Quality control concerns

[Rosey]

Hydro Life RV/Marine Exterior Water Filter Kit - Camco G-2629 - Water Filtration - Camping World

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Rosey

Hydro Life RV/Marine Exterior Water Filter Kit - Camco G-2629 - Water Filtration - Camping World

That's basically what I plan to do with the filter I removed from the underbelly. I will replace the plastic fittings with brass and connect quick connect fittings for ease of hook up. I am going to place it in a plastic milk crate along with the RV water softener. I like the idea of a canister type filter because I can choose the filter I need for the water the park has.

[Dave&Ginny]

I still think Redwood is a good product but.......I wonder if the designers of the trailers ever talk to the marketing team. They market these trailers as a "Senior Friendly" "full time" RV, yet the average person they're trying to market to can't maintain them due to poor design issues. The battery maintence starts a bad day and the water filter couldn't be much harder to get to.

The LP tanks and batteries should be on a tray and there should be a water manifold so a full timer doesn't lose all function with one leak. Many things on these coaches are well thought out but there's still work to be done

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

I still think Redwood is a good product but.......I wonder if the designers of the trailers ever talk to the marketing team. They market these trailers as a "Senior Friendly" "full time" RV, yet the average person they're trying to market to can't maintain them due to poor design issues. The battery maintence starts a bad day and the water filter couldn't be much harder to get to.

The LP tanks and batteries should be on a tray and there should be a water manifold so a full timer doesn't lose all function with one leak. Many things on these coaches are well thought out but there's still work to be done

Dave..........I would also say that we have been very satisfied with our Redwood and I think it is one of the better built coaches.

One of the early claims that I saw in their brochure was that they listened to their customers (the baby boomers) to incorporate their needs.......that may have been 5 years ago but they should keep it up on a regular basis. They might be surprised by what they would learn from some valuable feedback.

A couple of summers ago, after educating myself about PEX plumbing systems, I took a look behind the storage wall and was rather amazed (dismayed) by the rats nest of plumbing. I am trying to be nice here, but, my first thought was, the engineer that designed this knew absolutely nothing about proper PEX plumbing design. If he/she had implemented hot water and cold water manifolds made from PEX, their layout would have been so much easier to install and distribute the water lines in clean and logical manner. We the user would also be able to work on the system in a more rational manner. I actually think that the way it is built is more costly in terms of material and the installation labor in the plant.

I currently have plumbed out the original water filter. The way that was done was an after thought. I currently use an inline filter. Maybe, if can find the time this summer, I will consider designing a proper water manifold system.

I agree with your idea about the LP tanks. I chose to stick with the 30 lbs tanks.....those 40 lb tanks get rather heavy, when full, for a 73 old.

I also got tired crawling in over the batteries to access and remove for checking. So, last fall, I installed a Moryde battery tray and added a third group 27 battery. Much easier to access now.

Guy

[Dave&Ginny]

Guy...

Maybe someday they'll sit down and figure some of this stuff out. Unfortunately they build these and I don't think they ever use or maintain them themselves.

AGAIN...Redwood builds a great unit and of all the 5th wheel companies out there in this price range, I think they hold their own. But they're so close to making an even better product with some more thought toward who uses their units.

In Redwood's defense.....I liked some of the things Petersen RV did with some of their trailers for ease of maintenance and they went out of business. So I guess making things easier to maintain isn't the only answer. Also I liked the walls of the DRV but they couldn't survive without the help of another big company, so again the dollars and cents must be very important.

[rob_fla]

One of the first things I did was remove the water filter, our Front Living model had the filter in the back of the front storage area, very difficult to get to.
We use a cartridge type filter outside, works for us.

[AlanN]

I'm fully on board with your thinking, Dave. Our list of "Where Is The QC?" Issues grows every month. Our one-year inspection has been booked in Eugene for June, and the list of warranty repairs keeps getting longer. Well, shorter, since I'm not waiting on some. I finished reinforcing the bedroom drawers today - three finally gave it up because the back plywood plates which the slide brackets are attached to had only two screws at the top - nothing on the bottom of the plates. Each plate has eight screws holding it to the wall now. The ceiling in the bed slide out came loose as was sagging - hot glue and a couple of brads fixed that. Replaced the door latch/lock mechanism, submitted for reimbursement. One crank out window popped it's track - I'll try my hand at that when the rain in south Texas finally lets up. A leak in the ice maker line early on, from a kink in the line. I'm not really grousing - I expected stuff like this - but it's all avoidable. Oh, and one of the TVs died - we had one too many anyway! 😄 I'm actually still very happy overall, but I agree that we too would be happy to pay more for a unit that received the care in construction which is possible. Not a lot of road miles yet - a month here, two months there, as we work our way to Oregon in June: perhaps 4,000 since August.

[Dave&Ginny]

Alan, I'm sorry to hear you had some things to fix but I guess that becomes a hobby when you buy an RV. I've had my share of them and they all need tweaked. I tell everyone.....before you buy an RV.....buy a tool box and fill it. I carry about 150 lbs of tools with me.

You're not the first one to say something about the drawers. I haven't had any issues but about a year ago someone else on here did. My only problem was the drawer under the stove where we keep our pots and pans gave out. I had to refasten a few screws under there which was a tight fit for a fat guy like me

On the bright side, I've pulled this trailer more than most people pull theirs. I added up one night that we've pulled ours around 40,000 miles. We've been in all weather conditions from blizzards (going across Iowa in January) to severe heat (AZ in July) and even a tropical storm in Florida. This Redwood has served us well.

[larryg]

I have a 2015 Redwood 36 FB that was built this last Feburary. We took delivery in March Of this year and went on a 2week trip right from the dealer.
We are pleased with the rig over all, except 1week after we arrived home, I went to move it and we lost all Hydraulic power to jacks and slides. (Electrical system was fine)
We had total failure in the hydraulic pump. We could not even use a drill to manually override the system. By time we pick it up from the dealer, they will of had it longer than we have. This our third RV and realize components fail.
We just hope this is not a sign of things to come. We have already canceled two trips because of our issues.
Larry G
2014 Dodge Ram Dually
2015 Redwood 36 FB

[Rosey]

Not an expert here but I once had a similar issue with my Cardinal 5er & it turned out to be defective 12 v circuit breaker(s) located near the Hydraulic pump. Not very reassuring to hear of your issue, especially since our new Redwood is due to be delivered any day now . If your problem is a defective circuit breaker(s) it's a simple fix. Hope this gives you a place to start looking.

[Radio_Flyer]

I concur with all the above, love my RW, will most likely upgrade to the 38 footer when we are ready. A lot of little things here and there that frustrate me, cheap cardboard manifolds for running the heating vents, but the most frustrating is the water hoses. I'm not a big guy, 6'1" 180lbs, but squeezing in this weekend to that water closet door and area was not "baby boomer" friendly. I quit using that filter, too difficult to get to, no way to change it without leaking water. If you ever have to reach in there or change anything out, your hands will look like you had a run in with one of those cats from hell they show on tv. 4" screws in everything under there. Miracle lines aren't punctured more often. A lot of things are installed for ease of the builder and cost, not for the end user to maintain. RVing is a hobby, you can't rely on being able to drop it off and get it fixed when you want to, tried to get an appt from the three closest RV places here, a month before I could get in and no guarantee it would be completed in a day or two. Who wants to lost your rig for that long.

[jhardin]

Hey HooiserGuy, can you send me some pictures of your battery setup? I would like to do it to my rig. Thanks Jim

[larryg]

Rosey, the circuit breakers along with the electrical was the first place I looked.
The dealer confirmed that the problem was the pump. I'm just grateful the coach was hook up to my truck when it failed. So I was able to just make the 3 our trip to the dealer.

[Rosey]

Wow Larry..... sorry to hear about your pump problem with your brand spanking new Redwood.....not very encouraging news

[Char & Steve]

So everything was all set and ready to go finally...The blower in the furnace was replaced for the 2nd time,Steve put the furnace on to run it for awhile about 20 minutes later it blew and all you smelt was plastic. I have to admit I was a bit frantic for him to shut it down and it scared the crap out of me and all I could think about is if we were out and our pups were inside and it kept running. Needless to say he was on the phone with the redwood service guy asap. He contacted redwood again and a new complete furnace was ordered it came in last Thursday and installed on Friday. Our first long weekend is on the calendar for next month so we can't wait to finally take it out after having it delivered in October we still haven't moved it from the spot they dropped it of in....

[Shane Wood]

Originally Posted by Char & Steve

So everything was all set and ready to go finally...The blower in the furnace was replaced for the 2nd time,Steve put the furnace on to run it for awhile about 20 minutes later it blew and all you smelt was plastic. I have to admit I was a bit frantic for him to shut it down and it scared the crap out of me and all I could think about is if we were out and our pups were inside and it kept running. Needless to say he was on the phone with the redwood service guy asap. He contacted redwood again and a new complete furnace was ordered it came in last Thursday and installed on Friday. Our first long weekend is on the calendar for next month so we can't wait to finally take it out after having it delivered in October we still haven't moved it from the spot they dropped it of in....

