Quality control concerns

[TnB]

Our 2015 RW36FB was manufactured in January of 2015. So far I have found one wire crimp that need to be redone and one light bulb in a fixture that was missing. I also redid one flexible heater duct.

This is all that I have found in the month that I have had it in my driveway, preparing for an extended trip. I have de-winterized the unit and pressurized all fittings. No problems with the fans, furnace, or water heater.

It seems to me that the quality control at the factory is working very well.

[rob_fla]

I think Redwood has taken a real interest in Customer problems / issues and is working to address them on future units.

All of my concerns, issues and fixes have been received by Redwood and Jim Lazzarino with what seems like true concern and interest to improve the product.

Redwood has always stepped up and taken care of our problems / issues which is the right thing to do to keep customers and build a brand.
True it does not do anything for current owners with problems / issues but it does continue to improve the brand.

We are looking forward to the Redwood Rally this summer and getting to meet some of the Redwood organization and Redwood owners.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by TnB

Our 2015 RW36FB was manufactured in January of 2015. So far I have found one wire crimp that need to be redone and one light bulb in a fixture that was missing. I also redid one flexible heater duct.

This is all that I have found in the month that I have had it in my driveway, preparing for an extended trip. I have de-winterized the unit and pressurized all fittings. No problems with the fans, furnace, or water heater.

It seems to me that the quality control at the factory is working very well.

That's great news.

[Thumper7]

I am really hoping RW does step up their game. Our situation may be different from most on here. We don't have a RW. We're waiting to purchase in 2-3 years for our retirement. I'm watching about 4 different mfgs to see if at least one will take the industry lead in the quality product they put out. An example would be what Hyundai was at first compared to what they build now. If none of the rv mfgs really makes improvements in the quality of their product, we're prepared to keep our 8 year old FW and spend about 30k on upgrades and customizations. At least the people I would have do the work, would be someone who does really good work. By the way, of the 4 mfgs, RW is the one we hope takes the lead because it's the one we like the best.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by Thumper7

I am really hoping RW does step up their game. Our situation may be different from most on here. We don't have a RW. We're waiting to purchase in 2-3 years for our retirement. I'm watching about 4 different mfgs to see if at least one will take the industry lead in the quality product they put out. An example would be what Hyundai was at first compared to what they build now. If none of the rv mfgs really makes improvements in the quality of their product, we're prepared to keep our 8 year old FW and spend about 30k on upgrades and customizations. At least the people I would have do the work, would be someone who does really good work. By the way, of the 4 mfgs, RW is the one we hope takes the lead because it's the one we like the best.

I wish you well in your search.

All RV manufactures have issues regardless of the amount of money you spend. Just like building a house, there's always a punch list. Also, Redwood has built many thousands of 5th wheels, yet in comparison, there's a small percentage of people that have problems with their units. These forums can be very misleading because people tend to get on forums and complain more than going out of their way to join a forum to praise. I guess it's just human nature whether we like it or not. For example: I think my F350 is the best truck I've ever owned and I've had several trucks over the years. Yet if you look on the internet, there are many out there saying my truck is the biggest waste of money ever made. And that's true of all trucks made regardless of the brand....some hate them other love them.

I believe the most important thing to look at when shopping for an RV is the customer service because like I had said earlier, there's always going to be small issues. The last unit I had was made by Forrest River and their customer service was non-existent.

As for Redwood....their customer service has never let me down. They are busy so it might take a few phone calls but they've always been there for me. As for the complaints on customer service.....I had one person tell me all kinds of stuff about being mistreated. I called a contact I had at the service center to go to bat for this fellow Redwood owner and heard the other side of the story......not exactly the same thing that was said on the forum.

[mhs4771]

As a quick follow-up to Dave's post, Read through some of the threads and see how many joined the forum and their very first post was to go through their list of problems. No offense to New Posters, but take a look and see the number of first posts that are complaints of problems.
We've had a few minor issues with our new 39MB, but nothing we can't work through, it's just the stupid little things that make you scratch you head and say "How did they miss that". An example, our second morning in the new unit we decided to tryout the new induction cook top, got everything read, induction pan on and no power to the cook top. Checked the breakers and everything was OK, so pulled the top drawer under the cook top and low and behold the power cord is just hanging there, never plugged in, so how did the Factory and the Dealer check everything without it plugged in??

[r time soon]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

As a quick follow-up to Dave's post, Read through some of the threads and see how many joined the forum and their very first post was to go through their list of problems. No offense to New Posters, but take a look and see the number of first posts that are complaints of problems.
We've had a few minor issues with our new 39MB, but nothing we can't work through, it's just the stupid little things that make you scratch you head and say "How did they miss that". An example, our second morning in the new unit we decided to tryout the new induction cook top, got everything read, induction pan on and no power to the cook top. Checked the breakers and everything was OK, so pulled the top drawer under the cook top and low and behold the power cord is just hanging there, never plugged in, so how did the Factory and the Dealer check everything without it plugged in??

One thing to remember is that several manufacturers of components require that their item not be Hi-Potted once installed. If you do lots of things get fried and won't work. Expensive items too. I know most inverters don't want to be hi-potted, or else they won't work. Might be the same for the newer induction cook tops, I don't know.


Chris

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

As a quick follow-up to Dave's post, Read through some of the threads and see how many joined the forum and their very first post was to go through their list of problems. No offense to New Posters, but take a look and see the number of first posts that are complaints of problems.
We've had a few minor issues with our new 39MB, but nothing we can't work through, it's just the stupid little things that make you scratch you head and say "How did they miss that". An example, our second morning in the new unit we decided to tryout the new induction cook top, got everything read, induction pan on and no power to the cook top. Checked the breakers and everything was OK, so pulled the top drawer under the cook top and low and behold the power cord is just hanging there, never plugged in, so how did the Factory and the Dealer check everything without it plugged in??

