wny_pat wrote:
I don't know what building codes you are familiar with, but the RV industry is required to follow RVIA ANSI-Accredited Standards Developer - RVIA is an accredited standards developer (ASD) by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), New York. RVIA sponsors and is currently accredited to manage the following standards: ANSI/RVIA 12v, Low Voltage Systems in CV & RVs 12V; ANSI/TSIC-1(R2013), Process Control for Assembly of Wheels on Trailers; ANSI/RVIA EGS-1, Engine Generator Sets for RV Safety Requirements; ANSI/UPA-1, Uniform Plan Approval for RVs; ANSI/A119.5, Recreational Park Trailer Standard. RVIA adheres to ANSI approved RVIA STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT OPERATING PROCEDURES and where applicable also complies with the ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards.
To maintain our ANSI accreditation, ANSI performs an audit at least once every five years.
http://www.rvia.org/?ESID=73dZDufQTJoi.
In other words, they don't just throw them together. There are standards that they have to follow. Not saying I agree with all those standards. But they are what they are.
I did not say they just "throw them together". I did not say there are not standards. I am saying I don't agree with the standards and that the industry has better parts available to it that they don't usually use because there are cheaper but inferior parts that are available that meet those poor standards.
[I have often thought about approaching an RV company to see if I could have someone build an empty RV and let me install my own systems and furnishings. Probably not. If I decide to buy something to tow rather than something to drive, I will probably forgo the slides and convert an 8.5 wide x 35 long custom cargo trailer. Expensive but better in most regards except for the missing slides].
Remember, just as the building codes in every jurisdiction are different, the standards that the RV industry must comply with in this country are different than in every other country.
Whose standards are high enough? The answer is singular: your own.
Every year automotive safety requirements are changed. Are they good enough this year? If so, then why will they change them next year?
Why is the PIP (personal injury insurance) lower on some vehicles than on others? They ALL comply with safety requirements yet they are not all equally safe. Nobody would take seriously the safety any car that did not have seat belts, yet less than 50 years ago there was only ONE brand of automobile that offered them as standard equipment. Race cars had to have them, even then, but many believed they were not required for street use.
Standards are a MINIMUM. If you want to be proud of your industry because they meet the minimum, that is fine. My business was built on the idea that I always exceeded the minimum. Of course many businesses make money selling products and services that only meet the minimum because they can offer their products and services cheaper than the ones who exceed the minimums.
In the automotive world you can sell a Yugo and some people will buy it and feel safe. Others are not satisfied without buying a Mercedes or a Maybach. Most of us fall somewhere in between.
Cars are designed [well or poorly] as a complete system. RV's are designed as a conglomeration of standard assemblies and are not designed as a complete system. This creates design flaws and compromises that often would be otherwise unnecessary even within the market segment that particular RV is targeted at.
What is particularly disturbing to me is that many parts in a $250,000 RV THAT MOVES are not as durable as those used in a $75,000 home that never moves. It seems a paradox that an RV can offer granite counter tops and "real cherry" cabinets but use the cheapest possible plumbing fixtures just below those granite counter tops.
So far I like the overall assembly of Newmar better than most, though I may change my mind as I learn more about the brand. It just seems that brand seems better built than most in the places many people never look.
But as an example, I have seen portable generators that you could sit on top of and hardly know they are running. Yet, most RVs rumble with the vibrations of the generator mounted below deck. Same with A/C systems.
Furthermore, many RVs use bigger A/C systems rather than installing better insulation. Better insulation reduces the run time of A/Cs, which extends the life of the A/C, while using less fuel (saving money) and extending dry camping times. When traveling the insulation further reduces interior noise and there are other benefits as well. But it is hard to sell better insulation that you can't see and easier to sell bigger more expensive A/C systems that you can see.
Plumbing and electrical systems are overly complex because components are not designed to work together. I am considering at this point actually manufacturing a new integrated system have designed that would work better, last longer, be less expensive to install and maintain than the hodgepodge of systems common today even in the most expensive RVs.
So forgive me if I am not impressed by the standards that you promote above. I understand these companies all have a limited amount of resources to compete in a very competitive market. I just believe there are better ways of doing things. And when I see a part that cost $45 replace a much better one that cost $70 and I know that when that cheaper part fails it will cost $750 to fix it and the resulting collateral damage, I am not impressed.
Home builders all must meet building codes and standards. Yet builders almost always build their own home better than the ones they sell. WHY? Because standards are not enough.
