RV Quality in General August 27, 2016, 11:36:34 am I have been reading more and more of this lately. In this link take a look at the editor's comments at the start.We have been full timing in our LD now for nearly 8 years and have had no real issues regarding what LD built. As a result, were I in the market, I would buy one again. That said, if they could eliminate Lake Newton and use aluminum corners it would be perfect. I know those two issues have been discussed at length.Jim 2 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #1 – August 28, 2016, 11:43:29 am The best way to learn about any brand RV is to hang out on IRV2 in the owner's forum and any other owner's forums you can find. Each brand has happy campers. There are also reports of poor quality and other issues. Only Jayco offers a 2 year warranty, I wish more would follow this lead. If you buy a new RV and use it seasonally, you effectively only have 6 months to uncover the problems and get it serviced under warranty. Dealers and other service facilities are often swamped during the camping season. There is a shortage of qualified technicians. Heaven help anyone who gets stuck with a lemon.
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #2 – August 28, 2016, 11:53:48 am Just realized that I forgot to put the link in my post.RV Travel Newsletter, Aug. 27-Sept. 2 – RV Travel 2 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #3 – August 28, 2016, 02:44:52 pm You LD'ers don't know what you are missing...(From IRV2 Winnebago owner's forum today). (This is a 6 figure RV).Recommendations for dealing with Winnebago and/or dealerWe have a two week old Sunova 36z, in addition to the issues found here2017 Sunova leaning badly by 4 inchesand here86 outside - 82 inside - AC running all day?A slide motor failed with the slide out, the automatic awning will not extend, there is a leak in a black tank seal, one of the jacks is retracting 5 times slower than the others, the list goes on.I believe the number of problems we are having and particularly the issue of the RV won't stay cool (even though the AC's are working) requires involvement from someone at Winnebago. I have called the Winnebago 800 number 3 times and waited on hold for around 45 minutes each time before hanging up. Does anyone have recommendations for how to get the attention of someone at Winnebago that will get involved to solve these problems with a level of involvement that matches the level of issues? My dealer has a relatively small service center and they sell mainly travel trailers. I have no major complaints about the level of service I have received from them, but am concerned about their technical ability to deal with some of these issues.I know in my own company customers with significant issues have a senior level manager personally involved to resolve their issues. Is there a way to do this with Winnebago? 2 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #4 – August 28, 2016, 03:36:59 pm Quote from: Todd - August 28, 2016, 02:44:52 pmI know in my own company customers with significant issues have a senior level manager personally involved to resolve their issues. Is there a way to do this with Winnebago?I feel your pain but wonder if this question would be better asked in a Winnebago forum?Not many of us are Winnie owners...we know better :-)Larry
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #5 – August 28, 2016, 03:48:04 pm I think Todd was quoting a post from the IRV2 Winnebago forum all the way through. Illustrating the joy of misery we LDers are missing. At least that's the impression I got... 2 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #6 – August 28, 2016, 04:22:28 pm We have owned a Winne itaska for over twenty years, we had no luck getting answers, that's why we now have an LD. This forum is a great place for honest answers and knowhow or you can call the Mothership and get answers, parts and advice right over the phone at that time you call, where else do you get that now a days! Karen~Liam98 - 26.5MB 2 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #7 – August 28, 2016, 04:28:04 pm Todd,As is often the case, "the bigger they get, the more they forget".Thank our lucky stars...LAZY DAZE is NOT a mega-corporation. I get an answered phone call and immediate attention every time I call LD for help. Just makes me wanna go out there and hug someone. Well maybe not.But I do get YOUR drift.Kent 3 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #8 – August 28, 2016, 05:03:02 pm But then again, you can always use my Father's system to avoid issues.He had many RV's and Boats and followed the B.A.S.Y. system. Maybe you've heard of it. Buy And Sell Yearly.Worked for him.Just sayin'Kent 1 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #9 – August 28, 2016, 05:13:03 pm I bought a new Elkhart area TT one time. I knew I was on my own as far as repairs and that warranty wouldn't be effective. But one of the things that really puzzled me about the business was how the dealers had to spend ridiculous amounts of time "prepping" a trailer for sale, and that they would do so only after it was sold. Thus on the lots one could see all kinds of silly and sloppy workmanship, and the response was always "We'll take care of that in prep after the sale." I found it a very good service on their part to let me see the level of shoddy that factories are capable of. I can't think of any business with such a high per unit revenue and such a low level of quality. Mind boggling. Thanks LD! 2 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #10 – August 28, 2016, 05:56:18 pm Proponents of any brand who defend their RV manufacturer (in threads involving brand complaints) will state that problems are isolated or only of the few unfortunate. My thinking with regard to Winnebago is that if that were true, customers wouldn't be on hold for 45 minutes when calling corporate. And if problems were isolated, the company would quickly work to resolve them to protect their brand.Way too many posts on Winnebago slide problems... and they get thousands of hits indicating the relevance of the topic to Winnebago owners.I promose to leave Winnebago alone now. The topic was hot for me as a current LD owner who came very close to switching.
