Motor homes over the years

GHOST1750 wrote:
Compared to some of you I am a fairly new in the motor home world. My first motor home I took delivery 18 years ago on May 16, 2001. Then in Dec. 2002 I took delivery of my first diesel, both being Nationals. Took off for the East coast without thought or worry shortly after delivery both times, no problems . Now I'm on my third, a Newmar Canyon Star since a year ago January and I follow forums and it is scary when you read about people's problems. Even the conversations on Open Road Forum has changed. Do you feel that the RV manufacturing is getting more sloppy or is it Government requirements that are the problem. Even with automobiles, I own 9 cars, 8 of those being General motors (6 are business cars) and am having problems that I have never experienced in the 37 years I have been in business.

So, how has the Newmar been treating you?
These days, per dollar value and adjusted for inflation, the prices are the same as they were 20yrs ago for questionable quality, but much of this is spent on the WOW factors and gadgets, so again, our only choice for our budget, was to drop back in the years for obtaining some kind of quality in a DP and after 3 yrs of ownership experience, it seems that we have done that.
In retrospect, our old 98 National, sold for about $97K new, so that's approx. $153K now, which I guess, will buy you a decent gasser, when you think about it.
Certainly not your Father's Oldsmobile and probably a good thing.

Order my rig 5/16 took 6 months to build,spend numerous trips at the factory, it was built to my specifications an is basically one of a kind built by Haulmark. Picked it up 10/16 spent 4 days going over everything then hit the road had not had any problem other than routine maintenance.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
"I'll still take today's RV's and automobiles over any of the vehicles I owned in the past".

I still wish I had my 54 ford convertible that I had in HS. But I know what you mean, my wife's 1967 Mustang eng only had 50K miles on the eng before it was changed. Yesterday's RV's were much simpler also. My first was a bread truck I converted into an RV. The next two were class B vans. No complicated systems and few problems compared to my Class A. I think the main reason people complain about low quality of their RV's is that they are not made in a production fashion like cars. Because of low quantity's much of the RV's are dependent on the skill of the workers rather than the production processes like NC machines . Setting up a production line using automated processes for a few hundred RV's would be cost prohibitive. Every trip something breaks or needs fixing. The only things I never had to fix were the two roof top AC's,furnace and the slide. Having said all that the refer, WH, HWH Jacks, furnace, ACs, genset are all 24 years old and still working.

My first RV, a '79 class C Roll-a-Long purchased at 10 years of age, was used by me for 10 years with no issues other than the roof AC needing to be replaced about 7 years after we bought. That means that it lasted 17 years, and all of the other appliances were still going strong at 20 years of age when we sold it. The next RV was a '89 class C Jamboree also purchased at 10 years of age. Used that one for 15 years without a single appliance or house related failure other than a furnace control board. Had to rebuild the transmission, and repair the dash AC during it's tenure with us, but nothing more. I'm hopeful that my current '04 class A Itasca (purchased at 12 years of age) will be as dependable, but I do wonder.

A big part of the equation, I think, is the "throw-away" mindset of almost all products manufactured today. How long is the expected lifespan of a roof AC today vs 20 years ago? Certainly not the 17+ years I got out of my first and second, even though the units look and perform pretty much exactly the same, and are tasked with exactly the same job. We recently purchased a new washer & dryer (Maytag, for the S&B house). After just 2 years, the transmission on the washer went out. This didn't even surprise the repair guy; he said it's common! Really? My last washer lasted 15 years, and was STILL going when I bought this new one! So while the internet has indeed allowed access to more stories of failure, I do believe that the failure rate is indeed increasing, at least on major appliances and components. Add of course the ever increasing complexity of many of those components just adds to the problem, as does the requirement for RV manufacturers to knock out as many RVs as possible in as short a time as possible.

Our first RV was a 2004 Itasca Sunrise. One warranty fix, three Workhorse recalls, and zero major issues. Loved that RV.

We tried a Rockwood trailer, but after a couple years, found we were still using the Sunrise more than the trailer. Several major issues with the slides finally convinced us we weren't trailer people.

We finally gave in and traded both for a 2018 Winnebago Forza. Four pages of warranty fixes, all coach. Zero issues with Freightliner or Cummins. Overall, though, and considering that her shakedown trip was to Alaska and back, she's done really well.

But I still miss the Itasca...

We have owned 2 TT’s (2000 Jayco Kiwi, 2003 KZ Sportsman) and now our 2012 Winnebago Vista Class A. All have required constant maintenance and fixing throughout the year. For example, we bought the A used in 2016, and both rooftop AC units have since failed and needed replacing, which we hear is common for this Coleman model HP. The F53 chassis has also had its share of problems requiring repair be either me or my RV shop.

New or old, my experience is these toys need constant repair so be prepared if you want to move up from a tent to wheeled camping.

while these regulations affect RVs

these regs are due to the increased amount of local commercial truck traffic
using these engines

Doug - Would value your confirmation on the added problems of RV ownerships due to the rapid number of smog related regulations rolled out? From about say 2005 and on smog regulations, and thus the need of the engine manufactures to design and certify (Many times on very short cycles.) new equipment to meet the new regulations.) (And note: This is not intended as a anti smog post, it's about the frequency of the changes and how they were rolled out...).

Many systems and components in RV's, but I've watched forums traffic in the engine related areas problems grow due to the teething pains of new smog levels equipments maturing cycle.

TIA for your perception,
Smitty

As someone who has been involved in the RV industry for almost 50 years(OEM and a Dealer Tech), the problems are not that great. The Internet just allows for people that have major problems to post. People that are happy have better things to do with their life than waste time posting on the Internet. The Majority of RV'ers experience NO problems that inhibit the use of the motorhome. I can remember the Trailers and Motorhomes were just a box on a chassis and had a AC/Furnace/water heater/Refer. NO TV's/Microwaves VCR's and such. The Chassis are supplied by VERY LARGE Makers of chassis's. Engines and Transmissions the same. Appliances in the RV's are supplied by LARGE suppliers. You cannot blame the OEM's for appliances and chassis issues when they fail. Just like you don't blame the Residential home builder when the appliances and such fail. Remember, a lot of postings on forums are for older RV's and they break or people need help. MY happiest customers are the people that use their RV more than 6 months a year. They are IN the RV and get the various problems worked out in a few months and then go enjoy it. The dissatisfied RV'ers I have never use the new RV and never get the shakedown items addressed and each time they infrequently take it out those problems ruin their experience. Doug

Tyler0215 wrote:
My Dad always complained about modern cars not being as good as back in "the good ole days."
When you had drum brakes all around, that were hard to keep adjusted. When the brakes were adjusted you still wondered if you were going to stop when it rained.

When you had points and condensers that needed replaced every 15k miles.

No PS, PB or AC.
Ahh yes the good old days.

Cars and RV's are much more compllcated now but overall I would not want to back.

I agree on vehicles. On RV's especially motor homes, I can see (observe) the lack of quality and assembly unless you are ready to spend the huge bucks. Have a good friend with a custom Prevost. It's put together but at 1.5, it better be.