Dear editor,
My wife and I are longtime campers with tents, pop-ups, travel trailers, and now a small Class C as we enter retirement. About a week ago we became subscribers to RVtravel.com after seeing a YouTube video then reading the September 11 article “Pathetic quality: RV dealers are fed up with what manufacturers are producing.”
Thank you so much for vindicating an experience we just went through.
Back in August of this year we were within a signature from ordering a brand-new Super C that we believed would make our RV travel more enjoyable. We had done months of research and even consulted with the factory. We knew exactly what we wanted.
On my way home from a family trip out of state I stopped by a well-known dealer to take a look at a nearly identical (manufacturer and floor plan) brand-new unit on their lot. Kick the tires, so to speak. The sales person was great, allowing me to take measurements and pictures.
By the time I got back to my car an hour and a half later I had a “sick” feeling in my stomach about what I had just seen. The chassis was probably OK, but the build quality of the box on top of it was some of the worst workmanship I have ever seen.
When my wife and I spoke about this we decided that it was not worth what would be a 20-year mortgage for us to basically be without the rig for who knows how long to get warranty issues resolved, and then have to put more money into it to make it our own. All this with the knowledge of how unstable the supply chain continues to be.
Instead, we decided to spend 3 or 4 of those “mortgage” payments and upgrade our paid-off smaller Class C, which has been perfectly maintained and is running great, by the way.
A couple of weeks later your article about pathetic quality was published. We are grateful to have our experience vindicated by others in the industry.
So now we are almost ready to hit the road for the winter with a new convection microwave, new lithium batteries, new EMS, AC soft start, new recliners, you get the idea.
Our little (but paid off) motorhome is now pretty much fully up to where we believe it will help us get the most enjoyment in our future journeys.
Thanks again for a great article. Keep up the great work! —Jeff E
##RVT1022
We are shopping motorhomes and are not even considering buying a new one. I subscribe to several Facebook RV groups and all of them have complaints of poor quality and extensive problems on new units. Dealers are just pushing them out the door and letting buyers find the problems hoping they will fix it themselves or put off service because it will take weeks or even months. I’m afraid it will continue this way until dealers start pushing back on the poor quality. You did the right thing going with your own used rig! Congrats on the upgrades! Enjoy!
Great decision. Thanks for sharing your process Hope we meet on the road.
Congratulations! Instead of “drinking the RV industry’s Kool-Aid”, you performed your Due Diligence and realized a new (but poorly built) RV just wasn’t a good deal. It’s a shame that more buyers aren’t as responsible as you folks are.
I definitely sympathize with these folks. While I plan on upgrading to a diesel pusher in the mid-2030’s, I have to wonder if I should just save my money and upgrade my (now 14 year old) F53 Class A. Banks intake/exhaust system, suspension upgrades, refresh the interior, add solar/inverter/LiFe4Po battery systems…. It ends up being a trade-off. Added capability, less carrying flexibility due to added weight. I’m already close to the point where I will have to take one thing OFF my rig to bring something else on.
Very smart decision – especially in these trying and unknowns of today’s world on the road and a 20 yr. commitment! Our 1994, paid for, Class A is mighty comfortable – so much so I changed the name to “Vectra LE” – so it is an exclusive, one of kind! I too cannot envision redoing another! (Over 2 pages, single spaced, 12 pt. print of changes & upgrades – all over a 15 yr, period). Enjoy!
Good for you, Jeff and Mrs. Jeff! Continued happy trails.
Our experience is similar to URPIG with our 2012 Arctic Fox 25Y. We upgraded to Lazyboy recliners, lithium batteries, pure sine wave inverter, new carpeting, 700 watts of solar, new microwave, new shocks, portable water softener, SoftStart ac thingie and more. All this over time. Our trailer is “us”. I can’t imagine getting something new – and having to start all over again. And if someone asks how old it is (in a campground) we tell them it’s a 2016.
’03 Fleetwood 39L… paid off in 2010… I can do a lot of ‘updates’ for the price of a new… let the good times roll… no lemon here… grateful.