My RW's first trips report card...

Ford truck guy · 08-09-2015, 08:38 PM

Well , as most of you know we picked up our new 2016 RW 38RL back in July 11th. We than loaded her up and left the following weekend only to return yesterday , overall we stayed in 6 different campgrounds from Richmond VA to Charlotte NC , Jacksonville FL , the Florida Keys , Bradenton FL , and the great Fort Wilderness in Disney..
Overall we gave our new trailer an A.. It really was awesome , we had a few small minor issues that I fixed myself and have 2 that the dealer will tend to this week- the front arm if the front awning sticks,, and they need to add some clear caulk in the shower.. If I added the caulk myself the shower would be useless , let's just say that I know my weekness

I wish they had a light switch on the wall at the door , it's a pain walking over to the steps to hit the switch.. It may not seem like a big deal , but between my 2 kids and wife , they don't believe in putting their shoes away , thus making it an obstacle course in the dark.
Loved the fact that by pushing a button , I could level the trailer , and press another and the trailer would return to the hitch height for re connecting.. Also love not having to lug that 50 amp anaconda to and from the basement

The air worked fine , my brakes did not fail , the weeks did not fall off , let's just say that after reading this forum , I was really upset with my purchase..till now that is.. 100% worth it !! My slide toppers were wrinkling as they were rolled up , after looking at them , I saw that there were no screws in the rain gutter holding the plastic tube in place , I ran out and got stainless screws that had black anodized heads and pulled the toppers tight at the gutter and installed the screws,,done.. We had a few days of rain and the inlaws met us in Disney , no problem with the 6 of is in the trailer as it was very comfortable..
I want to give a HUGE Thank You to all at Redwood who helped put this on the dealers lot and put me in it!
Also a huge thanks to all on this site , what a great place to find great info on all things I have no clue about!!! More questions coming up !!

RomanyLife · 08-09-2015, 08:48 PM

Glad to hear it! It's a magical time when the trailer is new. ENJOY IT. Just keep your "punchlist" handy on the fridge or whatever and whenever you have a problem, write it on the list. I would make another service appointment right after you leave the next one if it takes your dealer a while to schedule you. Accepting that there will be issues is half the battle. We have never had anything on our "punchlist" denied in warranty, but then our list was pretty easy. Thanks for the report!

Shane Wood · 08-09-2015, 09:35 PM

Glad to here that you you enjoyed your trip and new toy. It is very easy to get scared and upset when hearing horror story's about your upcoming or new purchase. There is approx 4700 redwoods out there and if you add up the complaints. They are about 1/ 100th of the units out there.

RomanyLife · 08-09-2015, 10:01 PM

I agree with what you are saying Shane, if you read all the negatives, you will be put off. In the interest of accuracy, if you are using this forum's statistics for your complaint ratio though, there are only 1576 members TOTAL, and only less than 200 of those are "active". There have definitely been more than 47 complaints, and that is JUST on this forum ;-) Since we are all trying to be as accurate as possible. The vast majority of RW owners are NOT on this forum particularly.

That said, human nature is that people will go to great effort to complain, and take little trouble to offer a testimonial of satisfaction. I would take a moment and study the recent survey conducted by the Redwood Owner's Group. It is comprehensive, and probably gives a more accurate assessment of overall satisfaction and there were over 200 completed if I am not mistaken. Great survey done by Ken.

**hoosierguy** · 08-09-2015, 10:23 PM

My guess is that most Redwood owners are not on this forum or any other forum. I have asked a few that I have met out in the hinterlands and none of them have been on the forums or even knew there were forums. I suspect that most could care less about this type of medium unless they are trying to educate themselves like I needed to 4 years ago or they have a problem that they would like to vent about. JMHO.

Shane Wood · 08-09-2015, 10:25 PM

I was using these 2 forums and irv2.. the number of complaints are minimal. And I would say as you suggested a lot are from people with no rv experience or to high of expectations

Shane Wood · 08-09-2015, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoosierguy

My guess is that most Redwood owners are not on this forum or any other forum. I have asked a few that I have met out in the hinterlands and none of them have been on the forums or even knew there were forums. I suspect that most could care less about this type of medium unless they are trying to educate themselves like I needed to 4 years ago or they have a problem that they would like to vent about. JMHO.

You hit the nail on the head

RomanyLife · 08-09-2015, 10:38 PM

Totally agree.

atom ant · 08-10-2015, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane Wood

Glad to here that you you enjoyed your trip and new toy. It is very easy to get scared and upset when hearing horror story's about your upcoming or new purchase. There is approx 4700 redwoods out there and if you add up the complaints. They are about 1/ 100th of the units out there.

Ya we have to be realistic - there is probably 30 active people of the forum, less than 1%, so there is probably a lot we never hear - good or bad.

**Dave&Ginny** · 08-10-2015, 12:35 AM

I've met several RVers that have said that they stay off the forums because of bullies and complainers.

I think they have a point. This forum gets too negative at times however I also know the forum has helped a lot of people too.

Shane Wood · 08-10-2015, 01:40 AM

Dave
You are right. Way back and I have bin camping for 45 years I would have never bin on one either. The only reason I am on these 2 is because like you I like to help people. The majority of the people on these forums are looking for answers in the rv world due to lack of experience problems etc. There is a small majority that are on these that think they know more than they do. Some are just Internet sh!! disturbers some will never be happy with whatever they purchase. Also the majority of the experienced people on the forums are there to try and help fellow rvers.You can go to any rv forum and get the same results

4happyfeet · 08-10-2015, 02:53 AM

I read a lot that sounds like many people on the forum are very handy with tools, figuring things out. Some of us are not so naturally inclined. I appreciate the information that I get from reading the many feeds herein. I take the knowledge that I learn and present it to my service adviser to get things fixed. It is also helpful to know when one's service adviser is blowing smoke. Thanks to all of you for posting your experiences and pinions.

RomanyLife · 08-10-2015, 02:55 AM

I agree with you 4happyfeet; There have been quite a few times that our service department learned something from what we shared with them. There is a lot of wisdom here.

atom ant · 08-10-2015, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4happyfeet

I read a lot that sounds like many people on the forum are very handy with tools, figuring things out. Some of us are not so naturally inclined. I appreciate the information that I get from reading the many feeds herein. I take the knowledge that I learn and present it to my service adviser to get things fixed. It is also helpful to know when one's service adviser is blowing smoke. Thanks to all of you for posting your experiences and pinions.

Kent - let us know what you find out Monday. I didn't want to automatically assume he was going to cut right under the AC, just warn you that if he does you won't like it. He may have a more appropriate plan.

Took mine apart this weekend and here is what they look like from the top looking down. This is the return air plenum that runs down the center (down under on this picture), through the trusses, then branches off to either side.

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