New to Fleetwood, please tell me it isn't always this bad!

[DisasterChick]

We purchased a 2025 Fleetwood Discovery XLE 44S motorhome, based on 2 things. 1) floorplan and 2) Freightliner chassis. We have had it for 6 months and it's been inservice for 6 months. 23 yrs of RVing and I understand there are issues, especially the first yr. But.....seriously, are all Fleetwoods this poorly built or did I just get a lemon? I haven't even been able to take a trip......supposed to leave in 3 days, but the side passenger mirror is about to fall off (it's been repaired once already). We purchased from General RV and the service from Rev and General has been horrible. Again, let me mention I've been doing this for 23 yrs, so I know the difference between good, bad and horrible service. My list of repairs, just on the inside, is right at 32 repairs so far. I am trying to be positive about this, but right now that hope is dimming.

Does anyone have these kinds of issues with theirs? Do all the new coaches seem so cheaply built? Please, someone give me hope, because right now, we are hoping to do our usual 4 month summer trip and it's not looking promising!

 

[RioRichard]

Sorry. Anything I have seen new unless in the high end of coaches has been poor construction. Best of luck with your issues. We looked at new Discovery models in Alvarado a few years ago and decided against any new model purchase.

 

[ww1wxradio]

My 2015 has been great. I think the quality was flushed down the toilet in the last few years. We’ve been Rving for 28 yrs now and only bought new twice and there were a lot of repair issues when purchased new. They build them with those self drilling screws and always over torque them and strip the holes.

 

[AbdRahim]

You might get faster service at the factory, if they offer such. I have not been rving as long as you, but. I would trust very few dealers, if any for timely repairs. Both coaches that I bought new (2015, 2020) had 25-30 issues to be repaired. By year 3 or 4 they finally felt new.

By the way, both were gas. With diesels, I would not be surprised to see many more, since there are many more systems and more ornate insides.

I agree with ww1wxradio. I hate those self drilling screws.

 

[DisasterChick]

I've kept my old RVs for over 10 yrs, I'm just shocked at the poor quality of this coach for the money. I thought Fleetwood had a failry reputable name, but unless this gets better, then I will likely sell it after this summer. I'll see how the summer goes and then maybe drop it at the factory for more repairs. The dealer is only good at passing the buck, actual work, not so much. Lot's of promises, even written down, and they try to back out of everything. I mean, I knew people had issues with them, but I never imagined it was so bad. I checked their reviews (after I bought...my bad) and they have an 85% disatisfaction score....like the very bottom score. I was hoping someone would say Fleetwood, at the very least, has a good reputation......but that doesn't seem to be the case either. Lesson learned I guess. Hoping this summer proves me wrong.....if I ever get the darn thing out of service!

 

[Holdmybeer]

During the pandemic buying frenzy many manufacturers moved their quality control personnel to the production line. The emphasis was on numbers. Hard to have both quality control and kids working the new third shift who were selling basketball shoes at Foot Locker last week. Quality control was shunted off to the retailers who were/are poorly positioned and mostly uninterested in being the factories service center. Service for many retailers is a burdensome liability they'd rather not deal with. That's only exascerbated by the shortage of competent technicians. Any tech who can grip a screwdriver soon realizes there's no money working for a dealer. The factories meantime aren't necessarily going to rehire/retrain quality control teams when the current system ( zero quality control) is working so well ( for them).

 

[DisasterChick]

During the pandemic buying frenzy many manufacturers moved their quality control personnel to the production line. The emphasis was on numbers. Hard to have both quality control and kids working the new third shift who were selling basketball shoes at Foot Locker last week. Quality control was shunted off to the retailers who were/are poorly positioned and mostly uninterested in being the factories service center. Service for many retailers is a burdensome liability they'd rather not deal with. That's only exascerbated by the shortage of competent technicians. Any tech who can grip a screwdriver soon realizes there's no money working for a dealer. The factories meantime aren't necessarily going to rehire/retrain quality control teams when the current system ( zero quality control) is working so well ( for them).

