Couple Drops Over $220K on New RV Only To Watch It Shake Like a Leaf While Driving

Folks, this story is one we've seen all too often these days: you go out and buy a new motorhome, only to see it start falling apart at the seams after a couple or even the first trip you take with it. Well, that's precisely what happened in Casey and Jason's case when they decided to purchase a new 2024 Fleetwood Fortis 36Y for themselves, three kids, and pets.

This story begins with the couple in the video below, Casey and Jason, when they decided to upgrade their current on-road adventure machine with something a bit bigger and suitable for much more than just a few days a year on the road; they're spending over 60 days a year on the road, nearly triple what the average American sees in the same time. They've also owned numerous other units before this one, so they're by no means new to this game.

Now, after purchasing the 2024 Fortis 36Y, the family decided to take a short trip to get a feel for things before embarking upon a much longer cross-country adventure in the US. A short trip means somewhere around 30 miles away from their pickup point. After parking their unit, unraveling the slideouts, and getting situated for the next day or so, Jason heard the sound of flowing water coming out of the unit.

Lo and behold, water was flowing out of one of the bathrooms, into the engine bay, and all down the side; we all know what water damage means to an RV or motorhome. The problem? A stuck foot pedal for one of the toilets. Not thinking much of it, the family cleaned things up and continued their stay, but when it was time to go, an all too common problem struck the family: the slideouts wouldn't go in. Those of us who are aware of the problems that can strike RVs with slideouts know that this is often a sign of structural damage. This last issue took over eight hours to fix with a technician on the phone, causing the family to miss one of their son's baseball games.

But, then came the moment of the cross-country trek, and this is where things get really juicy, literally: water was spotted on the dashboard and coming in from the driver's side top left corner - you're going to have to stick around to see what the problem was - so clearly this unit ended up in the care of their dealer shortly after. This water intrusion also happened every time it rained.

Nonetheless, whatever the dealership may have done to the unit was clearly not fixed - maybe they just recorded the issues - and on that longer journey, these issues continued to happen. There were three more floods in the unit, and the slides kept getting stuck each time, so Jason had to reset the system. They started having problems with their hot water during these first trips, too, and even the driver-side mirror loosened up all the time. But, they had grown accustomed to working with these seemingly minor issues; they clearly weren't.

During the first year of use and by month seven, the couple was taking their fourth trip and heading toward Montana with the check engine light turned on and were forced to pull off to the right and get things fixed. After purchasing a code reader and using it to find out what was wrong, Jason discovered five or so issues that needed tending to before the Fortis would be ready to move again. This venture took over two days to fix and included ignition coils, spark plugs, wiring, and a few others.

But, on their way home, something started to happen that I'd never seen before, and I've been on a few cross-country trips in big rigs myself: the dashboard started to shake like something it was in an earthquake. While I can't show you a photo of the movement, the video below shows exactly what was going on. Oh, it was even enough to trigger buttons and shut off systems in the RV...while driving!

That's when the couple started to notice the walls beginning to separate from the superstructure and even screws breaking through the walls and other membranes in their new RV. They also noticed that this was also where their leak was coming from. So, upon inspecting the issue, Jason found the shock of his life: an entire piece of wood trim was missing from the build. Diving even deeper, he found separations between the sheet metal and superstructure of about an inch, and he could even push and pull on this section with his bare hands.

With their motorhome falling apart, it was time to take action because the more they drove this thing, the more it fell apart, even going as far as being a road hazard. In all, the video from Liz Amazing shows a list of over 50 problems with this Fortis by the time they made it back to a dealership for one last "What's going on," and after showing the damage and missing pieces from the unit, even the general manager of the dealership got involved and explained to the couple that this is something that they can't fix, "This has to go back to the manufacturer."

But, before it did, Jason found a piece of trim in the unit, somewhat "covering up" an already-existing gap in the walls, that had no business being in the unit in the first place; it was not a stock item, leading Jason to believe that someone put it in there with purpose, details that were verified with the general manager, a gentleman with over 20 years of experience. Looking deeper, after seven months of use, rains, separating panels and walls, and wildly mobile dashboards, mold had finally made its way into the Fortis.

Currently, the unit is at a Fleetwood center being repaired, yet the couple doesn't want a fixed unit, as they have no way of verifying that all these issues were tended to - they're not RV engineers, much like the majority of us - and asked for a complete buyback or a trade-in for another model of the same class, floorplan, and value as what they initially purchased as new. So far, their request has been denied, and upon involving Liz Amazing, radio silence still.

What do you feel should happen from here? Should Fleetwood take it back and reimburse the couple in full or trade it in for a new unit, or at least give a partial reimbursement usable toward the purchase of a new RV? Should they just stick true to warranty guidelines? Feel free to comment below.

PS. Get an RV inspection before signing the papers, even if the unit is new.