RV manufacturers, I am calling you out
I purchased a travel trailer 6 years ago. I am going to say something many of you out there already know: something I know will be controversial, and is seldom said. These RVs are stinking piles of ...
Forum Discussion
Usually when folks say "things were better way back when" they are wrong.
However, I'm not really that old and I remember when "stuff" made here didn't have to compete with cheap **** from China and you *actually got what you paid for*!
Cheap Chinese geegaws hurt the entire structure of our economy and the quality of everything in it. It is a "knock on", "carry over" effect b/c it sets consumer expectations for a general comparison of price points. If I spend X$ on Y I get amount/quantity A. If I spend X$ on P I get amount/quantity Z. So I will spend all of my money over here instead of over there b/c when I spend $10K over here I one get one toy, but when I spend $10k over there I get two toys. It does not matter that the first toy is high quality and will last forever and the other two are pieces of **** that will fall apart as soon as the warranty expires. All that matters is that I'm getting two toys for the price of one.
Despite what Madison Ave says manufacturers follow customers, they do not lead. Manufacturers build to customer expectations. We expect ****, we get ****.
This dynamic is coupled with a general negative change in our ethos over the last ~30 years. Due to too many needing a "safe space" we are being told that we should never criticize, even when we have every right to do so (like getting stuck with having bought a piece of ****). This coupled with the fact the schools have been dumbed down to the point that any idiot, even those who can't read or write, can get a diploma. (Who remembers vocational high schools?) So most people now are too stupid to even realize they just bought a piece of ****.
So, we have people expecting ****, who have been trained not to complain about getting ****, who are too stupid to realize they've just been had. Is it any wonder all we can get on the market now is ****?
And remember, I'm not talking about *you*. If you are in this thread stating you should get X quality at Y price point then you are not part of the herd or the problem. You are also in the minority and not who the market is catering to.
Think about that one guy you know: The one in his 50's who tries to keep up with all of the latest trends, wears spangle jeans, spikes his hair and bought his car b/c it was "cool". Or the kid down at the burger joint who is literally too stupid to count back change when the register breaks. *They* are the average Joe that Madison Ave tracks to determine the "market".
And to circle back and complete the argument: When you couple lower expectations with teaching people not to stand up for the themselves and dumb everyone down so that they can't think for themselves then you leave a lot room for a lot of bad actors to have zero ethos and act unscrupulously at all levels of society.
Now, this dynamic does not apply to each and every single manufacturer is the world; just to most. There are still a few that believe in delivering a quality product. But they are a dying breed and you have to ferret them out.
Most manufacturers now are just looking to take advantage of the general ethers to extract as much money as they can from you and give you nothing in return.
I used to build houses a long time ago. Nothing fancy. I was not a Contractor. I mostly picked up heavy stuff and moved it around, busted up stuff that needed to be torn out, directed traffic, ran a jackhammer and dug holes. When I was building houses the average life expectancy for the houses we were building was 80 years.
Back then stucco was a thick mixture that had to be laid on by hand with a trowel over a metal lathe. Now, "stucco" is thin-crete sprayed over chicken wire and styrofoam.
The houses we built were expected to last 80 years. Most houses built now (track, not custom) are expected to only last 30 years, the life of the mortgage. "Planned obsolescence" to rip you off. As soon as the thing is paid for you need another one.
And for the privilege of being ripped off you get to pay, according to the Googles, an average of $123 per square foot.
I'm looking at upgrading to a new, small trailer that has about a 120 square foot floor plan **including storage**, so even less than that for livable space. On the low end, with no accessories it runs $35K. That is $291.67 per square foot.
At 230% the price point of the average price per square foot for a house I think I should get a quality product. Especially when $35K represents one year of my salary (when I was able to work); including me picking up some overtime.
And while I am shopping for quality, and these guys claim they build quality (as does everybody), I've seen complains about them online. In all honesty it will be a roll of the dice to see whether or not I get lucky and get one of the units that came off the line the day that none of the college kids working summer jobs were hung over.
