Manufacturers - How Do You Answer This
This is one aspect of why I am leery of an aluminum framed camper, not to mention a newer, expensive camper. Of course the extremely poor quality craftsmanship could be duplicated in a wood-framed cam...
Forum Discussion
Well....I'm with Bumpy...I've owned three Lance campers, all were wood framed and were well made. I owned a 1990 Fleetwood Jamboree for 14 years and it was flawless. I owned a Monaco Diplomat for 9 years and it had no remarkable issues and I now have a Newmar Dutch Star that is well built. The only coach I had an issue with was a 2004 Fleetwood Terra that had the Workhorse chassis with the brake issues. This was a product supply issue (brake calipers) that turned out to be problematic.
Here are the RV buyer categories I find that people fall into and can cause them to complain about their purchase:
1) Some actually buy a defective coach and have real issues (keep in mind that people complaining on this website are about 1%-3% of the RVing population and typically only talk about problems with their coach so the problems are magnified.
2) You have people that are on a limited budget and buy a low end unit and are basically getting what they paid for. Quality comes with a price tag.
3) You have people that are looking for that deal, buy a low end coach and then complain that it didn't have $10,000.00 in features they thought it should have. I here this all the time. Why didn't it come with this, that or another option. Well it does, it's the next level up that the manufacturer sells and costs more.
4) Another expectation is that the coach will be built like an assembly line automobile. We have a neighbor that wants his rolling house to be as tight and quiet as his Lexus.....not going to happen. Some people drive their coaches on freeways and some the Alaskan Highway.....even cars get beat up and fall apart when driven constantly on rough roads.
5) Again, we know people that find two loose screws and a crooked light sconce and run to the dealer screaming the coach is a piece of junk. How about pulling out a screw driver, taking an hour or so and tighten everything. It's much simpler than dragging it to the dealer.
6) People make a purchase without doing any investigation as to the quality of the coach they're buying. I always tell people to come here first and see what others are saying about the RV they're looking to purchase. The problem is that new RVers don't find this site until after they purchase. Savvy RVer's are on here doing their due diligence.
7) Lastly, there are the people that are willing to fix the small things themselves and only take it to the dealer if it's a major issue, saving the goodwill until then. They rarely complain....fix the small things and move on.
Think about which category you fall into!
I understand what people are saying about quality, but it's an industry that has more ups and downs than most and they have to save money to stay afloat. I've found some quality issues on my new Newmar coach, but hey were simple fixes which I did myself.
Here are the RV buyer categories I find that people fall into and can cause them to complain about their purchase:
1) Some actually buy a defective coach and have real issues (keep in mind that people complaining on this website are about 1%-3% of the RVing population and typically only talk about problems with their coach so the problems are magnified.
2) You have people that are on a limited budget and buy a low end unit and are basically getting what they paid for. Quality comes with a price tag.
3) You have people that are looking for that deal, buy a low end coach and then complain that it didn't have $10,000.00 in features they thought it should have. I here this all the time. Why didn't it come with this, that or another option. Well it does, it's the next level up that the manufacturer sells and costs more.
4) Another expectation is that the coach will be built like an assembly line automobile. We have a neighbor that wants his rolling house to be as tight and quiet as his Lexus.....not going to happen. Some people drive their coaches on freeways and some the Alaskan Highway.....even cars get beat up and fall apart when driven constantly on rough roads.
5) Again, we know people that find two loose screws and a crooked light sconce and run to the dealer screaming the coach is a piece of junk. How about pulling out a screw driver, taking an hour or so and tighten everything. It's much simpler than dragging it to the dealer.
6) People make a purchase without doing any investigation as to the quality of the coach they're buying. I always tell people to come here first and see what others are saying about the RV they're looking to purchase. The problem is that new RVers don't find this site until after they purchase. Savvy RVer's are on here doing their due diligence.
7) Lastly, there are the people that are willing to fix the small things themselves and only take it to the dealer if it's a major issue, saving the goodwill until then. They rarely complain....fix the small things and move on.
Think about which category you fall into!
I understand what people are saying about quality, but it's an industry that has more ups and downs than most and they have to save money to stay afloat. I've found some quality issues on my new Newmar coach, but hey were simple fixes which I did myself.
