By Russ and Tiña De Maris
The website outdoorfact.com conducted a survey of 100,000 Facebook group users asking members what brands of travel trailers they would decidedly advise NOT buying. Some 3,000 people responded. Here’s the list (in order of most-to-least) of not recommended travel trailer brands.
EDITORS NOTE: We do not know the actual methods used in this study. Some of the conclusions reached about why a particular brand was rated poorly jibe with the hundreds of postings we have observed at the Facebook group RV Horror Stories. But, we realize there are two sides to every story, so please keep that in mind.
1. Forest River (45 percent not recommended)
2. Keystone (26 percent not recommended)
3. Jayco (15 percent not recommended)
4. Coachmen (5 percent not recommended)
5. Winnebago (3 percent not recommended)
6. Fleetwood (2 percent not recommended)
7. Gulf Stream (1 percent not recommended)
Since the survey didn’t indicate specific reasons to avoid these given brands, outdoorfact.com did their own research to try and determine why these brands struck such a negative chord. Here’s a quick breakdown of their conclusions.
Forest River RV: At one time a respected industry name, FR appears to have lost customer support. Many complained about water leakage, sinking floors, and a lousy customer service track record.
Keystone Travel Trailer: Structural and technical issues topped the list of negative-feeling inducers. There were complaints of cabinet doors falling off hinges and “mediocre” furniture, and problems with the rig’s control board were mentioned. Others griped about pre-purchase issues, including a website that was difficult to navigate and find pertinent information. Consumers reported telephone helpline assistance was such that it made them wonder just how supportive the company would be post-purchase.
Jayco Travel Trailer: Here the reviewers found a mixed bag of responses. While some Jayco customers are happy with their unit, others described their purchase as, “a big waste of money.” Cited among complaints were appliances and other bling that looked great at purchase time but didn’t hold up and led to expensive repairs. Water leaks, missing fixtures, and HVAC issues were also noted.
Coachmen Travel Trailer: While earlier model Coachmen units got good marks, the consensus is that as the years have rolled by, the quality of Coachmen’s builds have fallen substantially. Water leakage, both from outside the rig and from plumbing, were cited. Others found the construction of drawers and slides were shoddy. Others noted that upgraded refrigerators left exposed wiring.
Winnebago Travel Trailer: On the list of consumer complaints was interior construction. Damaged walls and bent wall paneling were said to be a normal expectation. Components coming loose and requiring maintenance was mentioned, along with lighting that failed, leaving users in the dark. Customer service came in for a rather negative viewpoint, leaving customers feeling that the company wasn’t going to do much to help.
Fleetwood Travel Trailer: This is another brand that at one time got good marks but over time has slid in the customer-esteem polls. Mentions of Fleetwood “aging” faster than normal were on the list of complaints, as were low-voltage electrical system issues. Newer models were said to have black water tank leakage problems. And when customers brought problems to Fleetwood’s attention, the response of the company was anything but stellar.
Gulf Stream Travel Trailer: Water leakage was high on the list of complaints for Gulf Stream. Others griped about bad component installation, or simply how poorly designed the layout of some interior components tended to be. To their credit, Gulfstream got good marks for responding to customer problems, although some noted that they felt they were charged extra to get their problems fixed.
Thor Hurricane: The Hurricane received terrible reviews from many, says outdoorfact.com. Some suggested that Thor had built their “new” unit with “used” parts. True or not, there were certainly other issues of concern. Quoting outdoorfact.com: “A wide range of operation difficulties, structure weakness and malfunction features can be found all over the vehicle.” Summing up Hurricane by Thor, the reviewers wrote, “One of worst RV brands to avoid.”
Got a brand to avoid? We’d love to hear about it, and why you feel that way.
