Photo: DENWERKS / Bring a Trailer
Even the mighty fall, and this couldn’t be truer for the Winnebago. The RV industry leader notified the NHTSA that roughly 4,500 Revel camper vans are affected by a strange problem. This could cause the awning to extend unintentionally while the motorhome is in motion, posing a hazard for the owner and other road users.
Earlier this year, Winnebago popped the champagne to mark the half-million RV built at its production facility in Iowa. It was a watershed moment for an industry that's known an unprecedented boom during the pandemic years. Not surprisingly, the motorhome that got the 500,000-milestone decals was a Winnebago Revel, a Class B motorhome that proved extremely popular with the camper community. To Winnebago’s credit, it was the first manufacturer that sold so many RVs.
But as production was increased to satisfy demand, quality suffered, although this is not necessarily Winnebago’s fault. In early October, a customer complained that the awning on their Winnebago Revel deployed unexpectedly while the motorhome was in motion. Then others followed. Winnebago started an investigation and discovered that the supplier, Carefree of Colorado, was to blame for the defective awnings.
More specifically, Carefree found out that the gearbox housing in their supplied awnings was defective. More specifically, the awnings’ gearbox housing can crack, and when this happens, the brake can be released, causing the awning to deploy. Because the problem could become a distraction and also present a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash, Winnebago decided to notify NHTSA and started looking for a solution. To be sure, Carefree was aware of the problem because the supplier initiated a recall on its own on November 7 for the same issue.
According to Winnebago’s notification to the NHTSA, 4,521 Revel RVs are affected by the problem, all built between June 04, 2020, and November 18, 2022. The previous recall notice filed by Carefree shows that there are 8,000 awnings affected, so other RV manufacturers that used this accessory might also issue a recall. For now, the exact remedy to this problem has not been identified, and the owners are yet to be notified. According to the NHTSA filing, this will happen via a letter planned to be sent on January 6 to dealers and owners of affected vehicles.
But as production was increased to satisfy demand, quality suffered, although this is not necessarily Winnebago’s fault. In early October, a customer complained that the awning on their Winnebago Revel deployed unexpectedly while the motorhome was in motion. Then others followed. Winnebago started an investigation and discovered that the supplier, Carefree of Colorado, was to blame for the defective awnings.
More specifically, Carefree found out that the gearbox housing in their supplied awnings was defective. More specifically, the awnings’ gearbox housing can crack, and when this happens, the brake can be released, causing the awning to deploy. Because the problem could become a distraction and also present a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash, Winnebago decided to notify NHTSA and started looking for a solution. To be sure, Carefree was aware of the problem because the supplier initiated a recall on its own on November 7 for the same issue.
According to Winnebago’s notification to the NHTSA, 4,521 Revel RVs are affected by the problem, all built between June 04, 2020, and November 18, 2022. The previous recall notice filed by Carefree shows that there are 8,000 awnings affected, so other RV manufacturers that used this accessory might also issue a recall. For now, the exact remedy to this problem has not been identified, and the owners are yet to be notified. According to the NHTSA filing, this will happen via a letter planned to be sent on January 6 to dealers and owners of affected vehicles.
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