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Old 09-17-2005, 11:54 PM   #1
RJ82much
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After several months, nearly 500 miles of driving to & from dealership, many phone calls, most of the 30 warrantee defects & problems have been delt with. I will begin listing them over the coming weeks.

I wanted to comment on many of the recent posts that have questioned GS quality. Gulf Stream proudly touts the craftmenship of their Amish workforce in Nappanee. I see fine craftmenship in the cabinetry, but I'm not seeing any exceptional quality elsewhere in the unit. Probably 90% of my warrantee items should have been "seen" while building the unit. Other forum members have reported similar occurances. How can "quality craftsmen" NOT notice crooked valences, bubbled veneers, deformed faucets, knife-sliced panels, mislocated toilets, broken screws, staples sticking out of carpeting, & on & on......... ?

The other part of my thoughts concern some of the designs. The electrical systems are well thought out. Kudos to their very conscientious electrical engineer. BUT, holy cow, many mechanical systems seem to have been designed by 8th-grade interns. Examples of this incompetence abound on this forum & others. Again, I question why their "fine craftsmen" are not bringing up some of the gross issues to their supervisors? What sort of culture exists at the factory that overlooks quality defects & offers no recourse on design blunders? Dealers are generally authorized to correct defects, but design lunacy is nearly always the customer problem.

I have been able to exchange a few, short emails or phone calls with various employees (not the "fine craftsmen" though). Most are avid Gulf Stream RVers. How can THEY NOT notice these problems in their units? How can they NOT go to the engineering manager or the factory manager and announce, "Hey, we got a problem!" ????

There, I said it,
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Old 09-19-2005, 09:11 AM   #2
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Kudos!! Well said.
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Old 09-19-2005, 10:56 AM   #3
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Every company has had quality issues. Every company has had design issues. Every SUCCESSFUL (and there are many definitions for that) company listens to the concerns of customers in both of these areas and works toward correction and better versions of products into the future.

What GS does most poorly is the last part. This was most evidenced by them not wanting to field issues from their customer base and subsequently shutting down their user forum. Their desired method of contact is 1-to-1 by telephone so (they feel) they can best contain the public exposure of these deficiencies. They should not be so proud.

This board was created so GS owners could openly discuss these issues. I had hoped that by now, a GS representative would at least become a member, let themselves be known, and at least be a voice into GS on our behalf. This is how other major $ product companies do things online with online communities. C'mon Gulf Stream...show up and answer your customer base! Have some humility...it goes a long way.
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Old 04-29-2006, 08:30 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gsadmin
Every company has had quality issues. Every company has had design issues. Every SUCCESSFUL (and there are many definitions for that) company listens to the concerns of customers in both of these areas and works toward correction and better versions of products into the future.

What GS does most poorly is the last part. This was most evidenced by them not wanting to field issues from their customer base and subsequently shutting down their user forum. Their desired method of contact is 1-to-1 by telephone so (they feel) they can best contain the public exposure of these deficiencies. They should not be so proud.

This board was created so GS owners could openly discuss these issues. I had hoped that by now, a GS representative would at least become a member, let themselves be known, and at least be a voice into GS on our behalf. This is how other major $ product companies do things online with online communities. C'mon Gulf Stream...show up and answer your customer base! Have some humility...it goes a long way.
I just joined this forum so I will show up as a newbie in here! I have my first Gulfstream Sedona 5th wheeler on its way as I type this! I am saddened to see so many people that have issues with Gulfstream products. I know that every manufacturer will have issues and it is how they deal with these issues that sets the good mfg apart from the not so good one. I have actually had a few conversations with someone at GS to try and join their ranks and help them out with some of the issues they seem to be facing. (I was actually talking to them about a sales territory as a factory rep) I have been in my service business for 15 years now and I learned early on that if you don't take care of issues when they arise you will probably not get repeat customers! In todays computer generation we all have the ability to vent immediately via the internet and these forums groups and while that can be good for us to release steam, it is not too good for the mfg involved if their name keeps getting brought up time and again associated with negative customer service.

