Fleetwood Homes
We suggest that you NOT buy....Learn from our Mistake!
Here is our experience.
We bought a Fleetwood from a dealer in Woodburn Oregon. We purchased a Green Hill XLE Series Model 4604P 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1599 square feet. We added a "Pod" with a Coleman wood burning fireplace. The pod added about 280 square feet extra which brought the total to 1879 square feet.
We have requested repairs, and or replacement that have in some cases been ignored. Telephone calls to their Customer Service voice mail have not been returned. Certified letters to the District Service Manager have had no response and the request to remove the Fireplace because of fire hazard have been ignored. Repeated requests to remove the fireplace because of fire danger have been ignored. (see update)
First problems:
Setup crew or Factory on delivery or setup damaged the plastic bottom cover. Their were about 10 rips about 2-5 inches long and one huge rip about 6 feet long that let all of the insulation fall out from the bottom of the home. They made a very poor attempt at repairs...with tape, which came loose. It also exposed the bottom floor rafters to pests including field mice, chipmunks etc. that try to make a home in the under floor insulation. (corrected ) Boards were nailed over the rip but still a gap of about 5 inches shows to the floor boards where they still have not replace the insulation.
They also did not securely attach the Furnace duct work to the flanges under the home......they soon came off and were laying on the ground. When the furnace came on it blew one furnace duct off so most of the heat was going outside the home. (This was causing the air inside the house to be pumped outside causing a " 0 " or negative pressure inside the house) Where does the replacement air come from you ask? Down the fireplace chimney and into the house. Bring with it smoke.
We discover this when we tried to light a fire in the fireplace.......all of the smoke came back into the house made the smoke alarms go off and made the wall black with smoke. (Still not corrected) We can not use our fireplace. We used it only four times total and each time our house fills with smoke. One time in the morning when we woke up their was ash all the way (6 inches) ONTO THE CARPETS....from the hearth.
I told them this was a fire hazard, but still nothing was or has been done to fix it. I was told that this is a problem with Many homes and they are trying to resolve the Issue.....?
We found that when the furnace came on the smoke would roll back into the house like a tidal wave. (Fleetwood says," You need to open a window while you are using the fireplace...)
Our furnace Duct work problem was fixed but the smoke problem had not entirely gone away. Corrected 01/20/2003
We still had a smoke problem when the furnace came on, although it was not nearly as bad as it was with the furnace duct disconnected.
Doors both interior and exterior doors were out of adjustment and some would not close.
The main door entrance, exterior carpeting and EPDM was cut in transit or setup, repaired .
Dinning Room window 1" out of square. repaired.
We were told Drywall cracking is normal, they repaired most on setup inspection. Others still have not been fixed.
The Master bedroom closet interior walls were about 1/2-3/4 inch difference where the door meets the wall, they have tried to hide it with a molding, but it still shows........
Drywall contractor made some repairs but now Overspray is on everything in the entire house. (windows, countertops, toilet, etc.) Never cleaned up.
Bathroom sink came out of the base and the bottom dropped out of one of the kitchen drawers.
Fireplace Update
We contacted the fireplace manufacture (Coleman) for Tech help. They were very helpful. We on the phone with them 4 hours! I checked re-checked ...got under the house to check the fireplace intake vent...... every thing was fine.
Coleman suggested that a leak in the furnace duct work could cause a Zero or negative pressure in the house. They also sent a chimney extension and suggested that a longer chimney would create a better draft.
Fireplace Update
When the Fleetwood repair guy showed up.. I asked him to install the new chimney extension...he would not ...saying that it was already the correct length.
Fireplace Update
Fleetwood removed the built-in fireplace. Repaired the wall and ceiling but left a big corner area without carpet! Sub-floor shows where the fireplace was.....Fleetwood reimbursed us for what we paid to have the fireplace installed.
Once again...We have requested repairs, and or replacement that have been ignored. Telephone calls to their Customer Service and voice mail to our rep have not been returned.
Note: We bought a wood burning stove (Regency) It is great!
We no longer have a smoke problem!
More to come! We plan on taking fleetwood to court for the replacement of the carpets that they never replaced...and still have not responded to.
Please, we would like to hear from you and your experiences with Fleetwood Homes Inc. Are you having warranty Problems?
Do you have a FIREPLACE that is not working correctly?
We Want to know!
Click on Forum or Guestbook below and tell us in detail and please leave your contact so we can update you or check back here and update your experiences.
Do you know of any other sites like ours? Please post the links here!
Also see:
http://www.thesqueakywheel.com/complaintlist.cfm?ID=2762&TheType=Complaint
http://www.taismho.com/ftc/brand_listing.html
www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/ 2005%20documents/05me94se.htm
http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_other_issues/001330.html
http://www.complaints.com/february2003/complaintoftheday.february24.4.htm
www.law.fsu.edu/library/ flsupct/sc03-134/op-sc03-134.pdf
http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2006/041466-1.htm
bravenet.com