BEFORE YOU BUY A TRAVEL TRAILER WATCH THIS

I didn't think quality in RV's could go below the 2008 mark. :S

TT's aren't built any worse than any other high volume RV - including the OP's MH.

If you do not like what is there, there are those will build what you want.

The RV industry builds what sells.

The sad truth is; the reason higher quality units tend to come from lower volume manufacturers, is because there is a limited market for the higher quality, higher priced TTs.

Most folks are happy with the TT they bought. Right or wrong that seems to be the way it is.

we have a 2011 trailer, purchased june 2010. we have used it on average 60+ days each year, put on over 30K miles on it. Nothing has broke, nothing has needed repairing, no leaks even in oregon winters, carpet and cabinets still in excellent shape. Have worn out a set of tires.

We did do a pre delivery inspection that took over 3 hours for us to check absolutely everything. DW found a few minor issues to get fixed.

I'm not going to complain about quality yet.

And the enjoyment we have had with it is PRICELESS!!

We also have many friends with trailers about the age of ours, and problems they have had have been minimal to none.

A few aren't very mechanically inclined so minor items I would have fixed myself they needed to have fixed by the dealer.

Reality is the vast majority of trailers die of old age not structural failure.

You can certainly special order from a low volume builder at 2-3 times the cost but your typical buyer doesn't keep a trailer anywhere near as long as the trailer lives. It's nothing special for an RV to last 20-30yrs but most new buyers keep them 5-10yrs.

rbpru wrote:
If you do not like what is there, there are those will build what you want.

The RV industry builds what sells.

The sad truth is; the reason higher quality units tend to come from lower volume manufacturers, is because there is a limited market for the higher quality, higher priced TTs.

Most folks are happy with the TT they bought. Right or wrong that seems to be the way it is.

x2 on this
market demands price point and what public is willing to spend and want.

an rv is not a stick and brick built house. its a rolling earthquake


DW and i bought a 2018 33ft entry level wildwood TT 11 months ago. Zero issues with it. i learned early on how to inspect and maintain it myself

factory roof caulking and other caulking was excellent, everything else has worked as it should. maybe it rolled off the assembly line on tuesday thru thursday?

we usually camp couple times a month and have enjoyed the heck out of it. a TT 2 to 3 times the cost would have not been in our budget regardless.

rbpru wrote:
If you do not like what is there, there are those will build what you want.

The RV industry builds what sells.

The sad truth is; the reason higher quality units tend to come from lower volume manufacturers, is because there is a limited market for the higher quality, higher priced TTs.

Most folks are happy with the TT they bought. Right or wrong that seems to be the way it is.

It’s not a “sad” truth, just reality. Just about anything you can buy comes in shades of quality.
We are pleased with our camper. Three years old with 20k miles, more or less. The things I’ve had to fix have been minor. It has been a great investment for our enjoyment.
I really don’t understand the complaints about the overall quality of the industry. A rolling home for under $20k? Sounds pretty good to me. (And thousands of others).

I keep hearing that they build it cheap because we refuse to pay for quality. I think that's total BS. If you paid $30k for a unit that was assembled shoddily, wouldn't you be willing to pay $32k - $35k for the same unit if it was built with a little more TLC. The fact is, we DON'T get that option, even from most of the "quality" manufacturers.

I'm not sure that all manufacturers have experienced the same decline in quality. I know for a fact that the Fun Finder by Cruiser is much better engineered now than they used to be.

The old units had wooden frames, aluminum skins, and pink fiberglass in the walls. The newer ones have thick styrofoam insulation sandwiched between paneling and fiberglass, with an aluminum frame. The fiberglass exterior is much stronger than the aluminum skin was.

I had an old-style Cruiser product (2003 model), and now I have a newer one (2012). There is no comparison. We have put about 70,000 miles on our new trailer in the last seven camping seasons, with no significant quality problems. The insulation is great.

So although I am sure that some companies have deteriorated, I am not sure that is true of all companies.