I am a handyman and will likely try and resolve most of my issues (you see I assume there will be lots) myself. I will involve GS as much as possible for parts if needed but really don't want to drive 2 1/2 hours each way to my dealer for free warranty work if it is something I can do myself in 1 hour. Factor in the cost of fuel and time and you have an expensive free repair. Now if I was fully retired already and time wasn't of an issue........I think I'd still try it myself as then I know how it got built and how it got fixed. I wonder if there aren't a lot of first time RV owners out in our world today that expect way to much from a product derived from a human assembly line? If they computerize the line a lot if not most of the problems will go away....but then they take away all those jobs. This is a win-lose scenario. Also...the added costs of automation would probably mean that they turn out a lot fewer models or at least models with fewer differences to make the assembly floor that much more efficient. I think I would rather they keep their human workforce and learn to build them better with fewer mistakes! I tried deploying my own incentive for my build team at Gulfstream. I had a family photo that I emailed to them and had the sales mgr print it out and write on it "You are building this Sedona for the Olson family". This pic got hung inside the unit on day one and stayed with the unit through the weeklong process. It is my understanding that the line workers liked my idea and hopefully it helped them take a little more care in the build process, knowing the end users!

While typing this to you, I think I have come to the conclusion that I will take some time off and go tour the plants where they make all these different classes of RV's @ GS! Maybe that will be my shakedown trip in my new fiver....then if I have issues I can have them fixed it at that end right away. A few days at their RV park and play a few rounds of golf.... sure sounds good right about now!

My only other disappointment so far has been that while there seem to be a lot of GS owners....this forum is quite inactive!! I am referring back to a post that was put online back in September of last year!!!

Lets warm it up in here folks, in a friendly way! The coffee is on and it is rainy outside....so I am in chat mode!

See 'ya soon!
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Old 05-01-2006, 02:48 PM   #5
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Some of us have been trying to boost livelyness around here. Its been a slow process but its worth continueing. I am booked on the weekends but I figure I can check on things during the week.

I agree with alot of what you had to say. Thanks for the post. Happy Camping.
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Old 05-02-2006, 05:21 PM   #6
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Weeeoooo, coffee's on out in Minnesota!

All 143 of us ready to head out there for this weekend? HaHa, thanks for the idea, Lockdoc..

Generally, we get chatty for a while, then silent for an equal time. Looks like "chatty" is starting up.
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Old 05-02-2006, 06:50 PM   #7
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Good to see some life on here! since I last wrote to you I have been laying in bed sick!! cough cough Oh well......Ist time in a year though!

Thanks for the nice words...although the coffee pot is getting low now! I can always start a fresh pot if any of you should happen by!
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Old 05-03-2006, 12:47 PM   #8
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Chatty is happening because it's actually warm enough for people to consider camping in the north. I was actually in my camper yesterday and didn't freeze bits of my body off.

It's time to camp!!!
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Old 02-05-2009, 08:27 AM   #9
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Good Morning from chilly Florida (27F here in Orlando area). As I said above I am a Newbie, looking at a 2000 GS Tourmaster. I too notice not much activity on the site, especially on this topic. What is the most current evaluation of the GS quality issues? Any specific comments on the 2000 GS Tourmaster and/or Cummins M11 engine
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Old 02-07-2009, 06:27 PM   #10
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I will have to agree with you on most everything you have said. I have a 2004 Gulfstream Sunvoyager and I have had several problems and the one thing that bothered me most is since I was second owner of this motor home with 2000 mile on the clock and only a year old, the factory treated me like a nobody. It had such a bad water leak that the first owner gave up, I bought it thinking I was getting a jewel and found out the first week the bedroom floor was rotted out. The selling dealer did repair it but it took another year for me to get the water leak stopped. Also many of the compartments leaked water through the top. Right now I have a bad bedroom slide out roller and cannot even buy the origional one because they stopped makeing them. I was surprised that in a motor home only 4 years old that you cannot buy a roller for the bedroom. I finally did get one that will work but it shouldn't have been bad anyway. I don't think I will ever buy another motor home because of my age but if I did I don't know if I would give Gulfstream the second chance. Another problem I had and still have is the plastic drawer guide ends keep breaking, I have replaced some of them two times now and it is because they are just too cheaply made. I would think that Gulfstream would have had the fix for this problem before now. I usually end up buying them at Walmart, because that is who has them.. They have a really nice cabinet with nice drawers but then put cheap plastic ends on the guides. Also many have a lot of screws missing. I think my MH must have been built either on Monday or Friday, and the workers were either hung over or wanting to get off to go home.
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Old 02-11-2009, 11:07 AM   #11
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Our TM had a couple of years of minor problems that eventually ironed out. We now travel in what I consider an excellent coach. My friends have Newmars, and we are equal to them in many respects. I would not trade.

Why GS has such a piss poor customer support service is beyond me. I also have had problems with them, which eventually get solved, but should not take the length of time it took.

Overall, I would buy GS again, for what it is worth. But, like Darby, I am to old to consider that option.



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