2008 Fleetwood American Tradition Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2008 Fleetwood American Tradition, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Body & structure125.0%
- Other / unspecified125.0%
- Suspension125.0%
- Tires & wheels125.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Body & structure
Reports naming the vehicle structure, frame, body panels, doors, hood and trim.
From owner reports, verbatim
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FLEETWOOD AMERICAN TRADITION RV. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FRONT END OF THE RV WAS OVERWEIGHT. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE RV'S FRONT AXLE ASSEMBLY WAS BUILT INSUFFICIENTLY, WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO EXCEED THE 14,600 WEIGHT CAPACITY. AN ENGINEER STATED THAT ROUGHLY A DOZEN OF THE VEHICLES WITH FLOORPLANS OF 42C AND 42F WERE AFFECTED BY THE DEFECT. IN ADDITION, THE FRONT CHASSIS IS OVEREXTENDED, WHICH INCREASES THE RISK OF A CRASH IF THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE COLLAPSES. AS OF MARCH 12, 2009, A REMEDY HAS NOT BEEN APPLIED TO RESOLVE THE SAFETY HAZARD; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE NOT APPLICABLE.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Other / unspecified
Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.
From owner reports, verbatim
WE ARE OWNERS OF A 2008 AMERICAN TRADITION 42F MOTORHOME. SINCE PURCHASING THIS MOTORHOME THERE HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WITH THE FRONT END AND THE WEAR OF THE TIRES. THE FRONT END HAS BEEN ALIGNED TWICE IN 6800 MILES. THE FRONT END HAS BEEN WEIGHED BY COLTON TRUCK REPAIR. THE CERTIFIED WEIGHT IS 14740. PER MANUFACTURER THE RECOMMENDED IS GVWR 14600 MAXIMUM WEIGHT. I HAVE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF AMERICAN COACH AND SPARTAN CHASSIS. AS OF THIS TIME, SPARTAN CHASSIS HAS PAID FOR THE WEIGHING OF THE COACH BUT WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OVERWEIGHT OF THE FRONT END OR THE TIRE WEAR. THEY PASS IT ON TO AMERICAN COACH BECAUSE THE AMERICAN COACH STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS REQUESTED THIS SIZE OF FRONT END TO MANUFACTURE THIS MOTORHOME. AS OF THE 2010 AMERICAN COACH, THEY WENT TO A LARGER TIRE AND CHANGED THE FRONT END FOR MORE GVW TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. BUT THEY WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PRIOR YEARS COACHES WITH THE FRONT END THAT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE WEIGHT. I HAVE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION SINCE PURCHASING THIS 2008 MOTORHOME TO BOTH AMERICAN COACH AND SPARTAN TO NO AVAIL. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Suspension
Reports naming suspension components — springs, struts, shocks, control arms and related hardware.
From owner reports, verbatim
WE ARE OWNERS OF A 2008 AMERICAN TRADITION 42F MOTORHOME. SINCE PURCHASING THIS MOTORHOME THERE HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WITH THE FRONT END AND THE WEAR OF THE TIRES. THE FRONT END HAS BEEN ALIGNED TWICE IN 6800 MILES. THE FRONT END HAS BEEN WEIGHED BY COLTON TRUCK REPAIR. THE CERTIFIED WEIGHT IS 14740. PER MANUFACTURER THE RECOMMENDED IS GVWR 14600 MAXIMUM WEIGHT. I HAVE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF AMERICAN COACH AND SPARTAN CHASSIS. AS OF THIS TIME, SPARTAN CHASSIS HAS PAID FOR THE WEIGHING OF THE COACH BUT WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OVERWEIGHT OF THE FRONT END OR THE TIRE WEAR. THEY PASS IT ON TO AMERICAN COACH BECAUSE THE AMERICAN COACH STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS REQUESTED THIS SIZE OF FRONT END TO MANUFACTURE THIS MOTORHOME. AS OF THE 2010 AMERICAN COACH, THEY WENT TO A LARGER TIRE AND CHANGED THE FRONT END FOR MORE GVW TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. BUT THEY WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PRIOR YEARS COACHES WITH THE FRONT END THAT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE WEIGHT. I HAVE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION SINCE PURCHASING THIS 2008 MOTORHOME TO BOTH AMERICAN COACH AND SPARTAN TO NO AVAIL. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Tires & wheels
Reports naming tires, wheels, hubs, or the tire-pressure monitoring system.
From owner reports, verbatim
WE ARE OWNERS OF A 2008 AMERICAN TRADITION 42F MOTORHOME. SINCE PURCHASING THIS MOTORHOME THERE HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WITH THE FRONT END AND THE WEAR OF THE TIRES. THE FRONT END HAS BEEN ALIGNED TWICE IN 6800 MILES. THE FRONT END HAS BEEN WEIGHED BY COLTON TRUCK REPAIR. THE CERTIFIED WEIGHT IS 14740. PER MANUFACTURER THE RECOMMENDED IS GVWR 14600 MAXIMUM WEIGHT. I HAVE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF AMERICAN COACH AND SPARTAN CHASSIS. AS OF THIS TIME, SPARTAN CHASSIS HAS PAID FOR THE WEIGHING OF THE COACH BUT WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE OVERWEIGHT OF THE FRONT END OR THE TIRE WEAR. THEY PASS IT ON TO AMERICAN COACH BECAUSE THE AMERICAN COACH STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS REQUESTED THIS SIZE OF FRONT END TO MANUFACTURE THIS MOTORHOME. AS OF THE 2010 AMERICAN COACH, THEY WENT TO A LARGER TIRE AND CHANGED THE FRONT END FOR MORE GVW TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. BUT THEY WILL NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PRIOR YEARS COACHES WITH THE FRONT END THAT DOES NOT SUPPORT THE WEIGHT. I HAVE BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION SINCE PURCHASING THIS 2008 MOTORHOME TO BOTH AMERICAN COACH AND SPARTAN TO NO AVAIL. *TR
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .