I hope what I'm about to say, wont get me banned or the thread deleated by a mod but just wondering.
For a good part of my life I have camped.
Started out in a van, to a van & pop up, to a van & 31' pull camper to a transvan & for over 10 years now class a.
When you come to the site, RV.net, & this is in no way ment to be saying anything bad about the site, when you click up class a forum you will see an almost never ending host of problems with our m/hs. Some are small things that are just going to happen just from wear & tear, but the big items, like the one from a good while back where the overhead compartment fell while going down the highway onto the driver & only by Gods grace did they not get killed because of it.
Another, the recall DieselDon has reported about the control arms breaking at the rear. Hes talking about 04 & new models, not old 70 or 80 built units where you would suspect to have some problems & high end units at that.
I'm 58 years old & drove trucks for the better part of 20 years up & down the east coast & know what the highways are like. I would think that whoever is designing chassis would have at least rode or driven a few miles & should know themself what conditions the roads are. That being said, why would anyone design a chassis knowing full well once a camper mfg is through with their work, it is going to be over loaded.
I'm sure there are quite a few units out on the highway that this is not a problem, not built bigger than what the chassis is designed for, but you take older units, say even in to the late 80s even some of those are over loaded before the owner even loads up their belongings.
Its just unbeleavable when you go to class a forum & see all the problems encountered just from owning a m/h, then you realize that reguardless if we have to work on our units everyday to keep them on the road it will not swagger our love for camping or seeing the world riding in one.
Has that love blinded us enough, that some of us are not seeing we are getting an infearior product.
I dont know on that, but what I do know, the 1988 Georgie Boy Encounter 34, the wife & me have owned for the past 3 years, untill last Saturday morning early when it was totaled, was the most ill handling thing I have ever sat behind the steering wheel in & I have drove some might ragged trucks but none can compair to that m/h.
Any trip we went on, in less than 200 miles my chest would be hurting from my arms having to saw the steering wheel to hold it in the road.
That only comes from a poor design chassis & a camper MFG overloading it with body.
Do we need to look into things closer, to find out why it is like this, or are we all afraid to because in the end if we say something we might not can find a camper to buy anymore.
Whats more important, finding, solving the problem or just letting it go & see how many will be killed.
Neil
Guess I put up with the troubles and sometimes poor designs of motorhomes for two reasons. First, I like to see North America and find traveling with your own equipment the easiest way to do that. For about 30 years my family used tents but now my wife and I have gone upscale just a bit. Second, RVing is a hobby in that I gain some pleasure from working on my motorhome. If there is a problem, my first effort is to fix it myself. Successful fixes give me satisfaction and save some money.
Why do you think that just motorhomes have these problems? Trailers and Fifth Wheels have the same problems, and sometimes more if the trailer is constructed cheaply.
Same as a boat, the constant motion and pounding means lots of things to fix.
Same as a Offroad Jeep or ATV or whatever else you have. Rockcrawling, mudding, etc will mean lots of things to fix.
That is part of having a hobby, but some people are just meant to sit on the couch with the TV remote in hand.
2000 National RV Tropi-Cal 37 ft Double Slide Ford V-10
1994 Toyota Celica on a Master Tow Dolly (40 MPG)
How true! Those are some of the reasons we switched to a fiver. Got tired of sinking money, upgrades, yankee ingenuity into an expensive vehicle that was limited by the self contained engine. Sure, we sink same into our truck and fiver at times, but as separate vehicles, its easier and less costly to trade up when needed. We also find driving/steering much easier with the fifth wheel.
Imho, regulation or legislation designed to benefit the consumer in the rv industry has been as lax as recent implementation/policing as in the financial arena. So ultimately, it is up to each of us to add the bars, axles, lifts,etc., that bring our units up to the real carrying and handling capacities we think should be standard. Thank goodness this forum helps sort out and evaluate many of those alternatives and politely vent our fustrations and elations.
I sometimes wonder the same, however for different reasons. Our coach handles like a dream. I can drive in virtually any conditions with one hand, relaxed, in a rattle free, quiet and comfortable environment for hours on end at 65-75 mph.
The thing that gets to me sometimes is the cost. Each thing that breaks, and things of course do, costs a bundle to fix, not just in money but in time. I spent 3 solid days after our last trip fixing the things that turned up. Some of it was spent wallowing in acid and dirt, other hours were spent scratching my head wondering "What was the designer of this thing thinking when they put that so and so there?"
These things weren't meant to be maintained easily. Wires are hidden in walls that can't be opened, TV's are hung in the most inaccessible ways, fuses are hidden in the most obscure places, the list goes on and on. Oh, try changing out a refrigerator - virtually impossible unless you remove the windshield! Insanity and poor engineering.
I would like to move on, but one thing holds me back - the wife. She loves it. Of course, she mostly sits in the the passenger seat and enjoys the ride, I do everything else.
If we ever do get another coach, it's going to be a custom bus conversion that I design. That's for dang sure.
