The Kodiak's last shot at me
Last June we bought a Kodiak 279RBSL TT. It was my first RV. The day after delivery, the belly pan was filled with water. The plumbing had three large leaks. The dealer informed me that they fixed one...
Forum Discussion
Clearly, not every camper is going to be a mess of defects like ours. I am sure a lot of Kodiaks spend many problem-free years on the road. What bothers me the most is that absolutely everyone I read here or talk with thinks it is perfectly normal for there to be problems with any new trailer. It isn't.
If you have a Japanese car or an American car built in the last few years, you know that a complex vehicle does not necessarily need warranty service. In fact, with Ford and now GM, warranty work is the exception and not the rule. A vehicle is way more complex than a trailer. Some people say, "It's like your house being in an earthquake. You have to expect some issues."
Come on! Our cars and trucks are in the same "earthquake" and manage to hold together just fine. IMO the problem is that most trailer manufacturers are like car makers in the 60's and 70's: their labor force is unmotivated, they won't spend the money for good quality control, and they skimp on materials because it is cheaper to fix trailers than to build them right. Worse yet, most of these companies push their production lines to the limit. The more trailers they can make a day, the lower the labor cost for each trailer.
Of course, it is impossible for any manufacturer to bat 1,000. But with really good quality control, the number of defects can drop so low that 99+ percent of customers never need warranty work. Our Kodiak had visible gaps between cabinet facings and the cabinets. Even a cursory QC inspection would find that.
Another fact of life with campers is that none of the manufacturers actually make the major systems in the trailers. They all buy frames, axles, wheels, appliances, HVAC, etc. from suppliers. In the automobile industry, it's pretty much the same. However, the car makers test 3rd party products before putting them in vehicles. The trailer makers don't bother.
I don't mean to rant about this, but it really hurts to make a major investment in something that is represented to be of high quality only to learn it was built shoddily. Why do most TT and 5er makers only offer 1 year warranties? Because the cost of warranty repairs is so high that they want to minimize their exposure. If a manufacturer believes in its products, it is unafraid to offer longer warranties.
If you have a Japanese car or an American car built in the last few years, you know that a complex vehicle does not necessarily need warranty service. In fact, with Ford and now GM, warranty work is the exception and not the rule. A vehicle is way more complex than a trailer. Some people say, "It's like your house being in an earthquake. You have to expect some issues."
Come on! Our cars and trucks are in the same "earthquake" and manage to hold together just fine. IMO the problem is that most trailer manufacturers are like car makers in the 60's and 70's: their labor force is unmotivated, they won't spend the money for good quality control, and they skimp on materials because it is cheaper to fix trailers than to build them right. Worse yet, most of these companies push their production lines to the limit. The more trailers they can make a day, the lower the labor cost for each trailer.
Of course, it is impossible for any manufacturer to bat 1,000. But with really good quality control, the number of defects can drop so low that 99+ percent of customers never need warranty work. Our Kodiak had visible gaps between cabinet facings and the cabinets. Even a cursory QC inspection would find that.
Another fact of life with campers is that none of the manufacturers actually make the major systems in the trailers. They all buy frames, axles, wheels, appliances, HVAC, etc. from suppliers. In the automobile industry, it's pretty much the same. However, the car makers test 3rd party products before putting them in vehicles. The trailer makers don't bother.
I don't mean to rant about this, but it really hurts to make a major investment in something that is represented to be of high quality only to learn it was built shoddily. Why do most TT and 5er makers only offer 1 year warranties? Because the cost of warranty repairs is so high that they want to minimize their exposure. If a manufacturer believes in its products, it is unafraid to offer longer warranties.
