Bill N
Well-known member
In the past few days I have been reading an online Winnebago Owners board that has a post about somebody needing a vent window & seal for an 8 year old coach but the factory has told them the part is no longer available and a replacement would cost very big bucks.
One responder says that is 'lame' that Winnie can't supply parts for an 8 year old coach because they advertise you can always get replacement parts from them. Winnie responded that vendors frequently discontinue models and spare parts inventories but that did not seem to settle the issue. In my long experience with Winnebago I also remember them talking of supply replacement parts but I always thought that mean large parts that were made in their factories - cushions, sidewall panels, plastic tanks, cabinets, etc.
I recently went to Lowes to replace a 5 year old faucet for my house. That model was no longer available so I simply got another model and adapted it to fit. In this case the owner was referred to a glass shop for a fix - that seemed to satisfy him.
I would think that with vendor supplied parts owners should expect to do the same on some items but the discussion also got into "that would never happen in the auto industry." Needless to say, comparing the auto industry to RV manufacturing is apples to oranges in my mind. Just thought I would open a similar discussion here. Would you expect Winnebago to maintain a supply of parts that were originally vendor supplied for years after manufacture?
Bill
One responder says that is 'lame' that Winnie can't supply parts for an 8 year old coach because they advertise you can always get replacement parts from them. Winnie responded that vendors frequently discontinue models and spare parts inventories but that did not seem to settle the issue. In my long experience with Winnebago I also remember them talking of supply replacement parts but I always thought that mean large parts that were made in their factories - cushions, sidewall panels, plastic tanks, cabinets, etc.
I recently went to Lowes to replace a 5 year old faucet for my house. That model was no longer available so I simply got another model and adapted it to fit. In this case the owner was referred to a glass shop for a fix - that seemed to satisfy him.
I would think that with vendor supplied parts owners should expect to do the same on some items but the discussion also got into "that would never happen in the auto industry." Needless to say, comparing the auto industry to RV manufacturing is apples to oranges in my mind. Just thought I would open a similar discussion here. Would you expect Winnebago to maintain a supply of parts that were originally vendor supplied for years after manufacture?
Bill