RV quality control and construction methods baffle some

In early September we published a story by Steve Savage, an RV repair technician in Tennessee. Steve questioned some of the construction and quality control methods used by the RV industry today. It didn't take long for our readers to respond. Here's a sampling.

Boy, did [Steve's] article today in RVTravel.com hit the nail on the head! A few weeks ago, I attended the FROG (Forest River Owners Group) Rally in Goshen, Indiana. Over 700 owners of Forest River products showed up. One reason so many attended, is that during the rally, Forest River technicians would fix up to five problems per RV for free (some limitations). Many people had more than five issues and many RVs were less than one year old and still under warranty. Quality control is obviously NOT a priority at the factories.

I have to agree about just gaining access to effect repairs. One of my five repairs was a replaced water pump. The water flow when using the pump was poor. Once technicians replaced the pump, the flow was still poor. It seems that someone at the factory had installed the power panel in such a way, that the hose running from the fresh water tank to the water pump had been crimped. It took two technicians about an hour to find and correct an issue that should not have happened in the first place. 

Before buying my current Super C motorhome, I gave serious consideration to a $400,000 Itasca Ellipse Class A motorhome. The build quality on drawers in the kitchen pull out island was very poor. If the factory couldn't get a simple issue like building a drawer right, how badly would they handle the more complicated issues found in a modern, high end rig?

After the FROG Rally, I drove to ProCustom Inc; a repair and customizing shop in Elkhart, Indiana. The bed, couch, and dinette have all been replaced. The original furniture was beautiful "eye candy" but sadly, once you sat or lay down for more than 20 minutes, was not at all comfortable. It seems that appearance is far more important at the factory than usability. I guess the people who design RVs, don't actually use the products they design. People new to RVing are taken in by the eye candy and, don't realize how uncomfortable the OEM equipment is until they've actually lived in it for a while. 

While at ProCustom Inc, I've spoken with several full timers who are here to get upgrades to their old motorhomes. They ALL told me that they looked at new RVs but, were not impressed with any new RVs currently made. It made more sense to them to spend $50,000 to $150,000 (or more) in doing major upgrades instead of buying a new RV with poor build quality. 

The first manufacturer that realizes that quality MUST go in at the factory will have buyers beating a path to their door (and their dealers). This is a serious problem that RV builders want to ignore.  Please continue to shine a light on it. Thank you!

John Koenig

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I would be one of the first in line for quality rather than glitter.

Irma Smith

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I read the article three times. What a true train of thought and clarity of reasoning the man delivers.

I recently retired from a wonderful life of aircraft design: I clearly understand design for manufacture-ability, quality and repair-ability. Be it far from me to even attempt to walk in Steve's shoes, but I will glad and stridently agree with his reasoning and declarations.

I studied RV forums for years before I bought my 5th wheel. One year ago I purchased the 5th wheel. I've studied the 'design' of RVs and truly wondered who in the world is on first, because clearly no one is on second, and no one is on third and surely no one is at home plate.

Yeah, I own one. But my chagrin is deeply rooted to think the manufacturers feel we, the buyers, are such idiots.

Austin Crehan

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I'm in the transportation security industry, and I own a travel trailer.  

I think Steve is off-base with this rant. Everything about an RV is a compromise. It's not a house, and it's not a cargo trailer....it's in between. Certainly, manufacturers can build a stronger, tighter, more robust unit.....but, it will be heavier and costlier.

The bottom line is that to build a bullet-proof RV of any sort would increase the costs to the point where very few can afford it.

Most manufacturers have done a decent job of offering a variety of models at various levels of that compromise. Personally, I think that if folks perform normal maintenance, they'll find MOST RV's hold up pretty good, especially considering what we put them through. 

Blake Williams

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Bravo!  New standards that include easy access for service must be implemented!

Stephen M. Jenkins

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Kudos to Steve for writing this, and to you for publishing it! My husband retired from a major automotive dealer, and from the moment we bought our first RV we were FLOORED at the lousy quality. And we'd bought a brand that was, at the time, touted to be one of the best on the market. Our slide-out broke our first trip -- no manual means to put it in -- a disaster. 

Steve's points were right on, especially when he says car buyers wouldn't put up with half the stuff we RV owners are asked to simply accept as part of the RV experience. Where's the motorcoach owner's association in all this? Why aren't we hearing the voices of the other owners' groups? Why aren't we hearing from the Escapees and other general RV membership groups??

Thanks for letting me rant -- inspired by Steve's insightful argument. Thanks again for publishing it!

Ellen Behrens

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All letters published are subject to editing for clarity, suitability, and length. Got a "rant" or a mild observation of your own? Write us -- Russ at rvtravel dot com. 

Base photo courtesy - bashireios-1 on deviantart.com