Columbus 5th wheel factory support - Page 18

ByronCR · 05-20-2013, 09:56 PM

WOW, That is bad. Definitely tell your dealer that all needs to be replaced. No way I could live with that. Hope it all gets resolved effortlessly for you.

Tim295 · 05-21-2013, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syencer

Looks like water damage behind the wood making it do that!!!

I don't think it's water related, because it is completly random and throughout the unit. There are several places where a cabinet might have 4 to 6 pieces trimming it and only one or two of the pieces are affected.

Tim295 · 05-21-2013, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ByronCR

WOW, That is bad. Definitely tell your dealer that all needs to be replaced. No way I could live with that. Hope it all gets resolved effortlessly for you.

I cringe at the thought of all the separate pieces getting ripped out and replaced by the dealer (not sure if they have the skills or capability) but the alternative is probably more time consuming. The wrinkles can actually be fixed by just pushing it flat with your fingernail. The verneer would have to be punctured (hundreds of times) by a needle to let the air escape. The result would not be 100% cosmetically though.

I guess another fix could be to strip the verneer off in-place and re-apply but that again would be time consuming.

Still no other reports of this type issue?

annamarie · 05-21-2013, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim295

I don't care how they fix it, I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this or had this issue fixed and what they did to get it fixed. Either way it's gonna get fixed under warranty.

here is a pic of one of the many areas affected.

between the two lift up doors above the TV/ent center:

So sorry to see this. I hope you get everything repaired well. Good luck to you.

Geeza42 · 06-08-2013, 08:17 AM

Hi Chris, Have we had improvements made in the quality control department at the factory level prior to the units leaving? I'm dealing with service at the dealership and parts have been on order for 4 weeks or longer and this does not allow me to fully enjoy my camper until fixes are made. Thanks and have a nice day.

tugboat369 · 06-10-2013, 06:40 PM

wow i just red all 345 post. if i had read this befour ordind my 320RS i would have keep my Jayco. well got my unit about 5 weeks ago and have used it 3 times. the first trip eas to a campground near the house and left it there for a shake down. Found 6 minor problems took it back to my dealer and it was done thr next day. They told me 1 day but it took 2 so they gave me a discount on installing the vent covers. Then took it on a 400 mile trip each way for a familey outing. Have now been on a local weekend trip with no problems. I will say that Campers Inn in Mocksville NC is a first class dealer.

Geeza42 · 06-10-2013, 07:42 PM

Tugboat, I'm sure I will get all the fixes done in the near future and will be able to fully enjoy my outings. Like you posted in regards to previous threads, there are several issues that, to me could be resolved prior to leaving the factory. This way the customer is not put out of his/her way dealing with quality issues after the purchase. I know what mine were should have not got out of the factory. On the bright side, it is a comfortable camper and I'm looking forward to trouble free camping. Happy camping!

tugboat369 · 06-10-2013, 08:02 PM

Two if the things that were wrong also should not have left the factory.
1- the vinyl flooring had s wrinkle front to back.
2- bottom shower track was installed backwards

amxpress · 06-11-2013, 05:10 PM

Mine was one if the first Columbus Camper's Inn sold. The tech that did the PDI was learning the features, too. I have not had it back there for any work. We've been out a few times this year with no major problems. We are now really enjoying our 320RS.

Geeza42 · 06-11-2013, 08:55 PM

PDI tech should have knowledge to share with new owner of camper. If a 1st time camper buyer, that would not be a great benefit to them to have an non-informative tech showing the features. We need to have the factory quality control teams insure all rigs are correct before arriving at the dealerships. Several posts I've read seem to indicate this is not happening. I'm a believer that once the issues are resolved, we should be able to enjoy the rigs without having issues continue to pop up.

BuckeyeChuck · 06-14-2013, 08:21 AM

I'm now sure what is meant here by the term Quality Control. If you mean inspection of each unit off the floor for defects in workmanship (100 % inspection) that is not a good way to go. 100% inspection is only 85% effective. So for every 100 defects 15 will get out to the dealer. It's better not to blame Quality Control for not catching the defect but to instruct the assemblers how to do it right in the first place. Granted not all problems are due to poor workmanship some are defects in supplied parts to the factory by outside vendors. These problems should be handled by QC along with spot checks of certain units off the floor. Put the burden of Quality on the people doing the work not on the person who may miss a defect some of witch are hidden.

OldCoot · 06-14-2013, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck

I'm now sure what is meant here by the term Quality Control. If you mean inspection of each unit off the floor for defects in workmanship (100 % inspection) that is not a good way to go. 100% inspection is only 85% effective. So for every 100 defects 15 will get out to the dealer. It's better not to blame Quality Control for not catching the defect but to instruct the assemblers how to do it right in the first place. Granted not all problems are due to poor workmanship some are defects in supplied parts to the factory by outside vendors. These problems should be handled by QC along with spot checks of certain units off the floor. Put the burden of Quality on the people doing the work not on the person who may miss a defect some of witch are hidden.

