Rear window handle broken

S&K · 06-20-2015, 04:13 AM

We're on a cross country trip and while parked we noticed that our rear window (the emergency escape one) the handle is broken completely off. This is a window we never open because it is too hard to get to AND it cannot be used as an escape route because the ladder is blocking it from being opened!)

This causes the window to be open all the time, just cracked open; but noise, dust and what rain is coming from that direction will come in.

We called Redwood today, they said take it into a dealer. Told them we were on the road and had no idea where a dealer was at, could they just send us the part? NO. They gave me the number for a dealer that we would be going near in our travels. The number was "no longer in service". Gee, thanks.

Called our dealer back in TX (We're in Iowa now) and they told us that Redwood was 'cracking down' on warranty issues and we needed to bring it back in so they could look at it, turn it in, get the parts and THEN fix it.

C'mon people!! This is a cheap $20 handle AT MOST. It is broken off!!! If it is not fixed promptly, it will cause us more hardship and perhaps more damage to have that window "flapping in the wind" behind the unit when we go down the road. It doesn't matter that we will be parked for a few days near a dealer, they will still have to SEE the unit, order the part to fix it, then fix it. How much you want to bet that they won't even have the time to look at it in those few days?

In the mean time, we have three pieces of duct tape trying to hold it down some. It is not sealed. How classy is THAT going down the road?!

We are going to the RW rally in Aug. Don't want to wait that long to get it fixed, but certainly will let RW know how utterly disappointed and frustrated we are with the scenario so far. I now know the frustration of Full-timers who have to bring it in to a dealership, perhaps waiting for months for an appointment before their issues are resolved.

Totally frustrated.

Piper Guy's Gal · 06-20-2015, 04:26 AM

I can understand wanting the part, but where was RW supposed to send the piece if you're "on the road"?

This doesn't sound to me like RW is cutting back on warranty work. Maybe they just don't want to be send parts to places unknown.

Jim & Mary · 06-20-2015, 05:33 AM

Same thing happened to us on our cross country trip from the northwest to Indiana, I used two or three small electrical ty-wraps to secure it until we could take it into the dealer. I sent him a picture halfway across the country, and he ordered it right then and there. It was waiting for us when we got back home, at no charge or course. We have a great service department at our dealer, I'm so thankful.

travelin' texans · 06-20-2015, 05:47 AM

Call Kinro directly, they will ship you that part, at least they did mine to the address I provided.

travelin' texans · 06-20-2015, 05:50 AM

By the way, I wired mine shut as we couldn't use it to escape unless we moved the couch.

spindrift · 06-20-2015, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piper Guy's Gal

I can understand wanting the part, but where was RW supposed to send the piece if you're "on the road"?

This doesn't sound to me like RW is cutting back on warranty work. Maybe they just don't want to be send parts to places unknown.

It's easy enough to have the part sent to a dealer on their route to be picked up at a later time. It's all about customer service.

S&K · 06-20-2015, 12:52 PM

Thanks for all the tips! That will help us out until we can get it fixed properly.

.... and yes, we were going to have the part forwarded to our next destination.

rob_fla · 06-20-2015, 01:59 PM

Same thing happened when our rear shade fell as we were traveling though Texas.
But our Dealer said they could not even order the brackets until we brought the coach in even though I said I could send pictures.

atom ant · 06-20-2015, 05:13 PM

I can tell what breaks that...

If the lower bracket that has a slot gets bumped during production and bent in, it puts downward pressure on that bracket when the window is closed to the point it eventually just tears the aluminum. I though maybe the couch bumped it and bent the bracket, but the couch can't get close in ours because the rear support bar is much higher than that bracket.

Didn't know it was such a widespread problem. Ours went to Dealer, but its sad they won't send them direct to you.

travelin' texans · 06-20-2015, 06:12 PM

Brad when were you here to take a picture of mine? That's the exact pic I sent to Kinro.

atom ant · 06-20-2015, 06:35 PM

Danny,
Was your window frame bent in (towards window) a little where the bracket was? I had to straighten that before I installed the new one, or it would have broken again.

So, that was you parked in front of my house taking a picture of the back window right after I did

travelin' texans · 06-20-2015, 08:01 PM

Yep that was me!! Don't know about being bent, didn't put the handle back on, just wired it shut & don't intend to ever use it. The window on the street side at the end of the couch is also an e-exit & would be much easier to exit.

Shane Wood · 06-20-2015, 08:15 PM

Maybe the problem is using the window to get in and out instead of the door

Grizzby · 06-20-2015, 09:20 PM

Yeah...and that's probably the reason for the bent window frame.

trfield58 · 06-21-2015, 03:04 AM

Ours broke too. Brought broken handle in to the dealer and he ordered a new one. He just called yesterday to tell me I could stop in to pick it up. He usually lets me do repairs if I want.....

Grizzby · 06-21-2015, 03:19 AM

Beginning to like this is a common problem. Maybe not if you'll need to replace it...but when?

S&K · 06-21-2015, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atom ant

I can tell what breaks that...

If the lower bracket that has a slot gets bumped during production and bent in, it puts downward pressure on that bracket when the window is closed to the point it eventually just tears the aluminum. I though maybe the couch bumped it and bent the bracket, but the couch can't get close in ours because the rear support bar is much higher than that bracket.

Didn't know it was such a widespread problem. Ours went to Dealer, but its sad they won't send them direct to you.

That's exactly what ours looked like!. We had some zip-ties and after taking the screen out, we were able to secure the window closed. (We also took off the nasty looking duct tape!) Since we are going to the RW rally in Aug, I'm thinking to add this to the list of things to fix at the rally. If not, I will try to make an appointment to have it done the week we are at the rally.

Caribe77 · 06-21-2015, 05:25 AM

That happened to us last fall. We are full timers, but took it into ExploreUSA in Boerne. After consulting with Redwood, they could not replace just the handle, but replaced the ENTIRE rear window! As a short term solution. I drilled a hole through the window frame and put a small screw in to secure the window shut instead of using duct tape. I will be interested if they can just replace the emergency handle on your rig.

almcc · 06-21-2015, 11:38 AM

Not sure if this will help or not. I've found that the couch on our 36RL moves around a bit when traveling, it knocked the bottom trim off the window frame (not hard to do with the brads going into aluminum) and sometimes the screen had got stretched.

I laid a 2X4 on edge at the floor/wall junction at the rear so that the couch wouldn't move back far enough to hit the window. I've heard of another Redwood owner who damaged the crank mechanism caused by the sofa moving. I may also put something down at the side of the sofa to prevent the side to side movement which still occurs.

atom ant · 06-21-2015, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caribe77

That happened to us last fall. We are full timers, but took it into ExploreUSA in Boerne. After consulting with Redwood, they could not replace just the handle, but replaced the ENTIRE rear window! As a short term solution. I drilled a hole through the window frame and put a small screw in to secure the window shut instead of using duct tape. I will be interested if they can just replace the emergency handle on your rig.

At first the Dealer told me they would have to replace the whole window, then he was digging around in stock and pulled out a new handle and said "guess not".

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