I shouldn't have to roll the dice with a year's salary.
I for dang sure would never go down to the strip and roll the dice on $35K!!!
However, I'm not really that old and I remember when "stuff" made here didn't have to compete with cheap **** from China and you *actually got what you paid for*!
Cheap Chinese geegaws hurt the entire structure of our economy and the quality of everything in it. It is a "knock on", "carry over" effect b/c it sets consumer expectations for a general comparison of price points. If I spend X$ on Y I get amount/quantity A. If I spend X$ on P I get amount/quantity Z. So I will spend all of my money over here instead of over there b/c when I spend $10K over here I one get one toy, but when I spend $10k over there I get two toys. It does not matter that the first toy is high quality and will last forever and the other two are pieces of **** that will fall apart as soon as the warranty expires. All that matters is that I'm getting two toys for the price of one.
Despite what Madison Ave says manufacturers follow customers, they do not lead. Manufacturers build to customer expectations. We expect ****, we get ****.
This dynamic is coupled with a general negative change in our ethos over the last ~30 years. Due to too many needing a "safe space" we are being told that we should never criticize, even when we have every right to do so (like getting stuck with having bought a piece of ****). This coupled with the fact the schools have been dumbed down to the point that any idiot, even those who can't read or write, can get a diploma. (Who remembers vocational high schools?) So most people now are too stupid to even realize they just bought a piece of ****.
So, we have people expecting ****, who have been trained not to complain about getting ****, who are too stupid to realize they've just been had. Is it any wonder all we can get on the market now is ****?
And remember, I'm not talking about *you*. If you are in this thread stating you should get X quality at Y price point then you are not part of the herd or the problem. You are also in the minority and not who the market is catering to.
Think about that one guy you know: The one in his 50's who tries to keep up with all of the latest trends, wears spangle jeans, spikes his hair and bought his car b/c it was "cool". Or the kid down at the burger joint who is literally too stupid to count back change when the register breaks. *They* are the average Joe that Madison Ave tracks to determine the "market".
And to circle back and complete the argument: When you couple lower expectations with teaching people not to stand up for the themselves and dumb everyone down so that they can't think for themselves then you leave a lot room for a lot of bad actors to have zero ethos and act unscrupulously at all levels of society.
Now, this dynamic does not apply to each and every single manufacturer is the world; just to most. There are still a few that believe in delivering a quality product. But they are a dying breed and you have to ferret them out.
Most manufacturers now are just looking to take advantage of the general ethers to extract as much money as they can from you and give you nothing in return.
I used to build houses a long time ago. Nothing fancy. I was not a Contractor. I mostly picked up heavy stuff and moved it around, busted up stuff that needed to be torn out, directed traffic, ran a jackhammer and dug holes. When I was building houses the average life expectancy for the houses we were building was 80 years.
Back then stucco was a thick mixture that had to be laid on by hand with a trowel over a metal lathe. Now, "stucco" is thin-crete sprayed over chicken wire and styrofoam.
The houses we built were expected to last 80 years. Most houses built now (track, not custom) are expected to only last 30 years, the life of the mortgage. "Planned obsolescence" to rip you off. As soon as the thing is paid for you need another one.
And for the privilege of being ripped off you get to pay, according to the Googles, an average of $123 per square foot.
I'm looking at upgrading to a new, small trailer that has about a 120 square foot floor plan **including storage**, so even less than that for livable space. On the low end, with no accessories it runs $35K. That is $291.67 per square foot.
At 230% the price point of the average price per square foot for a house I think I should get a quality product. Especially when $35K represents one year of my salary (when I was able to work); including me picking up some overtime.
And while I am shopping for quality, and these guys claim they build quality (as does everybody), I've seen complains about them online. In all honesty it will be a roll of the dice to see whether or not I get lucky and get one of the units that came off the line the day that none of the college kids working summer jobs were hung over.
I shouldn't have to roll the dice with a year's salary.
I for dang sure would never go down to the strip and roll the dice on $35K!!!
