RV Quality

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nhshep

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Joined
Nov 24, 2018
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Always amazed me how the RV industry gets away with poor quality product. If you purchased a Toyota Camry you are in the $26,000 range. If you purchase Volvo as example in $66,000 range you do see the $40,000 difference from inside quality to outside quality. They don't put cheap tires on the $66,000 Volvo or low par metal frame.

Yet in the RV industry I purchased a $30,000 Prime Time Crusader 5th wheel and compared it to a similar size $60,000 RV and I cannot see the $30,000 that justifies that increase in price. The roof for most are still rubber. Look under the seating it is particle board. What is worse the appliances inside are not top of the line that could justify the $30,000 price difference. Granted some top line models selling for $80,000 may be in a different league. I am saying I don't see the same difference in price between $30,000 RV and $60,000 RV to justify the difference. Yet in a car is becomes clear the difference and they don't cut corners in shoddy workmanship during the build like they do in the RV industry. I guess demand and supply is the reason why RV's have not changed in quality. The manufacturer gets away with it.

No offense to owners of any specific RV. People are happy with what they buy which justifies the price they are willing to pay.


 
Without a more detailed comparison to that unidentified $60k RV, it's difficult to comment pro or con. However, the RV industry is so highly price competitive that I doubt if the $60k model is simply inflated in price, so I'm fairly confident a sufficiently discerning eye could see the differences.


I'm fairly sure that more than a few people here who would say they cannot see $40k difference between a Camry and a Volvo S90. Afterall, a Camry is a very capable and comfortable car!
 
I am very pleased with my purchased. I had to weight buy used or buy new based on price. The con to buying used who knows what is wrong with the RV if anything until you had time to use it and by that time you own it. Even buying new there is some risk but hopefully anything major the warranty will cover. People pay what they feel something is worth to them. If I compared one RV against another those who own that other I compared it to would probably get defensive. I am just making a statement having owned a travel trailer for 10 years and now owning a 5th wheel I see the same quality of product and manufacturing process today as it was probably 15 years ago. I was using a car brand to car brand as an example and I am sure the Camry owners took that as offensive. LOL

Just making an observation about the RV industry in general. 
 
I bought a 20 year old fiver last year and I am thrilled to death with the quality of the RV. Top notch everything. Especially the solid oak cabinets.
 
The RV industry and the auto industry cannot really be compared side by side... even if it seems like they should.

RV warranties are often only 1 year, you are often limited to what dealerships will service your unit, warranty work gets pushed to the back of the service line, and you could be waiting many weeks or months if warranty parts have to be special-ordered from the factory. Not to mention that most new RV's depreciate somewhere in the 40-50% range within a few years. (Trailers aren't quite as bad as motorhomes in that regard.) Is that worth the extra cost to buy new? Only you can decide.

I do agree that the differences might be hard to find in a $30k versus a $60k RV, if the differences don't really matter to you (or you're not sure what they are). That's where I would personally fall too... I wouldn't pay $30k more for a Volvo either, for the few creature comforts that you mentioned. Heck I don't really see the value of buying ANY new car, for the similar research and depreciation reasons I mentioned with RV's. But that's just me!

One thing that people have to decide for themselves is how they are going to spend their own money. But, we can help them be a more educated along the way! ;)
 
The RV industry build what sells. They have sold close to 500,000 units per year for the last Five years.

The majority of these buyers are perfectly content with their piece if junk and most will upgrade to an even bigger piece of junk after a few years.

The solution of course is for those whiners and complainers to open their own RV factory and show those folks how a RV should be built.

Or they could shell our a few more bucks and have one of those custom built RVs like you see on the "travel" channel.

 
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