Happy Camper or Frustrated Owner?

JohnnyT wrote:
This thread is a rerun of a thread I ran in 2004 and again in 2005 . I was surprised and pleased that most who posted to the 2004 thread were in the happy camper category when the second thread ran.

I thought it would be constructive to run the thread again to see if there is any difference and to see if there is any new wisdom out there.
Here is a link to the previous threads;

2005


2004


This is thread is not intended to be a bashing tread, I am hoping to have a discussion that will benefit potential buyers by highlighting what they can do to give themselves the best chance to be a happy camper.

What is the best weapon to protect yourself from some of the many woe's that we read about on a daily basis on the forum. The question that keeps coming to mind is that some people will have very positive reviews of a particular make and model of a coach and others will have experiences that range from mildly frustrating to deplorable for the same make and model...
Johnny, to be perfectly frank with you, there is no way to predict or know just how bad it can get until you've done what you could to beg or plead with the RV manufacturer to at least make it right. When you buy the top-shelf, near-new units, you expect that you have bought the highest quality, and the best of a manufacturer standing behind their product.

There seems to be a wide range of opinions about the state of quality in terms of what the standard is, where the fault lies, and what the remedies ought to be...Some are of the opinion that using the word quality and motorhome in the same sentence is inappropriate while others think otherwise, and still others that think that quality is a function of the make and model.

That brings the question of what is the best weapon to protect yourself. From what I have read on the forum and garnished from the research I have done, no manufacture, no make or model is immune from quality issues. The issue as to what are the causes for lapses in quality when they do occur might be have often been discussed... Design, engineering, manufacturing, quality control at the factory, quality assurance at the dealership, or due diligence on the part of the buyer remains as an open discussion. I am thinking that there is no one universal answer to this issue...Each component plays a role..... sometimes individually and at others in concert.

The other piece of the equation has to do with how problems are handled once discovered...We have all read about the frustrations with getting timely and adequate Responses to minimize the impact of problems when they do occur.

So what is the best weapon to protect ones self from feeling more like a victim than a happy camper? Is it a selection process? Picking the right manufacture? Or picking the right dealer? Or is it more of a buyers diligence in not only picking the right manufacture and dealer or doing research up front and doing an exhaustive and thorough Pre Delivery Inspection?... Or is it in reality the luck of the draw?

So I am going to ask the hard question, giving that you chose the make and model that you did on the basis that the floorplan, chassis, and options that best meet your requirements and pocketbook..... If dissatisfied.....What could you have done differently, if anything to have the motorhome you choose to meet your expectations in terms of quality?

Absolutely nothing to forewarn myself from buying the dreadful and poor quality coach that I did. I always thought that at the end of the day, the RV's manufacturer would make it right. Boy, was I ever wrong about the manufacturer that I chose. From components, to workmanship, to the drivetrain, nothing could have been worse than the unit I bought. I had no possible way of knowing that none of it was being stood behind.

For those of you that are satisfied, how do you account for being a happy camper?

JohnnyT Moderator