Winnebago Customer Service

[SWharton]

We have a 6 month old Winnebago MH. Yesterday, while having a solar panel installed and a propane line for a catalytic heater(which the dealer would not do) it was discovered that our propane regulator had gone bad. There was a major leak. We had thought we were using a lot of propane but were new to the MH and didn't know if the tank had been completely full. Never smelt any propane at all. Of course we said to replace it. We weren't going to knowingly travel around with something like that.

 

I called up Winnie CS. Their answer was that we had to take it to a dealer to get it replaced. The dealer by the way is over an hour away. I told them know way was I going to travel with a propane leak. There final take was to send the part and invoice back and they "might" pay for it.

 

This attitude of everything needs to go back to the dealer is irksome. Most of the dealers overcharge, never have time to do a repair without a long wait. If the RV mfgs. want to do it this way they should make an effort to have a dealer in every town like the car mfgs. do. Other than that the RV warranty should be valid wherever you choose. It is time for the RV mfgs. to get their head out of the sand.

[Kirk W]

This attitude of everything needs to go back to the dealer is irksome. Most of the dealers overcharge, never have time to do a repair without a long wait. If the RV mfgs. want to do it this way they should make an effort to have a dealer in every town like the car mfgs. do. Other than that the RV warranty should be valid wherever you choose. It is time for the RV mfgs. to get their head out of the sand.

With an appliance you don't have to do that since the warranty is from the appliance manufacturer and not the RV builder. The same might be true for the propane regulator if you were to go directly back to that company that made it and not to Winnebago. But when the manufacturer is handling a warranty situation it is nearly always expected that you take the problem back via the selling dealer if possible and through another authorized dealer when not. This is not unique to the RV industry. Try getting warranty repairs for your GM car authorized to be completed at a Ford dealership. Or getting a Samsung washer repaired by the Maytag dealership!

 

You will find the same thing with your chassis. If your coach rides on a Spartan the Freightliner shop won't/can't do warranty work on it or visa versa.

[Al F]

I agree with your frustration of needing repairs with RV dealers. However the issue of driving with a slow leak, that you have been driving with for probably 6 months, would not be a concern on my part. Also I would think a slow propane leak would be much more dangerous sitting still than with all the wind blowing by while driving to dissipate the propane.

[SWharton]

One never know when a propane leak will become major plus we were heading for winter camp for 3 months, no movement of the MH. I would rather know I am safe.

 

I called my dealer and was told it was warrantied by Winnebago, not the mfg. I was at a generic repair shop, not a different dealer getting the solar and propane line installed. I also had an oil change done by the guy across the street.

 

Kirk, by your logic I should only have the oil change done by a Ford dealer since I was replacing the filter. I might go to a dealer if they had a lot of them like the car mfgs but the dealer network is so limited and the dealers always take months to do anything. I am on the road and can't/won't wait that long. A generic repair shop does a better job in repairs probably than a dealer and the generic shop is in the business of doing repairs while that is not a dealers first priority. Plus they are a lot less expensive than a dealer. Our dealer at home has a rate of $155/hour, we paid yesterday $95/hour and at home I pay $85/hour at my local shop. Plus my $30 regulator would probably cost me $90 at the dealer(based on the mark up on a 125a fuse).

 

I value my time. I bill myself out at $10/hour. If I went to the dealer it would cost, in my time, if the dealer could take me right away, around $40 plus their inflated prices.

 

We previously had a Heartland 5th and, once approved, could go any place we wanted.

[bigjim]

I'm with you in principal but know that Kirk was just 'esplainin the way it is.

[Wrknrvr]

I am an mobile RV tect in Montana in the summertime.

Winnebago will not work with anyone not a dealer.

Last summer there were several new or a year old Winnebago units with slide problems that would not retract. One we forced in as the customer had to go. I think they were the swinteck system. Looks good on paper but do not leave the dealers lot.

Nearest dealer 100 miles and three weeks behind.

Told customer to call Wiinebago then DOT. And was very suggestive of call DOT. Winnebago has to fix that system.

I was not going to be responsable for a slide moving out while unit is going down the road.

Most manufactures will work with independent repair shops.

 

Not many things really irritate me but Winnebago is the worst manufacturer to deal with. Absolutly the worst.

 

While I am at it Lippert is the next people to deal with in that some of there stuff is of poor quality.

 

I may not be liked for saying what I experienced but this is from my real life as a moble RV tech.

 

 

Safe Travels, Vern

[LindaH]

We also have a Winnebago motorhome and have had work done -- and paid for by Winnebago -- at someplace other than the dealer.

 

We bought our motorhome at a Tucson dealer. We were having trouble with the generator when we were out of the Tucson area so took the rig to a Cummins/Onan dealer who fixed the problem. We submitted the invoice to the dealer and they, in turn, submitted it to Winnebago. I don't know what happened between the dealer and Winnebago, but we did get reimbursed our out-of-pocket expense.

