Still waiting for our new camper

Congratulations.

Camper arrived yesterday and signed papers today. We took it home today and started putting all our stuff away.

Wow, it fills up fast .....

Last year I visited the Jayco factory in Indiana. The guide made a point of telling our group that the workers on the assembly line know how many units are scheduled to be built in a day. When that number of units is built, the workers go home. Work faster, go home earlier. I don't know if all factories operate this way. Most RV manufacturers have tours. I guess if I was in the market for a new unit I might want to take a factory tour and see for myself how they are built.

We had to give our old camper back to the insurance company because they totaled it. When that happened we had to store all our stuff that was in the camper and a lot of it went into our basement and DW is getting tired of tripping over it.

Good news, I called the dealership today and the unit is built and ready for shipment. The dealership said that they are giving the factory a PO and then there will be a shipper picking it up and bringing it to Denver

They are thinking it will be here the week of 16th - 20th. It will be nice to get all this stuff out of our basement and back into a camper.

Really hate to see the Amish grouped together as unskilled or uneducated. Our first trailer was a FR Rockwood ROO built in Millersburg, IN. On the return leg of a trip to the UP, we toured the factory. Yes, it is assembly line - just like your car. DH entire career was in manufacturing and he commented that he wished he'd had as dedicated workers as we saw in that plant. They work and they work hard....and fast. They're not leaning on some broom waiting for breaktime to roll around. They're building what the engineers design and according to the way it's designed to be built. Maybe some of these complaints should be directed to the design engineers. There are systems involved and they're working accordingly. Mostly their skills are passed down, rather than going to a trade school or college, but nevertheless, they do have skills....and a sense of pride in what they do. We were very pleased with the fit and finish of our ROO. When we moved to a TT, there was no question that it would be a Rockwood unit and again, we're pleased. If you want a trailer that's hand built by possibly trade school workers, do you want to pay the price?? My cousin bought a Winnebago MH that was in the upper 6 figures and he had more issues than we did with our little HTT. He unloaded it as soon as he could and is now in a 7-figure MH....hope he's happy with this one. Definitely NOT in our budget.

When we ordered our HTT, the dealer told us about 6 - 8 weeks. Factories group like product together and also based on the demand for a particular model. The model we ordered was not one of the top sellers at that time and had mostly all of the upgrade options....we ordered it in April and it finally surfaced in August....not the problem of the builders....check with the scheduling department. Meanwhile, we changed to one of the extremely popular models on the lot and were more than happy with the change...decided that the RV Gods were watching out for us.

When a unit is actually scheduled to go online, the dealer is given the VIN #. Ask your dealer for that # and if he doesn't have it, it's either not truly scheduled yet or you're getting a line of it from the salesman. The units that go on the line in the morning are in the finished lot by the end of the day....that's the way the systems are designed. Then either the dealer picks it up or arranges for a third party. Please don't blame the fact that a unit is late arriving on the workers who are building it....there are way to many variables in there for that to be the case.

BillB800si wrote:

mike243 wrote:
Hope it arrives soon, The wife & I took a few days & visited a few Amish shops this past sept, they might not have electricity in their home but in the work shops they have every type of equipment needed to make stuff, air nail guns table saws ect... no different than our local shops, kinda disappointed but what do I know

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Shhhhhhh!!! You'll let the secret out. Their products are no different than anyone else's. Read all the complaints on RV Forums about shoddy workmanship on their trailers and then remember that they are all put together by many Amish people.
No difference...

I don't think the worker has the burden of the quality control, more so the management that seeks to turn out a built unit in the least amount of time.

From what I know about Amish, Mennonite, and like folks is that they are taught early in life how to use tools and accomplish woodworking. This would be culturally similar to a group of people that are excellent weavers. They are taught how to make the article from a very early age, hence have an affinity to what they're doing.

The over-all quality of their furniture is that they build it of solid hardwoods and know which joinery to use. The opposite commercially available piece is made from fiberboard, veneer, and slapped together. The latter is the method of RV construction.

mike243 wrote:
Hope it arrives soon, The wife & I took a few days & visited a few Amish shops this past sept, they might not have electricity in their home but in the work shops they have every type of equipment needed to make stuff, air nail guns table saws ect... no different than our local shops, kinda disappointed but what do I know

==================

Shhhhhhh!!! You'll let the secret out. Their products are no different than anyone else's. Read all the complaints on RV Forums about shoddy workmanship on their trailers and then remember that they are all put together by many Amish people.
No difference...

Hope it arrives soon, The wife & I took a few days & visited a few Amish shops this past sept, they might not have electricity in their home but in the work shops they have every type of equipment needed to make stuff, air nail guns table saws ect... no different than our local shops, kinda disappointed but what do I know

Being of Mennonite descent, it irritates me when I see manufacturers tout their products as "Amish built" as if this imbues their wares with some kind of high order quality.
First, the Mennonites (and later Amish offshoots) early established a reputation throughout Europe as industrious workers that were able to take land that didn't produce well and turning it into profitable enterprise. They also had a reputation for honest dealings with all people during a time when Catholics were burning Protestants and the Protestants were, in turn, burning the Mennonites. When they emigrated from Russia to the US and Canada their business sense and community cooperation once again enabled them to provide financial support to those who had stayed behind as well as provide support to fledgling communities in South America. It wasn't until World War II that their strict pacifist beliefs led to distrust on the part of the American government. The same problem they had generations before overseas.
Teenagers are allowed to live among the "English" for a time before confirmation and admission in the Church as full members. It is this group, and some that decide not to return to the fold, that you find employed in general construction and manufacturing industries. Keep in mind that these kids have no more than an 8th grade education, so are extremely limited in their career choices.
So yes, while the Amish (as a people, not a religion) have a well deserved reputation for honesty, hard work, and production of quality goods, the people, whose presence is being exploited in the manufacturing companies advertisements, are no different than any other undereducated, unskilled assembly line worker.

free_man_and_dog wrote:

darsben wrote:
Amish do not celebrate our holidays. Your dealer giving you BS BIG TIME.

"Our" holidays?
The truth

You're right! They don't do Halloween! Geesh.
"Our" holidays?

Nor do they do thanksgiving and that is the only recent holiday that could have delayed the unit in this thread.
In addition each Amish community sets its own rules for holidays/religious observances. The local bishop establishes the "ordenung" for the community. There is great variation amongst Amish communities so your article link is not entirely correct. People tend to lump all Amish as the same but they are not.