##RVT925b
Most people don’t realize that about 10 years ago Forest River bought Coachman, so to me that explains the decline in quality there. I believe Jayço was bought by Thor, again explains the downturn. As a retired RV tech I never had much confidence in Gulfstream or Fleetwood towables
Folks, there are only a handful of manufacturers with many brands and names under their umbrella. My understanding is that Winnebago still does a reasonable job. Unfortunately some of the better towable manufacturers, ie, Alpenlite, and Carriage, folded during or shortly after the crash of ’08. Somewhat due to having better quality thereby costing more. IMHO most RV’s are purchased because of their glitzy appearance with minimal attention to structural integrity or vacubonding slides vs 16 ” oc welded studs with hung fiberglass insulation. In short they ain’t ever gonna build ’em better until their are some standards set as the automobile industry has. My biggest fear is fire due to substandard quality control.
I would not advise people to buy the 2007 “SCAMP” 16 ft. trailer, like I have. Apparently the factory had a fire early in the 2007 season, and I think the mould for the entry door to the trailer must have been burnt. The shape of the door on my trailer does not match the door opening in the trailer side, so even with adding very much thick rubber sealing strip, the door at the bottom on the hinge side is still at least two inches away from the opening, so that during rain storms while stationary or on the road, water comes in all around the door and has soaked into the wood, causing damage to it, from half way down the hinge side of the door to the bottom. I also had water damage due to water leaking in the pop rivets holding the “FANTASTIC” fan in the roof of the trailer. That was fixed by the application of four coats of white rubberized paint on the exterior of the roof.
Have you ever called the Evelands (they’re the owners of the factory) about the problems? They are stand up people and they support their customers. Tell them about the door closure issues, I’m sure they could help you out. It would probably have been best if you’d communicated with them earlier though since it’s now 12 years old.
We purchased a Keystone product and have had many leaks both inside and out. 1st one was a plumbing leak the 1st day out. Slides have leaked and even though all has been fixed you just wonder what’s next. Will not buy Keystone product again.
I would avoid them all. After 55 years of RVing, I have decided to build my own. I have bought a 3500 Sprinter 170″ wheelbase and am spending the winter lovingly building my dream RV. If it turns out to be a nightmare I will know who to blame. The components are the finest I can find and when it’s finished the cost will be about the same as the sales tax on a comparable class B here in Ontario Canada. So far I couldn’t be happier.
Peter I gave you a thumbs up on this. I would have loved to have started from scratch myself, but after a life time repairing, rebuilding, and creating automotive sculpture, the lady of the house instructed I’m coming out of the shop and into her life.
You’ve got us beat by 4 years, as far as RV’ing goes. We’re reasonably happy with the Forest River Class C we bought new in 2017. I spent the equivalent of two weeks full time going over it with a fine tooth comb, and could write a book about the faults (most which eventually would have lead to premature failure) in this thing, but now feel pretty sure it will give us many years of service and at the end I’ll be able to pass it on to someone else, without embarrassment.
I still envy those like you who are going at it from the ground up. Alvin Lethbridge, Alberta.
Alvin, like you I also have a Class C. Ours is a1999 25′ Tioga on a V-8 ford 350 Chassie. We have repaired it every year and enjoyed it very much. The rubber roof absolutely sucks. Only a fool would cover a hard-sided box with a biodegradable tarp. The Ford part of this RV has worked flawlessly for 200,000 kilometers. Now for my last RV, I want a six-cylinder diesel. This Mercedes sprinter is such a joy to drive. It’s quiet, quick off the line and thankfully has a steel roof. I’m getting too old to climb up there every year and fix the thing. I worked on my new RV for two hours today and am looking forward to a few hours tomorrow. Hopefully, We will pass through Lethbridge next summer on our way to the west coast. Happy motoring every one and Merry Christmas!
Pete.
Great plan. Just watch the total GVWR compared to your Tow Vehicle.
