Many problems on my 38RL

ScottyJ25 · 08-20-2015, 12:16 AM

Hi all,

Has anyone else experienced some problems right after they bought their Redwood? I am a traveling Histotechnician ( kinda like a nurse, but for the laboratory ) and have been Traveling for 8 Years and decided to get a 5th wheel to live in on assignment.

Well I have had it for one week and:

1. The rear air conditioner doesn't work.
2. The GFCI plug-ins don't work. The one in the bathroom won't reset.
3. The living room TV already burnt out.
4. The 2nd awning is not fully retractable, the pole is not secure when retracted.
5. There is no receiver box for the switch between cable and the antenna.

The nearest Redwood dealer is over 200 miles away me. I have called crossroads rv and they said that the service charge/call would not be covered. Any money the service tech charges I have to pay up front AND I may not be reimbursed.

What are your thoughts on this. I am thinking about getting rid of this if there are this many problems after only one week and Redwood won't back their warranty.

Thanks for any input.

Scott

atom ant · 08-20-2015, 12:25 AM

Scotty, Welcome to the Forum and congratulations on that 38RL! Nice floorplan.

I don't see where you said they wouldn't back your warranty, they just won't pay for a service tech to come to you. You need to get it into a Dealer - just part of living in a trailer. In all those are easy fix items.

RomanyLife · 08-20-2015, 12:29 AM

HI Scott; Sorry for your troubles. I see you joined the forum in 2014, which causes me to wonder if you have a NEW trailer or a used trailer? Did you buy it new?

ScottyJ25 · 08-20-2015, 01:01 AM

Hey Atom,

That's what I am trying to figure out. I am currently 200 miles from the nearest dealer, since I am living out of it I will have to take it to the dealer and stay in a hotel until they get it working I guess? When I had called that dealer they can't get me in for three weeks. It will probably be cheaper to pay a local service tech to have it worked on, than driving 400 miles, paying for a hotel, and loosing the rv space I had reserved.

RomanyLife, I bought it brand new, what irks me is I also bought the extended 5 year warranty, but it doesn't go into place until after Redwood's is up.

atom ant · 08-20-2015, 01:15 AM

OK, I don't disagree with your logic, but you said Redwood won't back their warranty, and I'm not seeing where you have been denied warranty.

RomanyLife · 08-20-2015, 01:15 AM

Our dealership/service center allows us to stay in the trailer with 50 amp hookup while they are working on it, have you checked with yours? Many of them offer this to fulltimers. You are right, it might be cheaper to hire the service tech, if RW will cover the warranty work. Hauling is not free, and neither is being displaced!

We all have to factor these things in I guess. I would think that if you paid for the site while you are gone, it would hold if for you? When you are fulltime (to us) it's like you still have to pay your mortgage/rent while you are away :-) Maybe it helps to think of it this way? GOOD LUCK!

RomanyLife · 08-20-2015, 01:16 AM

BTW: are you talking about an after-market 5 year warranty by a company? Just curious.

Shane Wood · 08-20-2015, 01:20 AM

Scott for one thing redwood will warrenty these issues. Taking it to a dealer for these repairs are normal as Atom pointed out. Have you checked your breakers in the fuse panel as the air and tv and GFI could be on the same breaker. In the fuse and breaker box to the right as you walk in the door
As far as the awning arm and the tv reciever box, if you could explain better what is happening we can better help you

travelin' texans · 08-20-2015, 01:32 AM

Call & talk to someone at the service center & they could probably help talk through some of your issues, all sound minor except "tv burnt out"?? To switch from cable to antenna there's a cigarette lighter type receptacle in a cabinet or behind the bedroom tv that must be switched off to view cable & lit to use antenna, there's no receiver box. As mentioned above check breakers, they may look ok, but trip them anyway.

travelin' texans · 08-20-2015, 01:42 AM

Scott, it sounds like this may be your 1st rv experience, if so be patient it will be ok, just a bit of a learning curve.
On the second awning check to be sure the pitch adjust is not too far off. Extend the awning & look on the right side of both arms for a small silver button & make sure they are not set more than 3 holes different, I would recommend equal, but that may be the awning problem.
There's a bunch of folks on here that can help with most any problem you might have, but you have to be somewhat handy to get them solved.

Blue Dogs · 08-20-2015, 02:17 AM

Just shooting from the hip here but it sounds like everything is electrical, I'm thinking power surge or something. It could be something as simple as a loose wire. Personally I'd call a tech and have them come and check a few things, a $100 service call would be a lot cheaper than hauling it 200 miles each way. If they find a defect of some sort I'd submit it to Redwood and see if they will help with at least some of it.

Ford truck guy · 08-20-2015, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottyJ25

Hi all,

Has anyone else experienced some problems right after they bought their Redwood? I am a traveling Histotechnician ( kinda like a nurse, but for the laboratory ) and have been Traveling for 8 Years and decided to get a 5th wheel to live in on assignment.

