georgelesley wrote:
The devil is in the details you mostly cannot see. Such as insulation, ease of maintenance, etc. for example: a cousin of ours and his DW just bought a 2019 Georgetown. Not sure of the model but it is 38’ long on a gas F-53 chassis.
I did the predelivery inspection with him. I quickly noted a few simple things that show cost cutting. One was the house batteries were in a compartment with a fixed shelf. No easy way to check them or add water. A pull out tray would make more sense but add cost. Have fun cleaning corrosion off the battery posts oe adding water to the batteries. I suggested he put a single point water fill system on them or he will never get around to checking them. Second: At least one of the water drains (might have been the hot water drain, memory fails me) for winterizing was under the coach, requiring him to get under the coach to drain it. He has bad knees and was not impressed. I saw this because we had to winterize it immediately.
Another example was the chassis engine oil fill tube was positioned such that adding oil will be a challenge. I suggested he plan on buying an electric oil pump. I also noted the shower control knobs were on the wall just above the shower seat. Imagine taking a shower with water controls behind you. I suspect there are more such “invisible” issues.
That being said, I thought it had a great floor plan, was well equipped and the cabinets and most furniture looked pretty good.
Having RV’ed for over 40 years and bought many different ones, remember they build them to appeal to the ladies mostly. Thus the interiors will be colorful, kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms equipped nicely. For us guys the drivers seat and dash will usually be nice and some outside stuff we care about will also be nice, but things you cannot see or will likely not notice may not be as nice.
Each of these issues I have mentioned could have been easily and cheaply made better during manufacture but would have raised the price modestly. To meet the desired price point cut will be made. Probably all could have been done for the cost of making the king bed into a queen instead. Guess why it is a king? BTW, the couple in question have a queen bed at home...
My final opinion from what I saw was that it was not a bad value for the money, just look closely and see if it meets your needs or whether for a bit more money another brand may be better for you.
Thanks for the detailed response. I haven't ruled them out but will take a look. I'm less swayed by glitz and more about functionality and have a pretty good eye for things that could have been done better. My wife also looks at things pragmatically. We both couldn't care less about the flashy bits that they used to sell, what we do care about is quality and functionality. If Newmar or Tiffin had the drop down bunk set up we really want, it wouldn't be a decision. But their bunk mechanisms are the worst design of any brand we looked at. We my have to shrug off that concession, but it's a going to be a huge PITA for our 16 year old to make/unmake a sofa bed every day. it's almost a deal breaker. So far, Winnie has the best mix of what we are after. I would put their quality 3rd but they check every box otherwise. And when I say 3rd, it's a pretty close race. There doesn't seem to be a huge gap in quality between Newmar, Tiffin and Winnie. However, there is a pretty sizable difference in quality between these 3 and most other brands. Georgetown seems to be teetering in there somewhere.
