Angel Wondering What Is Going On
“But Mom, you promised me a new home with my own bed.”
Well, as the title says, we are just tying to get back to normal and figure out what and were we want to go from here. It has been just about week now that we got the news from Winnebago that we would not be taking possession of the TOUR that we ordered. We have been up and down in out moods. From upset at times, to sad at others. We have had an out pouring of emotions from family, friends and people we do not even know.
The hardest part is we really, really, liked the coach. We liked the technical and AV gear inside it, we like some of the little things they they had
done with it, right down to the chassis it road on. (Even the battery placement was thought out nicely.) We were set to move in. We were excited about so many things. We were set to start are new life being, as our family puts it, “out on the streets”.
So now what? Well, we have had offers and suggestions from all over that is for sure. Offers such as “come stay with us anytime” to “come visit our factory”. We have seen comments range from “I will never buy from them” to “they are a great company”. Look, we know they are a good company with a long history. Their reputation factored into our buying decision as well. Like all companies, things happen. We know this. We accepted this. We are greatly sad over what happened and how it happen though. Can’t say it really any other way.
So…again…what now? We move on and at some point we will again find a coach that fits our wants and needs. And we know we will, as everyone will, find some issues that will need correcting. We really think that it was a time thing for them in regards to fixing it. But we also still know, in our hearts and gut, it should have never came about like it did. For anyone. Any manufacturer. We keep saying to each other…”it had to be a fluke… right?”
Whisper Got Tired of Trying to Figure Out Where to go From Here
So all in all, we are fine and need to get back to some sense of normal. If a certain someone from Winnebago is reading this, and happens to have been our contact through out this build, we wanted to say thanks. We know this was not your choice and we thank you for all you did along the way. I know you felt bad and personally wanted to help however you could. All in all, let us know when you think you all
Some of you asked…Tory, Angel, Whisper and BK are fine. Thanks for asking. They take all this without any issue. They are happy they are not inside a carrier as we wait for work to be done . (Can’t say we blame them.) They are just happy as ever and maybe we should just follow their lead. Just let life happen.
have gotten back to building of the quality your name should invoke. Or even let us know if you end up finding time to make the fixes needed to the coach we ordered and maybe, just maybe, we can reevaluate the commitment of such a company name. After all, in the end, we did like the coach itself or we would never have ordered one.
Oh…And to the person that sent the following and asked if Brenda was driving…First off, very funny. But nope. That was me walking around with the cell phone and the GPS tracking still turned on. :)
What did you think of Tiffin? I assumed you have been visiting and looking the last few days, No?
Hi Gene…We are here now as we were invited down. We think they are great and well made. Looked at a number of them as they were being built and also ones that were ready to be sent to the dealers. We were of course very impressed and also got the chance to see, and give our opinion on, a new pilot (prototype) coach. We really, really liked it but it was only 37 foot. We said put this on a tag and let’s roll. We are hoping that 2015 we will see just that. You never know.
David and Brenda
So nice having you at the campground. You made lots of friends. So we didn’t have more chance to chat. I will follow your travels on your blog. Hope all works out for you and maybe we will see you in a Tiffin down the road. Gerri
Check out used coaches from Newell and almost any Prevost conversions..
They have extreme build quality and you can try before you buy..
thanks,
john sinar
Hi John…
We of course LOVE the look of those coaches. But the inside for us does not fit our needs or life style.
Even looked here… http://www.themotorcoachstore.com/visit-the-motorcoach-store–showroom
Thank you again.
I agree with John Sinar. Buy a used Prevost and then modify it to your specifications. RV Renovators in Mesa AZ did a great job with our Tiffin. Creative Coach in Lakeland, FL had some used Prevost coaches the last time we were there. They do great work. Based on all your other posts you are a demanding customer. No reason you shouldn’t be. I think it is impossible for a production-oriented company to build a custom coach. That has to be the heart of your problem with Winnebago. We used to own a Winnebago Adventurer and I was amazed that some of the interior walls were made of cardboard. Actual cardboard. And they put screws into it and expected them to hold. We traded it in for a Tiffin which had its own problems but the company did stand behind it. They did warranty work six years after the purchase. Our next RV (if there is one) will be a customized Prevost or similar.
Hi Howard…
Thanks for the second on the large scale coaches. As far as demanding…well, not really. We do want a coach that fits our needs and lifestyle. That is why they make so many floor plans as one does not fit all. In the Winnebago 42GD we did find, lets say, 85% of our needs met. It really came down to the build issues it had to the point that the dealer even said they could not do it.
So yes on the quality of the high end Prevost for example. But we think that might by to much for us and we do know it is over what we would want to do.
Oh, thanks for the referrals for the custom work. For we may just end up going that route by buying used and just gutting a coach. You never know.
Hi, Dave and Brenda
I hesitate to pass this on, but know that you will just “take it under advisement”.
We had dear friends (now both passed on) that had a nightmarish experience with Tiffin. Their new coach had quality issues that make your Winnebago problems seem trivial! Example shower floor dropped out, hurling the owner onto the bathroom floor — driver doused with water upon retracting the living room slide. Their experience with Tiffin management nearly ended in a lawsuit!
This is not meant to discourage you – just be aware that all manufactureres
have their problems. It is how they handle them that counts.