[aunut]

I had debris on the floor each time after letting a slide out on my 1 1/2 year old Winnebago that was out of warranty. I was charged about $100 just to look at it by my dealer. They said it was debris left from manufacturing and nothing wrong with the slide. I called Winnebago and they had me fax the invoice. They reimbursed me even though it was out of warranty. I also never had any problems with them concerning any repairs needed under warranty. The worst out there? A matter of opinion.

[SWharton]

I think the solution with Winnie might be to push back, stick to your heels and say no to them. It was only at that point that Winnie said I could mail the part back and they would consider reimbursement.

 

It wasn't expensive, it is just the principle..................

[Kirk W]

Kirk, by your logic I should only have the oil change done by a Ford dealer since I was replacing the filter.

 

That is a strange conclusion and is far from what I posted... But it it does apply for warranty parts. Try getting Ford to warrant any part your generic shop replace.......... As far as I know, oil changes do not come under warranty. But if your transmission fails, you will need to have it replaced by a Ford dealer if you want it done at no charge under warranty.

[Ray,IN]

The reason for the statement to have an authorized dealer do the work/replace the part is because W has an agreement with their dealer network to reimburse them for warrantable repairs without prior approval. RV repair shops outside the W network must obtain prior approval for warranty work, or you must pay the bill and work with W to obtain reimbursement. Many out-of-network RV repair shops will not fool with dealing with a 3rd party to obtain their money, then your only recourse is to file a warranty claim with the mfgr.

 

I just said the same thing as Kirk, in a different way.

[SWharton]

Maybe our problem is that until the MH we have never had a warranty item that needed repair. On a car or RV. I don't mind a shop not wanting to deal with a 3rd party, all I want is the option to have it repaired where I want it repaired and then reimbursed once the repair is approved. Seems simple enough to me. I am doing all the calling to Winnie so the 3rd party at this point is not involved except for the diagnosis and, if asked, a minute on the phone with Winnie to confirm the diagnosis. Once approved, should be given an "approval number" and send them the bill with the number.

 

Also, a Winnie dealer still needs to get approval from Winnie before they do anything. We could not get the step out from over the chassis battery. We were getting ready to leave, so we called our dealer(we would drive by them) and they said to stop in and they would look at it. I will admit, they took us promptly, agreed the step had to be trimmed down, and there we sat while they tried to call Winnie for approval. We weren't in a rush but to trim down the step took 3-4 hours overall.

 

The other problem I see is that a dealer has 20 different brands he is selling. A car dealer only sells one brand.

[Kirk W]

The other problem I see is that a dealer has 20 different brands he is selling. A car dealer only sells one brand.

Many auto dealers carry several brand names. Just one example is Allen Samuels Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Hundai in Tyler TX. While I do agree that it would be much more convenient if you could get warranty repairs anywhere, it just isn't likely to happen, at least not without pre-approval by the RV manufacturer, or by the auto manufacturer. Part of the reason is that manufacturers pay the dealers a lower labor rate for warranty work than customers are charged. In addition your propane regulator was not built by Winnebago but purchased from a vendor and they may use more than one manufacturer/supplier for the regulators that they install. If you read your sales contract carefully, I am certain that somewhere in it the subject of warranty repairs is covered.

 

You may eventually get Winnebago to reimburse you for the cost of the part or perhaps even the labor if you can convince them that it is in their best interest to do so. Most companies do occasionally do that sort of thing even though it isn't required by the sales contract, as a measure of goodwill. Very likely if you were to visit a propane seller who also sells and installs the same make regulator as you had, they probably could replace yours under warranty from the vendor, if they were to choose to do so.

[SWharton]

I have never seen a dealer that carried more than one brand of car. I have seen where one person owns many dealerships, but each one only sells one brand.That Tyler showroom must be gigantic..............................

[jblscooper]

I have never seen a dealer that carried more than one brand of car. I have seen where one person owns many dealerships, but each one only sells one brand.That Tyler showroom must be gigantic..............................

Been to TX lately? Many dealerships carry multiple brands, not unusual at all.

 

Jim

[SWharton]

I guess I live in too small a town. Each dealer only sells one brand, I have always wondered when we see these dealerships with thousands of cars how they sell them all. Our dealer(GM) in a town we lived in 10-15 years ago kept 20 cars on his lot in case anyone needed one in a hurry. Most everyone ordered a specific car with the options they wanted. Foreign cars were different, they came with set packages, you didn't need to go through 6 pages of printout to pick out your options, but even the foreign car dealer only had maybe 50 cars. If that many.

 

I would like to see a blending of the same mfg into a dealership. We had a GM Surburban and the Chevy dealer refused to service it because it was GM. That was in the 90s. They had the same parts, built on the same line, just slapped GM or Chevy on it at the end. We shopped for a new car about 3 years ago but knew what we wanted. Went to the Honda dealer and all he sold were Hondas.

[bigjim]

These conglomerates make it difficult to deal in that there is no real compitition. A lady I know that thinks she is really smart about dealing was talking to 2 dealerships in Dallas that had different names but were owned by the same autogroup. The sales people played her like a drum. This lack of compitition is not good for the consumer IMO. Often the name of the individual is licensed for use. Larry H. Miller who is dead is still owned by his family I believe but they have dealerships in multliple towns. I didn't know who he was but if I remember he owned the Utah Jazz. I saw a news piece about him and his family on TV.

