Manuals

[John317]

Can we hear from some of you that have your units about how good (or bad) you think the manuals are? Do they do a good job of giving an overview of how everything works or are they just a collection of guides by the O.E.M's? Edited by: John317

[Flyfisher]

The Redwood manual is very generic and leaves much to be desired as a user manual. The OEM manuals that came with the coach are , for the most part, useful and your only source of printed information regarding maintenance, operation and trouble shooting of the OEM devices.

[KR2011]

What about the warranty, is there a written copy of the 2+5 redwood warranty, I have read elsewhere that there is no paperwork on the warranty.

[Happy Camper]

I agree that the manuals are vague at best. I am still trying to get manuals for the Toshiba TV, LG Home Theater, and Convection Oven. They seem to have grown legs and no one at the dealer knows where they are.

[John317]

Originally Posted by Happy Camper

I agree that the manuals are vague at best.Â* I am still trying to get manuals for the Toshiba TV, LG Home Theater, and Convection Oven.Â* They seem to have grown legs and no one at the dealer knows where they are.

HC...If you have no success with the factory or the dealer, most manufacturers these days have Manuls in PDF form on their websites that you can download.

[Happy Camper]

Yep, That was my next move. Thanks for the help.

[IPull]

Yes I think the manuals need a little work,h2oman and </span>I am going to scan all our manufacturers manuals and save as pdf’s and what we don’t have
check on wed sites and place on a disk to have as backups </span><?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by KR2011

What about the warranty, is there a written copy of the 2+5 redwood warranty, I have read elsewhere that there is no paperwork on the warranty.

If the Redwood company really reads this forum ...I have a suggestion for them to consider....DON'T PRINT YOUR OWNERS MANUALS....now please hear me out before you all blow a gasket.

Owning a business myself and mentoring others that are trying to build businesses I realize and appreciate how a business grows. For that reason usually when an employee hand book or training manual is printed it's already out of date and you're forced to wait until enough changes have taken place to warrant a new printing. This really hinders a companies growth and effectiveness. ( yes I do make money on printing)

If they would instead put up a PRIVATE web site for the owners to read, then they could keep everything current and pro-active instead of doing like everybody else. one of the things that attracted me to Redwood is that they seemed to listen to the needs of the buyer. By doing a web site like I had said earlier, they could send out emails on any changes that they make and this would also allow them to receive current concerns from the owners in "real time" allowing them to make changes before a problem becomes too big. Every other manufacture says they care but this would make Redwood the most reliable and concerned RV company out there. It would be priceless.

Just my opinion (from a marketing guru that has built business from the ground up)

dave

[lillyputz]

Hell Dave, they can't even up date there web site.



Lillyputz

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Dave&amp;Ginny

If the Redwood company really reads this forum ...I have a suggestion for them to consider....DON'T PRINT YOUR OWNERS MANUALS....now please hear me out before you all blow a gasket.

Owning a business myself and mentoring others that are trying to build businesses I realize and appreciate how a business grows. For that reason usually when an employee hand book or training manual is printed it's already out of date and you're forced to wait until enough changes have taken place to warrant a new printing. This really hinders a companies growth and effectiveness. ( yes I do make money on printing)

If they would instead put up a PRIVATE web site for the owners to read, then they could keep everything current and pro-active instead of doing like everybody else. one of the things that attracted me to Redwood is that they seemed to listen to the needs of the buyer. By doing a web site like I had said earlier, they could send out emails on any changes that they make and this would also allow them to receive current concerns from the owners in "real time" allowing them to make changes before a problem becomes too big. Every other manufacture says they care but this would make Redwood the most reliable and concerned RV company out there. It would be priceless.

Just my opinion (from a marketing guru that has built business from the ground up)

dave

Dave,



I think you have a "BIG WINNER" for a suggestion. You should email both Brian Emmons and Andy Wesdorp at Redwood with this suggestion.



Fabulous idea!

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by hoosierguy

Dave,



I think you have a "BIG WINNER" for a suggestion. You should email both Brian Emmons and Andy Wesdorp at Redwood with this suggestion.



Fabulous idea!

Not sure they would listen to a little fish like me

[mhs4771]

BUT, there many, many of us little Fish out here in this BIG RV Ocean. If you're a seasoned RVer, most of the stuff put into those generic manuals is useless as you've already been there, done that. I want to see specifics in relationship to my unit. If they're really looking at someone to ride herd on the Forum (and it needs it as many if not all posts start out in one direction and end up far from the beaten path) that would be an excellent person to work with on-line manuals and just look at the wealth of info we can supply.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by lillyputz

Hell Dave, they can't even up date there web site.



Lillyputz

You're right for now...but hopfully they'll get caught up and put some of their energy into the web site. Redwood I think is a good company but right now they're so busy, they are focusing all of their attention on producing their product. Most businesses go through this because at the beginning everybody wears about 3 different hats. Hopfully they'll level off and stop having to put out fires long enough to catch their breath and build more on their customer relations and development.

