Control your expectations!

[garyemunson]

This year has seen an explosion of RV sales with a lot of first-timers buying RVs. There's been a lot of people posting their discontent with things breaking and falling off and complaining about poor quality in general. People need to keep in mind that you are in effect dragging your house down the road submitting it to constant shaking. When not in use it bakes in the sun and freezes without heat. When you buy an RV, you better be prepared to babysit your RV coach as long as you own it. You need screwdrivers to fit whatever type fasteners hold it together and regularly spend time retightening them. They WILL get loose. Trim is going to fall off so small tacks and Liquid Nails will be your friend. It will be much better for your blood pressure to just take care of the little stuff on your own (even if you are still under warranty). How much is your time worth taking the rig to the dealer then having to return later to pick it back up? The upside to this is you will learn a lot about your possession and minor issue on the road can be quickly taken care of with your acquired knowledge. Leave the big stuff to the pros but get proficient at taking care of the small problems (because you will have plenty of them).

[SidecarFlip]

Built by Amish shoemakers....:E

[myredracer]

NanciL wrote:
Plain and simple they are producing junk today with the worst workmanship and materials that exist

jack L

I totally agree with this.^^^

I could write a book on all the ridiculous things we've had to deal with including having a brand new RV replaced under warranty due to bad design and workmanship. The way they build these things is atrocious.

[SidecarFlip]

Told my wife when I pass, she will have one heck of a sale. 3 welders, 1 TIG, 1 pulsed MIG and one engine driven ac/dc high frequency, a metal shear, forming rolls, oxy-acetylene outfit, 3 compressors, CNC plasma cutter and table, 3 metal lathes, a Bridgeport, a toolroom surface grinder, 3 roll around tool boxes stuffed with tools, 2 wood machinist chests loaded, and all the tooling to run all the machines plus a trolley mounted overhead air hoist, 3 motorcycles, 2 quads and a partridge in a pear tree... Don't include all the guns and reloading equipment and all the hunting stuff I own.

Took me 67 years to amass it and I'm not about to part with any....

[toedtoes]

Hey everyone, I'll be happy to take those old tools off your hands!!! I'll trade you for some repair shop business cards.

Plan on keeping my clipper going for another 40 years!

[rockhillmanor]

When I bought my first TT and then found this forum I couldn't believe "all" the posts constantly complaining about quality, breaking down,inferior parts and bad handling on the motorized RV's.

I was confused because my first TT was a solid as a rock and when I moved on to a MH it ran fine, road like a limo, and I had no problems.

What I saw was the majority of the posts needing help, complaining, repairs needed, etc were usually from RV'er with newer RV's! And since then

I have seen my friends struggle with new RV's and honestly they 'are' built pretty poorly inside and out. When we all go to sporting events together it's my friends with the newer RV's that are constantly breaking down or needing parts while we are on the road

I just feel real blessed I decided to go used and old. :B

[SidecarFlip]

People today have been conditioned to not even perform simple repairs or perform needed maintenance. We live in 'plug and play' society now. If it breaks, do a couple things, whine about it on the Internet or take it back and expect immediate repairs and satisfaction or toss it in the garbage and relegate it to a landfill.

Consequently, when a sub standard built RV has issues, they do the first 2 because tossing it in the garbage isn't an option because it's usually accompanied with a fat payment book.

Being an old, old time RV'er, I knew going into a newer unit that I would most likely have some issue and I was very pleasantly surprised when I did not, but I also suspect that I'm in the minority. My unit is 3 years old now, built just prior to the push 'em out the door as fast as possible industry credo today.

I would not even consider a new unit today because the industry is stretched so tight that quality is second to production. Build 'em cheap, stack 'em deep and sell 'em for what the mnarket will bear.

Gotta love it. Keeps forums like this one alive with issues.

[EstorilM]

SidecarFlip wrote:

NanciL wrote:
Ha !
I looked at when you came on RV. net, and when I saw the date, I figured it was obvious.

It is not what you state at all.
Plain and simple they are producing junk today with the worst workmanship and materials that exist

I bought my first travel trailer twenty years ago and put 20,000 miles on it with out a problem including a round trip to Alaska.
Then we wanted a little bigger one, so we bought a 25 footer ten years ago. We never had a problem with that one either and put about 10,000 miles on it.
Last year we sold it and bought a brand new 37 footer which is permanently on a site. I towed it from the dealers, two miles (2) to the site, and it is nothing but a piece of junk.
I could fill a page here with every thing that either went wrong or flat out broke.

I have built two houses from the ground up, including the wiring and the plumbing and I can tell you that nothing for sale today is built as shoddy as an Rv unless you buy one of the absolute few high end ones.

jack L

Yep. High priced junk too. Now is not the time to buy any RV.

Some people are just getting into it though, and don't have a choice. Can't really put our lives on hold because "not is not the time to buy an RV".

I travel a lot with my girlfriend as we shoot horse shows all over the east coast. We had been camping with a large cabin tent and AC, etc.. but that's hundreds of lbs of gear and takes about 2hrs to set up and pack up, usually in 100deg heat.