[TxCowboy]

DW and I were looking at a Winnie 5th wheel earlier this year. The dealer only had 3 Winnies on the lot and told us blatantly that he was discontinuing anything Winnebago built. He was very clear that Winnebago didn't play well with either the customers or the dealerships that carried their products. He also said that they would no longer service Winnebago products of any kind.

 

As the next Winnebago dealer is over 200 miles from this dealer, we decided to buy another brand of 5th wheel. Not having a local dealer service option was an absolute show-stopper for us.

 

Anytime the dealer tells you the manufacturer doesn't play well, you'd better pay attention. We did and bought our second Heartland 5th wheel.

[bobsallyh]

Bigjim, you are correct. Larry Miller did own the Jazz and it is now in the family as well as the dealerships. They have multiple outlets in the Pac Northwest along with other locations. And you are also correct about the conglomerates such as Lithia, Larry Green, Findley, and on and on. In fact Dave Smith in Kellogg, ID. was sold to an outfit operating out of Plano, TX. as they are also trying to get a foothold in the Pac Northwest.

[tb919]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and have found it to be incredibly informative. So many great discussions I could read all day! Anyway, what I'm concerned about are the comments regarding Winnebago and their customer service and products. We have a 2014 Aspect 27K, our first RV, and have enjoyed using it. About 18,000 miles on it already. Other than the fact the black water hose was installed backwards and a few little things we've not had any troubles. However, we are looking to go larger as we'd like to travel for longer periods of time in addition to our weekend outings to dog agility events and the Aspect gets a bit tight after a few days. So we've been looking at the Journey 36M and my favorite floor plan the 40R. I said larger right? There are some great deals on the 2015 40R and it's so tempting but after reading these comments maybe we need to re think it? So I'm asking what other choices would ya'll suggest. I do like the Winnebago designs but am open to others. Thanks for your input.

Tev

[Kirk W]

First of all, welcome to the Escapee forums! We are pleased that you have chosen to join us.

 

First of all, Winnebago/Itasca has a very good reputation for dealer and factory support, as compared to most other companies. The need to return to a Winnebago dealer is pretty standard for warranty work on any brand of RV. Warranty on appliances does not require you to go to the RV brand dealer/shop but it does require that the RV tech be an authorized warranty provider for the appliance involved. Covering of warranty work by someone not authorized for service by either the RV manufacturer or the appliance manufacturer is pretty standard across not only the RV industry, but pretty much all industries. If you like Winnebago products, I would not hesitate to stay with them.

 

There are a few others that I would suggest you consider which are in the same price/quality grouping. Consider Newmar & the Kountry Star, or Allegro's Bus as competitors that come from other companies that have a good history of dealer/factory support. Remember that there are no RV manufacturers that are so good that they have no unsatisfied customers, not any so bad that they have no satisfied customers.

[tb919]

Hi Kirk, thanks for the reply. Another reason I like this forum, you get responses.

 

We have looked at Newmar and Tiffin too and they both have much to commend them but as you know floor plan is of major importance and we tend to be drawn to the Journey more than the others. Although Tiffin has absolutely beautiful finishes some of the floor plans don't work.

 

Now I need to go research the slide issue I keep hearing about. I'm sure there's a thread for that too.

 

Thanks again!

Tev

[LindaH]

Tev, go back and re-read my response in this thread. We have the exact same motorhome that you currently have and we haven't had any problems getting warranty work done, either at the selling dealer or at the Winnebago dealer in our hometown. If another RV was in our future (it isn't), I would have no problems buying another Winnebago if we found one that suited us.

[SWharton]

As the OP I will say that the Winnie we have have has been solid. No problems whatsoever except for not being able to get the step out to check the chassis battery, a blown 125a fuse and the regulator. We neglected to ask our purchasing dealer to do a propane pressure check and might have found the regulator leak earlier. My frustration was the risk involved with a propane leak, and the attitude that I can live with it for a while and wait for the dealer to fix it. I consider the propane leak as potentially life threatening, we were down 1/3 tank in 2 months. The regulator is only a $30 item, plus 1 hour time. I personally bill myself out at $10/hour. Looking at my time going to the dealer is a losing proposition. I would rather pay for it myself. We were having other work done at the RV repair place because our original dealer would not do it, we did not hesitate to have them replace the regulator.

 

I am actually not sure a Winnie dealer would do the work. Our original dealer told us he doesn't do propane work. If we weren't at the repair place we would have replaced the regulator ourselves.

[sandsys]

We owned two Winnebagos: a View 24H and Journey 34Y. We never had any problems getting service. When we had a problem with the 34Y while in Arizona we contacted Winnebago and they sent us to 3Ts in Lake Havasu--a service shop not a dealer. Excellent people and excellent work. All done under warranty.

 

Linda Sand