their poor design he denied there was a kit or that this was a known issue. $2,000 later that was fixed. We took it cross-country and in Maine noticed that the door was rattling a lot. The side of the coach had detached from the chassis. After fixing that issue, a pump on the transimission went out costing us $1,800. We will never own another Fleetwood product.

We've run into another Storm owner and he had had the same problem. BEWARE!

[Bsqrd]

Originally Posted by pamljadams

DON'T BUY ONE! We have a 2014 Storm 28F. When we bought it in 2016 it had 10K miles on it. The dash bounced a little from the beginning and it got really bad. It turns out that the "box" of the coach had detached from the chassis. We were originally told that Fleetwood knew of this issue and had a kit to fix it. When we spoke to the service person assuming that Fleetwood would take responsibility for their poor design he denied there was a kit or that this was a known issue. $2,000 later that was fixed. We took it cross-country and in Maine noticed that the door was rattling a lot. The side of the coach had detached from the chassis. After fixing that issue, a pump on the transimission went out costing us $1,800. We will never own another Fleetwood product.

We've run into another Storm owner and he had had the same problem. BEWARE!

I had the same issue this year. Had to "fix" it in a campground so I could make it home. Very poor mechanical design for attaching the MH wall to the frame. Wish I knew what the "kit" consisted of. I'm building my own in hopes of beefing up the structure. I agree don't buy one.

[Triple H]

Originally Posted by pamljadams

. After fixing that issue, a pump on the transimission went out costing us $1,800.

How is the tranny a Fleetwood issue?

[PetesMH]

Originally Posted by Bsqrd

I had the same issue this year. Had to "fix" it in a campground so I could make it home. Very poor mechanical design for attaching the MH wall to the frame. Wish I knew what the "kit" consisted of. I'm building my own in hopes of beefing up the structure. I agree don't buy one.

My 2016 Storm seems to have the side wall/dashboard issue as well. Going in for a fix next week. The difference is that while I’m far from happy about this expensive repair I have come to understand that every motorhome (except perhaps the big diesel pushers) are built light and endure a serious pounding in use. Things break and have to be fixed. It’s pretty much a constant thing. Wish it weren’t so but it is.

[pamljadams]

We also understand that things shake loose but the motorhome detaching from the chassis at 10K miles seems over the top. I also see that this is an issue with the Storm and not other models, leading to to believe it is a poor design that Fleetwood won't admit.

[Ms G]

We have a 2016 Fleetwood storm. The quality is so so. We have had several issues that had to be dealt with. One there was a horrible squeak that was on the passenger side come to find out the box was not attached to the frame. Second the overhead bed has a constant squeak that they cant seem to be able to figure out. We fixed that by screwing the bed to the side of the wall. The seats are falling apart. They use very thin material to cover them. However it has run very well it’s been to Alaska twice now and still running but that is a Ford attribute. I would NOT buy another a Fleetwood product.

[Bsqrd]

Originally Posted by pamljadams

We also understand that things shake loose but the motorhome detaching from the chassis at 10K miles seems over the top. I also see that this is an issue with the Storm and not other models, leading to to believe it is a poor design that Fleetwood won't admit.

Seems a few people here are reporting the same structure issue. Why is this not a recall? Fleetwood needs to step up!

[pamljadams]

We have thought the same thing. When we originally contacted La Mesa RV (where we bought it) about this we were told that Fleetwood was aware of the issue and had a kit to repair it. When we assumed that Fleetwood would then handle it the service rep backtracked and said the person who had told us there was a kit was incorrect and that we would be responsible for the cost.
I've just contacted Fleetwood through their website asking why this isn't a recall item and I'm betting they either ignore the email or blow it off. I'm not sure how to go about getting owners who've had similar problems together to contact Fleetwood as group. Any insight on how to do this would be appreciated.

[PetesMH]

I do not believe this is unique to Storms and I also don’t think it happens all that often. It can happen, as it has to us on this thread, with the front cab uprights but it also can happen at other attachment points when welds break. My guess is that there is some sort of harmonic vibration that happens differently on individual coaches. Of course it shouldn’t happen but there you go. I was able to repair mine myself and I’m confident that it is about as strong as new. I’ll keep an eye on it for the future.

[steveb05]

Originally Posted by pamljadams

We have thought the same thing. When we originally contacted La Mesa RV (where we bought it) about this we were told that Fleetwood was aware of the issue and had a kit to repair it. When we assumed that Fleetwood would then handle it the service rep backtracked and said the person who had told us there was a kit was incorrect and that we would be responsible for the cost.
I've just contacted Fleetwood through their website asking why this isn't a recall item and I'm betting they either ignore the email or blow it off. I'm not sure how to go about getting owners who've had similar problems together to contact Fleetwood as group. Any insight on how to do this would be appreciated.

