From the perspective of one who's considering the purchase of his first motorhome, I'm one of the 90% who are doing exactly what the recent RVIA study stated: Doing the bulk of my research online and absorbing all the information I can find in the forums and on YouTube. Yes, I've visited numerous dealerships and with few exceptions during the first visit I keep hearing the phrase, "what's it going to take for you to buy today?" I provide an honest response...
- Sell me a new 42' - 45' top tier, brand name motorhome that you can promise will allow me to spend my leisurely time enjoying it while traveling the USA and not worrying about how to fix things that brake and ones that should have been caught at the factory and I'll consider writing a check today.
- Find me one where the slides will work as promised, that doesn't squeak, creak and leak and is built with quality in mind through every step of the manufacturing process and is road and field tested prior to delivery and possibly I'll buy today.
- Show me that you have a training program that will teach me how to operate this safely and have confidence in knowing how to work the systems properly and we'll sit down at your desk to fill out the contract.
- Let me know that your techs have been properly trained and know how to inspect it before I drive it off the lot to insure a pleasant user experience.
- Put in writing that you will provide prompt service that fixes things that break in a timely manner and when I'm on the road you'll get me into remote service locations with a single phone call so that I don't have to worry about if the issue is being caused by the house, chassis or another component so that my down time is limited. Camping out at service centers for weeks awaiting service is not my idea of a recreational activity. (Aren't these supposed to be Recreational Vehicles?)
- If the same thing keeps breaking and I've given you ample time to fix it, you'll be as fair to me as a car dealership or a reputable home builder and find a way to make things right.
- Don't make me sign documents that take way any rights I may have should I end up with a lemon and that the company that manufactures it stands behind its products and has a method of providing me quality service by professionals trained on its motorhomes so that I don't keep hearing that I have to drive 2,000 miles to obtain factory service and yes, I'll buy today.
Crickets.
It seems the salespeople and manufacturers I've come in contact with to date are selling the dream, but don't have methods of backing up what they are saying.
So yes, I'm reading the RV Daily Report series and I applaud its effort in bringing these issues to light. I don't know his motives, but I'm glad he's taking the time to do it. I can only hope the RV industry provides a valid response to the issues that surface through that series.
Not being a mechanic or one who has strong DYI skills, honestly I'm considering walking away as I don't want my dream of traveling by motorhome to be a nightmare. I'm hoping the RV industry takes these reports seriously and understands there's folks like me who are not afraid of writing a $400K check, but due to the countless forum threads that speak of motorhomes from all brands in my price range that are poorly made, include components that often fail, wiring and plumbing that is poorly assembled and the long waits to get things fixed, I may simply walk away without buying. Don't get me wrong, this has been a dream of mine for decades and I've worked long and hard for this privilege. And yes, I'm miffed on what has happened to this industry.
I'm sure there will be people who will tell me to buy used, but I'm one of those rare birds who want to buy new and have the latest in safety and engineering.
Maybe I'm just not the right type of person to buy a motorhome and I'm learning that maybe that's true. If so, it's a shame as it's something I've wanted to do for the past 30 years and now I'm ready, willing and able to follow my dream and am close to the point of walking away.
Honestly, considering that most new buyers read about the high level of complaints with quality control issues and long wait times to get service I can't be the only one who's getting scared away from buying. While I've been working towards this moment where I can easily afford just about any motorhome I want, just reading about the lack of quality control measures and the difficulties new owners face have given me great pause in my long awaited plans to do something I dreamed of for decades.
I'll close this long post by saying this:
If there's a dealer or a manufacturer that can offer a solution, please post in this thread as I can only guess I'm not the only potential buyer who wants to hear what you have to say.
I sure hope I don't hear the sound of crickets again.