I have considered the same…
I would like to start a manufacturing plant building a quality product backed up by quality and a reliable warranty. Just need the resources…
This Sprinter is on duels. It’s the longest best van that sprinter makes. I have done my homework and this class C will be well balanced and better built then what I could buy. There is no way that you will be able to get the RV buyers to pay for quality. They will buy the largest, longest, shiniest, piece of junk that their bank manager will finance (probably over 20 years) and then spend the next two decades bitching about it.
It’s “jibe.”
Not “jive ”
Sorry, I’m an incurable spelling Nazi.
Good catch! Apparently though, you are not a grammar or punctuation Nazi.
Friz, I’m the author of several books, and my wife, a retired English teacher who serves as my editor, would agree with you.
OK, all of you word aficionados. The word has been corrected to jibe with the intended meaning. Thanks for catching that. (Guess I was too busy doing the jive to catch it.) 😉 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Actually, both words are spelled correctly. The error was in the selection of the proper word to use. In this case, you are NOT a spelling Nazi; you are a proper word usage Nazi.
As am I.
I wonder if any RV manufacturers read this poll. Probably not. I bet Consumer Reports did !
Purchased a Forest River several years ago. Love the floorplan but do have a few “issues” with the unit itself. #1: Yes, we have had several water leaking issues. They were an easy repair, but you don’t know about the leaking until there’s a lot of water on the floor that has found its way under the linoleum and onto the subfloor (can one say “dry rot” or “mold & mildew”? #2: We stored the unit in the driveway in No. CA, where the sun baked everything inside it when we weren’t traveling. Eventually, the cabinet door panel inserts all cracked – some with cracks up to 1/2″ wide. Looked like crap. I eventually removed all the inserts and replaced them with Plexiglass covered with a window treatment that looks like stained glass. Have had numerous positive comments about how they look now.
Heartland TOPS my list! It was our first 5th wheel and was touted by the dealer and manufacturer to be the most luxurious 5th wheel on the market at the time (2005)!
Nothing but problems from pretty much DAY 1. Complained to Heartland and at one point posted my problems online via my own BLOG and was threatened with a LAW SUIT to stop talking about Heartland Products, it was hurting their sales.
When we went out with the RIG we knew we would have to find a campground close to a WALMART, so we could go buy parts that we knew would fall off or break. It was such a poorly constructed piece of garbage, that we finally traded it in on a MOBILE SUITES.
Found out years later from the dealer we traded it into, that this RIG had burned to the ground! It apparently was parked in an RV Park for long term use and fortunately no one was home at the time and there was no cause found for the fire! But, who knows, this could have been us in the RV!
Nope, stay away from Heartland, as I tell everyone. Unfortunately, THOR now owns both Heartland and Mobile Suites! Yikes!
As if things could get worse, now Thor owns them, yes YIKES!!!!
We bought a new Bighorn with extra 1/2 bath in 2017. Nothing but problems from day one. We have over 23 things either fixed or repaired, some twice to get it right. The factory has been fair on service, but workmanship sucks big time. We hadn’t pulled it 100 miles and the top wood decoration around the ceiling had fallen on the floor. Doors won’t stay closed, paneling coming loose, just getting ready to replace both roof air conditioners, Lippert jacks were constantly making a “snapping” noise, only to find out they recommend adding an oil lubrication that makes the oil more slippery. I was told they knew the problem exists but it is not a safety issue so just deal with it. Both toilets have leaked and needed new gaskets, I could go on and on.
Suggested retail on this was $110,000. I have yet to see how this is worth half of that. This is our 6th RV. We have had 3 5th wheels, we are not full timers, but put about 15,000 a year on the rig.
I owned a small fleet of semis running coast to coast so maintenance was always top priority, just as I have done on our Heartland. If this had been a semi it would have broke me in downtime.
I should have kept my 2002 Holiday Rambler Presidential. It was great. I might even try to find a good used one and dump this one.
