goldendagger
moving
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Its not the workers it the bottom line......if u tell the supplier to make the part cheaper and they do what do u expect......i know its about making money ......but when is enough ......enough? The cost of the worker hasnt risen in 6 yrs .......but the price keeps going up...and the quailty down .......on everything .......i for one am tired of paddin the wall street gang and banks at the expense of my work ethic....now my pet peve.....one of em anyway....ok several parts too it....after the time ive been involed in rving....and its been awhile.....u would think they would be able to glue a rubber roof down and make it hold.....put gaskets in windows and around the frames that wouldnt shrink....move....etc.....buld a quiet generator that would keep starting and running.....my first rubber roof was on a 92 travelmaster class c .....lifetime warrenty.....but the windows 1yr....quess what leaking windows.....this was the first time i got the ....well u should of checked the seals speach.....check what nothing was there......and on and on it goes....and ive seen the same problems on all priced units.....and experienced first hand the let down of thinking u did it right for once.....
who left the light on? is it me or are we leaning downhill. where did the dog run off to
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1775
NY
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The last three cars that I have bought back to 1997 did not have to go back to the dealer to correct anything from the factory. (Recalls aside.) My RV required several trips back to the dealer to correct what the factory did not do properly (or at all). There is definitely a difference. Then again the size the RV manufacturers cannot be compared to the size of GM, Ford, etc.
Roadtrek 190 Popular 2011
Meryl and Me Hit the Road
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wny_pat
Western NYS
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fj12ryder wrote:Also there's a reason that new airplanes cost an arm and a leg. How many people would be RV'ing if RV's costs were comparable to an airplane? A 4 year old Cessna 172 (basically a generic 4-door sedan-type) goes for over $200,000.
It isn't the cost of the plane!! Its the FAA reguired Annual Inspection, required yearly, to the tune of about $1200 minimum. It doesn't fly after the annual until it is approved by 1- an A&P mechanic holding an Inspection Authorization(IA).(FAR 65.95), or
2- a FAA Certificated Repair Station (FAR 43.3(e)), or
3- the Manufacturer of the aircraft.(FAR 43.3(j)).
And around here we complain if our state required a yearly $20 safety inspection and don't even bring up a emissions inspection!
And then there is that insurance we complain about. I'll take the price of the RV insurance over the private aviation insurance any time!
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Dakzuki
Carnation, Wa, USA
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Joined: 11/01/2002
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I have found boats to be comparable to RVs. Most boats don't have the complexity of an RV so there's less to break. Once boats become "live aboards" they tend to be more up market so quality is better.
I am generally unimpressed with light planes too. Considering the limited amount of time actually in use, interior small parts fall apart/break with frightening regularity. It reminds me of English cars of the 60s/70s...split upholstery, broken knobs, etc. I know guys that have done ground up jobs on them and have done much better then the manufacturers.
Cars are produced in very high numbers so the ability to dial in quality and recover non recurring costs for innovation/engineering is much easier. When you go to cars with lower production numbers, price goes through the roof and quality often can be an issue.
2011 Itasca Navion 24J
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tatest
Oklahoma Green Country
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I'm not sure how you would rate quality in aircraft. They come with mandates for extensive preventive maintenance that applied to an RV would keep it pretty much trouble free.
My boat experience is that simple boats made with durable materials are trouble free if they spend most of their time stored under cover, while wooden boats kept in the water their whole life are more of a money pit than a well maintained and well used motor home. Both a RV and boat big enough to live in have systems you simply don't have in a passenger car, so that is not a reasonable comparison. Compared to the cost of maintaining my houses and their grounds, RVs are cheap to maintain. Does that make them higher or lower quality?
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
2001 Ranger Edge
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Dixiechick
Trussville, AL
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Perhaps we are the exception, but we have no complaints about the quality of our motorhome. We have owned a travel trailer and 2 motorhomes so we are pretty well versed in RV quality. When shopping for the last motorhome we took our time and looked at a LOT of RVs before deciding on the Tiffin product. We could have purchased a motorhome for much less but we were concerned about the quality. It seems that the manufacturers spend money on "fluff" which can be seen by potential buyers and, perhaps, much less on what cannot be seen.
