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Topic: Motorhome Magazine Discussion (Read 12 times) previous topic - next topic
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Motorhome Magazine Discussion
Yahoo Message Number: 158080
In that same issue of Motorhome that Chris mentioned below, there is a reader discussion initiated by the magazine.  The question was "Have you noticed improvements in either the construction of motorhomes or the amenities offered?"  The reader responses were lively and generally reflected that the construction is NOT improving but the bling and amenities continue to be added to RVs.  This question helped me to once again reflect on Lazy Daze's exceptional construction.  I think it would be very difficult to adequately describe to someone who has not owned or poured over a LD to really understand and appreciate the superb quality of construction and elegance in the design of these coaches.  At the end of the day, that just what most people wanted in their RV according to the reader's letters to the Editor.  And so it goes.

Ed & Margee Fort Worth

P.S.  Today, I spent 2 hours in our LD at lunch time with a sandwich & diet coke, which is parked in storage. I'm thinking if anyone around here knew that, I'd probably be labeled emotionally disturbed.  Dang, the truth is out!
Re: Motorhome Magazine Discussion
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158083
I read that discussion also and it boggles my mind that RV manufacturers don't get the quality message. I just attended the Denver RV show and nothing has changed except now there is a plethora of very small, lightweight trailers which, under careful scrutiny, appear as if they would fall apart going over a speed bump. Just for grins, I asked the rep in a class B Sprinter rig (with a slide) what the carrying capacities were. He looked at me and laughed and said, "you want me to prove to you that you can't bring anything with you on a trip except the driver?" He was nearly correct.

Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Motorhome Magazine Discussion
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158085
Have to admit I LOVE going out once a month to run the generator and just sit in "Dora" reading RV magazines and admiring my "tiny house" of quality construction! Travel time upcoming!
Re: Motorhome Magazine Discussion
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158213
There's no incentive for manufacturers to improve quality -- for the most part RVs are a "consumable" item, purchased brand new from a dealer on impulse and used for maybe one or two summers, then the owners lose interest and trade it in on the next diversion. There's no real reason for the average RV to hold together more than those first couple of summers, if that. It's not an investment, it's just one more monthly payment that comes and goes as fads change.
 The other big RV users are tourists from overseas who want to do the great American road trip in a rented RV. We have a few dealers in town who specialize in buying and reselling these rentals after they age out of the rental fleet. We looked at plenty of them at RV shows -- only a year or two old with a cosmetic refurbish at an "amazing" discount vs new. I particularly remember one that had water sloshing around in the small cupboard in the over-cab bunk, and the complete lack of interest when we pointed this out to the salesman.
 People who hang onto their RVs and use them consistently are in the minority, and don't fit the business model of the industry as a whole. Lazy Daze, and Lazy Daze owners, are definitely outliers.
 Yes, we enjoy taking our LD out to Walmart once a month or so to "camp" in it for the day while we do our shopping.
fu
2015TK
Re: Motorhome Magazine Discussion
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158230
Having looked at almost all of the Class C coaches on the market and visiting many factories, I would fully agree with the statement about the manufacturers' lack of interest in quality.   I believe that there is another factor that contributes to their lack of interest.  Most coaches reach the end user via a distributor / dealer network (Lazy Daze being an exception) which isolates the manufacturer from many complaints.  Even though must compensate the distributors / dealers for warranty work, the manufacturers see very few of the problems that result from lack of quality.  "Out of sight - out of mind."
 An owners concept of "quality" also depends on how they view their coach.  I look at mine as a vehicle that will take me places during the next 5 years, and then it gets replaced.   It is not a "20-year vehicle" and definitely is not a "driveway queen."   With my point of view it is difficult, if not impossible, to justify spending an additional $25K to $30K to own an LD.

Doug Baker
Re: Motorhome Magazine Discussion
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158232
The old "they don't make em like they used to" discussion. Participating in it makes me old. But I am NOT!

We worry about the future of Lazy Daze, appreciating how difficult it is for a small business to succeed multi generationally, and as a manufacturer in California. Many potential customers are turned off by the LD resistance to change, but some devotees appreciate the stability and refinement that comes with it. Refusal to go with the flow sets LD apart.

There are few brands that can sustain consistent cash flow and capital investment without the deep pockets of a corporate backing. With big corporations adding RV brands to their portfolios quarterly growth is essential. Treating RVs as consumer goods with a 2 year life cycle supports this framework. Financing makes it work, and low interest rates further contribute to expanding the market to include young working people.  The good news for all the RV businesses is that we have a vibrant young market to keep the future healthy.

The bad news for curmudgeons like me is that campgrounds litter the highway, and even BLM lands are too crowded. And that new RVs are not attractive, but what do I care? My '92 LD is perfect for us.
Paul
'92 Mid Bath
Re: Motorhome Magazine Discussion
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 158236
I was involved for a while with another industry that was maddeningly unresponsive to the desires of avid users.  In this case it was scuba diving.  Most scuba gear is purchased by people who are brand new to the activity and base their decisions on what the gear feels like on land instead of underwater.  How could they do anything else since that's all they know?  The manufacturers exist to support the dealers, their real customers.
 I see RVing as similar.  Most new RV buyers have precious little idea what they're buying.  They buy based on how it feels to sit in at the showroom.  Again, it's hard to fault them because what else do they know?
 Each winter I go to the local RV show and spend a few hours wandering.  I always come home with the idea that I wouldn't trade by 13 year old RV for any of them, even straight up.  It takes me a year to forget my disappointment and then I repeat the process.  I'm a slow learner (with cabin fever).

Rich '03 MB in NC
2003 MB