RV manufactures
:?Hi, can I get opinions about which RV manufactures to avoid and which you know to be quality, good ones? Thanks.
Forum Discussion
I would definitely investigate dealer quality as well. Often overlooked. Some are really bad. Simple warranty repairs can take weeks to fix (or weeks and weeks). Some of them just don't care how long it takes or how many times you have to take your RV back to get the same thing worked on multiple times before they get it right. (BTDT) Some dealers are outstanding but harder to find than at the other end of things...
Some brands have terrible factory support and blow you away on what you would expect to be ordinary warranty issues. Another common thing you'll find is that the plant or factory defer to a third part supplier, like say Lippert, to determine if the problem will be covered under warranty. Often they will say you overloaded our camper or "it's within spec." and not cover you.
I would definitely look into weight capacities of campers. Assuming you are considering a trailer, do not use any factory dry weights (UVW or tongue or pin) for a buying decision. Do not believe "1/2 ton towable" labels. They conveniently do not mention payload capacity of your tow vehicle and you can find your tow vehicle seriously overloaded and you can't return the trailer. Often when you weigh your camper loaded and ready for camping, you are almost at the GVWR and have no spare capacity left and/or the tongue or pin weight is way higher (as much as double). Many don't understand this or ignore it. It's not good to overload your trailer frame and suspension which can result in major damage and/or to overload your TV.. If you can upgrade a load range in the ST tires (assuming a trailer again) I'd go with the upgrade. It's a really good idea to weigh your tow vehicle to determine what the actual payload is, not what's on the door jamb sticker or in the manufacturer's print. Then you'll know what trailer can suit your tow vehicle when shopping around.
Look inside cabinets for ex. and see how things are put together. Do drawers work properly? In particular, look underneath the trailer and see what the frame and components look like. You may not know what to look at first, but after a while you will see that there is a difference between brands and models. Two brands I know of have really flimsy & substandard frames with "extreme flex". Excessive frame flex will end up damaging the entire trailer superstructure in the long run besides ending up with frame damage.
I suggest reading some of the brand specific forums out there - Jayco, KZ, Forest River, etc. Our last TT was a FR product and we'd never buy another for a number of reasons.
Don't believe what you read in the various glossy RV magazines. They typically just talk about the lovely layout, wonderful colors and how nice it tows. Never anything on durability, quality of construction, strength of frame & suspension, etc. or quality of factory and dealer support.
If you want to buy one that is at the top of the heap, look at a Lance unit. Among the rest of them, there are better ones and lesser ones. I've read and heard that even Airstream isn't all that great. A well-recognized name doesn't necessarily mean better quality. You'll never find really good answers to your question though as many have personal opinions. Be wary of "light weight" trailers. Light weight means lighter construction throughout and thus less durability.
Most RVs have quality issues, esp. trailers, and that's just the way the industry is. Lack of design standards/codes. Lack of quality control procedures in the plant. Use of low-skilled and low-paid workers that whack the units out 24/7...
My (lengthy, once again) $.02 worth.
Next you should ask what ST tires to use, lol.... :R
Some brands have terrible factory support and blow you away on what you would expect to be ordinary warranty issues. Another common thing you'll find is that the plant or factory defer to a third part supplier, like say Lippert, to determine if the problem will be covered under warranty. Often they will say you overloaded our camper or "it's within spec." and not cover you.
I would definitely look into weight capacities of campers. Assuming you are considering a trailer, do not use any factory dry weights (UVW or tongue or pin) for a buying decision. Do not believe "1/2 ton towable" labels. They conveniently do not mention payload capacity of your tow vehicle and you can find your tow vehicle seriously overloaded and you can't return the trailer. Often when you weigh your camper loaded and ready for camping, you are almost at the GVWR and have no spare capacity left and/or the tongue or pin weight is way higher (as much as double). Many don't understand this or ignore it. It's not good to overload your trailer frame and suspension which can result in major damage and/or to overload your TV.. If you can upgrade a load range in the ST tires (assuming a trailer again) I'd go with the upgrade. It's a really good idea to weigh your tow vehicle to determine what the actual payload is, not what's on the door jamb sticker or in the manufacturer's print. Then you'll know what trailer can suit your tow vehicle when shopping around.
Look inside cabinets for ex. and see how things are put together. Do drawers work properly? In particular, look underneath the trailer and see what the frame and components look like. You may not know what to look at first, but after a while you will see that there is a difference between brands and models. Two brands I know of have really flimsy & substandard frames with "extreme flex". Excessive frame flex will end up damaging the entire trailer superstructure in the long run besides ending up with frame damage.
I suggest reading some of the brand specific forums out there - Jayco, KZ, Forest River, etc. Our last TT was a FR product and we'd never buy another for a number of reasons.
Don't believe what you read in the various glossy RV magazines. They typically just talk about the lovely layout, wonderful colors and how nice it tows. Never anything on durability, quality of construction, strength of frame & suspension, etc. or quality of factory and dealer support.
If you want to buy one that is at the top of the heap, look at a Lance unit. Among the rest of them, there are better ones and lesser ones. I've read and heard that even Airstream isn't all that great. A well-recognized name doesn't necessarily mean better quality. You'll never find really good answers to your question though as many have personal opinions. Be wary of "light weight" trailers. Light weight means lighter construction throughout and thus less durability.
Most RVs have quality issues, esp. trailers, and that's just the way the industry is. Lack of design standards/codes. Lack of quality control procedures in the plant. Use of low-skilled and low-paid workers that whack the units out 24/7...
My (lengthy, once again) $.02 worth.
Next you should ask what ST tires to use, lol.... :R