Well I have had it for one week and:

1. The rear air conditioner doesn't work.
2. The GFCI plug-ins don't work. The one in the bathroom won't reset.
3. The living room TV already burnt out.
4. The 2nd awning is not fully retractable, the pole is not secure when retracted.
5. There is no receiver box for the switch between cable and the antenna.

The nearest Redwood dealer is over 200 miles away me. I have called crossroads rv and they said that the service charge/call would not be covered. Any money the service tech charges I have to pay up front AND I may not be reimbursed.

What are your thoughts on this. I am thinking about getting rid of this if there are this many problems after only one week and Redwood won't back their warranty.

Thanks for any input.

Scott

Was this all in working order during the PDI? If the GFCI is tripped in the bathroom , non of the other outlets on that circuit will work..the tv Burnt out?? Were you watching it when it happened ? I am not sure I understand the second awning question...? The pole is not secure ? My 2016 38RL has 3 of the LG tv'is in it. There is no switch box.. You go into settings and hit auto search , the TV will automatically figure out what your hooked up to... I really like that feature...

atom ant · 08-20-2015, 03:43 PM

With most of the problems it could be you just have a couple of circuits that have loose wires (if you saw how they are connected in the outlet box you would know what I mean). An electrician may be able to find it pretty fast - ask Redwood for the electrical drawings for that model - They gave me mine several years ago. That would save him hunt down time.

ScottyJ25 · 08-20-2015, 10:34 PM

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. I have spoken with Crossroads and this is what they are telling me:

Mr. Jordan,

*

Per our conversation earlier you wanted an email about our mobile service policy. Considering your current circumstances it would be okay for you to seek mobile service. The requirements for that would include:

*

·*********Service charge/call would not be covered

·*********Mobile service tech needs to contact Crossroads and get a pre-authorization for work through our dealer tech department

·*********If it is determined that parts are needed they can be sent no charge to your mobile tech. Sometimes defective parts need to be sent back so we can charge back our vendors. Double check with Crossroads if something needs to be sent back and make sure that the part is sent back by the mobile service or by you

·*********You pay the bill upfront

·*********You can request reimbursement through the customer service department

Thank you.

*

Tom Woodiel

Retail Service Tech

Email:*twoodiel@crossroadsrv.com

Phone: 260-593-2866

305 Hawpatch Dr.

Topeka, IN 46571

www.crossroadsrv.com

I guess I was confused mostly from the extended warranty that I had bought, that stated, that any dealer could perform these issues, but for the first two years it's only Crossroads *dealers, or I have to pay for the service call out of my own pocket.

It will be ccheaper for me to have someone local look at it versus driving 800 miles and leaving it there for a couple weeks.

atom ant · 08-20-2015, 10:50 PM

That sounds like a reasonable resolution to me, and to be honest, the mobile tech will be much quicker.

Ford truck guy · 08-20-2015, 10:55 PM

Sounds like all may be happy with this plan.... Good to hear

Char & Steve · 08-21-2015, 01:43 AM

Sounds like RW will make it right! Definitely go with the mobile service guy if you can. Will be much quicker. I did the same thing when we got our RW. It was only 1 call from myself and one call from my RV guy and then RW authorized him to do all the work and shipped all parts directly to him. He also needed some tech support on a heater issue and RW techs worked with him on the phone. RW also paid him directly within 30 days but most guys will want you to pay upfront. It's just that I have known this guy for years.

The two dealers that are in my state said I have to pay in full upfront then I would have to deal with RW since we did not buy the unit from them. I told them that it didn't seem like a good way to do business since our next one may be from them but that didn't help.

Good Luck and keep us posted on how it goes.

Steve

ScottyJ25 · 08-21-2015, 03:10 AM

I guess it was a big shock for me to spend this much money on something and have it have so many issues in the first week lol.

Loving Life · 08-21-2015, 04:15 AM

We used a mobile tech once. It was a good experience for us. We had NO PROBLEM getting the reimbursement from RW. We had a list of things that needed to be repaired. The dealer couldn't get us in for over a month and then wanted to keep our RW home for 3 to 4 weeks. We had to pay a service fee for the mobile tech to come out and evaluate our issues and order the necessary parts. Parts were delivered directly to the tech. We paid a 2nd service fee when they came out to do the repairs. It was definitely less $ and less stress than packing our clothes and food and moving to a hotel. Additional benefit of the mobile tech... we were able to "shadow" them as they worked on our RW. Any chance to watch and learn as someone works on our RW is great.

Shane Wood · 08-21-2015, 04:21 AM

Also a big thing to consider is most of the mobile techs have their own business and their service and quality of workmanship is far greater than a dealer who pays some kid off the street minimum wage or less and turns them loose on these coaches

You may also like: