Tipping My Hat To Redwood

[Dave&Ginny]

We've all heard the bad stories but I think the good ones need passed along as well......

Not long ago while camping I ran across a couple in a new Redwood MB. In our discussion he relayed to me that he was turned down by his dealer for a warranty issue which didn't seem right to me.

Today I heard back from him and Redwood is standing behind the warranty work to his satisfaction. To me it's always good news when a fellow RVer feels he's being dealt with fairly.

I tip my hat to Jim Lazzarino and the others at Redwood for doing the right thing and helping this guy

[RomanyLife]

It's also always great when someone takes the time to share GOOD news. :-) Thanks Dave!

[Rick and Mindy]

I can only say Kudos to Jim Lazzarino and his staff. More than once Jim has taken it upon himself to help me with an issue. I have been very pleased with his concern of his customers.

[Bogey3025]

This is the kinda stuff you love to hear while you're waiting for your new rig!!
positive, positive, positive...

[johnboytoo]

Good to hear and maybe the reason negatives stop coming are because of non-disclosure signatures

[0nTheRoad]

No johnboytoo, I don't believe that to be the case. We sometimes forget that people who are happy rarely say so yet those who are not very often vent their frustration.

Is Redwood a good product, I believe so. Are thee problems, indeed. Could quality improve, absolutly. Are there better built 5'er, yes, for a price.

These are RV's, RV's are what they are yet they keep selling them faster than they can build them... the consumer has spoken.

We believe that we work within the current situation th=o make the Redwood experience the best we possibly can, to improve the product, both for the current owners as well as future owners.

[johnboytoo]

ok - but not in my experience

[Piper Guy's Gal]

Originally Posted by 0nTheRoad

No johnboytoo, I don't believe that to be the case. We sometimes forget that people who are happy rarely say so yet those who are not very often vent their frustration.

I have said that before: much easier to complain than to praise.

For the record, we love, love, LOVE our 2013 RL and the minor issues we have had were readily addressed by Redwood's customer service.

I do worry about amped-up production and potential changes in how service is handled. I worry when I hear about the problems people are having with their units. I am concerned with some other things I hear. But if I stick to only what I know to be fact based upon what Vaughan and I have personally experienced, I can only offer praise for the Redwood company.

Could Redwood make improvements? Absolutely! We would love to the see the IS and disc brakes become an option, if not standard. And could they please do something about that thing they call a mattress??

We still look at other RVs. We still go to the shows and scout out what's new. And we still have the weekly conversation about whether to go to a MH. But we keep coming back to how much we love "Tilda." Our Redwood has set the bar pretty high in my opinion.

[Rick and Mindy]

I too, look everyday online at Rvs to see if there is something out there that would convince me to swap out my Redwood. If I am willing to make a big jump in price I have found others I like but that is not in the cards for me. I have looked at almost all other fifth wheels and have not yet found a comparable fifth wheel that I would purchase over the Redwood. The look and the feel of the Redwood definitely surpasses the rest at this point. My plan is to make the Redwood the best RV for me. I will hopefully soon, add disk brakes and maybe beef up the suspension system. I will also be looking into the lifetime guaranteed roof. If I can work out any issues then I hope this will be an RV I will keep for a very long time.

[rob_fla]

I would agree, I was a little frustrated in the beginning with our Redwood with the issues and problems we were having.
And yes I had to push to get Redwood to step up and get things corrected since the dealer was no real help but in the end Redwood did the right thing and all is well.
Like others have said, the Redwood product is a good product at its price point.
There are certainty some better built units available for a price, but if you go to the forums of the higher priced units and you will still see customers with quality problems and issues. (they are using many of the same component suppliers that Redwood is using)

[Char & Steve]

We feel the same way, we had a laundry list of issues but I wouldn't want another rig. We love love love it also. Our class A had problems when it was new to,they all do. The total experience wasn't great but we have a great RW. We went out this past weekend and a couple stopped to admire the truck and RW I felt pretty proud, first time that's ever happened! She is a beauty.
Char

[Grizzby]

Debbie and I looked at 5th wheels for two years, prior to purchasing our RW. I don't believe there is a better unit than RW for the money. We have also had many folks give us compliments on our RW!

[atom ant]

Our Redwood has performed well this year, not a single issue.

It's good to hear a positive, but I have to ask why these people are getting beat up on warranty claims to begin with. It shouldn't take an "executive order" to reverse some of these denials if they should have been covered after all. There is nothing more frustrating than having to fight back on a warranty denial. You feel like the whole world is against you.

[RomanyLife]

Well said Brad.

If Redwood thinks that they alone are responsible for their sales (and I know they do not) then they can stop worrying about what current owners are experiencing. I have LOST COUNT of how many conversations I have had with both strangers and friends who were shopping for a new 5er and I can honestly say that the company's handling of warranty issues is ALWAYS their biggest concern. ALWAYS.

I think most people new to purchasing an RV who have done even a minimal amount of homework have an understanding that "all RVs have problems" and this SHOULD NOT be offered as an explanation of WHY they cannot get their Redwood fixed that has a problem that should NEVER have happened in the first place. UNACCEPTABLE. People do not "see through" that or accept it. This starts with their relationship with service centers. Either fix the stupid there or create a network of service providers nation wide-perhaps in cooperation with other manufacturers, because they ALL have this problem and it is hurting the industry.

If you contemplate, say, an auto manufacturer offering a vehicle in which the brakes failed on new units 15% of the time (and I am being generous here), and there was a hassle getting them repaired, it illustrates the ludicrousness of warranty situation. I am not blaming RW or the service centers. I am simply saying it is NOT the owner's fault. FIX IT.

Additionally, when a proprietary light fixture fails in my 1 year old unit, I should have a new one in my hands within a reasonable amount of time and not have to draw crayon pictures to 8 different people to try and figure it out. Either stop using proprietary (aka CHEAP) parts that cannot be relied upon or make them more standard so they can be serviced and replaced.

[travelin' texans]

And if you're a fulltimer, send them the parts & skip most the dealers that just want the sale anyway.

[RomanyLife]

Agreed. We must be able to get these things fixed and maintained beyond the 2 year warranty. I am not going to buy a new RW every two years because I cannot maintain and fix it. I am going to buy a different brand.

[RomanyLife]

It sounds to me like a large group of dealer/service centers are run like the Wild West and THIS is the problem. They might be extortionists over RW. Still, needs to be fixed. Try harder RW.

[Dave&Ginny]

IMO...Redwood is is a tough spot.

They have to keep the dealerships happy so they keep selling the units. Yet the dealerships can be a bottle neck in getting things fixed so the end user ends up getting screwed. An unhappy customer will tell everybody they encounter about being screwed so then the sales start to dry up. When the sales slow down the dealerships start looking for faster moving brands to carry.

[RomanyLife]

Yes I agree Dave. I don't know what the answer is, but other industries figured it out, so the RV industry can too. I know New Horizon's just sells direct but you cannot move enough units that way, and I heard they are going under (not sure if that's true). It is my opinion that the FULLTIMER crowd is growing like crazy and that's not news to RW or other fulltimer-unit manufacturers. They just haven't gone the extra step of creating a sustainable market. Parks, service centers, mobile techs, etc. Like I said before, there needs to be a FULLTIMER cooperative/association that addresses these issues (and others like legislation) across all manufacturers. It is in their best interest to do so. Manufacturers could then focus on manufacturing more.

[Dave&Ginny]

There are other manufactures of RVs that have figured it out too.