the worse built motorhome you can think of

OLD Cheap of inexpensive that have been well cared for will look good and have life left in them and old high quality expensive that have not been cared for or other wised trashed will not have any life left in them. Having said that we had a 73 Sightseer that required some work that we used for several years with good service.

Cheap like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

You gotta look if you want old junk to determine if it meets your needs.

shaneperch wrote:
What is the most cheapest terribly built RV out there? the cheapest I ever seen was an Open Road a neighbor had when I lived in NC. are they that cheaply made? or is there a cheaper one? any thoughts?

Excellent question!
While I appreciate the truth that there's a large part of owner care that impacts the current condition, the 'cheaply made' question is relevant when dealing with repairs. Our MH was well cared for and has been a pleasure to own; however, the repairs have been easy to make. There are other MH's that I've seen I'd not want to repair.
So, my opinion is 1) current condition is result of owner care and 2) cheaply made is a good decider between two appearantly equivalent motorhomes.

As to the phrasing of the question . . . I'd probably ask it the same way then think later that I had un-intended results and try to think of a less offensive way to ask it.

Sometimes you can tell how well it's made as far as the house part by looking at the wood, how are the corners finished, are they mitered and do they meet each other. Are all the faucets tight and leak free, or do they move when you use them. Have a friend with a Jayco trailer and the plumbing comes apart when they travel down the road - have had leak after leak in various places in 2 years. How solid are mounted items. In a motorhome, are there seatbelts for the driver and passenger. Some of the old wood framed ones do not have seatbelts because there is nothing of any strength to fasten them to.

Shane, In our houshold we now occasionally discuss a pychological condition that we have named "Fleetwood syndrome". Very early in our RV obsession we were moving up to our first new travel trailer. We found a Fleetwood that seemed to fit our needs, and jumped on this forum to ask about other's experience? We we found a majority of the posters had glowing reports about how wonderful their Fleetwood towables were. The next 30 months of Fleetwood ownership were pure hell. The unit was garbage, the factory support was non-existant, and the dealer was trying hard to continually patch and mend this rolling dumpster. In the end it returned to the factory to have the lower half rebuilt due to extreme rot, and mold, caused by defective cargo doors. Fleetwood was well aware of the issue, but hope that they could cut their warranty in half, and hope that owners discovered the issue after it was too late.

the point of all this is that "Fleetwood syndrome" is just a way to express the condition that many suffer from which causes them to defend and justify whatever decisions they have made. It got soo bad that during our ownership I would call out members here who would whine about what a POS their Fleetwood towable is, yet jump on another post and suffer from a bad case of the syndrome, telling some other poor mope to rush down to their local dealer and buy one. Fortunately, Fleetwood's towable division suffered a well deserved death during the recession, and they can no longer harm the public. That said, this post will certainly generate a response or two about how wonderful somebody's Fleetwood is. The same poster may have suffered from all kinds of expensive problems directly attributable to the total lack of quality control and garbage construction quality that the brand was famous for, but they convienently forget about all that when their ego gets in the way.

Bottom line is that we all have our own version of the truth. Some folks here make a decision, suffer greatly due to their poor choices, but think nothing of given a very shaded version of their experience. Your harmless question about the worst motorhome tends to bring the most sensitive of the lot running toward their keyboards. It's no different than making the mistake of joining the board for some help after a dealer and or manufacturer is really giving you a good screwing on your new RV purchase. Many will spend the time to call you a liar, troll, or do anything you can to discredit your experience.... not that they have a clue what the truth actual is, but they need to defend their delicate egos. Sad, but it is what it is.

shaneperch wrote:
..... no one ever received a nasty response on audio forums when someone asked about what is junk. here I get negative posts. why is it different with motor homes versus stereo gear???? Am I missing something??......

If you have to ask what the difference between MH's and stereo gear is, I'd have to say yes you ARE missing something here.

I remember when I got my Superior, That was an ugly motorhome and I was told that quite often. I like the looks of most motorhomes. there are a couple that I look at and ask "what where they thinking?" abut most I see good points to their looks. My favorite looking MH I have to say is a Vogue. I love that front grill. I really like the lines on the open road class "A" built in the 70s. I also love the Winnebagos built in the late 70s and early 80s like the Elandon. I want an Elandon.

Well there you go, you have your answer you like the Elandon and you want an Elandon. Ask RV'ers that OWN an Elandon! :B

It was a valid question IMO.

I think where the rub comes in is some enjoy working/looking on/at their rigs more then they enjoy using them. Once you start going cross country or spending more then 3 nights in them then the question of poor quality, poor construction, and poor maintenance starts to really become a major factor in your life and pocketbook.

Good question from a new member on limited RV budget who wants to get good in his new hobby due to his planning on using his Class A for what it was really designed to do. You just keep asking those questions and don't let the "driveway queens" ruffle your feathers.

rockhillmanor wrote:
uy 10 new identical motor homes. Give them to 10 different people.......

Reminds me of a review on cars I saw in Consumer's reports.

In the case of the one I found one was a Ford, and the other a Mercury.

They panned the ford, citing poor heater performance, poor leg room and more.

They praised the Mercury, including both heater performance and leg room.

Now. what I know, having owned one of those cars. is that the two cars they were paning/praising were IDENTICAL save for the paint job.

100% parts interchangability (Save for the name tag) between them.

NO difference in leg room or heater.

A friend of mine saw the same thing in another review with two GM cars.

Sort of .... Exactly what you are saying about RV's. Only folks buy cars (or not) based on CR.

Of course I do not trust CR, I mean it is not like they have not pushed products which are downright dangerous and could easily kill people like me... oh wait.. they did, just that.

I remember when I got my Superior, That was an ugly motorhome and I was told that quite often. I like the looks of most motorhomes. there are a couple that I look at and ask "what where they thinking?" abut most I see good points to their looks. My favorite looking MH I have to say is a Vogue. I love that front grill. I really like the lines on the open road class "A" built in the 70s. I also love the Winnebagos built in the late 70s and early 80s like the Elandon. I want an Elandon.

rockhillmanor wrote:
Your theory on knowing all about a "manufacturer" of an RV to help you buy a MH is seriously flawed.

Buy 10 new identical motor homes. Give them to 10 different people.

Wait 5 or 6 years.....and you will find 10 motor homes in various stages of cleanliness, some in need of repair and some not in need of repair and probably 1 or 2 that still look and run like brand new.

It is HOW an owner takes care of an RV that is the answer to your question. Not the name of the maker of an RV.

This is about the best answer to the question as I've heard on this thread.

WoodGlue

shaneperch wrote:
Well how do I like it, that a Prevost a Foretravel ETC is better than my HR? I DEAL WITH IT!!!!!! get over yourself. And who cares how long I have been on a forum?? I have owned buses or a motorhome since I was 29. And furthermore I am sure that there is "the cheapest terribly built rv out there.

Many People do not admit to problems with MHs. They have emotional attachments to the house and the brand. People do not get emotionally attached to stereos, and gadgets the same way.

Tiffin is one of the top loved brands on this or any forum. Things like the fact that many years of MHs were sold where the roofs cracked and wet bays rotted do not stop this devotion to this brand.

There are other devotees of other brands. Even really poor manufacturers owners love their home on wheels. It is home sweet home plus an escape to anywhere. This makes it VERY difficult to determine good brands and bad brands, but you will find out when you called some ones baby ugly I can guarantee that. :E