I own a Forest River Sanibel 3900C 5th wheel RV and have had it 4 years. We have 40,000 miles on our RV. I will admit we have had numerous problems with our RV and FR has given us great service with our unit. The problem is ensuring you’ll buy one from a dealer that will support you. I found that General RV does not support their customers like they should. Once out the door they forget you and the service department mechanics are not that great.
We actually had great service with General RV Lakeland. Our salesman Joe was excellent and they stood by our agreement on some work that needed to be completed after the sell.
How about a list of those manufacturers that are recommended?
Anybody not on this list.
I will admit that 99% of the time, the complaints are mostly with these two Conglomerates.
It would be interesting to hear from those who own a Tiffin product. I suspect they may have issues as well, but from most of the info I have read over, they “seem” to support their product(s)?
Hell yah!
The list of ‘GOOD’ RV’s… is about as long as the list of ‘good’ Politicians!
Agree with rating of Forest River. After 3 years of minimal usage have experienced many issues. Appliances breaking down, furniture fabrics peeling/deteriorating, wheel fenders blowing off while traveling on highway etc. I keep in covered storage so thankfully no leaking so far. Beware of their products.
To prevent leaks, considering keeping it in covered storage.
If you have to take it out, pull every screw and fill each hole with some kind of flexible, waterproof material that does not harden. Then, reinsert screws but don’t over tighten. I am researching materials now.
Check all caulk joints.
Check each slide seal.
Caulk around every window whether you have the cheapest or highest quality available.
Check your window weep holes for debris.
Check your window gaskets often.
Check the Eternabond tape for cracks or looseness. Particularly at the corners of the slide outs.
Check your Roof A/C’s. As you travel down the road, the vibration, twisting and moving of the plywood will cause the hold down screws to back off. Then, the cheap foam gasket will leak into your ceiling area. We’re spending $8000 on a 42′ roof to have this fixed the right way. The right way includes adding roof curbs under each device on the roof. Then, instead of cheap caulking that only seals for about a year, each curb will be heat sealed in. The company we are using is GAF certified for RV’s and will do this for all roof devices. In addition, they install splash guards as added protection. I guess RV manufacturer’s don’t understand this.
If you have an LP/Elect Norcold or Dometic refrigerator, verify the caulking that should be installed just inside the bottom cover. If you have an ice maker line, you will will see where it come up thru the floor. That seam is the area that should have caulking all the way across. Not just around the ice maker line.
I think a safe bet is to stay away from anything made by a make owned by Thor. Also anything sold at Camping World is suspect of being crap. If you have one of these and are happy you’re lucky.
Hopefully these RV manufacturers will wake up and realize they are cutting their own throats for short term profit.
It’s just an opinion, but they (the largest two corporate’s) are buying as many of the small guys as they can. One day, when sales slow down (coming soon), there will be a consolidation of the brands within the Corporate umbrella. I still don’t think quality will improve until regulation is implemented or until we all stop buying because of it.
We fulltime in a 2016 DRV Mobile Suites. DRV became a Thor subsidiary a few years back. Customer service at the Elkhart, IN, manufacturing plant has gone from almost good to almost non existent. Case in point, on my last call I learned the Warranty Dept. contact person passed my photos and letter “to the boss.” After almost three weeks and multiple phone calls I was told “the boss went on vacation but should have called.” Our list of minor issues is very long. Our list of major issues is even longer and new problems become apparent almost daily. Just yesterday we noticed the door frame is cracking! There are many things to appreciate about our Mobile Suites according to my husband! I think we could have saved $50K and had the same problems in a 5th wheel manufactured by someone else. So while the survey list does not show DRV in the top ten manufacturers to avoid, in my opinion it should.
Love your review…We are in Indiana and recently took a tour of the DRV factory. We own a supposedly premium brand (not DRV). We thought we would take a tour of the factory just to compare. We were sorely disappointed to see the same construction methods employed. Go figure. In this case, both are Thor products.
Items that one might consider “better” on the DRV would be the plumbing system and the A/C ducting system (metal instead of foam board). Everything else is basically the same. So, I can see why you make the statements that you do.
