dougrainer wrote:
1. RVIA sets certain standards. They do NOT signify or quantify QUALITY. The RVIA seal is NOT about QUALITY
2. Lets talk quality. How about ALL the SAFETY recalls out there in the Automotive world????????
3. Yes, If you disassemble almost all RV's there will be things that would surprise you. These are NOT cookie cutter built RV's. They are NOT built like Automobiles.
4. The OP's complaint is valid, but just using a $10 can of spray foam would have fixed his problem, NOT spending $500 and all that time and labor. I KNOW this because I have been a Dealer Service Tech for Tiffin for 35 years and have fixed dozens of Tiffins with the OP's complaint. You just have to know where and how to install the foam and silicone. You do not have to spend more than 1 hour doing this including test drives.
5. I AGREE that quality has suffered in the RV building process. I have been involved in RV's for 40 years. 5 building them (towables and motorhomes) and 35 years as a Tech fixing them. They are much more complicated and have so many more features than just 25 years ago.
6. People ask me if I own an RV. NO, I work on them and the idea of spending my free time fixing MINE does not appeal to me.
7. I will state that IMO, the most satisfied class of RV'ers are fulltimers or RV'ers that use the unit more than 6 months a year. WHY?
Because they USE the RV on a daily basis and find all those small problems that always seem to happen on each trip in the first few months of ownership. They find and get those problems fixed and then enjoy the rest of their RV'ing. The biggest complaints we get are the occasional user that forgets and has no idea how the systems work, because they do not USE the RV enough.
8. I will bet if you really looked at complaints, a LOT of issues have nothing to do with the OEM builder, but the Appliances. Appliances are not built by the OEM, but people group those type problems with the OEM complaints. CHASSIS items rarely are the fault of the OEM RV builder, but get looped in with the overall complaints. Doug
I think it is great that Doug takes the time to post on this forum. I agree with everything he said. My parents full timed. They used their rig, and the only problems they had was wearing things out.
It took me more than an hour just to figure out where the screws were! So, Doug was spot on with that one as well. There is a lot to be said for experience. A can of spray foam would have fixed the hot air blowing on my foot. But, it would have done nothing to help hide the engine noise, or reduce the temperature of the dog house, or get rid of the nasty, dirty OEM carpet. At least, those are the benefits I am hoping to deliver to my DW. But, in taking this thing apart, you can not help but be a little disappointed in what you uncover.
