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
I purchased a KZ TT back in 2012 and have put 7,000 miles on it and spent 106 nights in it over that time period with only a few minor issues that came up the first year and were taken care of by KZ.
I think an important issue in buying an RV is the support from the dealer. If the dealer does a very thorough pre-delivery check a lot of the issues I've read about can be found and eliminate before the new owner takes delivery.
I live in NY and traveled to Connecticut to purchase my trailer for All RV in East Hampton, CT. We spend three hours with the guy that prepped the RV for delivery going over every system of the RV, operating them and giving instruction about care and maintenance while my wife videoed the walk through.
The two main issues that came up during a trip to Florida were a short that developed in the running lights (crew wore through the wire insulation and shorted against the frame) and a fixture (shower drain connection) broke at some point during the trip allowing water to run into the under belly and soak the insulation. As mentioned both were fixed under warranty and we haven't had any issue since. These are things that developed as a result of travel and not things that would be uncovered during a pre-buy inspection.
When you have a complex mobile system, part vehicle part home, subject to all sorts of environmental and use conditions at some point you've going to develop issues. That is the nature of the beast. That said they shouldn't be major structural issues like cracking of the frame or suspension, A/C or appliances failing after two or three years of normal use, etc. The pumbling issue I had should never have happened (KZ said they hadn't had a similar issue prior) but in my investigating and finding the issue seemed apparent to me that that fixture was not properly supported and the fix was to replace the fixture and add additional support.
There are certain issues like basic structural integrity, failure of applicance after only a few seasons, finish durability (delamination after only a few seasons), etc. that are unforgivable in my opinion. If you're in the RV business, understand the requirements of operating in that market and how these things are used they shouldn't be built to be throw away items after five years even if they sell of $10K.
I think an important issue in buying an RV is the support from the dealer. If the dealer does a very thorough pre-delivery check a lot of the issues I've read about can be found and eliminate before the new owner takes delivery.
I live in NY and traveled to Connecticut to purchase my trailer for All RV in East Hampton, CT. We spend three hours with the guy that prepped the RV for delivery going over every system of the RV, operating them and giving instruction about care and maintenance while my wife videoed the walk through.
The two main issues that came up during a trip to Florida were a short that developed in the running lights (crew wore through the wire insulation and shorted against the frame) and a fixture (shower drain connection) broke at some point during the trip allowing water to run into the under belly and soak the insulation. As mentioned both were fixed under warranty and we haven't had any issue since. These are things that developed as a result of travel and not things that would be uncovered during a pre-buy inspection.
When you have a complex mobile system, part vehicle part home, subject to all sorts of environmental and use conditions at some point you've going to develop issues. That is the nature of the beast. That said they shouldn't be major structural issues like cracking of the frame or suspension, A/C or appliances failing after two or three years of normal use, etc. The pumbling issue I had should never have happened (KZ said they hadn't had a similar issue prior) but in my investigating and finding the issue seemed apparent to me that that fixture was not properly supported and the fix was to replace the fixture and add additional support.
There are certain issues like basic structural integrity, failure of applicance after only a few seasons, finish durability (delamination after only a few seasons), etc. that are unforgivable in my opinion. If you're in the RV business, understand the requirements of operating in that market and how these things are used they shouldn't be built to be throw away items after five years even if they sell of $10K.
