2004 Fleetwood Advantage

THIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED BASED ON ODI'S RECEIPT OF A CONGRESSIONAL LETTER ON BEHALF OF A CONSTITUENT.THE CONSTITUENT REPORTED INCIDENTS WHERE THE SLIDE OUT ROOM OF HIS MOTOR HOME WOULD INADVERTENTLY MOVE (EXTEND) DURING HIGHWAY USE.ODI WAS CONCERNED THAT A FULLY EXTENDED SLIDE OUT WOULD DEGRADE THE VEHICLE'S DYNAMIC HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS AND/OR POSSIBLY IMPACT AN OBJECT OR ANOTHER VEHICLE, RESULTING IN A CRASH.ODI CONTACTED FLEETWOOD AND DISCOVERED THAT SLIDE OUT ROOMS WERE INSTALLED IN MOTOR HOMES, TRAVEL TRAILERS AND FOLDING TRAILERS. AS PART OF THE INVESTIGATION ODI VISITED A RV SHOW AND THE FLEETWOOD PAXINOS PLANT TO EXAMINE SLIDE OUTS IN VARIOUS NEW MAKE AND MODEL VEHICLES AND GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE SYSTEMS WORK.DURING THE INVESTIGATION ODI LEARNED THAT THERE ARE TWO METHODS USED TO EXTEND SLIDE OUT ROOMS.SOME MANUFACTURERS USE HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS AND OTHERS, SUCH AS FLEETWOOD, USE AN ELECTRIC MOTOR. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 2)

1. WE WERE RETURNING TO SC FROM FL ON JAN 20, 2007 TOWING A FLEETWOOD 36' 5TH WHEEL RV. WE WERE ALMOST HOME (2MILES AWAY) WHEN I FELT THE TRUCK STARTING TO LEAN TO THE RIGHT. I LOOKED IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR AND SAW THE ENTIRE TRAILER LURCH TO THE RIGHT, STOP AND LURCH TO THE LEFT APPROXIMATELY 20 DEGREES. I STOPPED, LOOKED AND COULD SEE NOTHING WRONG. WE COMPLETED THE TRIP VERY SLOWLY TO OUR HOME WHERE THE UNIT IS KEPT. 2. THE FOLLOWING DAY I CLIMBED UNDER THE TRAILER AND DISCOVERED THAT ALL THE "TRUSSES" SUPPORTING THE MAIN SIDE-TO-SIDE FRAME HAD SNAPPED. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE REAR CROSS MEMBERS. THE METAL WAS ACTUALLY RIPPED AWAY FROM THE MAIN SIDE PARALLEL FRAMES. THE TWO PARALLEL MAIN FRAMES, WERE NO LONGER PARALLEL. THE COACH HAD MOVED ABOUT 2 INCHES TOWARD THE RIGHT (PASSENGER) SIDE. TIRES WERE RUBBING ON THE COACH AND THE FRAME. 3. I SENT AN ENTIRE PACKAGE TO FLEETWOOD CUSTOMER RELATIONS IN RIVERSIDE, CA AND HAVE A RECEIPT THAT THEY RECEIVED IT. THEY LOST IT. AFTER 30 DAYS I SENT ANOTHER PACKAGE, COMPLETE WITH PICTURES, TO FRAN HOFFA, FLEETWOOD, CRAWFORDSVILLE IN. AFTER NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS, SHE SAID THAT THE FRAME MANUFACTURER WAS SENDING AN EXPERT OUT TO INSPECT IT. TWO DAYS LATER A WELDER SHOWED UP AND TOLD ME HE WAS GOING TO WELD THE TWO SIDES TOGETHER. I ASKED HIM HOW HE WAS GOING TO MAKE THE TWO MAIN FRAMES PARALLEL AND HE SAID HE WASN'T, HE WAS JUST GOING TO WELD MORE SUPPORTS. I TOLD HIM TO RETURN TO GA AND NOT TO TOUCH MY TRAILER. THE FRAMES WOULD NOT BE PARALLEL, THE COACH WOULD NOT BE ATTACHED (IT CAN'T BE NOW) AFTER SLIDING TO ONE SIDE. COMPLAINTS TO FRAN HOFFA, WHO APPARENTLY IS IN A DECISION-MAKING POSITION, FELL ON DEAF EARS. FLEETWOOD IS NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING. THIS TRAILER IS NOT ROAD WORTHY, IT CAN'T BE MOVED AND IF THIS EVENT HAD HAPPENED ON I 95, TWO HOURS BEFORE IT HAPPENED, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE DEAD. I STILL OWE ABOUT @20,000.00 ON THIS UNIT AND IT CAN'T BE MOVED. IT'S A TOTAL LOSS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10189391

Incident

Jan 20, 2007

SAMSUNG MICROWAVE RECALL 03E044 & 04E031. MICROWAVE APPARENTLY HAS SUFFERED MORE DAMAGE THAT IS NOT COVERED BY THIS RECALL AND SAMSUNG IS SUGGESTING THAT I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OTHER PARTS AND LABOR THAT IS NECESSARY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10188587

Incident

Feb 27, 2007

DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE CROSS MEMBERS ON 2004 WILDERNESS -ADVANTAGE FIFTH WHEEL TRAILER AT THE KINGPIN LOST 5 OR 6 BOLTS THAT CONNECTED THE FRONT END CAP TO THE CHASSIS. THEY BROKE OFF, AND ONE SIDE WAS WEAK. VEHICLE WAS GOING IN FOR REPAIR TOMORROW. BUT THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME THAT THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED IN THE LAST 10 MONTHS. THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT OCCURRED ON 7-28-05.*AK

NHTSA ID

10133882

Incident

Jul 28, 2005

WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH REAR DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT. AS A RESULT, CONSUMER ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE. *AK THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THE RESULT OF THE TIRE BLOWOUT WAS OPERATION FOLLOWING A LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE. *TC

NHTSA ID

10097756

Incident

Oct 10, 2004

Mileage

989 mi