Who's Looking Out for Our Interests?
As a group of people that have a single interest at heart (RV's and all that goes with that term) It seems to me that we are terribly under-represented in the halls of government and with almost no cl...
Forum Discussion
"It is a Call to the RV PRESS to step forward and become more like the Automotive press and Criticize bad quality, design and questionable products when they see them...ie Take More responsibility."
Having freelanced in the RV media for years, and written for Motorhome, Trailer Life, FMCA, and plenty of regionals, I can say, sure, there's plenty of financial incentive not to "bad mouth," the advertiser. But as others have commented, it's difficult to get a handle on poor quality -- other than really obvious poor quality -- until some time of bouncing down the road with your unit. Yes, I hear complaints about this rig or that, but oftentimes, the problem is again, subjective, not objective.
If you pick up a copy of Consumer Reports that goes back and evaluates autos from a historical perspective, they base their ratings on a wealth of (hopefully) quantified data, something you can sink your teeth into. If the press had that intestinal fortitude to report on the no-goodnicks, they'd still need to have solid facts to work from.
The poster who suggested a genuine, ongoing survey, may be on to something. But then, there'd need to be an independent, non-advertiser-driven medium to put out the information. Consumer Reports appeals to a wide audience, is the niche market of RVers enough to really financially support something like it? Since I'm on the editorial side, rather than the dollars and cents, I couldn't comment. Wish there really was a clear-cut answer to this ages old, and frustrating issue.
Having freelanced in the RV media for years, and written for Motorhome, Trailer Life, FMCA, and plenty of regionals, I can say, sure, there's plenty of financial incentive not to "bad mouth," the advertiser. But as others have commented, it's difficult to get a handle on poor quality -- other than really obvious poor quality -- until some time of bouncing down the road with your unit. Yes, I hear complaints about this rig or that, but oftentimes, the problem is again, subjective, not objective.
If you pick up a copy of Consumer Reports that goes back and evaluates autos from a historical perspective, they base their ratings on a wealth of (hopefully) quantified data, something you can sink your teeth into. If the press had that intestinal fortitude to report on the no-goodnicks, they'd still need to have solid facts to work from.
The poster who suggested a genuine, ongoing survey, may be on to something. But then, there'd need to be an independent, non-advertiser-driven medium to put out the information. Consumer Reports appeals to a wide audience, is the niche market of RVers enough to really financially support something like it? Since I'm on the editorial side, rather than the dollars and cents, I couldn't comment. Wish there really was a clear-cut answer to this ages old, and frustrating issue.
