vtraudt
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Re: Kia, Hyundai: Please come to the rescue "Pathetic Quality"
Arn wrote: Unfortunately inspection is a lost art. In North American manufacturing there has been a major swing to self inspection. If I do it wrong without realizing it then it goes down the line like that. Owners save money by having a minimal quality department at the expense of, you guessed it, product quality. And if supply and demand are somewhat in balance, then there IS a penalty (=cost) associated with low product quality. But currently, it is and Indiana monopoly (the RV Mafia), and they get by even AFTER the 2021 price hike of 25% (last dealer survey).808Views0likes0CommentsRe: Kia, Hyundai: Please come to the rescue "Pathetic Quality"
rjstractor wrote: I'm not sure why Kia and Hyundai were mentioned in the OPs post Simply space holders for any market disruptors, those being the most recent once from the auto industry. Earlier examples where Honda, Toyota. Could be a new player from Canada or Mexico. Could be a new player outside the current "Indiana Cartel" that holds a monopoly on the RV market in the US. Maybe a big European manufacturer wants to seize the opportunity and break into the North American domestic market with a good value proposition (bang for buck, Quality:Price ratio). Or a big China player just buying up one of the Cartel members, putting up new plants outside Indiana, new top management, more dedicated managers and workforce.808Views0likes0CommentsRe: Kia, Hyundai: Please come to the rescue "Pathetic Quality"
The current situation: - high demand (so companies get away with PATHETIC quality "proudly made in USA" (big sticker on my Forest River trailer) - workforce shortage (so workers get away with "I don't give a ****" attitued towards quality and craftsmanship) - qualified, skilled, good attitude workforce shortage (so works stay on the job that would normally be fired on the spot) - managment that makes tons of profit for the shareholders (very high demand) - NO outside (of Indiana) competition so EVERYONE is having a good time/profit by providing the same pathetic quality since no one gets penalized329Views0likes0CommentsKia, Hyundai: Please come to the rescue "Pathetic Quality"
I think the market is ripe for a 'disrupter'. Maybe foreign builders need to enter the market to wake up the "Indiana RV Maffia" "One West Coast dealer echoed those thoughts. “My greatest fear now is watching the motorized RV industry get toppled,” he said. “They just don’t have the expertise to complete a motorhome in Northern Indiana anymore. Their labor force has no eye for quality and they have no way of teaching it. The industry is ripe for someone else to step in and start producing quality products, but it will likely have to be someplace other than Indiana. Right now, if the workers there get upset by something, they just walk off because it’s easy to get a job in Elkhart right now.” https://www.rvtravel.com/pathetic-quality-rv-dealers-fed-manufacturers-producing-1017b/?fbclid=IwAR2teVjEoUA7FN2L5rJzIU89iYB3WXm9dyZ8Wu309q_2BSBiX0UVYKrj7cw7.3KViews0likes26CommentsRe: Rear Bumper Storage - how bad is it?
Skibane wrote: vtraudt wrote: Only concerned about the increased sway tendency from the added mass so far away from center. Any mass you added to the hitch tongue would tend to counteract the additional mass in the back. At any given instant, any torque applied by the mass in the back will be resisted by the mass in the front. No, that is not how inertia works. Any mass added away from the center line ADDS to the inertia.815Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rear Bumper Storage - how bad is it?
mleekamp wrote: BTW, our current Class C, I added a spare tire carrier and spare...the carrier alone was HEAVY -- solid steel -- to carry the 200lb (guestimate) spare tire. The carrier also allows me to still tow a car flat down or trailer. On the C, on a 450 chassis, I don't notice it at all. You probably experienced the same on a C... On my first class C, I mounted a HUGE wooden box (on wheels, serving as outdoor storage in the winter) to the rear frame (Chevy class C chassis, 25 ft, huge rear overhang). It was SO heavy, that going through road 'dips' it felt (or actual?) the front wheels came OFF THE GROUND. Also: front brakes locked up like CRAZY during emergency braking (no weight!). In retrospect: I was a nutty setup!814Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rear Bumper Storage - how bad is it?
Seon wrote: I added an aluminum tool box at the rear then added larger propane tanks, two batteries and a 2k generator up front to Not afraid about the weight balance (I plan to add storage up front as well) or overall weight (we travel fairly light, plenty off weight 'room' to get to our 7500 lb trailer weight limit). Obviously, under floor storage (near axle, or further to the front) would be ideal, but inconvenient (will add some 'shelf' down there for storing boards, battery relocation, spare tire and other stuff not often needed). Only concerned about the increased sway tendency from the added mass so far away from center.814Views0likes0CommentsRear Bumper Storage - how bad is it?
The easiest place to make more room for stuff is the rear of the trailer. I used a large platform on all my Class C RV. But now with travel trailer, any mass added 'back there' is not just reducing the tongue weight (which could be compensated by relocating items). But adding mass so far away from the center adds a LOT of inertia to the trailer. I am wondering how much it can or will impact the towing stability and sway tendency.4.4KViews0likes14CommentsRe: Adding scissor jacks for side to side leveling
JRscooby wrote: What is wrong with that simple view point? Doesn’t need a discussion of gravity. There is nothgin wrong per se with the simple few: the rear overhang when on wheels is bending the frame down under its weight/mass (gravity does it, and in addition, acceleration (from bumps) does it too. Bend lifting up, it is bending the frame up by (simplified) the same amount. Regarding uneven "twisting". If you drive through a pothole with one side of camper only, the same 'twisting' of the frame will occurs as if you lift on one corner only. How much (in accurate terms and amounts) bending down (gravity, acceleration from bumps) and up (lifting, bumps) takes place is difficult to calculate (too many unknown variables). Fact is: our trailers bend A LOT already (mostly down)1.5KViews0likes0Comments
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