2007 Mountain Aire 4528
2006 CRV SE
Based in Memphis area
chassis mfg.'s build chassis's to carry x number of pounds....if the coach builder exceeds that the chassis mfg. has no control over that...also if the coach mfg. doesn't distribute the weight evenly you'll have a handling problem..you can even create your own problem by loading your coach improperly.
i had to laugh at the coach reviews in fmca magazine when they would give the weight of cargo a particular coach could carry...they'd list the front axel rating at say 16,000 lbs. with 15,500 lbs. of coach weight already on the axel..that means that if you and the dw weigh 225lbs. each you can only put 50 lbs. safely in the basement and cabinets ahead of the rear wheels as this weight cantilevers to the front axel...i have to laugh at the people who buy new coaches and use up the warranty miles going back and forth to the dealer or mfg. for constant repairs..about the time you get everything fixed your out of warranty miles plus the cost of time and fuel, so they buy a new coach and start the same vicious circle again...i know a guy who's met 70% of his m/h friends in the coach mfg. rv courtesy lot...if you've ever toured a coach assembly line and seen how the workers only get x number of minutes to complete their job..if their having a bad day and it doesn't get done correctly, guess what??? i keep mine cause its paid for and in this market i'd have to give it away, besides i do 95% of my own work and get a lifer warranty on the labor!!!
Wow, what a post!
My wife and I just spent the last week in our 2000 Class A while at the Grand Canyon. We had this exact discussion over one of our wine and cheese snacks. We watched as many rental RV's came into the park and people were trying to set them up.
We usd to own a used Class C Lindy that was about 10 years old when we owned it in 1985. This was our first motorized RV as we had towed gear before. DW made the comment that everytime we took it out we had a major problem with it.
I would not characterize them as all major problems - but we did have some major problems. I had to replace the engine headers while on the road in Denver, had a overhead Vent blow out on the Golden Gate Bridge in moving traffic, and had my toad break away and pass me at Mt. St. Helens. We abused that RV - though I did not know it at the time (no internet).
Today, I am more aware of what to look for and how to treat symptoms as well as the State laws and the Do and don'ts. Much of this is from experience but much of this comes from information I gained from the internet. Problem nowdays - is much of the info is BS. We also hear more problems nowdays because of the internet.
I was a USMC pilot for 23 years. As such, I know the importance of maintenance and consider myself a very safe driver. I have owned and operated a RV for many years - each getting bigger. I have been cross country several times in them. I now have a Class A and just recently added a toad to my rig setup.
I did do some due diligence on towing and added the assist brake though it was not required.
We see many people saying such things as - We just bought out first RV - it is a Class A - it is a 38 ft blah blah blah. The point is - these people are likely to post that their tire blew out and they want to sue the dealer for selling a vehicle that had 7 year old tires, or no one told them they should check engine oil at leats once n a while. Why was my RV a lemon it was 12 years old and only had 3000 miles on it? I am not going to put brake assist on my toad as the State law doesn't require it. Why do I have to check my tire pressures everyday?
There was a recent post about a guy driving a large class A RV and didn't think it was a problem crossing bridges when he was over the gross limit for the bridge!
Not trying to knock anyone - we all have to start somewhere - but as long as we have people who suddenly start to drive or tow a large RV with little or no experience - we are going to continue to see all these "sudden" problems crop up. I cannot believe that overhead cabinets suddenly fall (can happen granted) without some sort of warning - a crack, and obvious overloaded cabinet (takes two people to lift) the electronics and books they are storing there.
You drove trucks for years - who and how often did you do maintenance on them. How much scheduled maintnence did you do? I dare say some of the items you are talking about could be mitigated by doing the scheduled maintenance instead of assuming the vehicle will last forever as you have only a few miles on it.
Manufactures are not squeaky clean - take for example the Workhorse brake recall issue - but it is also very difficult to design and build a vehicle "that will take a licking and keep on ticking" for everwhere we take the RV. Example - the recent post of a guy wanting to take his Class A into deep sand knowing he is going to get stuck!
Designing a "heavy duty" RV that can stand up to all the abuse we put these vehicles thru would increase weight and cost and then we would be complaining about the costs. And yes, I think we do need to look at things closer.
In short, I think we - the owner/operators - must take some responsibilty for the issues.
This is a reasonable question. I too have questions about the effort and cost, but in the end will keep RV'ing and learning. The forum is a help because we get to share info and I get reminders of things that need to checked from reading posts.
I quess it becomes a hobby in itself. A little hard to explain to others who do not have one.
Wow, what an overanalyzing post. I, too, agree that Class A motorhomes are not alone in their recalls and problems. My 2007 Class A has had two recalls, one for airbags and one for steering. My 1998 Expedition has had a cruise control recall where the cruise control could cause an engine fire. My 2000 Corvette has had a steering column lock recall where the steering locks and the computer shuts off the fuel causing major problems if driving down the freeway at 75. It also has a known problem with a differential leak that isn't recalled, but can be fixed by replacing a seal.
If a person is overly concerned, they should not drive....period. I'll enjoy my vehicles and try to stay up-to-date on any issues.
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