When we picked up our Noovo in April, we were ready. No one had yet made an inspection checklist, so I put one together, giving it a test run before sharing it with the Noovo community. (You can see the current checklist here.)
We found 19 problems. Some we found on Pick-up Day. Others we found in the days that followed.
19 problems are a lot of problems. Maybe a shockingly number of problems to someone new to RVs, and maybe a turn-off to new buyers. But not to us. We had done our homework and had acquainted ourselves with the embarrassing lack of quality control at Winnebago, the abysmal construction over at Tiffin, with the seemingly complete lack of care in building vans (and trailers, and truck campers, and Class Cs, and Class As) throughout the RV industry. Noovo stood out from this crowd in that they seemed to care, they seemed to build vans at a much higher level of quality.
With our blog here at Noovango we want to be honest. We don’t have a business relationship with Noovo (aside from being a customer), so we are free to list every fault we found in our van. However, this list is also for Noovo, as a real-world quality check, so they can see how QC issues look from the customer’s point of view. Honesty and high standards are good for the customer and good for the manufacturer.
So what problems did we find? Here is the list of everything we’ve found and how the issues were resolved or are being addressed.
On Pick-up Day
#1
Traces of lubricant on the van
Problem: There was some shiny lubricant smeared around the exterior power plug, and that same lubricant smeared around the solar port on the other side of the van.
Resolution: Paul (head of manufacturing) came out and cleaned those areas.
#2
Excess lubricant on bed rails
Problem: The bead rails had apparently been squeaking, so Noovo had lubricated the rails. However, it was a very hot day, and the lubricant was dripping out of the bottom of the rails onto the seat cushions. Also, there were ring marks from the lubricant’s container on two places elsewhere on the cushions.
Resolution: Paul (head of manufacturing) came out and cleaned those areas.
#3
Scratch on exterior paint
Problem: Lori noticed a faint scratch in the Ram paint between the solar port and the external power plug.
Resolution: Paul touched up the paint—I looked while he was working, but was unable to see the scratch.
#4
Lounge window not locking properly
Problem: During our walkthrough with Sloan, he noticed that one of the rear windows was not locking as it should—it was off by a small amount and would appear closed, but wasn’t fully seated.
Resolution: Noovo said they would adjust the window, but while Lori and I were returning our rental car to the airport, they replaced the whole window instead.
#5
Starlink not working
Problem: My Starlink app could not see the van’s Starlink.
Resolution: We gave up trying to solve the issue while at Noovo. Later, at the campground, we suffered through Starling’s awful AI-based customer service bot (which had all the wrong answers). The correct solution (found by old-fashioned Googling) was to remove a back plate to explore a hard reset port and use a paper clip to reboot the unit.
Issues discovered after Pick-up Day
#6
Cabinet lock reversed
Problem: One of our cabinets opened while driving, spilling its contents on the floor. Upon inspection, Lori saw that the locking mechanism had been installed in an incorrect orientation.
Resolution: Using a screwdriver from the Noovo swag bag, she removed and reinstalled the lock.
#7
Window shade defective
Problem: One of the snaps on the passenger-side window shade was deformed and could not be snapped closed.
Resolution: Noovo sent us a replacement shade via mail, but I had made a mistake and had told them the wrong shade to send. When we visited HQ in early May, Henry gave me a replacement set of shades.
#8
Fuse box cover not latching
Problem: Our fuse cover door would fall open every time we hit a bump. It would seem to latch properly, but when I looked more carefully, the latch hook was partially broken or defective.
Resolution: Noovo mailed us a new fusebox cover, which I easily installed in five minutes.
#9
The ceiling fan cover won’t stay up
Problem: Noovo gave us a fan cover for the galley’s MaxAir fan, but it wouldn’t “stick” to the frame. I could feel the magnets through the cover’s fabric.
Resolution: Noovo diagnosed the problem as missing magnets in the fan assembly. They sent magnetic strips that installed easily (by unscrewing the fan’s frame, attaching the magnetic strips, then reattaching the frame).
