RVs made in China??
In another thread someone posted the link below about RVs being made ins China. This could or will be a reality? I hope not IMHO. What are other peoples thoughts? There goes a lot of jobs. What...
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That is another fear. Lets say someone dies in a Chinese RV and the case makes headline news. Some people in Congress decide to act and demand that class As and Cs adhere to automotive standards.
That would be the end of the RV market as we know it, because the profit margins for RV makers are not that great, and having to crash-test every different line of vehicle, and repeat the multiple crash tests every time a redesign happens would cause a $90,000 motorhome to run upwards of half a million. The only exception would be "B"s, but for most families, that is just too small a vehicle to be useful.
I hesitate to even mention regulation, because if Congress passes laws, it will almost always not be good for anyone involved. Look how the EPA has managed to ruin the diesel industry with the DPF/DEF junk, or before that, how factories were forced to move to China because the standards on steelmaking were upped so high so quickly.
I would say the best route would be a tightening up of RVIA certification.
I can see this being done in a few places. One place would electrical circuits are at least up to similar code as S&B houses (so a 1500 watt circuit can handle a space heater without the wires turning into ash.) With plumbing, there are better way to do PEX than what I've seen in rigs. Roofs need to be sealed by something more resilient than caulk which cracks after a season or two (Eternabond or a spray epoxy coating come to mind.) Finally, fiberglass on luan should be banned by RVIA, period. That way, if something has an RVIA tag, it generally means that it is built to last.
Regulation by Congress is the last thing needed, and the last thing that would help the industry.
That would be the end of the RV market as we know it, because the profit margins for RV makers are not that great, and having to crash-test every different line of vehicle, and repeat the multiple crash tests every time a redesign happens would cause a $90,000 motorhome to run upwards of half a million. The only exception would be "B"s, but for most families, that is just too small a vehicle to be useful.
I hesitate to even mention regulation, because if Congress passes laws, it will almost always not be good for anyone involved. Look how the EPA has managed to ruin the diesel industry with the DPF/DEF junk, or before that, how factories were forced to move to China because the standards on steelmaking were upped so high so quickly.
I would say the best route would be a tightening up of RVIA certification.
I can see this being done in a few places. One place would electrical circuits are at least up to similar code as S&B houses (so a 1500 watt circuit can handle a space heater without the wires turning into ash.) With plumbing, there are better way to do PEX than what I've seen in rigs. Roofs need to be sealed by something more resilient than caulk which cracks after a season or two (Eternabond or a spray epoxy coating come to mind.) Finally, fiberglass on luan should be banned by RVIA, period. That way, if something has an RVIA tag, it generally means that it is built to last.
Regulation by Congress is the last thing needed, and the last thing that would help the industry.
