Are there recalls for the Winnebago Journey slides?

[maryinredding]

We just spent 2 days stranded in a RV park because our slides would not come in. We ended up burning up the motor trying to get the driver side in. We had to have a mobile mechanic come (at a tune of $1400) and get both slides in and the bedroom which went out because of the drop in hydraulic fluid to the system. The mechanic said he read on some Winnebago blog that there was a recall on our slides. I looked and looked and could not find anything. Our rig is a 2005 Journey 39F. We have had problems from day one when we bought it used in 2014 and have had the pads changed and maintenance done on them. I think we have the HWH slides. Anyone hear   of any recalls on these? They are now out of alignment because it was so hard for the two mechanics to get them in. Don't believe what the book says that anyone can manually get them in, in 20 minutes!! That is totally wrong. We had to cut our trip way short so we can go home and give it back to our rv mechanic and have them try to fix it. Thank goodness we have an extended warranty because this will be a big expense for them. They have already paid out a bunch with the replacement pads so hopefully they won't balk at having to replace many more bent parts that happened when the slides had to be forced to go in. The rods in the two big slides broke and had to be replaced. The mechanic was totally surprised that such cheap rods and nuts were put into a mechanism that is so heavy. No way could we have done what they did. I praise them for not quitting on us when it got more and more difficult.

Thanks for listening.

edit by staff - changed message icon to topic solved

[PJ Stough]

Sounds like the mobile mechanic had no idea what he was doing.  I cant imagine what would be wrong with the slides that would make them that difficult to get in.

Please let us know what the problem was that made it so difficult.

[afchap]

Sounds like the mobile mechanic had no idea what he was doing.  I cant imagine what would be wrong with the slides that would make them that difficult to get in.

X2.  The HWH slides and jacks are the good ones compared to what is on the newer coaches. The only problem we have ever had with ours was when the motor finally went out in 2013. It was rebuilt on the spot (bad internal ground) by a mobile guy and lasted 3 more years when I put a new one on.

[John Canfield]

..The mechanic said he read on some Winnebago blog that there was a recall on our slides. ....

To the best of my knowledge, there were no recalls on the HWH system, mine have worked perfectly since 2005. There were recalls on the Lippert and/or Powergear mechanisms when first used by Winnebago.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Unless there is a human safety issue, there probably won't be any sort of "recall" on a slide system.  Besides, problems with a 2005-vintage mechanical system can have many causes, starting with normal wear & tear. Slides can get jammed, twisted or stressed by low power (inadequate voltage to the motor).

[John Canfield]

The slide "recall" that tech read about wasn't a safety issue, it was a situation with the slide mechanisms having design and engineering problems.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If there was a defect that doesn't affect safety, the manufacturer may do a "service campaign" that makes repairs available above & beyond the usual warranty on new rig.

Slides aren't all that complicated. I think the first thing you need is a better trained tech, but I'll grant those may be hard to find.

[SCVJeff]

Never had or heard of inherent issues with the slides. We have several friends with Journey/ Meridian in 2004-2007, all using the same mechanism

[maryinredding]

Our tech was well trained it was the slide that was the problem. Apparently it was bent and out of alignment when our rv service at home released the coach to us. SO, it is now back in with them and I will not accept it back until it is perfect. If it has to stay there for the next 6 months so be it. We were wrong to take if back with them saying, "just use it and the scraping will go away". I guess we were lucky that we got as far as we did. We have a very good extended warranty and upon reading the contract when we got home we could have had them fix it right there in the park and they would have paid our lodging, food and whatever else it cost us to stay there the extra days. I will not make that mistake again. It cost us $1400 to have the slides put back in so we could get home. I have submitted that bill to the insurance company but I'm not sure they will pay any part of it because we didn't contact them first. We live and learn the hard way.

[PJ Stough]

Our tech was well trained it was the slide that was the problem. Apparently it was bent and out of alignment when our rv service at home released the coach to us. SO, it is now back in with them and I will not accept it back until it is perfect. If it has to stay there for the next 6 months so be it. We were wrong to take if back with them saying, "just use it and the scraping will go away". I guess we were lucky that we got as far as we did. We have a very good extended warranty and upon reading the contract when we got home we could have had them fix it right there in the park and they would have paid our lodging, food and whatever else it cost us to stay there the extra days. I will not make that mistake again. It cost us $1400 to have the slides put back in so we could get home. I have submitted that bill to the insurance company but I'm not sure they will pay any part of it because we didn't contact them first. We live and learn the hard way.

What was bent, or was it just misaligned, that is, one end was in or out farther than the other, and what exactly did the tech do to get the slide to go in?

Thanks for the update.

[taoshum]

there are some more threads/posts on the Winne/Itasca slide issue that you might want to read.

[John Canfield]

You should plan a trip to Forest City and have factory service adjust it properly (they have four or five slide specialists.) Good luck with your insurance company paying up, their primary objective is to keep your money and keep theirs.