We are here getting $18,000 done in repairs this particular trip. What from? Water leaks. We have 4 total slide outs. I meticulously stay on top of caulking. To my surprise, the water damage did not come from the seams. Most came from the screws (I have multiple pictures of this evidence). One leak came from a window that had a gasket pinched on installation and the window (nor any other) was not caulked from the factory. The worst leak came from the louvers in the rear refrigerator access panel. Inside, there is supposed to be caulking (this will be hard to describe without a photo attached). But in our case, there was none. As water entered the rear panel and instead of being diverted back out of the RV, it was leaked into the floor.
To give you an example of a floor repair, plan on $1200 labor for each slide that has to be taken out. $400-1000 for each floor panel (depending on size and manufacturing process). To make matters worse, RV manufacturer’s have cheapened up the process since 2014. Today, its very hard or impossible in some cases to get 1″ plywood (10 ply) in the appropriate lengths. Now, they use particle board (wafer board) that is 23/32nds in thickness and they use a plastic mesh that is glued on the bottom. How long will that last? I am having a 1″ specially made and its VERY expensive.
Ohh…and we have body cracks as well. The frame flex’s too much in certain locations. The manufacturer did not understand this from an engineering perspective until the problem came up. NOW, they deliberately cut an expansion joint in the body to eliminate this (instead of reinforcing the frame). We saw this as well at the DRV factory. At this time, we are have that issue fixed on our brand as well.
So, in this case, it again demonstrates quantity over quality.
We purchased a Fun Finder X=Tra, by Cruiser. We call it the “Backward RV”. Hooke up backwards were the awning switch, antenna switch, all the water pipes and they put on 3 C tires and one D tire. Since I had major back surgery and could not do the maiden voyage within the one year, no one would help.
One thing that makes such study’s not very accurate is sales numbers. For example FR may sell 4 times as many trailers as Fleetwood.
We have a CCreek and have had some issues. I’m kinda handy and have been able to fix these issues myself.
While there may be some merit to your suggestion, I would also pose that Forest River price points may be considerably different. Compare the brands and subsidiaries of each of the top two corporations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Industries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_River_(company)
One can look at the branding between the two largest manufacturers (approx 80%) and can see a difference in the price points.
If one sells more than the other, it could be because of price points and what consumers are willing or able to purchase.
Now, I readily admit that I have not thoroughly studied each brand, but based on what I see, it would appear that one brand sells more because of this price differnece. Most owners opt for less expensive considering their financial positions.
But based on my experience with the one brand, I would propose that no brand is any better than the other.
Based on various Owner’s Group, it seems that both don’t understand quality. One could look at a cheap weekend unit from either brand and they will find multiple complaints. One can look at the high end and see no better results.
This time, I will offer to defend the manufacturers…
They must build within towing capabilities. If you own a F150 with a high axle ratio, you can’t very well buy an RV that weighs 24,000 lbs. The RV manufacturer knows you want a 42′ rig with tons of amenities, but they also know you don’t own a Ram 5500 with an RV hauling bed capable of towing such an RV. These trucks run near $100,000. So, they build RV’s as light and as cheap as the mass population can afford (quantity over quality). They want to give you what you want. But, due to weight limitations, they have to build light. Light often times means cheap. “Quality” is still something within their control though. If you want more reliability, the next step up might be a tiny house (built like a sticks-and-bricks) or a mobile home. Obviously, neither are not easily towed. The objective of the RV manufacturer should be to find quality built products that are light in weight. And they should do a better job focusing on their own internal quality.
For us, we own a supposedly “premium” brand. It’s been junk since day 1. We’ve spent as much in repairs as the the original MSRP. They all leak. They all have A/C and Furnace issues. They all have a multitude of common issue problems. Read the owners blogs.
If you don’t have mechanical skills, I would steer everyone away from an RV unless they have an endless bank account. Even if you do, plan to dig deep. RV’s are considered temporary housing units. They build them that way!
