Mildly annoyed complaint

[VoiceNinja]

We finally got our new-to-us motor coach to our house today. We've owned it for just over a month, but we had seasonal load restrictions that kept us from brining it to our home.

The first thing I did (after figuring out how to put it in the driveway and trimming a tree so that we had room!) was de-winterize it and sanitize the fresh water system.

I tried to pour a mild bleach solution into the fresh water port, but it kept running back out, even when I stuck a hose 2 feet into the opening. I finally got frustrated and pulled cabinet drawers, floors, and backs out to trace the fresh water filler hose.

The verdict? Sub-par for an investment of this size! The hose comes in about 3 inches, then RISES about 2 inches to clear a heat duct, runs on a 3 foot 12:1 upward slope, then dives straight down into the tank. It's pretty much useless as a filler port.

On top of that, I found out why one of the furnace ducts doesn't blow any air: The flexible duct was completely crushed when they crammed a kitchen cabinet with 4 inches of space under the toe kick over the top of 8 inches of flexible ductwork that was snaked and criss-crossed all over the floor.

I used to be a carpenter/builder and would have been fired if I'd tried to pass of anything like that as "quality" work. When I worked in aviation at an aircraft manufacturer who sold airplanes in the same MSRP range as many Class A Diesel pushers, we would have been skinned alive if we'd pushed that kind of quality out the door.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like our coach is an exception - it looks like it's the standard.

Makes me want to tear the whole thing apart and fix all of the half-way work that came from the factory...

All of that said, I'm spending the first night with the coach in the driveway IN the coach with my 4 and 8 year old sons. There was NO WAY they were not sleeping in it when it pulled in!

I suppose I can live with a few crushed vents and two-bit plumbing if my boys get this excited over it. :-)

[Skip426]

Yep; every brand has their own " what the { self edit } were they thinking " moments .
My biggest one is ; fuse locations ; ten of them and even after seven years , I'm not sure I've found them all.

[Thor29.3inAZ]

Like you, many including myself find some of the crap-est work anyone would own up to, or not. I am also a retired military aviation mechanic and find things that I just have to shake my head at. My wife can't believe it either. She likes to help me to understand how the coach works. Check everything you can, including filters, it will be in your best interest while out on the road.

[Mrb1ll]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Yep; every brand has their own " what the { self edit } were they thinking " moments .

My biggest one is ; fuse locations ; ten of them and even after seven years , I'm not sure I've found them all.

Yea, yes, yes! It's a giant egg hunt.

[ThePowells]

Originally Posted by Mrb1ll

Yea, yes, yes! It's a giant egg hunt.

Giant eggs would be easier to find.

[Dutch Star Don]

Luckily, you'll rarely if ever use the gravity water fill. Next time, add the bleach to your hose, connect it to the water connection and fill the tank that way, instead of using the gravity fill.

Glad you found the duct issue. I'm sure you'll find more things. Just look at it as tuning up your hot rod. You'll be proud of all the fixes and upgrades when everything works well.

[computerguy]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Luckily, you'll rarely if ever use the gravity water fill. Next time, add the bleach to your hose, connect it to the water connection and fill the tank that way, instead of using the gravity fill.

Glad you found the duct issue. I'm sure you'll find more things. Just look at it as tuning up your hot rod. You'll be proud of all the fixes and upgrades when everything works well.

Yep, One needs to keep the expectations very very very low. This way you won't be disappointed and left scratching your head.
Expect the unbelievable and you'll be much better off. If you want things done right you will have lots to do in your free time. Don't bring it to a dealer too. They have the same level of competence working there as they do in the factory. Well, with one exception, the folks at the REV service center (not the manufacturing line folks!) in Decatur are the best I have seen. Not perfect but at least they do respectable work.

[boyland]

It is interesting to me the short cuts they take on a lot of motorhomes i look at.

For example to me you will see a brand new motorhome and there will be lighting at all different points they will make a big deal out of the led lights but then under the cabinet there will be the old style where they put out tons of heat or they will use the lowest quality carpet available in a 250k motorhome. Just looks silly to me we are talking very few dollars of cost less than $500 in difference.


But I will say in our Journey we have modified it heavily and for the most part i have been impressed with the construction the bones of the unit they ran standard wire,used pex plumbing, used solid cabinet doors, decent tile, and for the most part put enough strength to handle the roughness of over the road life. I do not think the faucets and appointments in general are very good quality in an rv but they lasted for 15 years so kinda hard to argue the quality when they last that long. But they were plastic and you needed to be gentle with them, the original carpet was cheap and the blinds etc needed improvement.

I also think the newer stuff available at the local hardware has improved greatly and the makers could use more off the shelve items they could have 15 years ago.


JMO

[VoiceNinja]

Indeed. I see a lot of my free time being spent swapping out bathroom fixtures, digging into the nooks and crannies, and searching out the "WHY would anyone do it like this?" items that could be easily fixed.

As Boyland says, I'm very happy with the bones. As noted in another thread, I tackled some water intrusion issues and am so thankful for the welded, boxed aluminum frame and foam insulation. The bones of this coach are solid and it's a great foundation for our really crappy apartment on wheels. :-)

[fpresto]

As long as they sell the manufactures have no incentive to produce a better quality RV. Why would they? Better quality, better quality control, etc. means increased costs and can drive them out of their target market because someone will come in at a cheaper price. The problem is us. We continue to buy inferior products and until it hits their bottom line nothing will change.

[nothermark]

FWIW I ran an quick inflation calculation the other day in a different discussion. $100 in 1985 is ~$250 today. Number is off a bit as I did not look it up again. The workers are making close to what they did then and the units are probably close in price point. Materials are more expensive. That difference has to come from somewhere. It seems hiring people who are fair at quick and dirty and don't ask any pesky questions like how does the water work if the hose goes up hill is your answer.

[DegoRed]

Originally Posted by Skip426

My biggest one is ; fuse locations ; ten of them and even after seven years , I'm not sure I've found them all.

This

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by boyland

It is interesting to me the short cuts they take on a lot of motorhomes i look at.

For example to me you will see a brand new motorhome and there will be lighting at all different points they will make a big deal out of the led lights but then under the cabinet there will be the old style where they put out tons of heat or they will use the lowest quality carpet available in a 250k motorhome. Just looks silly to me we are talking very few dollars of cost less than $500 in difference.

And, if they went first class all the way they'd cost $1,000,000 and up. Even my $750,000 rig has a few shortcuts.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Yep; every brand has their own " what the { self edit } were they thinking " moments .
My biggest one is ; fuse locations ; ten of them and even after seven years , I'm not sure I've found them all.

Newmar is good at that. After 13 years with the '02 DSDP I was never sure I found them all!