[tboss]

Where is Forest City ?? It might come in handy some day...just purchased our 2002 journey 35U and am having a ball figuring it out ,,I love the unit so far ...previously owned a 27 ft coachman Class C and as you can imagine the room in the Journey with slides out is over whelming..new to the forum and love it.. Tks  Terry

[Alfa38User]

Forest City, Iowa   50436      where Winnebago's are made

[maryinredding]

Update on our Journey:
After being in the shop for the last 6 weeks they are no closer to a fix than the day it went in. They have installed a new slide motor and the passenger side slide comes in fine but the driver side is still hanging up when coming in. The new mechanic that is HWH schooled cannot understand why it is still doing this. Our only recourse, according to him, is to take it to Iowa to see if they can figure out why this has been happening for the last 3 years.
Has anyone here experienced this problem on their Winnebago Journey? It makes a grinding sound in the rear of the slide when it tries to come in thus hanging up. It takes about 10 minutes for the slide to fully come in. It use to be 15-20 minutes but they have cut the time down now. That is how the motor burned up taking so long to come in. If anyone has positive comments I welcome those, negative ones keep to yourself. We are very frustrated about this problem. It has ruined our summer completely. It is interesting how some people on my thread said there were very few problems with the HWH but if you do a search there are many.

[PJ Stough]

Yes. people do have issues with the HWH slides on Winnebagoes, but nothing like you are experiencing. We had trouble a while ago with our driver's side slide on our Winnebago Voyage 38 J, and it appears it is finally fixed properly after two trips to the factory, and one to 3-Ts in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.  Finally, on the third try, they replaced the whole rear slide out mechanism, and not just the part that bent when bringing the slide in.

My suggestion would be to call Paul Maddox who works for HWH and does diagnostics and is very knowledgeable and helpful.  That is who we called to finally get our slide out repaired properly.

His number is 602-549-3638.  He freely posts his number on another RV forum, so I am sure he wont mind it posted here.

Perhaps, you can call him and have him talk to the tech at the repair place you are at.

Good luck

[maryinredding]

Thanks so much for the information. I will definitely pass this on to our mechanic. They are actually at the end of their rope with the slide too so I see a trip to the factory in our immediate future. It really is a shame that our whole summer has been ruined by the fact that it's taken them this long to not diagnose what is wrong. We could have already been there and back in the 6 weeks that they have had it. Hopefully there will be answers at the factory.

[John Canfield]

What Paul said.

Our HWH slides extend and retract in about a minute or so.  By the way, the "slide motor" is actually the main and only motor, it operates a hydraulic pump to operate the jacks and slide rams. If one slide is operating normally or your jacks are extending and will push up the chassis, the motor and pump were probably okay.

It sounds to me like your slide is racked ('twisted') and/or a problem with the tracks and the tech is cluless. It's time to cut your losses and take your unit to Moscow.

[maryinredding]

I think you are so right. We are waiting this week to see if the techs can get their heads together an figure something out. I hope it's nice in Iowa this time of year

[PJ Stough]

I may have missed it, but where are you?  There may be better places to get your slide repaired closer to you.

[Dar]

I may have missed it, but where are you?  There may be better places to get your slide repaired closer to you.

There is no better place than Winnebago for Pat and Mary to take their coach to at this point. After all they have been through it sounds like Winnebago needs to get their hands on it! Too bad we didn't know of this last month, we could have convinced you to attend the GNR and get it looked at then. You could have been having fun while it was getting fixed. 

Hang in there, this too shall pass. It's usually not the coaches fault, it's finding the correct people to work on them. For the most part we limit the house to us, and Winnebago if need be and the chassis to us, and Freightliner if need be. All others fail in comparison! Just sayin.
Good luck and PLEASE keep us posted.

[maryinredding]

Today we went over to the rv shop. They have only discovered in the 6 weeks that they have had it is this:
The slide motor burned out. They have replaced it or rebuilt it and it is now working all the slides.
The non house batteries need to be replaced because it failed to start (only because it has sat over there for so long). They say these are the original batteries to the coach.
One of the rear stabilizers now has a problem because it comes up slow. It was working ok when we took it there. They THINK its a loose wire somewhere so they are going to chase that down.

Still no closer to finding out why the slide is grinding and groaning when it comes up. Still hangs up and takes a really long time to come in. I see stranding in our future again. I will have that covered with calling our extended warranty insurance FIRST.

I was looking up on the Winnebago website and looking for specific Winnegago dealers and there is a dealer in Medford Or that is high on their list. I am trying to convince my husband to call them before making the trip to Iowa. We are in California. This is a 4000 mile trip using $1400. worth of diesel fuel for the trip out and back!!! If any of you can suggest a closer place that may work for us I would love to hear it.

This has been the worst experience in a vehicle. It is now going to be a big old spare bedroom for company because it will not be a joy to take out and have it break down each time. I have renamed our coach the MONEY PIT because that is what it is.

Any other suggestions welcome.