One could rent and come out far ahead. Use it when you need it. Get rid of it when you don’t (unless you have a need to full-time). Eliminate storage fees, interest payments, repairs, maintenance and more. We full-time. We bought expensive in hopes of a better unit. That didn’t work! Everyone we talk to via the rallies, campgrounds and stationary parks complain of the exact same things. If you only use the RV 3 or 4 times a year, you will never get back what you spent for it. Rent, rent, rent.
With the record sales over the last few years, there will soon be a day of reckoning for many owners. They will find that they used it for the first few years and then they are all going to hit the market at the same time driving prices even further down once they get tired of paying all the storage fees, repair work and waiting in line for that repair work. They will get tired of paying for ongoing warranties and fighting with the manufacturers to get that warranty work completed. They will get tired of the insurance rates that continue to go up. They will loath the day when they lose the first transmission because they did not understand GVWR and GCWR. Many will run into financial situations due to lost jobs or downsizing. New RV’s will have a tough time selling in the near future as the price of trade-ins drops like a rock.
Back to the original post, cheap sells…One manufacturer may have more cheap brands to offer. But both give you the same quality (or lack thereof).
I would love to see a list of recommended RVs. I am getting ready to buy my 4th RV and don’t know where to find a list of reviews. And I thought shopping for a car was time consuming! Lol
I can’t see that any effort was made in this poll by outdoorfact.com to adjust the results for the huge differences in how many people buy each brand. If all trailer brands had identical rates of complaints, then you’d expect an unadjusted poll of the unhappiness of a large random sampling of owners to simply reflect market share–and it looks to me like the results here do (at least very roughly) follow market share. If that’s the case, I think these results may be pretty meaningless by themselves. What I’d want to know is the percentage of owners of each brand who were unhappy. But maybe I’m missing something here? (All too often the case.)
We have a 2006 Montana–our 1st RV. Yes, I have fixed many small items and had warranty fix some bigger things. In my experience from 13 years of travelling about 4000 miles and 90 days a year, maintenance is mandatory regardless of who does it. As far as complaints about RV appliances, I believe there are only 2 or 3 suppliers of most RV appliances–if yours is a problem–selection of the next brand may not be much help. RV manufacturers are not in the vehicle (car, truck) business. If there was real concern about repeat customers, then quality would improve and pay for itself. I don’t see that happening in an industry where COST is the prime motivator along with PROFIT. Would I do it again–start RVing–YES!
At this point in time when I’m reading these comments, there are 18 responses: 17 of 17 complaints about their rigs, and 1 self-proclaimed spelling nazi. I’m currently “between RVs”…I’ve owned four…and was considering a purchase to rejoin the RV life. This poll has given me pause as it reminded me of the lousy state of RV quality.
What a terrible indictment of the RV industry.
I believe Viking and F R are made by same company. Which ever company, their product is poorly made, almost no customer service, poor workman ship thru out, leaks, poor design. The wife and I fought Viking for 6 months to fix the roof on their new A frame camper. Bought and pd for, unable to use for 1st 6 months. Never buy another.
A must ask question, will the dealer cover the cost of any repairs whether you’re living in it or not? We live in ours and cannot take it in every time a problem arises. That’s why we have mobile RV repair, which the company should pay for because these things were done month after we were living in it. I own a Jayco and so far they’ve been pretty good. I still have a few things to take care of which have been on the list for a while now so hopefully they’ll come up take care of it
I’m not sure how the statistics were done here, but I would tend to assume that the percentages lie with the largest group of ownership, allowing the small groups like KZ RV to go unnoticed. Perhaps the next time try to normalize the data according to percentage of recent or current owners who are unhappy with a brand. That way the smaller market still can be revealed as lemons.
