Problems with the RV'ing Industry

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I hear this arguement a lot, but it seems many of the quality control issues are not really cost saving issues.
Sloppy caulk work that leads to water leaks.
Loose wiring connections, plumbing leaks, sloppy trim work.

A majority of the rv issues we read on these forums could be corrected at no cost if there were proper quality control measures  and employee accountability.
All that sort of problem comes back to assembly cost, basically the amount of time allotted on the assembly line to do a task and the training/skill of the workers.  If the regular guy or gal at a position on the line is out that day, work goes on with a less experienced person who may be slower or less skilled.  If a little extra time needs to be taken with one item, something else has to suffer by getting rushed.  Stopping the entire assembly line to take a few minutes more to properly caulk a seam is NOT a practical option at the factory.


The initial cost of producing high quality is weighed against the warranty cost of fixing it later. If the manufacturing shortcoming doesn't produce a failure until after the warranty expires, it has zero cost to the company.

Most RV production lines have an inspection &  repair area after the RV comes off the line.  In some plants, line workers are encouraged to flag items that need more attention, but that usually works only for superficial and visible defects (scratches, broken cabinetry, etc). Hidden flaws that are merely "less than perfect" rarely come to light.
 
If you ever get the chance to take a factory tour for one of the mainstream manufacturers (not a high-end or custom assembly line), I recommend it. We toured the Jayco factory about 10 years ago and it was both entertaining and educational. We learned a lot about construction techniques and got to see trailers at various levels of completion. At one point a worker ran past our tour group into the men's room. I joked about "having chili for lunch" or something like that - the tour operator laughed but said everyone rushes to keep on schedule. They have a daily quota to meet and when it's met, they go home. If they work quickly, they can go home early; if they are pokey, they stay longer.
 
Joezeppy said:
If you ever get the chance to take a factory tour for one of the mainstream manufacturers (not a high-end or custom assembly line), I recommend it. We toured the Jayco factory about 10 years ago and it was both entertaining and educational. We learned a lot about construction techniques and got to see trailers at various levels of completion. At one point a worker ran past our tour group into the men's room. I joked about "having chili for lunch" or something like that - the tour operator laughed but said everyone rushes to keep on schedule. They have a daily quota to meet and when it's met, they go home. If they work quickly, they can go home early; if they are pokey, they stay longer.
I toured the Winnebago factory and museum in Forest City Iowa. Joe is correct, it really opens your eyes and is very educational.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
131,749
Posts
1,384,209
Members
137,520
Latest member
jeep3501
Back
Top Bottom