[PJ Stough]

Ok, I hope you dont think this is too harsh, but the people working on your motorhome have idea what they are doing!  Will you verify that you have the HWH slide and jacks system.  To my knowledge, HWH systems only have one motor, and that motor runs the hydraulic pump that runs both the slides and the jacks.  There is no separate "slide motor".  I highly recommend that you call Paul Maddox personally, and not let the techs do it.

3-Ts in Lake Havasu Arizona is a lot closer that Moscow, Iowa, and they are both an authorized Winnebago repair place, and an authorized HWH repair place.  When we had work done at 3-Ts, Paul Maddox drove down from his home near  Prescott, Arizona, and provided guidance to the tech at 3-Ts.

http://3tsrv.com/

If you want to get your problem solved in a satisfactory manner, and in a reasonable time, you need to take control, and quit letting these people continue to put you off.

Please call Paul Maddox at 602-549-3638

Best of luck, and let us know how things go. 

[John Canfield]

Where is Forest City ?? It might come in handy some day...just purchased our 2002 journey 35U ..

Forest City, Iowa   50436      where Winnebago's are made

As an FYI, Winnebago is moving or has moved production of Class A pushers (maybe gassers?) to Junction City, OR (the old Country Coach campus.) Factory service is in Forest City and also Winnie is ramping up factory service in Oregon to include Winnebago products.

-- break --

What Paul said (again.) You need to cut your losses with whatever dealer you are working with and follow Paul's advice.

It's highly unlikely your chassis batteries were original but if a device (search for Tril-L-Start Trik-L-Start) wasn't added to 'borrow' some battery charge from the house batteries, your chassis batteries will indeed go flat. Once they are that discharged, they are essentially only good for a little cash at the recycling facility.

[Jim_Lou]

What others have said about going to someone competent!  If your shop think a wiring problem can cause a jack to retract slowly they don't have a clue.  The wiring is to a solenoid valve.  If the valve opens the jack will come up.  If it's closed the jack will stay down.  If there's enough power to open the valve it will open all the way.  If there's not enough power to open it all the way it will not open at all.

In my experience with HWH systems there are three things that will cause slow jack retraction; cold weather causing the oil to thicken, a bent jack leg, or old springs.  HWH started using springs that are coiled tighter at the ends so they have a taper over the last inch or two.  The older, weaker springs are cylindrical top to bottom.  If your springs are tapered at the top and bottom see causes one and two.

BUT - don't expect the jacks to all retract at the same speed, or at the same relative speed every time.  Sometimes my right rear is the last up, sometimes the left front is last, sometimes the right front.  And the differences day to day can be quite significant - often more than a minute between the first and the last.

I've had two jack legs get bent, both from slipping off insufficient cribbing that got pressed into the ground.  In both cases I had to use a little scissors jack to get them back up the last couple of inches until I got around to having HWH rebuild them.

[John Canfield]

Good info about jacks but the OP is having slide not jacks problem.

[maryinredding]

The one jack problem was a wire and now they found a bad circuit board. So that is going to be fixed when we pick it up tomorrow. It now has 2 new batteries (12 volt) and it will have a new circuit board.

I do realize that the one motor runs all the slides and stabilizers so I knew what I was talking about. The motor is located under the stairs and it was a horrid burning smell when it went trying to get that one slide in. Thank goodness our stabilizers were up at the time of the burned out motor or else there would have been that too. Now you know there is a third thing that can mess with your stabilizers: a bad circuit board. We know our jacks well. They was a problem when we first bought the rig, they were rebuilt at that time. They have been working well until now. We keep them clean and rubbed down and that is keeping them working just fine. I hope none of you have to experience that kind of thing.

But, the slide issue remains. They are now thinking that it is a structural problem. Not sure what that entails but it sounds like a big deal.

Thanks for the tip about the Oregon place. There is a service center in Junction City Or not too far from the Winnebago factory that just reopened. It is a huge place and is on the Winnebago list as a preferred place. That would be our best bet I would think. I emailed the service dept at Winnebago in Indiana and am waiting for their call. We emailed them before about this problem and someone actually called us.

Once we get the coach back tomorrow we will start calling the different places. Hopefully we can get this fixed before our extended warranty runs out this year. We had planned to renew it but would like it at be least fixed before we do.

Thanks for all your help and information.

[John Canfield]

....But, the slide issue remains. They are now thinking that it is a structural problem....

That's a good sign but at this point you should have zero confidence in that dealer.

I emailed the service dept at Winnebago in Indiana and am waiting for their call. We emailed them before about this problem and someone actually called us.

That's Owner Relations in Forest City, Indiana is the towable division.

[depchief]

You might want to contact Winnebago at the Junction City location at the old Country Coach facility. They  are supposed to be doing repair work. Might be woth a call and explain the issues.

Winnebago – Country Coach
135 East First Avenue
Junction City, OR 97448
Phone:
541-234-2167

[maryinredding]

I made a mistake. I emailed the Iowa site and stated what kind of Winnebago we had so it should get to the right people. Can you tell me what they might do if we a structural problem?