agree with Janelle – question should have been asked appropriately so percentage of owners dissatisfied could be identified – simply ask what you have owned & were you / are you happy with this choice. Could even have 5 options for why happy & 5 options for why not & allow for prioritization of those responses. I suspect more people own a Forest River TT than Winnebago TT as a simple example & would support this poll
How old is this survey? For example, Fleetwood stopped making trailers many years ago. The REV group now owns and manufactures motorhomes under the Fleetwood brand but that purchase took place years after the company ceased building trailers. Calling the REV group customer service guys and asking for trailer help with a towable product that’s at least 10 years old, built by a long-nonexistent company, is more than a little unrealistic. Coachmen, likewise, has been a Forest River brand for many years now, why is that brand called out separately from the Forest River category? The survey seems to not take into account how many trailers are represented in each category. Forest River and Keystone sell huge numbers of trailers compared to Winnebago and Gulfstream, for example, so it’s logical that there will be more customer responses to questions about those products. Although I applaud their efforts to compile such a list the methodology here is highly suspect.
Wow! Reading all these issue filled Rv pull units makes me really glad we have an issue free 1994 34′ Winnebago Vectra Class A – our 2nd Class A, which we have owned (Cash) now for 12+ years! My only complaint is the tape strip they used over the paneling seams – no big deal. Our lst class A was a 28′ El Dorado with wood structure and leaks beyond belief! Junk! Happy trails……….
Forest river wildwood don’t ever buy it
There is only one brand that I would buy: Outdoor RV. Their sister brand Arctic Fox would be second. Having said that, neither are as good as they used to be, but both are better than any others. Not cheap to buy. Not cheaply built. Hmmm … maybe you get what you pay for.
Thanks, warmonk. And I always go a step further: “… and you don’t get what you don’t pay for.” 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
Any statistics about reliability should to be a percentage of the number sold. Otherwise the poll is useless.
Forest River has how many dozen brands / models they make now? Which ones are the lemon list? The sticks and staples construction? Or the Azdel bonded aluminum framed ones? Which subset of how many different ones? 5th wheel? Toy hauler? Bunkhouse? Motor homes? And how many people are pizzed at Forest River when it’s the crappy dealer service from Camping World they’re actually sour on?
This poll is flawed! It was most likely comprised of people that don’t own a FR product. We own a 2016 Coachmen (made by FR) Leprechaun 319DS (Class C) and I can tell you first hand that it has been an absolute dream come true for us. It is laid out beautifully and has every amenity we could ask for in a Motor Home. We have had no major issues with it whatsoever and we are out rving quite a lot. So, like all polls, it can be manipulated to say what the pollster wants it to say.
Be careful…I agree that surveys can be deceiving but there may be things going on that you are not aware of just yet. We thought we had a “good” (at least decent) RV for a while. When it rains, it pours. If you have water leaks, you’ll soon discover the damage that it provides. You can’t see them until it is too late. Have a backup plan…
I think the first place a person should search before buying is the Federal Recall List. Want to know
which makes and models not to buy just look at how many of a companies models have or had in the past. Looking at the recall list in today’s issue might tell you to avoid Forrest River.
https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-and-rv-related-recalls-for-november-2019/
I actually find this article a little disturbing. Everyone knows someone who has had issues and everyone know someone who loves their camper. I don’t know one person who had a stick and brick house build that doesn’t have a list of “fixes”.
If you are going to “muck rake” about issues, you better write the version about people who like (love) their RV and who would recommend this.
I am disappointed that RVTravel even sponsored this much less printed it. Puts this blog up with the tabloids. People – If you are so unhappy with your RV – don’t RV! RV quality needs to be improved, but this seems like an open “bitch” session. Sorry but how I see this!
Steve
Well said. I had similar thoughts as I was reading this article. This so call information is worthless garbage.
RVTravel did not conduct this survey. “outdoorfact.com” did. It’s also stated in the article that Chuck and friends don’t know how the survey was conducted but opted to print it here for our edification, and as usual, we can come to our own conclusions. I read it, went “Hmmmm”, and moved on. Seems like some of you should do the same.
