Forum Discussion

Kavoom's avatar
Kavoom
Explorer
Jan 17, 2021

Quality Decline since Covid

TT quality has declined quite a bit over the last year...

Well we have found a TT that checks all the boxes for both of us. It is only 27 feet four inches (My checked box). It has the private bedroom, and the full bunks, slide out and outdoor kitchen... https://www.dutchmen.com/product/aspen-trail

We have a smaller Aspen Trail we got three years ago and the quality was very good on the build. But...now...during Covid when they can't build them fast enough...apparently...quality is distinctly affected...and not in a good way...so we are going to wait. When you walk in and first thing you see is a toilet that is crooked in the bathroom...direct from the factory...and start looking around and seeing "little things" it makes you pause. We also looked at a few others, different brands and there is a difference between our three year old one and this years...crop. We are doing fine so far and don't NEED a new one so we will wait... I'm also thinking that once Covid is defeated, there are going to be a bunch of lightly used travel trailers on the market as people realize...Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time...
  • I agree, but in the end, the quality of the builds are not as good. AND, apparently construction incentives are based upon quantity, not quality...
  • It's not the quality of materials being used but rather the haste in which these units are being thrown together, no pride in low scale employees.

    Our 2020 Outback has much better cabinetry, countertops, hardware and the use of synthetic materials compared to our previous trailer but had to spend an entire day with multiple tools to realign slides, cabinet doors, refrigerator, trim, handles on dump valves fell out....BUT I have no issues with the materials used in the build.
  • Lot rot.
    It is more pronounced on a poorly made unit.
  • Prior to covid, most mid model year models were pretty good. Early in a model year things were iffy due to the learning curve for the different design. Late model year units were victims of boredom. We had a starcraft that was a mid year build and was almost flawless, a forest river that was an early model year and never made a trip that didn't have something go wrong and our keystone is a mid year build and it had a loose water line discovered at the pdi and fixed immediately and no other issues on six trips. I have made many upgrades but this has no bearing on build, only on features not designed in.
  • Wait till you find that those "lightly used" trailers are heavily abused by novices.