[timmytfl]

Another suggestion about the owner's manuel is to make it a PDF file on their website. That way, when some of us are at locations with poor Internet access, we could have saved the PDF version on our laptops or iPads.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by timmytfl

Another suggestion about the owner's manuel is to make it a PDF file on their website. That way, when some of us are at locations with poor Internet access, we could have saved the PDF version on our laptops or iPads.

Good idea

[KR2011]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

BUT, there many, many of us little Fish out here in this BIG RV Ocean. If you're a seasoned RVer, most of the stuff put into those generic manuals is useless as you've already been there, done that. I want to see specifics in relationship to my unit. If they're really looking at someone to ride herd on the Forum (and it needs it as many if not all posts start out in one direction and end up far from the beaten path) that would be an excellent person to work with on-line manuals and just look at the wealth of info we can supply.

May I make a observation, What would be in the manual that comes from the factory for your model of Redwood? How about an electrical diagram,a plumbing schematic, or how about a trouble shooting guide. I can tell you from experience that there is a good reason for not providing this information to the end consumer, lets just say for example you have an electrical problem and you go to the manual for theelectrical schematic and start searching for information,now keep in mind that the majority of RV owners are not familiar with electricity other than they plug an appliance in to an outlet and it is supposed to work. Now this same person thinks he finds where his problem may be and he goes to repair it, while repairing what he thinks is the problem he gets injured, the first thing he is going to tell the lawyers is "the manual told me to do this", with all this in mind there are a couple things to consider here, there is a reason the factory has a contract with your dealer, one is the protected sales areaand the other is the sales of manufacture specific parts and service. the dealers rely on the sales of new and used units for a marginal portion of there income the rest of their income is based on parts and service.
My point here is that the factory does not want the liability of the end consumer trying to repair there own issues. the factoryrelies on the dealers to provide certified technicians to preform the repairs. Now we all know that this is very rare to find (a knowledgeable dealer or technicians). So that being said you have already been using the best source of information that is available to you, this forum, so if you read the posts on your specific question you may find the answers to your question and if you dont you go to the dealer next and as a last resort you go to the factory.
This is just a thought you may want to consider.

[5th_Time]

Contrast your comment with the detailed owners manual(s) you expect and receive when you purchasea new truck. Extremely detailed manuals explaining each feature, control and option for all the systemsincorporated into what you purchased - worded for a wide range of audiences. Imagine if your dealer just said "they didn't include one" or "just go to the PDF". While there are owners like us who would gladly go beyond the Owners Manual and purchase the factory "ServiceManual", I think that a hit and misscollection of sub-manufacturer's documentation is not something you would expect when purchasing a high-end unit.

Lastly, if we are disappointed in theOwners Manual, I doubt whetherthe dealer's technicians have anything more comprehensive for reference either. I'd feel alot better if there was a detailed factory service manual for technicians that we just don't have access to. Presenting owners with a decent, informative and organized manual (in any format) should have been a basic building block. Producing a lousy one is not really "saving us from ourselves" or limiting their liability.Having a place to look up which switches do what or which fuse controls the fans is not dangerous information. Owners can get more injured just using their jack to change the tire.This is something they need to work on soon.

[morganalex]

You can figure out most of the stuff yourself though, unless you have to do something very technical, then the manual doesn't help much I guess.

[5th_Time]

That's true. But keep in mind that, as you can tell, many members of this forum are technically savvy people and that is limiting our perspective. I'll bet there are many new owners now and in the future thataren't do-it-yourselfers, former technicians or RV business owners that expect their new 5th Wheel to come withdocumentation that helps them get to know their new unit - without having to call the dealer or factory with dozens of questions or spend time trying to figure out simple things.

Most of us here have been living "Redwood" and gathering information through this forum while we wait 8 weeks for our units to be delivered. Picture the learning curve for an "normal buyer" who buys off the lot. Thosepeopleneed more reference information than thedealer walk-through.

[KR2011]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

Contrast your comment with the detailed owners manual(s) you expect and receive when you purchasea new truck. Extremely detailed manuals explaining each feature, control and option for all the systemsincorporated into what you purchased - worded for a wide range of audiences. Imagine if your dealer just said "they didn't include one" or "just go to the PDF". While there are owners like us who would gladly go beyond the Owners Manual and purchase the factory "ServiceManual", I think that a hit and misscollection of sub-manufacturer's documentation is not something you would expect when purchasing a high-end unit.

Lastly, if we are disappointed in theOwners Manual, I doubt whetherthe dealer's technicians have anything more comprehensive for reference either. I'd feel all to better if there was a detailed factory service manual for technicians that we just don't have access to. Presenting owners with a decent, informative and organized manual (in any format) should have been a basic building block. Producing a lousy one is not really "saving us from ourselves" or limiting their liability.Having a place to look up which switches do what or which fuse controls the fans is not dangerous information. Owners can get more injured just using their jack to change the tire.This is something they need to work on soon.

I agree with you about general information such as which switch does what and the fuse panel fuse definitions my point was that to use your example the truck manual does not tell you how torepair a problem or give you a schematicof electrical or plumbing for the reason of liability and they want you to take your unit to a qualified repair center such as your dealer. al to often when customers try to repair something on their own it ultimately cost them more in the long run.
Edited by: KR2011