BEFORE YOU BUY A TRAVEL TRAILER WATCH THIS

[RVER]

THIS is a video of how trailers were made in 2008 and the importance of that is that it is said that the quality has gone DOWN since then. WATCH this whole video, BEFORE you buy a Trailer but also motorhomes are made by the same manufacturers and I am afraid the problems also reside in them so do watch it, and do diligence when buying an RV. THERE are still companies that build in quality. This is for education, I do not know this man nor do I subscribe to his thinking but it is good to see what he is talking about and he tells how to check some things for quality so it is educational.
WATCH VIDEO BELOW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dQkQFJvuVw

[TurnThePage]

Lynnmor wrote:
We can blame lack of maintenance, like not caulking for example, but that won't help with a frame that has the strength of a wet dish rag. With these things flexing at every joint, water intrusion is sure to follow.

I really, really want a new travel trailer, but am having troubles finding one nearly as sound as my old 2004, $10k, much maligned, entry level Fleetwood Pioneer.

[valhalla360]

ScottG wrote:

I think the reason it isn't true of the RV industry is because the domestic manufacturers don't have any high quality competition like they did with auto's from Japan.

Plenty of manufacturers. This isn't the old Big-3 thinking no one can come in and beat them at their game. If the money was there, you would see overseas producers coming in. It's really pretty simple to ship an RV. If you look, the Australian market is importing US models.

The simple fact is the return on investment for putting out high end models means they aren't 10-20% higher cost but 50-100% higher and most people will never get to take advantage of that quality as it will be sold long before it comes into play.

[Lynnmor]

We can blame lack of maintenance, like not caulking for example, but that won't help with a frame that has the strength of a wet dish rag. With these things flexing at every joint, water intrusion is sure to follow.

[Camper_G]

Good video. The old adage still holds true for me, if you maintain your trailer, make sure all your caulk joints are solid, and keep the water out of it, it'll live for a while. If you don't maintain your trailer, and keep after things, this is what can happen.

[Atlee]

And there is a reason there has not been, nor, probably, ever will be that type of foreign competition. It's call volume. The entire yearly output of RV's, of all kinds, is something like .5 million. Compare that to the couple of million in motor vehicle market.

Can't imagine there will ever be a large enough market that offers foreign manufacturers a large enough incentive to jump in.

Besides, as far as I know, the Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese don't have a domestic market for RV's, especially of the size we Americans desire most.

ScottG wrote:

profdant139 wrote:
I can't argue with the OP's central point -- buyers need to be vigilant. And quality control in the RV industry is not as good as in the car industry.

I am not sure why that would be true, though. The US car makers ramped up their QC only after foreign competition forced them to do so. Why isn't the same market force at work in the RV industry??

I think the reason it isn't true of the RV industry is because the domestic manufacturers don't have any high quality competition like they did with auto's from Japan.

[Atlee]

Most folks here a) will not pay the price of "admission" to get those trailers, b) do not want that style of TT.

Those trailers would fill a very small niche here in the States. Over here, trailer buyers want as well appointed palaces on wheels as they can get. Most folks are asking if their tow vehicle can handle going from their current 26' trailer to a 34' to 36' trailer. They aren't interested in getting a TT that they can take off grid somewhere back in the wilderness.

profdant139 wrote:
We need to start importing those awesome Australian caravans that Robert Ryan is always cheerfully dangling in front of our digital noses, just out of reach. That'll shake things up! 😉

[Vintage465]

Well as one who worked on travel trailers, motorhomes, campers and every other thing that was taken camping from 1970 to 1981, I can tell you that by the mid '90's the trailers were getting better overall. Sure there are some built in any of the decades since then that were better than others. But on a whole, I think the most of them are better than they were in the 70' and 80's. I also think if anyone is really honest with them selves and sees the big picture, one has to come to the conclusion that as far as sturdy-ness goes the laminated type construction adds to the rigidity of the whole unit...delamination issues and all.

[profdant139]

We need to start importing those awesome Australian caravans that Robert Ryan is always cheerfully dangling in front of our digital noses, just out of reach. That'll shake things up! 😉

[ScottG]

profdant139 wrote:
I can't argue with the OP's central point -- buyers need to be vigilant. And quality control in the RV industry is not as good as in the car industry.

I am not sure why that would be true, though. The US car makers ramped up their QC only after foreign competition forced them to do so. Why isn't the same market force at work in the RV industry??

I think the reason it isn't true of the RV industry is because the domestic manufacturers don't have any high quality competition like they did with auto's from Japan.

[profdant139]

I can't argue with the OP's central point -- buyers need to be vigilant. And quality control in the RV industry is not as good as in the car industry.

I am not sure why that would be true, though. The US car makers ramped up their QC only after foreign competition forced them to do so. Why isn't the same market force at work in the RV industry??

[DallasSteve]

I have heard that some people see a glass of water as half full and others see it as half empty. I think I'm a half full kind of guy. I think the man on the video is a half empty kind of guy. And I really think that's the bottom line in this situation.

[parker_rowe]

NWnative wrote:
After years of owning different types of RV's, we finally went with an Airstream. More of these on the road from 30, 40, 50 years ago than any other brand. Perfect they are not however, it's has exceeded our expectations and only wish we would have purchased one years ago. Live Riveted

Unfortunately, you can buy a new camper every 10 years for the same price (depending on what you buy). And get the same 30-50 years worth of camping.

Don't get me wrong, Airstreams are awesome and I appreciate the quality. Just wished there was a manufacturer that built to the same level and had slides.

Now that I've had a slide out, I don't think I can got back. 😄

[NWnative]

After years of owning different types of RV's, we finally went with an Airstream. More of these on the road from 30, 40, 50 years ago than any other brand. Perfect they are not however, it's has exceeded our expectations and only wish we would have purchased one years ago. Live Riveted

[ScottG]

TurnThePage wrote:
I keep hearing that they build it cheap because we refuse to pay for quality. I think that's total BS. If you paid $30k for a unit that was assembled shoddily, wouldn't you be willing to pay $32k - $35k for the same unit if it was built with a little more TLC. The fact is, we DON'T get that option, even from most of the "quality" manufacturers.

We bought an Arctic Fox (Silver) because they are supposed to build one of the best quality RV's out there.
Boy was I wrong. This thing is built no better and perhaps worse than our run of the mill Forest River Wildcat was. It has certainly needed more serious repairs than the WC ever did. Repairs done by the factory were pathetic.
Many of the issues are workmanship related by people who don't care and parts sourcing from management with just the bottom line in mind. No thought is given to using even slightly better materials.

So even those that are willing to pay for better rigs wont get them.

[dodge_guy]

This is the video that should really scare you!!!! And to this day this is how all the trailers are built!

Jayco building junk!

Yes it’s an old video. Unfortunately the manuf’s have found it smart not to release a build video since! Slow down the line a bit, start paying attention to details, and you will have a quality product. I would pay $2k more to not have to properly wire all my speakers or make sure the whole house filter is secured to a stud instead of a thin wafer board! Or for that matter put scre s in all the way and clean and sweep up/vacuum after you are done!