Tiffin is still a family-owned company and consistently receives top awards each year for its products. I think it is a matter of getting what you pay for.
I realize my response is somewhat off the topic but I wanted to make sure folks out there don't get the impression that all of us are unhappy with our RVs!
Cathy and Don, finally retired 
Cats-Whiskers the Princess and Shadow the Baby
2008 Allegro Class A Open Road 32'
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Ron3rd
Upland, CA USA
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Funny thing about RVs is the inconsistent quality. A friend bought a nice Rockwood tt with the big rear window (about 31 foot I think) and had a ton of problems with it. His mother in law liked the model so much she bought the identical tt about a week after he bought his and has zero problems.
2007 Tundra SR5 CrewMax 5.7 V8
2004 Aljo 250LT
Eaz-Lift WD Hitch
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Prodigy Brake Controller
Honda EU2000
"I have this plan to live forever; so far my plan is working"
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tallyo
Fort Myers,Florida
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To those who are lumping all RV's into an unacceptable quality category; I challenge you to visit at least 3 factories and make your improvement suggestions to the quality control folks. Then sit back and add $ signs to the added labor and parts pricing that will be needed. Entry level RV's are built to keep costs lower than the higher end ones; so if ya want improvements to entry level then the pricing becomes prohibitive.
If you want to smooth out the rides then ya add air bags, framing weight, bigger tires etc ; the result is higher pricing.
Now I know that some manufacturers build better quality than others but that's true in all manufacturing.
Tallyo
2012 Phaeton 40 QBH
Freightliner, 6 spd Allison
2010 Chevy Equinox 2LT w/ Brake Buddy Vantage
Drinks-6, Eats-4, Sleeps-2
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Go Dogs
South of Pittsburgh, PA
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tallyo wrote:To those who are lumping all RV's into an unacceptable quality category; I challenge you to visit at least 3 factories and make your improvement suggestions to the quality control folks. Then sit back and add $ signs to the added labor and parts pricing that will be needed. Entry level RV's are built to keep costs lower than the higher end ones; so if ya want improvements to entry level then the pricing becomes prohibitive.
If you want to smooth out the rides then ya add air bags, framing weight, bigger tires etc ; the result is higher pricing.
Now I know that some manufacturers build better quality than others but that's true in all manufacturing.
The problems on my new TT were just shoddy work, not expensive fixes. Example: using 'seconds' and staples on the bed pedestal. Again, inferior wood on drawers. Poor connections. The Cd/DVD was junk and I would have gladly paid the extra $10 or $20 to have that right, instead of spending the gas/time to get that replaced. I don't believe it has to cost another $10,000 to build a decent RV. Just someone that's concerned about a decent product.
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Ron3rd
Upland, CA USA
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tallyo wrote:To those who are lumping all RV's into an unacceptable quality category; I challenge you to visit at least 3 factories and make your improvement suggestions to the quality control folks. Then sit back and add $ signs to the added labor and parts pricing that will be needed. Entry level RV's are built to keep costs lower than the higher end ones; so if ya want improvements to entry level then the pricing becomes prohibitive.
If you want to smooth out the rides then ya add air bags, framing weight, bigger tires etc ; the result is higher pricing.
Now I know that some manufacturers build better quality than others but that's true in all manufacturing.
Price isn't the only issue. We have an "entry level" Aljo by Skyline that is over 8 years old. We paid about 16K OTD. IMO it's a very sturdy and well built TT for the money and we've had almost zero problems with it, and certainly nothing I could not fix myself. We've had tons of fun with this TT and are now looking for something bigger.
My gripe is when you see these 30-40K trailers with absolute junk for parts and materials and shoddy workmanship too. No excuse for that IMO, not for that kind of money. Yes, there are some very well built high-end brands out there if you really want to step it up in price, say 60-80K, but there's no excuse for the shoddy workmanship you see in the 30-40K TTs which is not exactly a cheap TT IMO.
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