Our business (2nd job for both of us, but basically a hobby/vacation as well) has expanded enough that we NEEDED to get an rv.

Do we have 40k to spend on our first TT ever? Nooo sir. I'm in my early 30s and shes in her late 20s!

So yes, I'm aware that they "don't make em like they used to" but I also know that I (and many others) have very few choices. Ended up getting our 30' RL slide / oven / wireless control for awning, both stabilizers, and slide TT for right at 15k out the door, tax tags etc.. and it's big enough that we can keep it for 10 years and not need to upgrade (hopefully!)

I don't mind working on it myself (done everything from auto restorations to computer builds, many construction projects) but I guess it is what it is.

At the end of they day, they're still providing people with capabilities that couples, families, etc have never had the opportunity to experience before.

PS I did get the stupid 3yr Elite warranty on it including roadside assistance, towing, and coverage for tow vehicle-related expenses, but I know how these things work, and so far it's been stupid **** that I can fix myself instead of towing it 50 miles to the nearest dealer to fix a seal or a screw.

[SidecarFlip]

NanciL wrote:
Ha !
I looked at when you came on RV. net, and when I saw the date, I figured it was obvious.

It is not what you state at all.
Plain and simple they are producing junk today with the worst workmanship and materials that exist

I bought my first travel trailer twenty years ago and put 20,000 miles on it with out a problem including a round trip to Alaska.
Then we wanted a little bigger one, so we bought a 25 footer ten years ago. We never had a problem with that one either and put about 10,000 miles on it.
Last year we sold it and bought a brand new 37 footer which is permanently on a site. I towed it from the dealers, two miles (2) to the site, and it is nothing but a piece of junk.
I could fill a page here with every thing that either went wrong or flat out broke.

I have built two houses from the ground up, including the wiring and the plumbing and I can tell you that nothing for sale today is built as shoddy as an Rv unless you buy one of the absolute few high end ones.

jack L

Yep. High priced junk too. Now is not the time to buy any RV.

[jamnw]

Outstanding post!

[Anmacc2]

As I'm getting older: my toys are tending to be newer, I tend to putter more than work, I'm less fussy about things being perfect, and I'd rather play with it than fix it. I have an extensive tool collection that I lend out to my kids for my own convenience and excuses.

[Grit_dog]

Good thread. People seem to overlook the fact that 1. RVs are generally built with the intention of being as light weight as possible. Lighter weight typically = not as strong with conventional materials. 2. Who's never had to do a repair on their house?
Some folks act like their new RV should load itself and cook them breakfast the next morning. It's a wood box on wheels.
By the same token, not denying some quality issues, not unlike a lot of products.

With my relatively short experience with RVs being 2 older TCs over the last 5 years, I'm actually encouraged at the lack of issues in general. The couple real issues I've had were either self inflicted or moreso a product of aged components.
To put in perspective though, I repair 95% of everything I own myself and have a good deal of experience in mechanics and construction so a BiG issue to someone else may not seem so to me.

[free_radical]

garyemunson wrote:
This year has seen an explosion of RV sales with a lot of first-timers buying RVs. There's been a lot of people posting their discontent with things breaking and falling off and complaining about poor quality in general. People need to keep in mind that you are in effect dragging your house down the road submitting it to constant shaking. When not in use it bakes in the sun and freezes without heat. When you buy an RV, you better be prepared to babysit your RV coach as long as you own it. You need screwdrivers to fit whatever type fasteners hold it together and regularly spend time retightening them. They WILL get loose. Trim is going to fall off so small tacks and Liquid Nails will be your friend. It will be much better for your blood pressure to just take care of the little stuff on your own (even if you are still under warranty). How much is your time worth taking the rig to the dealer then having to return later to pick it back up? The upside to this is you will learn a lot about your possession and minor issue on the road can be quickly taken care of with your acquired knowledge. Leave the big stuff to the pros but get proficient at taking care of the small problems (because you will have plenty of them).

And thats one reason I built my own TC instead,,
Plus no one makes anything as aerodynamic and well insulated,,
R-10 rigid foam everywhere..
Simple plywood glued together and nothing came loose yet in all these years,
,if I can do it why cant RV builders?

[free_radical]

Terryallan wrote:
Agree. Let your house be hit by a 7.5 earthquake and 80 MPH winds, and see if any thing breaks

If I was living in earthquake zone Id be building houses using these panels.

http://www.tridipanel.com/index.php

🙂

[BadgerMcAdams]

Dad taught me that the cover off a match book will set the points pretty close. Funny the little things you pick up over the years, bent over inside the engine compartment of your vehicle.

Back when I worked on cars, I always said that they needed to make the designers and engineers have to WORK on a vehicle they designed...Not a fresh one off the line, but one that had 50,000 miles or more on it. Make them figure out how they are going to adjust the timing when it is scant inches away from the Fan. Or change the spark plugs when you can't even reach the plug wires from the top, you have to go through the gap in the fender. They would think twice about trying to put 100 cu feet of junk in a 10 cubic foot space.