#10
Mystery hole in the floor next to the passenger seat
Problem: We found a strange circular hole in the floor, next to the passenger seat. We could see foam.
Resolution: Noovo said this was a Ram issue, and all of the vans had the same round hole. They plugged it with a plastic cap during our visit to HQ.
#11
The upper pantry slide-out seems very loose
Problem: Our upper pantry seems to wobble more than I think it should. It is built with the usual rails, but I couldn’t get it to unlock in order to take the pantry out to look for loose screws. The lower pantry is rock-solid.
Resolution: Henry inspected and tested the pantry and said that the looseness was normal and not to worry. I’m keeping an eye on it.
#12
Rear bug screen
Problem: Our rear bug screen was misinstalled. When rolled down, it was quite obvious that the magnetic strips were too far apart in the middle and would not close..
Resolution: Noovo adjusted the screen during our visit to HQ.
#13
Mattress too short
Problem: Our mattress is supposed to be an RV Short Queen size (about 60”x75”) but our was about 70-inches long. That makes a big difference since I am six feet tall!
Resolution: Noovo didn’t have any correctly cut mattresses available when we visited HQ but they mailed us a new mattress.
#14
Clear plastic top shelf brackets in the refrigerator door are broken
Problem: Lori found two broken clear plastic pieces in the fridge, which appear to be brackets for the top shelf in the door.
Resolution: Allen at Noovo shipped new brackets to us.
#15
Shower fan cover detached
Problem: At a stop while on the road, Lori noticed the black cover for the shower fan was sitting askew on the roof. We soon discovered that it was attached at all—it was just sitting there. The screws were missing. Later, at home, we saw that one of the screw holes had been stripped.
Resolution: Noovo sent us a new fan assembly (the entire fan) and scheduled a mobile tech. Over the next day or two, I investigated the issue and decided I did not like the MaxAir fan design and modified it with more robust connectors. I fixed it myself and asked Noovo to cancel the tech appointment. See this post for more details.
#16
Rixen Screen replacement
Problem: Every once in a while, our Rixen screen would not wake up or would behave oddly.
Resolution: Rixen immediately shipped a new screen, which I installed. See this post for more details.
Unresolved issues
Three issues remain unresolved, all involving a visit to an auto body shop. Noovo identified a body shop for me to do the work but I have been too busy with other matters to have these final items fixed. Noovo told me that whenever I’m ready, they will take care of everything.
#17
Leak in the back doors
Problem: Our rear doors leak, but seemingly not in real-world conditions. The gap is right at the top of the rear, where the doors meet, immediately under (and protected by) the overhanging instrument cluster. In natural rain (at least what we have experienced so far) no rainwater gets in the van. If I spray water (say from a self-serve car wash) up into that area, however, water does get through and in worrying quantities.
Status: Noovo attempted to adjust teh doors on a visit to HQ but the leak persisted. No waiting for me to find time to drop the van off for repair.
#18
Plastic fender trim
Problem: One of the little plastic clips that attaches the plastic trim of the rear fender (passenger side) is loose and will not clip back into place.
Status: Now waiting for me to find time to drop the van off for repair.
#19
Cut in metal, just above the rear window
Problem: There is a small cut in the metal of the rear door, likely from some rotary power tool. The cut is neat and clean, but all the way through, with bare metal showing at the cut.
Status: Now waiting for me to find time to drop the van off for repair.
So, 19 problems. Most are trivial, five-minute repair sorts of problems. A couple, such as the rear door leak and the loose rain cover for the fan, are more challenging. In each case Noovo has been willing, even eager, to fix things. The shipped parts, they scheduled a mobile tech, and fixed issues on our van the day after the Open House when we didn’t have an appointment.
Are 19 problems too many problems? Probably. But it also depends on your comparison point. Before we bought the Noovo we were also looking at the Tiffin GH1, the Winnebago Ekko, and others, and I spent many hours on their customer forums, observing the number and nature of the problems on those units. I have good comparison points to our Noovo. Today, after these 19 problems, when I peek back into the GH1 or Ekko forums, or any other RV forum, I say to myself, “Thank god I didn’t buy one of those other vans.”