Agree 100%, the best inspectors are the assemblers in the next station on the assy line. Foremen should be spot checking constantly for assy problems & procedural improvements instead of sitting at desks and trying to look busy. Workers should write the work instructions as they know how to do the job better than a tech writer/industrial engr in the office.

DWK · 06-14-2013, 08:11 PM

Please excuse me if I'm posting to the wrong forum but I need a little help.

Are there any wiring diagrams available for my 2013 Columbus 320RS? It would be very helpful to know the routing of internal and external wires as well as TV coax to bedroom & living room. E.G. Are there wiring raceways or do I have to remove wall board to add/change existing wiring.

Thank you in advance for your help.

__________________
2013 Columbus RS
2012 Ford F-250 CC

joelek · 06-14-2013, 09:19 PM

No service manual, drawings, etc. available to customers. Remove the two wallboard access panels in basement by the water panel area. Then get amazed by the rat nest inside. You have to use the wiring diagrams that come with the owner's manuals for the various features your RV has.

No manuals whatsoever for cable/dish wiring other than black is cable and orange is dish. AC wiring is typical residential Romex style. DC wiring is tons of crimp connectors and random color coded wires. Have fun!

Regarding quality checks........
EVERY rv leaving the factory should have it's systems check to confirm they are operational. Assuming that they are because the employees have been instructed how to do it correctly is plain BS. But lets assume that the factory doesn't do all systems checks and they rely on the dealer to do it for them. So the dealer preps the RV and gets it ready for the PDI. By now EVERY system in the rv should be checked to confirm it works.

To rely on quality is built in at the factory for a quality assurance program is crazy. It obviously doesn't work! The sad fact is there is documented case after case that buyers find systems that don't work on a brand new RV at their PDI.

DWK · 06-14-2013, 10:01 PM

Thank you joelek for the quick response. I was afraid that was the policy. It's unfortunate for those of us that like do it ourselves.

DWK · 06-14-2013, 10:32 PM

Since wiring diagrams are not available, does anyone know if the backup light circuit is carried to the rear of Columbus RS 320?

Or do I need to pick it up at the pin box and run circuit to rear?

joelek · 06-14-2013, 10:33 PM

I'm assuming it is an agreement with dealers to protect their billable service business. I had a mobile tech come out to find out why my water heater did not work on electric. Propane part of water heater was fine however. Basically you have to remove access panels from basement, switch panel from inside rv, and start tracing wires out. No wire numbers and no wiring diagram. All done manually. Granted the tech is a master RV tech so that may explain why they don't need wiring diagrams. Figure it out as you go is the method used instead.

Tim295 · 06-17-2013, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelek

I'm assuming it is an agreement with dealers to protect their billable service business. I had a mobile tech come out to find out why my water heater did not work on electric. Propane part of water heater was fine however. Basically you have to remove access panels from basement, switch panel from inside rv, and start tracing wires out. No wire numbers and no wiring diagram. All done manually. Granted the tech is a master RV tech so that may explain why they don't need wiring diagrams. Figure it out as you go is the method used instead.

What was done to fix the issue - if you don't mind me asking? My new 295RL also does not heat on electric (propane fine).

I'm waiting to take it to the dealer as soon as they let me know the current parts that are on order arrive.

SYE · 06-17-2013, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim295

What was done to fix the issue - if you don't mind me asking? My new 295RL also does not heat on electric (propane fine).

I'm waiting to take it to the dealer as soon as they let me know the current parts that are on order arrive.

Tim, Make sure that you have both switches on there is a switch in the electric switch panel marked water heater Electric and there is also a switch in the bottom left corner ou the outside hot water panel, it is sometimes hard to see. If that does not work then I would say take it in

joelek · 06-17-2013, 09:02 PM

There are 5 main items for getting the water heater to work on electric.
1 = small black switch lower left corner of water heater
2 = thermostat overtemp kickout - push round black buttons in water heater to reset them if they pop.
3 = inline fuse buried on floor behind plumbing access panels in basement/storage
4 = red switch for water heater on electric lights switch panel
5 = circuit breaker for water heater in main breaker panel

ALL of these were good on my rig but still did not work on electric. Propane worked fine however. Problem was two bad crimp connections from factory. One shorted out and one was so loose wire fell out completely. Had to pull water heater to fix them. The wiring was is buried between wall and water heater so the service tech could not get at it from the access panel areas.

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