Winnebago Order Frustrations

classbdreaming · 05-11-2016, 12:41 AM

We've been patiently waiting for a 2017 Winnebago Era 70A that we placed an order for back in February but I'm starting to cross the line from being mildly irritated to majorly frustrated. Has anybody else ever ordered from Winnebago and faced major delays in delivery from them.

We were told on March 28 that it had finally gone into production that day. We were also told by our dealer that in his experience it takes 20-25 days for them to complete production.

Then sometime in mid April we were told that Winnebago had so many orders that they tried to "speed up the line" but that caused quality issues so they had to "slow the line back down again" and now we wouldn't have our new Era until early May. Based on the video that The Fit RV just posted it appears that Era's aren't even produced "on a line".

Then on April 26th we were told that our unit was coming out of production the next day and was heading to quality control and we should have it soon after that.

Then we were told they were finally going to deliver it to our dealership on May 12 and we would have it soon after.

Now, today we were told, no, it won't be delivered on Thursday because there is some kind of recall problem having to do with a vent. Really???? Seriously??? UGH!!!

If they really put our unit into production on March 28 like they claimed and it really takes 20-25 days to produce one like my dealer claims, they could have had 2 whole units produced by now.

Is this typical? Has anybody else ordered an Era and had it delayed this many times? I'm getting frustrated here.

riplips · 05-11-2016, 02:29 PM

Yes. Its typical.

We ordered our Travato last June for an august delivery. finally got it in Oct.

Just roll with it. they are a smallish (by comparison) manufacturer. they have constant parts shortages when assembling a product with a zillion parts. they basically have all the problems of a home builder and a car company in one.

Plus, I am told, just about every van fails some QC test, and needs refitting of at least one sub system.

We were at the end of our rope after we missed a few promise dates that derailed a big trip, but that is B van reality.

Your van will be here before you know it. you will find one or two little issues, you'll get to know its quirks...

The alternative is to go to a custom manufacturer and drop 2-2.5X as much and have them at you beckon call.

My advice is breath and be patient.

Or as my wife says "how do you know and RV saleman is lying? his lips are moving..."

bobojay · 05-11-2016, 02:41 PM

Yes they are having issues because the Travato is selling so well that it's putting a bind on all their "B" production. People ordering Travatos are being told 12 weeks right now and some aren't making that.
They also have to rely on a sub-contractor to do all their exterior painting on the coaches, so there is another choke point. This same sub does all their class A & C painting also, and we all know WGO has been having trouble keeping up with their class C business for over a year now. and it seems now the B's too.

I'm not saying this is a fact, but I believe that ERA production and sales have been hurt big time by the Travato popularity. Kinda put on the back burner so to speak. This is just my opinion on the production, pretty factual on the sales i hear

mumkin · 05-11-2016, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by riplips

they are a smallish (by comparison) manufacturer.

Who is "they" here? Winnebago? Aren't they the biggest RV manufacturer in North America? And the largest B manufacturer?

riplips · 05-11-2016, 05:03 PM

Sorry. Should have clarified. they are small as a B manufacturuer when compared to all manufacturuers in general (i.e. probably not using lean 6 sigma, Kaizen, etc).

My guess is they suffer greatly from ERP and vendor issues as compared to say polaris or john deere.

wincrasher · 05-13-2016, 01:02 AM

Winnebago is pretty good a scheduling, but there are hiccups, just like any other manufacturer.

What they don't really do is status updates. That is up to your dealer to keep up with them and report back to you. On my order I handled it thru a weekly email to my salesman who would check and reply. Often, he'd forward the email he received from WGO production.

Hold your dealership's feet to the fire. It shows you are interested and eager to get your rig. As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Good luck!

classbdreaming · 05-13-2016, 06:06 PM

Thanks everyone! I feel like I'm in the Ground Hog day movie. Today we were told by our dealer that his rep at Winnebago asked the Plant Manager for an update on our unit and was told that it is leaving production today and will then leave for quality control and we can expect shipment two days after that.

What the heck? That is the exact same line we were given on April 26th. On that day we were told that our unit was leaving production the next day and headed to quality control and they would ship it 2 days after that.

We placed our order 11 weeks ago and it was an order that our dealer had already placed even earlier than that. He let us take an order they had already placed and make changes to it to get exactly what we wanted which we were able to do because it hadn't gone into production yet. So, it's been at least 12 weeks since Winnebago got the order.

This is beyond frustrating for me. I can handle delays if you give me a good reason for it. I can't handle being lied to though. Being lied to pushes my buttons.

bobojay · 05-13-2016, 06:25 PM

I believe you have a dealer issue, not WGO. The class B plant is running full out.
Could also be ERA's are on the back burner right now because of the Travato demand. Could be cabinetry issues too as they are partly made in Italy

jrobe · 05-13-2016, 06:42 PM

For the price of these vehicles, I would be more worried about them building it right than building it fast. This is also probably their peak order time right before summer. I have always tried to order in the fall so they can take their time on my unit.

classbdreaming · 05-13-2016, 10:44 PM

Well, now apparently it is going to be delivered on Monday, our dealer is going to go over it on Tuesday and we can pick it up on Wednesday. I don't know whether to be happy and excited or scared because earlier today we had been told it was coming out of production today and going to QC and would be delivered 2 days after that. Unless, of course, it actually came out of production back when they originally said it came out of production a couple of weeks ago and has already been to QC. I sure hope it actually went to QC. I can't imagine they would deliver a vehicle without it having gone there.

black88mx6 · 05-13-2016, 11:09 PM

I have a family member that picked up a 2016 170a with the new interior. Nice unit overall but as with any unit a few quirks and issues.

A few things we didn't expect:

No review mirror (removed at Winnebago)
No cab side curtains anymore, replaced by cardboard cutouts with magnets
No bump stop for slider door. Removed because it was damaging the screen. Don't ever try opening the side door on a big hill unless u are sure you can hold it open. Without the bump stop an out of control door opening on its own will destroy the hinges.

A couple of issues with the unit. Top side door screen track is cut two inches short. 2 inch gap at top when screen is closed.

One multiplex light stuck on at all times. Looks like the main control unit will need to be replaced. This is located under driver side bed in back.

Good luck with your unit.

bobojay · 05-13-2016, 11:13 PM

You are worrying too much about this QC process they are telling you about. Before it gets to you, the dealer should go over it well. Plan on stuff cropping up at first most of which you should find before leaving the dealer....use it all multiple times before leaving.
With any RV you have to be proactive on finding issues

classbdreaming · 05-16-2016, 09:40 PM

Our unit arrived at the dealership this afternoon! Yippee!! They are in the process of prepping it and we will be able to pick it up Wednesday afternoon.

Thanks, black88mx6, for letting us know about the issues your family member is having with his new unit. We will be sure to look for those same issues in our ours. Not too happy to hear that his side door screen has a 2 inch gap at the top. I hope they have found a way to fix that.

I'll let you all know what issues we discover in ours and try and take some pictures to post as well. I'm hoping I will have nothing major to report.

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