That’s my 2 cents worth and I’m sticking to it.
Hi Dave & Rose…
Thank you kindly for the note. Yes, I sure do not know of any manufacturer that has a perfect record that is for sure. All I can go by is what was in front of us at the time. So we look, touch, feel and then hope for the best as we try to move forward.
Take care, keep safe, and still looking. ;)
Since, you’re Red Bay, I highly recommend you check out the Rattlesnake Saloon. It’s a good 45 minute drive, but well worth it. Since it’s the weekend they should have live music. It’s basically a bar built into a huge rock cave. Very, very cool. There’s not much else to do in Red Bay, as I’m sure you’ve learned by now…. For the record, we’ve been very happy with our 2010 Tiffin that we bought used earlier this year. Sure, we’ve had some issues, but Tiffin has been great and fixed a bunch of stuff for us at no charge right after we bought it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Hi Dave and Brenda,
Irene and I think about you often.
As we mentioned to you – Irene and I are thinking harder and harder about the Tiffin Allegro Bus 45LP.
We love this rig but our cargo carrying capability is only 8100+ pounds. Subtraction is as follows:
8100
– 680 (85 Gallons of Water)
—–
7420
– 1073 (150 Gallons of Diesel @ 7.15 lbs/Gal)
—–
6357
– 408 (51 Gallons of Black Water (if pure water))
—–
5949
– 920 (115 Gallons of Gray Water (if pure water))
—–
5029 Least amount of personal items weight
Assuming you always dumped before you filled with fuel and water – the GREATEST weight of all personal items could be 5029+408+920=6357 lbs.
When you are full-timing as we are going to be and having to carry lots of tools and my wife’s crafting supplies – that is NOT enough cargo carrying capability.
FYI – the ONE TIME that we weighed we were OVER the front axle GAWR by 800 pounds. Your PSA was well needed. It is what made me check the weigh ticket again and so we’ve scheduled to go to Camp Freightliner in Gaffney SC in November and get the tag adjusted while there. I figure even if we trade this in (and almost certainly will) I feel obligated to get that TAG Proportional Weight Setting set correctly for the new owners.
The Allegro Bus 45LP that we will order from Tiffin about October 1st (Lord Willing) has a front axle GAWR of 16000 lbs and does NOT have its residential fridge up front. Additionally the GVWR is 51300 lbs. Additionally, its Unloaded Vehicle Weight (UVW) is 37100. This means 14200 lbs of Cargo (gas, water, black and gray waters + personal effects). AMEN to that much. Even subtracting out
14200
– 1073 (it also has a 150 gallon fuel tank)
—–
13127
– 720 (90 gallon fresh water tank)
—–
12407
– 540 (70 gallon gray water tank)
—–
11867
That is almost 2 times the cargo carrying in terms of personal effects permitted by the Winnebago GD.
What shocks us most is how quickly the weight of everything we are going to bring with us full-timing adds up.
Jim Gordon
Hi Jim…
Interesting read. Glad the PSA helped. We are now heading to Newmar to also talk with them as we really liked the kitchen upfront floor plan and they have one. The Tiffins were great and the people here were outstanding. If they had a floor plan more to our needs, we would not be leaving and would be watching it get built. (You can actually be with your coach being built the entire way! Not kidding…right their on the floor with it. It was so great and we so wanted to do it.
Take care, keep safe.
David & Brenda,
Here is an interesting article that might help broaden your search. (Link Removed – Out of date). I know it helped us with ours. Good luck…we are thinking of you. Sometimes we don’t see the advantages of a setback until some time has passed. Hope this happens for you.
David and Brenda, sorry your purchase of your new Winnebago 42DG did not work out. We know you will find the perfect one for you and you will be so much happier! Take Care and safe travels during your search!
Hi David & Brenda,
We just learned of your saga from Chuck Woodbury on RVtravel’s upcoming newsletter. So sorry to hear what you’ve been going through. As we see that you’re considering Newmar, we just wanted to throw our $.02 into the mix.
While no RV company or product is without its issues, we LOVE our 43′ 2005 Newmar Mountain Aire. We’ve been full-timing for over 10 years, first in a Bounder Diesel, and the past 8+ years in our custom-ordered Newmar.
If you’ve seen any of our videos on YouTube, you probably noticed that we are very meticulous and detail-oriented and we like keeping everything “just so” as much as possible. In all these years, we have never once regretted our purchase.
We’ve been on just about every factory tour (Tiffin, Monoco, Winnebago, Travel Supreme, Integra, Newmar (twice) and even Marathon Coach (twice there too). Despite the fact that we are absolutely not in the market for a new RV, we visit dealers and RV shows periodically just to keep track of the offerings. We have yet to find another RV that makes us wish we had it instead of our own.
One of the best things about ordering from Newmar was our ability to customize just about anything, within reason. If you have any questions about Newmar, please let us know. We are obviously very enthusiastic and happy owners. Best of luck in your search.
I visited the Tiffin factory and stayed at their campground for the night. I had some personal observations that I was able to share with Bob Tiffin directly through his VP, since he doesn’t use email. He responded to me personally, which is light years ahead of the idiot management at Winnebago. Vote with your feet and stay away from them. Tiffin, Newmar are much better choices because their work force makes the difference. You can’t beat the Amish or Southern work forces, instead of the cornhuskers.