SeilerBird
Well-known member
Rocky - When I need work done on my RV I call a mobile mechanic. Solves all the problems of dealing with a dealership.
The service you get as a paying customer, is much better than the service I would get as a warranty claim.
Rocky Road said:An interesting series of articles and great discussion. Thanks for your posts!
Being an RV "wannabe", the articles have given me no small amount of concern about whether to take the plunge or not. I was already convinced that a "gently used" Class A was the way to go and nothing I've read here changes that. But the eye-opening part for me was the service issues - the time spent waiting to get your coach into service and then waiting to get it out. Not to mention the lack of trained technicians to work on it when it does get in.
The QC issue certainly rings true. You have only to read the myriad posts on this board to see that. But, if two of the manufacturers control 83% of the market, why should we be surprised? Where's their incentive to focus on quality? Make it bright and shiny and get it sold. It reminds me of the old Saturday Night Live skit (and I mean OLD) talking about the phone company - "We're Ma Bell. We don't care. We don't have to".
kdbgoat said:His conclusion in the end though, was that he was going to put the top down on his Mercedes and tour the country that way.He figured owning an RV wasn't worth the hassle to him.
Right now, unless I start looking at pre-owned Prevost or Newell models, the new motorhomes that I would like to consider are the Winnebago Grand Tour or the American Coach Eagle.
TonyDtorch said:There are other choices besides a Fleetwood and Winnebago, many people are thinking Enterga Coach is the new Monaco..and Newmar still makes a quality coach.
2dalake said:Most of the coaches from American, Entegra, Winnebago, Newmar use more traditional interiors...wood cabinets of various tones, etc. If you want the more 'modern' interiors with the glossy laminate cabinets, lots of chrome accents, etc. you need to look at Newells, Prevost conversions and Foretravel.
2dalake said:I would agree it is less costly to travel in a car and stay in hotels. However, many RVr's like us travel with pets (mostly dogs) and that was a big factor when we starting with RV's many years ago.
2dalake said:That said, I've always thought those of us who own and travel in these beasts are a bit crazy. There must be something wrong with those of us who are willing to spend the bucks to buy them, spend more bucks to keep them on the road, spend more bucks to upgrade them, spend time sitting in service centers (sometimes days or more) while we pay someone to fix stuff we can't fix, etc. But we seem to love the mode of travel and we do see some great things and meet some nice folks along the way. But, we must be a bit crazy...
jjarman123 said:I am not done with all the articles but will be reading them this weekend. I have not yet bought my motorhome but we were definitely getting a used one. I am still nervous though. I work in the legal field and wondered have there been any class action lawsuits regarding campers and RVs and the difficulty in getting them fixed? I would not hesitate to sue a manufacturer if I had to, especially if I bought a new RV.
But what is a RV customer to do? I would love to be able to buy an Allegro or something along that line. I have heard they are the best but they are way out of my price range. We want a motorhome in the next couple of years to start using on weekends with the eventual plan to retire and live in it full time. But neither of us is mechanical and we don?t have unlimited funds. I can fix some things but not much. What about extended warranties on used motorhomes? Are they worth it?
tcg said:For close to 30 years I've had a business that cleans boats for dealers. Everything from 11' tenders to 3 million dollar 70' yachts.
What's being discussed in this topic is not specific to the RV industry.
You would think a 2 million dollar yacht would show up from the factory ready to go, nope, takes a week to get it ready if nothing is wrong. I've made an excellent living cleaning up from the factory and the techs that prep these things.
You would also think if a tech were working on a million+ dollar yacht they might remove their shoes or put down some protective floor covering, nope, not their yacht. More money for me.
Broken toilets? Blown motors? Power anything? It all comes in not working, some are worse than others.
I'm usually the last guy on a delivery before the customer shows up. I can't count how many times I've told the service department about things they missed from scratches to leaking anything. We've cleaned close to 20,000 boats in almost 30 years and it's progressively gotten worse.
Not sure what the problem is, probablly cheap labor at the factories and cheap parts in an attempt to make more money for the share holders.
But rest assured it's not just one industry.
PBG said:At the end of Part 2 of the series, there's a link to a podcast from a Lemon Law Attorney that you'll find of interest. Here's a link: https://soundcloud.com/stevelehto/dont-buy-an-rv-ep-45
On thing that caught my attention is that buried in the paperwork is some sort of clause stating the buyer has surrendered all rights. Since you're in the legal field, I'm sure we'll all be interested in your opinion and advice.
if you hate Foretravel ....PBG said:Regarding Foretravel, I visited the factory a few months ago and while I like its coaches, I wasn't too impressed with the factory. Just an opinion. Also, unless you live in the Great State of Texas, obtaining warranty service can be a challenge. For the Realm, there's only one dealer and it's my understanding they don't do warranty house service. But, it's a gorgeous coach.
TonyDtorch said:if you hate Foretravel ....
you should see the Newell factory....a bunch of old quonset huts with million dollar motorhomes in them....
but both Newell and Fortravel are some of the best motorhomes made.....
I think you are expecting to see a state of-the-art computer controlled environment robotic assembly line, you may not realize all RV's are actually just hand-made custom house-vehicles.
PBG said:Who said anything about hating Foretravel? Please, there's no need to mince my words as I stated I like its coaches, but was not impressed with its factory. In fact, the Realm continues to have my attention, but the lack of service locations gives me pause. It's only sold by one dealer and while the Spartan service can be obtained in numerous locations, when warranty work is needed, where do you go? Back to Texas. If I lived near the factory, Foretravel would be high on my list.
And yes, I visited the Newell factory just a few months ago and there's a huge difference between it and the Foretravel factory as it's modern, bright, clean, organized and the workers seem to be as good as they get in this industry. The workers I encountered seemed to be young, bright and energetic and took a lot of pride in building quite possibly the finest coach on the road. Is it ideal for a first timer? Probably not...it's a lot of money to spend on a first coach. The owner's I've encountered seem to be very happy with their coach and Newell's service policies.
And no, I wasn't expecting to see a "computer controlled environment robotic assembly line" in any of the factories, but what I have learned by visiting various factories is that every one of them does it differently. Some are completely by hand and some use a level of automation.
I encourage anyone spending their hard earned money to take the time to see how various manufacturers build coaches as it's been a great learning experience.
I hope that sets the record straight.