tatest wrote:
That's weird, compared to an equivalent Jayco. One company, two brands.
Depending on the model, it either gets built for Starcraft at one of several Jayco plants, or it gets built for Jayco at the Starcraft plant, with differences in trim, equipment, and of course branding.
Autumn Ridge line is bigger than what Starcraft builds, so it is a Jayco product. Do the Jayco employees intentionally do shoddy work on the frames of trailers that will be Starcraft branded? How would they know, at the frame plant, which is a separate operation, which brand is it going to eventually be.
But could this brand rivalry be the explanation for the rough finish on a Jayco popup I looked at in early 2014 at the factory showroom, considering that the Starcraft plant was building that model for Jayco?
As a conspiracy theory, could it make national news?
A lot of companies have someone else build their frames, such as the often maligned Lippert. My camper has a Lippert frame. Honestly, some of the welds at the front end are not too pretty, but they are holding up fine. The welds at the rear of the frame are much better looking. Suggests to me that a couple different guys were welding on this thing, and one guy was more experienced than the other.
It will either hold or it won't. If it doesn't, I will weld it myself to make it better. If a person cannot weld, there are shops on just about every corner ( slight exaggeration ! ) that can weld and fix these kinds of issues.
To the OP, my suggestion is buy the floorplan you like, and then make the trailer work for you. These things are not rocket science. Fix whatever might go wrong, and go enjoy camping.