Those are good points and a great question. We had a similar experience with our washing machine that wasn't getting water, was bone dry yet the dealership swore they ran it.

[Rick and Mindy]

I will say one thing about my PDI at ExplorUsa. The tech had everything on and demonstrated that everything worked for us. However, the things they don't want to deal with they don't mess with or tell you about ie: (we never knew we had a whole house filter or even where it was located). You are so overwhelmed with all the new things at PDI that they can get by without mentioning things like that.

[Dave&Ginny]

It all boils down to customer service and honesty. I think people would be willing to pay a little extra if they knew they'd get the customer service that's promised at the time of the sale. And if the dealerships did their jobs better, the pressure would be off the factory service center.

[TnB]

Okay Rick, where is the whole house filter?

[Shane Wood]

On the 36rl there is a little door on the rear of the storage area on the drivers side. It is behind that

[usaf1949]

I agree with what Dave just said, if the selling dealer and subsequent dealers dis their job and took customer service seriously also the RV world would be a much better RV place. I understand that they want to make sales, but great customer service brings people back when it's time to buy again....and all of us RV'ers buy again! The time just depends on the next RV show or waiting on the lot while service is being done and something catches our eye! My wife chains me to the chair or takes me to the outlet stores so I don't get side tracked! LOL

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by TnB

Okay Rick, where is the whole house filter?

So, I guess We weren't the only ones not knowing about the whole house filter. We have a 31SL and it was located behind a small door on the front basement wall, driver's side. You had to have a long arm to even get to it. I immediately took down the wall and made the access much larger. The filter remained there until it started to leak. I removed the filter and plan on mounting it into a milk crate with a water softener. I will use quick connects to hook up both. I will then be able to place the crate wherever I want and not worry about leaks. When I move I will just put the small plastic crate in the basement till I get to destination. It will make servicing the filter and water softener so much easier.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Rick and Mindy

So, I guess We weren't the only ones not knowing about the whole house filter. We have a 31SL and it was located behind a small door on the front basement wall, driver's side. You had to have a long arm to even get to it. I immediately took down the wall and made the access much larger. The filter remained there until it started to leak. I removed the filter and plan on mounting it into a milk crate with a water softener. I will use quick connects to hook up both. I will then be able to place the crate wherever I want and not worry about leaks. When I move I will just put the small plastic crate in the basement till I get to destination. It will make servicing the filter and water softener so much easier.

Rick....you are being too logical and thoughtful.

I remember when we were going through our PDI at the dealer service department. The service manager showed me where the water filter was and I said "Well, that is stupid and a non starter". I said I would have to make the access door much larger, so, the service manager gave me a couple of yards of felt to cover the new door. I since have plumbed out the filter and use an inline filter on the outside of the coach. I decided that I have never been able to change the filter element in one of those units without dripping some water and I didn't want that happening inside that area.

I use an inline Culligan RV filter and change it about twice per year. I connect it to the supply faucet and then connect the hose to it. The hose then goes to my water softener where I have a shutoff valve. From the water softener, I use the short 4 ft hose to connect to the coach. All water drips stay outside.

The engineers that work at these RV companies must never have had to use what they design into these coaches. The location of that water filter is a prime example that someone just decided to "hang it somewhere". Mine was only hung one screw!! I really think that Redwood should require that their engineers spend a few week ends per year living in one of their products. Otherwise they ought to be interested in getting some customer feedback from time to time to followup on real experiences.

Your idea of putting the filter outside is much more logical than the way it was initially supplied to you. JMHO

[Rick and Mindy]

When I was finally able to get to the filter I too realized that it was hanging by 1 screw so I reinforced that area but like you, every time I changed the filter I ended up with water on the floor. Thought I could use Dave's idea of a collapsible bucket under the housing when I changed it but I still ended up with water on the floor. When the filter housing finally sprung a leak at one of the plastic connections I pulled it. I still like the idea of being able to change the type of filter needed for the type of water the park offers (well or city). I don't have as many options with the inline filters. I like the idea of requiring the engineers to live in their units a couple of weeks each year. I guarantee you, things would change.

[Rosey]

I've never used water filters on my fivers since we drink bottled Spring water & use the same for coffee, etc. I'm not worried about the water being filtered for showers & washing dishes & also plan on turning off the valve for ice maker in our ordered 39MB since we have always used bagged ice & don't want to have to worry about springing a leak in the ice maker line especially after reading about some folks having ice-maker line leak issue(s).

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Rosey

I've never used water filters on my fivers since we drink bottled Spring water & use the same for coffee, etc. I'm not worried about the water being filtered for showers & washing dishes & plan on turning off the valve for ice maker in our ordered 39MB since we have always used bagged ice & also don't want to worry about springing a leak in the ice maker line anyway especially after reading about some folks having ice-maker line leak issue(s).

We workkamped at a private RV Resort in Minnesota for 4 summers and the park was on well water. It smelled bad at times and within a matter of days the water would stain red around the shower faucets and glass enclosure and sink drains. Didn't have much choice but to use a filter of some kind. It made a huge difference in keeping things clean.

[Rosey]

In that extreme case Rick, filter(s) do make sense.

[Rosey]

What about the idea of simply using an exterior type filter hooked up to the hose bib ..... I've seen some campers using them ....and not worrying using a filter cartridge in the Redwood canister ?