If it is a recurring problem why doesn't someone contact NHSTA and start a report.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

[Ynowgn]

Originally Posted by pamljadams

DON'T BUY ONE! We have a 2014 Storm 28F. When we bought it in 2016 it had 10K miles on it. The dash bounced a little from the beginning and it got really bad. It turns out that the "box" of the coach had detached from the chassis. We were originally told that Fleetwood knew of this issue and had a kit to fix it. When we spoke to the service person assuming that Fleetwood would take responsibility for their poor design he denied there was a kit or that this was a known issue. $2,000 later that was fixed. We took it cross-country and in Maine noticed that the door was rattling a lot. The side of the coach had detached from the chassis. After fixing that issue, a pump on the transimission went out costing us $1,800. We will never own another Fleetwood product.

We've run into another Storm owner and he had had the same problem. BEWARE!

Had the same issue in our 2012 32bh. The bolts running through the frame into the wall had either broken or worked their way loose and the box detached. Not only did the dash bounce and move like crazy, but you could see the wall moving while driving down the road. Also broke the mounts to the passengers side table and the front booth seat. I fixed it at a campground in Nebraska jacking up the box from the front corner, drilling out broken bolts, drilling holes between the factory holes, and adding twice the amount of bolts as factory. Not a fun job, but it fixed it until we traded it in for a new coach... about 10k miles. The dash still moved a LOT though.

[PSOUZA]

Originally Posted by pamljadams

DON'T BUY ONE! We have a 2014 Storm 28F. When we bought it in 2016 it had 10K miles on it. The dash bounced a little from the beginning and it got really bad. It turns out that the "box" of the coach had detached from the chassis. We were originally told that Fleetwood knew of this issue and had a kit to fix it. When we spoke to the service person assuming that Fleetwood would take responsibility for their poor design he denied there was a kit or that this was a known issue. $2,000 later that was fixed. We took it cross-country and in Maine noticed that the door was rattling a lot. The side of the coach had detached from the chassis. After fixing that issue, a pump on the transimission went out costing us $1,800. We will never own another Fleetwood product.

We've run into another Storm owner and he had had the same problem. BEWARE!

You should research your problems a bit more before lumping your indignation on one, single manufacturer.


My Fleetwood Flair suffered the broken / missing screws in the front that gave the illusion of a bouncing dash, thanks to the California freeway system.

It was an easy fix and in the process, I found other locations that may some day need attention. If you paid $2,000 for that repair, you also have another problem.


Instead of whining and venting, I tried finding other occurrences and the remedies those owners found effective.


Guess what? I found several others that involved Fleetwood......and Forrest River....and Thor....and Tiffen.

Guess what they had in common?

They were built on a Ford F53 chassis.

All the manufacturers used the same mounting points. In addition, to spice up the sauce, several added insufficient metal framework reinforcement in hard to get to places that broke, that must be re-welded and re-reinforced for a viable repair. Much worse than my Fleetwood.

What did you think you were getting when you paid that price?

I unloaded a Winnebago Reyo, based on the 3500 Mercedes Sprint chassis in favor of the Fleetwood. For our purposes, the Fleetwood is perfect. It is repairable, reliable and priced low enough to be disposable, if walking away becomes necessary. Anyone can fix it when it becomes necessary.

Aside from a very few nuisance items, it has been trouble free.

I knew what I was getting, and frankly expected worse.

When did Fleetwood start buiding transmissions?

The proper attitude is a necessity if you want to play this game. And be happy.


Phil

[SuperDad]

Wall to chassis/frame fix? Does anybody have pictures of this problem?

[PetesMH]

Originally Posted by SuperDad

Wall to chassis/frame fix? Does anybody have pictures of this problem?

I didn’t take photos but it is easy to see if you have the problem. From under the hood look to the very sides. On my Storm it was easier to see on the passenger side because there is less stuff in the way. You’ll be able to see a square tubular upright with bolts going through into the sidewall. If you have the problem the bolts will be sheared off or will appear to be missing. On mine you could tell that the sidewall had dropped about 1/2 inch by noticing that the black undercoating material no longer matched the frame. To figure out why it happened (in my case which might be different from yours) I crawled under the chassis and could see that the weld holding the above mentioned upright to the Ford chassis had broken. There is a similar cross section angled brace between the upright and the chassis frame that had not broken on mine. I couldn’t see this very clearly on the drivers side because there was so much stuff in the way. Apparently the “correct” way to fix it is to remove the front cap to gain access so it can be re welded. Yikes. As I explored the problem further I discovered that it’s not entirely uncommon to have body/frame weld failures almost anywhere on he coach and in almost any brand or price point. You just have to “know” your coach so you’ll be able to tell if something abnormal is going on. My clue was rapidly worsening dashboard shaking.