new motorhome problems

I guess that we are very fortunate. Knock on wood. We had a Tiffin Allegro Bay for nine years and had very few problems. Loved it from day one. We now have a 2014 Tiffin Phaeton which we have had for two months and have been living in it for the two months and have a very shot list of very minor warranty work. Based on our experience we are very glad that we went with Tiffin again.

If people do not buy new and trade in used ones they are hard to buy. :)

Well....we're extremely happy with our 10 year old Newmar!

tony lee wrote:
All good reasons why astute buyers don't buy brand new, but instead look for low-mileage units a couple of years old that have had all of the problems sorted out by the previous owner - who has also taken the huge hit due to depreciation.

There is a market for every buyer. I always buy new, the depreciation is not an issue as I want to be the first owner. Buying used does not mean that there will be no problems. As a unit ages, items start wearing out and need replacement, especially the house items. Then there are those companies that are no longer in business to buy parts from. For instance, I'm hearing that Aladdin is out of business so no new replacement parts.

As they say in the car business, there is a butt for every seat.

MM.

Wish I had stayed to the tried and true method of 2 to 3 years old. Spent several weeks looking prior to buying the short lived Thor, but found nothing in our range that wasn't worn out or had been owned by a smoker. My three previous units were used and that's what I advise those new to RVing.

All good reasons why astute buyers don't buy brand new, but instead look for low-mileage units a couple of years old that have had all of the problems sorted out by the previous owner - who has also taken the huge hit due to depreciation.

I had this exact experience with fleetwood & the dealer. Went in for 2 main issues (and a few more small issues) and was there a total of 8 weeks.

In the end both were to blame. Fleetwood took weeks just to approve the repairs. Then took a few more weeks to make the parts and ship them out. Then a few more weeks to sort out parts that didnt fit or work. Then by the time they arrived at the dealer the dealer had other rigs in front of me and then repairs began.

Tiffin is not the only company that fixes issues out of warranty. We have seen Forest River and others fix issues past the warranty expiration. Those fixes have not required anyone to spend weeks and even months at the factory.

I drank the koolaid myself. Tiffin has a cult like following even though Tiffin's have more problems than any other manufacturer. I wouldn't buy another one. They have re-designed their roof three times over the past few years using their customers as their guinea pigs. The big three repairs that Tiffin's have required are: Rotting wet bay floors, Roof rail separation and Drivers side floor problems. They kept pumping them out even though they hadn't solved the problems yet. I found their general quality controls very poor also.

The positive things about Tiffin's in my opinion are that they offer a lot for your money, they have great designs inside and out and they stand behind their product and are known to have even fixed things that were out of warranty.

senior-cit wrote:
P.S., The practice of reduced inventory at these factories is one of the main reasons for the hold-ups. Most places have gone to the JIT {just in time} practice to reduce inventory. Good for them, but bad news for us.

This is a great post because it is the only one that is telling the truth. Most big companies decided five years ago when this country was in deep trouble that in order to survive they had to trim down all the excess. Inventories were taken and all surplus was shipped out. The RV industry has not really recovered from those hard days and is still cutting here and there to make ends meet. We can see light at the end of the tunnel, but it has taken a toll on the industry. That is why coaches manufactured ten, twelve years ago were built much better then the ones being built now. Now they are just throwing them together as fast as they can to make up for lost time with no quality control inspectors or very few. I think as the economy keeps coming out of this deep recession the quality will improve and we will not have so many coaches waiting in line for repairs in these facilities.

The RV industry is coming back strong. You can see it on the freeways with the snow birds heading to their winter camp grounds.