Why are Truck Campers so poorly made?

lincolnmatthews wrote:
one! There was a thread about an Adventurer that was falling apart

It is interesting that this was brought up. I remember reading this thread and thinking “this Guy is either incredibly unlucky” or something is fishy. It seemed that every day he was coming up with another problem with his new camper. I recused myself for a while to see how this was going to unfold, as we had an Adventurer (amlrv product) at that time, and it was the most trouble free RV we had ever owned.
The owner had made several modifications to his camper, and then tried to pursue a warranty claim for structural damage. In one instance he had manufactured a rear deck of steel and pressure treated timber. I would guess this weighed 200#-300# and hung this off the rear jack posts. In another mod, he drilled some holes in the ceiling to mount canoe paddles. I don’t know about you, but I would not be making these types of modifications to a brand new camper. Certainly not without considering how they might affect the camper structurally and how these mods might affect warranty coverage. The AMLRV warranty specifically states they will not cover damage to any units that have been structurally modified.
Another post showed this supposedly shoddy sheet metal work;


Looks bad doesn’t it?
We when we started looking at new campers recently, we did not have any particular brand loyalty although as noted, we had a very positive experience with our Adventurer (amlrv). All we knew was we wanted a quality, single slide, SB camper. We looked at several, and ultimately narrowed it down to Eagle Cap (amlrv) and Arctic Fox (Northwood) and found the EC fit our needs best. Of course, we spent a significant amount of time looking at the structural components as well. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the Eagle Cap and saw this;

Yes, the same shoddy sheet metal work displayed in the other thread! But wait a minute…is it really?


No it’s not…it is adhesive backed thin film (“aluminum foil”) used to seal all the joints around all the hatch doors.

So things aren’t always what they seem.
The “perception of quality” is an individual trait. Should we be able to purchase a brand new camper, hang several hundred pounds off the back, and when the wall starts to pull apart, be able to file a warranty claim with the Mfr?
Maybe…but I personally would not have that expectation.
The internet is a curious beast…things aren’t always what they seem. I recall thinking while reading that Adventurer thread “thou dost protest too loudly” (Shakespeare)…it was easy to post a few pics and give only one side of the story. I don’t blame amlrv for denying the warranty claim. And I sure didn’t believe all the tales being spun.
We stuck with almrv because our first camper was top quality, I believe our new Eagle Cap is also…at least that is my perception.