Leaky Lance 1881 Travel Trailer
After only two seasons, roof leak turned up around the fantastic roof vent fan over our bed in the front of our Lance 1881 travel trailer. Started raining a few hours before bed time in Bismarck ND ca...
Forum Discussion
It appears that some TT's have vocal fan clubs here; Lance certainly being one. All TT's are built in very similar ways with materials that (though some debate) obviously work in most cases. It is interesting to me that the RV industry hasn't put more engineering effort into water infiltration. Cars and trucks don't need semi-annual inspections to prevent leaks around windows, doors, antennas, etc. They get at least as much abuse as TT's. It seems to me that TT's are built using home building technologies, which of course are not intended to travel.
Airstream appears to have made an attempt to build a vehicle you can sleep in instead of a house you can drag around. I don't know. Interesting that manufacturers expect more than semi-annual inspections from owners...they want effective sealing solutions; something they themselves apparently don't provide. Seems wrong to me.
Given the state of the industry and the personalities of people who use forums, it's natural to find lots of complaints and praise for various products. I was very unhappy with my Kodiak when it was delivered due to multiple plumbing leaks. Once corrected, I have had no trouble and love the layout and reliability of the TT. My dealer has been outstanding in correcting any issues we discovered along the way (slight tilt to the shower pan that caused small amounts of water to land on bathroom floor, broken antenna rotator, and a few even more trivial issues.
As I suspected, there appears to be little difference in manufacturing quality between brands. Overall, the industry needs a better approach to QC. Lance, like most trailer companies make a reputable product that occasionally gives some owners problems. Who's shocked? I'm not.
Airstream appears to have made an attempt to build a vehicle you can sleep in instead of a house you can drag around. I don't know. Interesting that manufacturers expect more than semi-annual inspections from owners...they want effective sealing solutions; something they themselves apparently don't provide. Seems wrong to me.
Given the state of the industry and the personalities of people who use forums, it's natural to find lots of complaints and praise for various products. I was very unhappy with my Kodiak when it was delivered due to multiple plumbing leaks. Once corrected, I have had no trouble and love the layout and reliability of the TT. My dealer has been outstanding in correcting any issues we discovered along the way (slight tilt to the shower pan that caused small amounts of water to land on bathroom floor, broken antenna rotator, and a few even more trivial issues.
As I suspected, there appears to be little difference in manufacturing quality between brands. Overall, the industry needs a better approach to QC. Lance, like most trailer companies make a reputable product that occasionally gives some owners problems. Who's shocked? I'm not.
