GREENSBORO, N.C. — Ed and Sue Atwood were in the market for an RV a few years ago. The couple looked around and settled on a Winnebago Mini Plus. The trailer certainly had plenty of bells and whistles and was plenty big if family or friends were joining them.
“We bought it to camp with our daughter and grandchildren,” Ed Atwood said.
If you’re a bit new to the RV trailer craze, just know that these giant houses on wheels are not cheap. Really nice ones can cost well into the six figures. The trailer the Atwoods purchased had slide-outs on both sides and came with a full kitchen, living room, and fireplace.
“Everything was great. We loved it,” Sue Atwood said.
The Atwoods said they used the trailer six to seven times during the next couple of years. There were some problems with it but nothing serious. The weather stripping on the roof had to be fixed or redone in a few areas. Sue said some other cosmetic stuff needed to be repaired as well, but it was working out fine.
Then after a trip, one of the slides for the kitchen didn’t work. It seemed like the slide was getting stuck on the floor inside. The Atwoods took it to the dealership where they bought it to see the problem.
“I noticed the floor was chipping. It had torn the linoleum,” Ed Atwood said.
The Atwoods said the trailer was at the dealership for several months. While they thought it was unusual, they weren’t overly concerned since it wasn’t camping season. When they finally spoke with a service technician, the Atwoods were told the cost to repair the trailer would be around $15,000.
“I can’t tell you how frustrating this has been,” Sue Atwood said.
The frustrating part was mainly because the trailer came with a lifetime warranty and Atwood had brought it back to the dealership every year to be inspected. What they would later learn is that the lifetime warranty doesn’t cover everything, and the inspection done every year was just the roof.
“I don’t know what is under warranty and what’s not,” Sue Atwood said.
The damage was caused when water had seeped into the subflooring on one of the slide-outs. The weather stripping had apparently deteriorated in some places and allowed the water to get in. The wood floors were swollen and ruined.
“We thought they inspected the whole camper. We didn’t know they only inspected the roof,” Ed Atwood said.
The couple reached out to WFMY News 2 for some help in the matter. We contacted the dealership and Winnebago. A representative for the manufacturer was willing to investigate the problem and see if anything could be done to help.
The Winnebago representative got back to us a few days later and let us know the trailer came with a one-year warranty and unfortunately, it had been more than three years. He was, however, willing to see if it could help with the repairs to try and save the Atwoods some money.
We also contacted the dealership to see if anything could be done. The dealership sympathized with the Atwoods but told WFMY News 2 that the damage was not covered under the warranty.
The dealership was, however, willing to cut the cost of the repairs so the bill wouldn’t be as big.
“Because of you, we got it settled, if it hadn’t been for you, they wouldn’t have done anything,” Sue Atwood said.
The Atwoods said they learned a valuable lesson when it comes to warranties. While a warranty can benefit and provide protection if an item or part breaks, in many cases, not all parts are covered.
If you are considering paying for a warranty on a car, trailer, refrigerator, or whatever, just make sure you know exactly what is covered and don’t assume anything.