Why are Truck Campers so poorly made?
So I bought a new hard side truck camper recently. I'm not going to say which. Before that I had a pop-up, so this is my second camper. I looked at a half dozen more campers before my purchase, but...
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I have to agree with the OP that all truck campers are built like crap. Compared to what? Not to the RV industry at large, pretty much all of which are built to standards similar to truck campers. Compared to a fine yacht for example, they are crap. A yacht would cost three or four times that amount for the same size/amenities. That makes the Earth Roamer at $200K right in the ball park for cost/quality - maybe even a bargain.
I don't believe the manufacturers are overcharging for their product - most of them are on the brink of bankruptcy at any given moment. But stand around an RV show and listen for a little while. The questions you hear, again and again, are "how much does it cost?" and "can I get a discount?". Very, very rarely will you hear "how well is this built?". Quality in general is not demanded and not paid for.
I have a Bigfoot which I think is the current (and past) peak in quality in a production truck camper. The quality still sucks, but sucks less. It is not designed to leak (for example) which many campers are.
I can suggest a few custom yacht builders who are begging for business and would happily build you a custom camper, the quality of which would astound. It won't be $40K though.
I don't believe the manufacturers are overcharging for their product - most of them are on the brink of bankruptcy at any given moment. But stand around an RV show and listen for a little while. The questions you hear, again and again, are "how much does it cost?" and "can I get a discount?". Very, very rarely will you hear "how well is this built?". Quality in general is not demanded and not paid for.
I have a Bigfoot which I think is the current (and past) peak in quality in a production truck camper. The quality still sucks, but sucks less. It is not designed to leak (for example) which many campers are.
I can suggest a few custom yacht builders who are begging for business and would happily build you a custom camper, the quality of which would astound. It won't be $40K though.