Sadly, they've had years now to fix the problem........yet, here we are

 

[Randeye52]

We purchased a 2025 Fleetwood Discovery XLE 44S motorhome, based on 2 things. 1) floorplan and 2) Freightliner chassis. We have had it for 6 months and it's been inservice for 6 months. 23 yrs of RVing and I understand there are issues, especially the first yr. But.....seriously, are all Fleetwoods this poorly built or did I just get a lemon? I haven't even been able to take a trip......supposed to leave in 3 days, but the side passenger mirror is about to fall off (it's been repaired once already). We purchased from General RV and the service from Rev and General has been horrible. Again, let me mention I've been doing this for 23 yrs, so I know the difference between good, bad and horrible service. My list of repairs, just on the inside, is right at 32 repairs so far. I am trying to be positive about this, but right now that hope is dimming.

Does anyone have these kinds of issues with theirs? Do all the new coaches seem so cheaply built? Please, someone give me hope, because right now, we are hoping to do our usual 4 month summer trip and it's not looking promising!

We got a 2025 Bounder 33c two months ago and haven’t been able to get any warranty work done yet from La Mesa. A lawn mower broke our side living room window and they say there are no windows available and it could take 7 weeks to get one. Unbelievable!

 

[team bradfield]

We got a 2025 Bounder 33c two months ago and haven’t been able to get any warranty work done yet from La Mesa. A lawn mower broke our side living room window and they say there are no windows available and it could take 7 weeks to get one. Unbelievable!

have you tried a local glass shop or maybe even safelite?

 

[DisasterChick]

have you tried a local glass shop or maybe even safelite?

We got a 2025 Bounder 33c two months ago and haven’t been able to get any warranty work done yet from La Mesa. A lawn mower broke our side living room window and they say there are no windows available and it could take 7 weeks to get one. Unbelievable!

Rev has been a nightmare to deal with, then the dealer has been just as bad. Last thing I had that would have delayed our trip even more was a broken bracket on the passenger side mirror. They send a new mirror assembly, but of course it was the wrong one and it would take 2 months to get the right one. So I said just epoxy the mirror so it doesn't fall off and you can put the new mirror on when we get back....but, nope, they said that would void our warranty and we couldn't get the new mirror....are you kidding me?!?! Thankfully there is one person that works in service that has a brain and he took a clip off another RV and fixed ours. I waited WEEKS for the wrong one, then was told there was nothing they could do about it. The RV industry needs some fresh eyes and attitudes.

 

[Holdmybeer]

Spilled milk, but I would never buy a new RV from a dealer, ever. I bought our 2016 MH in 2021 from an individual who had taken meticulous care of it and had added over $10k in upgrades, including recovering the upholstery from hell Jayco uses. He had undergone the warranty woes and I paid approx half what the MH cost new. Win-win in my opinion. Of course I’ve had the usual issues but nothing I couldn’t handle.

 

[thepopstep]

We purchased a 2025 Fleetwood Discovery XLE 44S motorhome, based on 2 things. 1) floorplan and 2) Freightliner chassis. We have had it for 6 months and it's been inservice for 6 months. 23 yrs of RVing and I understand there are issues, especially the first yr. But.....seriously, are all Fleetwoods this poorly built or did I just get a lemon? I haven't even been able to take a trip......supposed to leave in 3 days, but the side passenger mirror is about to fall off (it's been repaired once already). We purchased from General RV and the service from Rev and General has been horrible. Again, let me mention I've been doing this for 23 yrs, so I know the difference between good, bad and horrible service. My list of repairs, just on the inside, is right at 32 repairs so far. I am trying to be positive about this, but right now that hope is dimming.

Does anyone have these kinds of issues with theirs? Do all the new coaches seem so cheaply built? Please, someone give me hope, because right now, we are hoping to do our usual 4 month summer trip and it's not looking promising!

Man, I really feel for you. Buying a rig like the 2025 Discovery XLE—especially built on a Freightliner chassis—should feel like rolling into RV heaven. Instead, it sounds like you’ve been stuck in warranty purgatory. Six months in the shop? That’s not a shakedown period—that’s a full-on endurance test.

Now, I’ve been around the RV world a while too, and you’re absolutely right—issues in the first year? Sure. We all expect a few rattles, tweaks, maybe a mystery light or two. But 32 interior repairs and a mirror threatening to make a break for it? That’s... a lot. Like, borderline comical if it weren’t so maddening.