Glad to hear that your furnace problems are behind you. All of the larger problems I have had have been with suppliers that redwood purchases from. I have had a few minor QC issues that I have fixed. Redwood has stood behind all of these larger issues and replaced the items. They have no control over a bad furnace, LG TV that quits etc. The only thing they could do is to find a different supplier if they have to many claims. Hopefully this will be the last of your problems

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by Char & Steve

So everything was all set and ready to go finally...The blower in the furnace was replaced for the 2nd time,Steve put the furnace on to run it for awhile about 20 minutes later it blew and all you smelt was plastic. I have to admit I was a bit frantic for him to shut it down and it scared the crap out of me and all I could think about is if we were out and our pups were inside and it kept running. Needless to say he was on the phone with the redwood service guy asap. He contacted redwood again and a new complete furnace was ordered it came in last Thursday and installed on Friday. Our first long weekend is on the calendar for next month so we can't wait to finally take it out after having it delivered in October we still haven't moved it from the spot they dropped it of in....

Char, I'm sure sorry to hear about your furnace. I agree with what Shane had said in the post above.

When you do take that beauty out and you build the confidence in it, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

[Char & Steve]

We can't wait we both love it!! All Steve says is there's problems with anything you buy. Don't we all know that .....our Class A came with it's own set of problems and that was brand new also. It's time to move on and enjoy it. We just go in sit in front of the fireplace look around and say how lucky we are to have what we have and hopefully time to enjoy it.

[Tobys Home]

Char and Steve
I have been in business for myself for many years and the weekends were our vacations for the most part. We camped the hell out of weekends. Now we seasonal camp and still camp the hell out of weekends and just don't do it on the road. You just have to make the most out of every minute.

[mhs4771]

I promised this some time ago, so here goes the results of our first two months in our new 2016 39MB:

2016 Redwood 39MB VIN: 4V0FC3926GR005786
Summary of defects/issues found in the first 2 months of ownership.
1) Induction Cook Top not functional, found it was never plugged in.
2) Two smaller Island Counter drawers, latches ½” off, found swapping drawers fixed the alignment issue.
3) Turned on furnace to verify operation and was greeted with a face full of sawdust blown out of the heat ducts.
4) Waste basket latch broken.
5) No screws in the Generator compartment latch striker plates.
6) No info supplied on the Inverter Remote.
7) Microwave-Convection Oven/Stove Hood Vent doesn’t open – cutout in wall doesn’t align with the oven (a known issue since Redwood day one).
8) Main Living Room Slide 1” out of square when extended (rear is 1” less than front).
Minor issue now since it doesn’t want to retract. Been to the local Dealer (Ballantyne RV in Victor, NY) and they have ordered a part (pressure switch) on the hydraulic manifold that has nothing to do with the slides.
9) The usual assorted Coax cables with no labels or if labeled it’s incorrect, plus splitters in-line with roof sat cables (not acceptable for use with DirecTV/Winegard Slim Line Dish). Plus found several cables with no attachment at their opposite end and several pinched between frame and outside wall behind Entertainment Center.
10) Water pump could not be turned off, found wires shorted together at switch in convenience center.
11) Generator Door Gas Strut Mount held in by only one screw which pulled out upon opening door.
12) Shore Power Cable into Transfer Switch had numerous broken/cut strands, plus insulation on conductors was cut when removing cable jacket.
13) Washer Drain Hose partially crushed causing Washer faults. We pulled Washer and re-routed hose.
 
14) Defective casting on one wheel, causing the loss of 4 to 5 pounds of air per day (we purchased a new wheel since we got little to no help from either Lazydays or Redwood and we were scheduled to head North the following week).
15) Generator was never run to verify proper operation (hour meter was at 0.0).
16) Molding on Rear Front of Main Living room Slide falling off. Two staples on the top that just barely caught, and two near the bottom that never hit anything.

This is way too many issues and problems for a $100,000.00 plus Fifth Wheel. We’re really wishing we had listened to one salesman who suggested keeping our 2012 unit and just upgrading to the newer features we wanted as we had all the Bugs worked out of it, but never in the world did we expect to end up with this many issue/problems in what is suppose too be a High End unit.