RV Build Quality?

[TooTall2]

I'm seeing a lot of quality issues with my Forest River Mini Lite. I've had many RV's and all leave a little to be desired when it comes to build quality. Your thoughts, see the short video below. I'd love to know for future upgrades which MFG has the best build quality. Exclude Airstream. ha.

RV Build Quality? Your thoughts?

[TooTall2]

westend wrote:
Really poor welding on the seat supports. Anyone thinking about how to tack those all together would have just moved their hand over to the other side to put another weld on them.
I'm not really up on the latest and greatest but from my reading, the Livinglite aluminum trailers seemed well built and folks that own them do like them.

Thanks, and yes, maybe 10 seconds to add another bead and weight of the extras bead is not a factor.

[TooTall2]

Thanks for the tips on the Northwood Manufacturing etc.. I'm going to look at those when I upgrade. I'm more than willing to pay for quality. Weight isn't an issue as my RAM/ Cummins is pretty capable. These things are facades, they look great on the outside but when you start digging, it's a different story.

[Tequila]

deltabravo wrote:
Northwood Manufacturing (Arctic Fox, Snow River, Desert Fox, Nash) are pretty decent from what I've seen.

My parents started with a AF 26X, then downsized to a 25J.
I started with a Desert Fox 21SW toy hauler, then downsized to a 811 truck camper.

None of the above have had any issues.

Had plenty of issues with mine. The one big advantage they have is strong frames, but I have had more than a few issues with plumbing and leaks. Rihg tnow my slide storage compartment is soaked so I have to figure out how water is getting in there.

[Alabama_Jim]

Riverside Mfg. in Lagrange, IN. builds a quality trailer.

[jmtandem]

I'm seeing a lot of quality issues with my Forest River Mini Lite. I've had many RV's and all leave a little to be desired when it comes to build quality. Your thoughts

You sort of answered you own issue. "Mini Lite" rarely equates to 'heavy', 'well built' or 'longevity'. That is why you can pay upwards of $100,000 for a nice Airstream that will last and last or $500K and up for a nice Prevost motorhome. Quality is out there if you want to pay for it in weight and price. The previous posters are correct in that the buyers dictate what sells and as long as buyers don't care about quality they will purchase and manufacturers will make and sell marginal quality RVs. The saddest part of a poorly built RV is that it may not last the length of payments. Most full timers have long ago figured out that they need, not want, quality in their RV home. Substandard stuff is problematic and never lasts and full timers don't like their home in the shop getting more minor and sometimes major stuff fixed all the time.

It is not all the manufacturer's issue, folks pull up to the RV dealership with a barely able at best tow vehicle and expect the dealer to find an RV that will work behind it. Again, back to "mini and lite".

[goducks10]

rbpru wrote:
If you look at the build quality of a Chevy vs a Ferrari I am sure you will see a quality gap. Each is built to different levels of expectations.

The RV industry concentrates on parts out the door. In my TT I have seen screws spanning gaps, cabinet doors hard to close and a few other other items that indicates a "good enough" attitude.

That said a lot depends on the target market, if you are a serious bicycle rider, only a carbon frame will do. Most folks will not pay that much for a bike. If you use your TT eight times a year to visit places close by on your limited budget and two week vacation, your needs are different than a hard core boonbocker.

The industry builds what will sell, the bulk of which includes "good enough" assembly.

Exactly, well put. Probably why you usually only get a 1 year warranty. Pretty sad that you can spend upwards of $50-80,000 MSRP and only get a 1 year warranty. That alone should tell us about what the RV MFG's think of their own quality.

[rbpru]

If you look at the build quality of a Chevy vs a Ferrari I am sure you will see a quality gap. Each is built to different levels of expectations.

The RV industry concentrates on parts out the door. In my TT I have seen screws spanning gaps, cabinet doors hard to close and a few other other items that indicates a "good enough" attitude.

That said a lot depends on the target market, if you are a serious bicycle rider, only a carbon frame will do. Most folks will not pay that much for a bike. If you use your TT eight times a year to visit places close by on your limited budget and two week vacation, your needs are different than a hard core boonbocker.

The industry builds what will sell, the bulk of which includes "good enough" assembly.

[trail-explorer]

Northwood and Outdoors RV both build their own frames rather than use the low-end frames put out by Lippert.

I've seen a lot of posts hear about issues with Lippert Frames having problems.

[goducks10]

Less welds means less weight. That's how they can call it a Mini 'Lite'.

As far as quality goes. My Northwood Fox Mountain had a fully welded booth dinette. We replaced it with a free standing dinette. I sold the whole booth setup to a guy that was rebuilding a camper. Obviously it was well constructed or no one would've wanted to buy it.
To top that, our bed support frame that lifts up is a fully welded aluminum structure. It also has plywood on it. Many you see are just plywood or worse yet OSB board.
Northwood's may not be all blingy but they are built solid. Show me another 27'10" 5th wheel with 4315lbs of CCC. You get what you pay for.

[K_Charles]

If you buy the cheapest one you can find, the build quality won't be the best. If you don't mind paying for it you can still buy a well built RV.

[downtheroad]

On the bright side, the wood block inside the tubing is a good thing. It gives the screw something to "bite" into and will hold much better than just screwing into the thin wall of the tubing alone.

As far as quality, our new Arctic Fox is heads above the previous 4 trailers we have owned...but they are heavier and more expensive.

One problem with quality is that people want trailers that are super light weight and inexpensive. Something has to give and it's often quality that suffers.

[deltabravo]

Northwood Manufacturing (Arctic Fox, Snow River, Desert Fox, Nash) are pretty decent from what I've seen.

My parents started with a AF 26X, then downsized to a 25J.
I started with a Desert Fox 21SW toy hauler, then downsized to a 811 truck camper.

None of the above have had any issues.

[westend]

Really poor welding on the seat supports. Anyone thinking about how to tack those all together would have just moved their hand over to the other side to put another weld on them.
I'm not really up on the latest and greatest but from my reading, the Livinglite aluminum trailers seemed well built and folks that own them do like them.