2019 Kodiak water in wheel well
I recently sold my NL TC and moved to a 2019 Kodiak Ultra Lite 201QB. Its in great shape but that never means "perfect" though what is. I've taken it on 1 weekend trip and with heavy rain found t...
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Sure, I get it. I had a Northernlite TC for a few years that I just sold and moved to this TT. I liked some things and hated some things about the way they built the NL. I saw other TC and know that in general the NL was much better in most regards. What I really liked about the NL is any questions I had, I could email NL and the owner would get back to me within a day. I understand company A operates differently than company B, so it's not fair to say A is great and B is terrible across the board based on one factor.
I did a lot of research and found the same as what has been mentioned (all TT are garbage). When looking at various options (TC, Class B, Class C, TT, 5er, etc) I noticed most had issues in some areas across the board. The NL was selected because it's structure is fiberglass so even if there is water issues, it shouldn't disintegrate. The Kodiak was selected for the same reason. They both have "wood" (the cheapest 1/8" plywood in existence), but the structure should be good. I wasn't expecting to find on a nearly new TT water issues from the factory. It was a surprise that this was effectively by design.
I talked to Dutchmen CSR today and they said that the way the wheel well was installed was as designed. And yes, the flimsy fender flare with the minuscule silicon bead is truly the way they designed the waterproofing on the wheel wells.
So basically what I've now learned is that I would not make it in the RV industry because I would make things too expensive to sell. Making a watertight exterior is apparently cost prohibitive for whatever reason.
EDIT: I really don't know what "high end" is, but the Kodiak was referred to in a way to suggest it was better than the obvious garbage meant to last for 1-2 years. A friend bought a used Montana 5er last summer and it is generally called "high end". They have had so many water issues I don't think they will be able to move it by the end of the year. It wasn't perfect when they picked it up, but the issues were very minor (on the surface). It makes me wonder if the Airstream TT are "high end" or if people think they are and are happy because they paid so much for them.
I did a lot of research and found the same as what has been mentioned (all TT are garbage). When looking at various options (TC, Class B, Class C, TT, 5er, etc) I noticed most had issues in some areas across the board. The NL was selected because it's structure is fiberglass so even if there is water issues, it shouldn't disintegrate. The Kodiak was selected for the same reason. They both have "wood" (the cheapest 1/8" plywood in existence), but the structure should be good. I wasn't expecting to find on a nearly new TT water issues from the factory. It was a surprise that this was effectively by design.
I talked to Dutchmen CSR today and they said that the way the wheel well was installed was as designed. And yes, the flimsy fender flare with the minuscule silicon bead is truly the way they designed the waterproofing on the wheel wells.
So basically what I've now learned is that I would not make it in the RV industry because I would make things too expensive to sell. Making a watertight exterior is apparently cost prohibitive for whatever reason.
EDIT: I really don't know what "high end" is, but the Kodiak was referred to in a way to suggest it was better than the obvious garbage meant to last for 1-2 years. A friend bought a used Montana 5er last summer and it is generally called "high end". They have had so many water issues I don't think they will be able to move it by the end of the year. It wasn't perfect when they picked it up, but the issues were very minor (on the surface). It makes me wonder if the Airstream TT are "high end" or if people think they are and are happy because they paid so much for them.