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #11 – August 28, 2016, 06:16:44 pm I can tell you that the happiest day of my sister's life was the day their 40', multi-slide Winnebago Vectra rolled out of their driveway into the ownership of an enthusiastic buyer. They loved RV-ing, had 2 Winnebagos and never had satisfactory service at any Winnebago dealership or the Winnebago factory repair facility in Iowa. My brother-in-law is handy and was interested in doing all kinds of things, but many things had to be handled in a repair facility. It became a serious financial burden with no end in sight. Perhaps a hint of things to come...when my brother-in-law deployed the electric awning for the first time, the awning material had been cut too short and the awning would not fully deploy. This was obviously a bolt-on item, but was never checked at either the manufacturer's, the Winnebago factory, or at the dealership. While their RV days have ended, my sister keeps saying, "We should have bought a Lazy Daze."TinaP2005 MB "Wild Thing" 1 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #12 – August 28, 2016, 06:32:39 pm Quote from: Todd - August 28, 2016, 05:56:18 pmProponents of any brand who defend their RV manufacturer (in threads involving brand complaints) will state that problems are isolated or only of the few unfortunate. My thinking with regard to Winnebago is that if that were true, customers wouldn't be on hold for 45 minutes when calling corporate. And if problems were isolated, the company would quickly work to resolve them to protect their brand.Way too many posts on Winnebago slide problems... and they get thousands of hits indicating the relevance of the topic to Winnebago owners.I promose to leave Winnebago alone now. The topic was hot for me as a current LD owner who came very close to switching."I promose to leave Winnebago alone now. The topic was hot for me as a current LD owner who came very close to switching."Yes, thanks, it's time to stop beating up on Winnebago and other brands. Most of us are fortunate in that we have few problems with our Lazy Dazes. Let's not jinx the run of quality manufacturing.Chris
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #13 – September 03, 2016, 09:47:13 pm Looking back down the path I've traveled over the years I remember purchasing a high end Holiday Rambler 30' Travel Trailer, due solely because of the good reviews.My dealer told me to make a list of problems I found and he would correct them. Instead I reworked everything I could find, building a list of corrections which I then presented to him. I was reimbursed by the factory right down to the last dime.That was before HR was sold to Thor! 2 Likes
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #14 – September 04, 2016, 09:41:53 am Quote from: paul banbury - August 28, 2016, 05:13:03 pm...one of the things that really puzzled me about the business was how the dealers had to spend ridiculous amounts of time "prepping" a trailer for sale, and that they would do so only after it was sold. Thanks LD! Ah, that explains why the wallpaper was hanging down in a B+ we looked at [long before the LD] at an RV show. It was the dealers only model at the show. When RV problems are discussed around the camp fire, we have nothing to contribute.Perhaps the worst story we have heard was from a guy taking his new TT home. The CHP stopped him to tell him the axle had come loose on one side and was going down the road - I love to use this word - cattywamposed. No doubt about about it, Elkhart quality is non-existant.
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #15 – September 04, 2016, 03:37:27 pm Related to this, we saw damage done on delivery as coaches made their way from Iowa or Indianna to the west coast. I lucked into a conversation with an employee who delivered rigs to the local dealer, a large one. He towed his vehicle behind the Class B on its initial voyage, and was a bit cheesed off that he could never beat the dealership owner on the trip back, who averaged well over 80 mph on the freeways. But don't worry, they will fix up all those rock chips, reattach that wallpaper, and it'll be good as new. (Sadly, and ironically, true)
Re: RV Quality in General Reply #16 – September 06, 2016, 02:41:28 pm To understand product quality (or lack thereof), you need to view the market from the manufacturers' POV: the vast majority of buyers, many of whom may may claim to value quality, are really attracted to "features" and availability (both timing & financing). The number of customers who actually do value quality, and are prepared wait and/or pay a premium to achieve it, is so small that it has remained a niche market.What remains then of the larger market is one dominated by an array of amenities designed to **sell the RV** - period. Promoted through regional dealerships by professional sale staff (in the sense that they know how to close a deal), they make the buying process easy. The name of the game is to get a signature - problems can always be resolved (or not) through the service department. But with contract in hand and financing locked in, the entire dynamic changes where it's really not the dealer's problem anymore.So, if you are in the market for new or used, you need to realize that pretty much the entire RV industry produces absolute junk. It's not that they can't produce quality, it's that there isn't any margin in it while their existing model works perfectly fine. And it's not really a sliding value/quality scale like the auto market; it's more binary: junk/not junk.Rather than attempt to ID all the brands/models that are junk, it's much easier to reverse the process. Which companies have a rep for quality? Which companies specifically target the types of customers who buy LD? If you value your time & money, these are the RVs to research. RVs are complicated - they're also subject to a lot of stress. Things break, trips are compromised. The emotional BS of realizing you are well and truly hosed doesn't help either.There's a reason why there are so many older LDs out and about down here by the beach. 5 Likes
Topic: RV Quality in General (Read 450 times)
previous topic - next topic
Topic: RV Quality in General (Read 450 times)
previous topic - next topic