Interesting comment from IRV2

[sundancer 87]

This is part of a commentary concerning RV parks not allowing older RVs to use their spaces.


A perfect example is the trash the RV builders are putting out, the unethical sales people in the trade, and the impossibility of getting warranty work done. Owners have complained for DECADES about it, and what has it accomplished? Nothing. As long as people are buying new RV's against the advice of the old timers, nothing, nothing at all is going to change. It was the same with the auto and motorcycle industries. As long as they could sell all they could make, they kept turning out junk. It wasn't until quality competition came along (Japanese) did any change occur. It is the same with every industry, RV included.

This from the Class A folks for the most part.

[ATCguy]

Remember having a similar conversation with my late father... except we were specifically speaking about cars.

We were discussing QC in the auto industry sometime in the mid-90s... and about having to fight the dealer to get warranty work done. He said the biggest change he'd noticed was that... cars from the factory seemed to always have some little nagging problems, but it wasn't a big deal back in the 50s & 60s. You'd buy the car, drive it off the lot, make notes about gripes you had over the next few weeks... then bring it back, and the dealer would address them. PERIOD. Very little hassle, because the dealer expected it... sometimes even scheduled the "break-in" service appointment before you drove away. After all... most anything that's mass-produced is not going to have the perfection off the line that a custom or hand-made item will.

Fast forward to the "present" (again, mid-1990s)... and you have to fight the dealer tooth & nail for every single thing you wished them to inspect & correct. He sensed that there'd become a 'disconnect', as it were, from the corporate assembly line and the dealerships... and, of course, the reason had to be the financial margins involved. He wasn't sure who should have to shoulder the burden (corporate or the dealer)... but the concept of the wrench mechanic only getting ¼ pay for warranty work was a fundamental flaw in the process.

[dsol]

The auto dealers would love to fix your stuff under warranty but the problem is the manufacturer controls the approval process. The dealership is plugged in and communicating with the manufacturer along the way and if they don’t follow the direction of the manufacturer then the work gets denied and the dealer will not get paid.

As far as RV’s go, they are a complete joke when it comes to reliability. They almost all carry a one year warranty and the vast majority of buyers only use them a handful of times in the first year. Good luck finding all the problems and then you might be waiting several weeks for parts and the completion of the repairs. Not to mention they often spec really cheap and unreliable parts. In my opinion the two axle toy haulers many of us have come with leaf spring suspension that is simply not up to the task. If manufacturers are lucky all that will happen is stuff will break. If they are not lucky then people will get hurt or killed when these parts fail.

My two cents anyway.

[franktafl]

Jeered. On this topic where do you start?

[RVNevada]

I understand that the RV's have to get out fast and sometimes things don't get done on time....BUT have a little pride on your workmanship, I'm lucky having 2 Truck campers, 1 Trailer, 1 5th Wheel, 2 Toy Haulers over the pass 25 years, (I still have one of the Truck Camper, and Now one of the Toy Haulers) I only had one that was totally a piece of junk....but I also know how to repair almost everything on them? I think I only went back to the dealer 2 times, which took them 3 weeks to repair, I could have done it in 3 hours...We all know that things will break, but have pride doing the repairs, clean up your mess, Not everyone can do their own repairs and we do put out a large amount of cash for these toys....

[kensherripesce]

Again: I never go back to the dealer. I find an RV Tech near me. I ask if they do warranty work on my extended policy. If not I look for another. IF there are no others I use them and submit the paperwork myself. No loss of time as the techs live by their reputation