Cheap cabinets in Trailers

Most conventional residential cabinets have a fiber board carcass, some still have plywood. The face frame and doors are wood.
RV's are built of less quality with carcass being also fiber or particle board but the face frames on most are wrapped vinyl over the same. Doors are a mixture.

I'm guessing the material cost difference at the suppliers plant would be less than $1K. Assuming you could recover some of the cost by selling brand new RV cabinets, installing better quality residential cabinets might run $3K, depending on count and what needs to be dealt with in terms of mechanicals.

Good luck finding quality cabinets in any RV except the high end ones. All have fake wood somewhere and drawers stapled together. Drawer fronts and cabinet fronts are usually real wood but the rest is a mix of fake and real. Trim pieces are half a$$ put on with staples that are patched over. It's really a joke IMO. Go to any RV show and wander through. Until you get near the $80-90,000 range and up do you won't see better quality. About all you can do is see how all the fake and real cabinets are held together. Quality hinges, doors aligned properly, trim pieces put on right, etc. On the bigger doors, do they wiggle when you open them or are they solid. What type of latches are they using?
People get caught up in all the bling in trailers and just don't notice or better yet don't have any understanding of what a good set of cabinets is supposed to be built like. They see all the pretty colors, fancy counter tops, trick lighting and get caught up in the latest gadgets.

There are several campers that have at least all wood doors, some even with plywood carcases. It's just more expensive than fiberboard. In this case, at least, I think you really do get what you pay for. On the other hand, I really don't care if the cabinets in my camper are top quality like those in my house (I built them and the house around them). If they look OK and function properly, that is enough.

RVJimofOregon wrote:
Does any trailer manufactures used real wood in their cabinets. I just hate the cheap printed stuff that I see in most of the TT. Stuck (very lightly) a small piece of black electric tape to mark where to drill a hole and when I removed it pulled off the printed grain. I was lucky it was in spot that does not show up and used a wood marker to hide the boo-boo.
Thanks
RV Jim

You would probably like the cabinetry in a New Horizons trailer.
You'll have to spend a "few" :) more dollars though compared to say my funfinder.

RVJimofOregon wrote:
I never said anything about cheap just quality. As to the weight, does oak really weigh more than chip board? I don't know the market, but it looks like to get quality Airstream is the only answer and not much in between.
Even Arctic Fox (which I had one 10 years ago and loved the fiver) uses what ever it is called) printed crap. Even the drawers are not top quality.
Maybe they only build what the market wants.
RV Jim

That's right. What the market demands.....low prices. If more people demanded quality at higher prices, there would be more trailers with wood cabinets.

They make only what sells. If they did not they would be out of business.

It is not just trailers. If the American public did not demand low prices, WalMart would not exist.

RVJimofOregon wrote:
...Maybe they only build what the market wants.

Not "wants" ... "accepts". :(

I never said anything about cheap just quality. As to the weight, does oak really weigh more than chip board? I don't know the market, but it looks like to get quality Airstream is the only answer and not much in between.
Even Arctic Fox (which I had one 10 years ago and loved the fiver) uses what ever it is called) printed crap. Even the drawers are not top quality.
Maybe they only build what the market wants.
RV Jim

Double post to be deleted by moderator (I hope).

I call total and utter BS. :M

The giveaway is the light fixture over the island hanging on a chain....

downtheroad wrote:
Here is the kitchen in our trailer...

RVJimofOregon wrote:
Does any trailer manufactures used real wood in their cabinets. I just hate the cheap printed stuff that I see in most of the TT. Stuck (very lightly) a small piece of black electric tape to mark where to drill a hole and when I removed it pulled off the printed grain. I was lucky it was in spot that does not show up and used a wood marker to hide the boo-boo.
Thanks
RV Jim

Jim, you have momentarily forgot a basic rule of this world: You get exactly what you pay for. Buy cheap, get cheap.