Thanks, Tommy. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com
When you purchase a house, you don’t expect to have to pay for it twice in the first five years.
Stupid story. Forest River has 44 different lines. Some, like Surveyor and Rockwood, are the best you can buy. Others, like the Wildwood and Wolf Pup lines, are definitely several steps down. Lumping them all together is useless. Useless information.
And THIS is a big problem. If a company is standup, they would only have one line. Having several allows them to do what they apparently do, and turn out lots o’ junk for a quick buck or whatever motivates them. I say, as it’s stated somewhere in the bible, The King (customer) will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” RV buyers should use this philosophy when purchasing a RV. If part of the line is junk, then that shows the company’s heart. Don’t buy anything they make.
Whatever you do buy do not buy from RV one in casselberry Florida or any of the other locations.
Completely meaningless poll. Large manufacturers have many complaints and small manufacturers have few, because of the relative number of units sold.
Not quite. If a large manufacturer had excellent quality then they would get few complaints. But this certainly wasn’t a controlled study by any means. So this is more of a “your mileage may vary” poll. It has some relevance, but in the end every brand of RV can have problems.
Throw all of the varied opinions in one big basket and you have the entire RV industry. What’s wrong with someone’s Jayco is what is wrong with someone’s Winnebago, likewise if it is one of Forest River’s 44 nameplates. Cheap or expensive, many of the sub manufacturers are the same; Lippert, Dometic, Jensen Electronics, Magnum, ShurFlo, Carefree, and on and on. A lazy employee for Forest River gets fired, drives a half-mile down the road to Jayco and gets hired on the spot for ten cents an hour more. Life is good, output crappy.
That is what happens when the big guy takes over it is all about stock market they have to produce a profit and it comes from shoddy workmanship that comes from above put more units out they went from 16 a day to 32 with the the same staff now who losses ?
Opinions are like belly buttons…everybody has one.
Joined RV Consumers Group (don’t know if they still exist) in 2007 to research best built Travel Trailers. Bought a 2007 Arctic Fox, traveled over 20K past 12 year summers – only had one issue which Northwood corrected immediately. Glad I did my research before buying. Don’t know how good AF/NORTHWOOD products are today, hopefully better than most.
What a scientific source! Not just data from Facebook but from a page that only solicits unhappy customers. The RV Consumer Group does still exist and they do still rate RVs using some solid data to do so.
These folks seem to believe that anything on the internet must be true?
Bought a THOR ACE from Camping world, was lied to when we purchased it near Birmingham, and got abused by the KNOXVILLE CW. Never ever will buy a rig from Camping World again.
Not sure what value I’m getting from the poll except. No matter if I pay 15 grand or 50+ grand the quality in all should all be there period as expected. As price goes up I am paying more for footage “inches” and more frills again quality should be there. My 26′ 5th should hold up just as well to a 40′ 5th. It’s that plain and simple. Quality and great customer service should be the fore front not shoddy craftsmanship from shoddy employees making shoddy RVs.
Hey people don’t be so serious, this survey was led with a disclaimer! All information is helpful in developing ones knowledge bank. This is what we use to evaluate the things we purchase. Having just sold my 13th RV, I can say without doubt that quality has taken a big hit over the years and customer service is almost non-existent today, not just in RV’s either. I have had several brands of travel trailers, 5th wheels and motorhomes and the best were back in the 70’s & 80’s. Recently the best and worst came from different divisions of the same company. The best MH was an 80’s Winnebago and the worst was a 2019 Winnebago. The absolute worst MH was a 2012 Thor Serrano Fred, it took me 3 months of rewiring before I could even get it out of my garage. Loved the floor plan and size though. Caveat Emptor, use what you learn to avoid as many mistakes as you can in life.
RV’s to Avoid!
ANYTHING BUILT IN ELKHART INDIANA!