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Old 07-14-2016, 12:08 AM   #141
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I will say that with our KZ 5th wheel we've had a great experience. We've had it going on 6 years and it's been relatively trouble free...well...lets say limited issues. When we first got it the control board on the fridge went out and there were a couple small issues that we had fixed under warranty. Then last year the bumper almost fell off. I would say pretty much any vehicle you own 6 years is going to have a few problems here and there....overall we've been really happy with ours and it's worked out great for us.
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Old 07-14-2016, 12:20 AM   #142
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Originally Posted by twogypsies View Post
We have had just the opposite experience than this author writes about.

This author seems to be making blanket statements that every single RV or dealer is like this. That's not true. The sky is not falling.

We full-timed 16 years and traveled constantly. We bought two new RVs during this time. We never returned to the selling dealer. We easily got any needed service without waiting. Service was done in a day or two and we were able to stay in our 'home' at night on the lot, sometimes with electric. We've also used mobile private repair facilities who would come to the campground and found the prices to be more reasonable than a dealer.

Of course, we didn't have major issues because we bought good RVs to begin with (Travel Supreme & Newmar). Maintenance appts. were made for a facility we'd be heading for anyway. We'd show up the day before, spend the night on their lot, maintenance was done as scheduled and we left.

Absolutely no issues for us so we're not understanding why some folks have such a problem. Is the dealership too big or too small? Don't folks trust the small repair shops?
The difference is likely the timing. Since you say "16 years" you have to realize that a lot can change in that time period. (And I see by your signature that your coach was a 2004.) RVs are selling at record rates right now, and service facilities are backed up with a lot of frustrated owners.
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Old 07-14-2016, 11:54 AM   #143
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Originally Posted by twogypsies View Post
We have had just the opposite experience than this author writes about.

This author seems to be making blanket statements that every single RV or dealer is like this. That's not true. The sky is not falling.

We full-timed 16 years and traveled constantly. We bought two new RVs during this time. We never returned to the selling dealer. We easily got any needed service without waiting. Service was done in a day or two and we were able to stay in our 'home' at night on the lot, sometimes with electric. We've also used mobile private repair facilities who would come to the campground and found the prices to be more reasonable than a dealer.

Of course, we didn't have major issues because we bought good RVs to begin with (Travel Supreme & Newmar). Maintenance appts. were made for a facility we'd be heading for anyway. We'd show up the day before, spend the night on their lot, maintenance was done as scheduled and we left.

Absolutely no issues for us so we're not understanding why some folks have such a problem. Is the dealership too big or too small? Don't folks trust the small repair shops?
How many years have you been off the road and back in a S&B ? The experiences of your yesteryears are not, unfortunately today's realities.
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Old 07-14-2016, 05:15 PM   #144
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How many years have you been off the road and back in a S&B ? The experiences of your yesteryears are not, unfortunately today's realities.
We sold it in 2015. . . not long ago.
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Old 07-15-2016, 03:16 PM   #145
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Part 5: Campgrounds Losing Capacity

RV Industry Death Spiral – Part 5: Campgrounds losing capacity | RV Daily Report
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Old 07-15-2016, 03:52 PM   #146
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Part 5 - yep, he's at least partially right. Unfortunately that's life as far as campgrounds. Who can afford to sink that kind of money into a piece of very expensive land without wanting a reasonable payback (salary) after taxes, costs of help, maintenance and equipment plus the cost of borrowed money on the investment. I don't much like paying 40-50 bucks on a campsite with the early morning wake up of a train passing by the back property line or the interstate with roaring trucks out front all night. Yes, that is also why we pay for a seasonal, regardless of the fact that we only occupy it about 1/2 time with the rest of the time spent traveling - but we can travel those 110 miles any day and spend a night or several without having to 'fight' for a reserved site.

As I said, that's real life if you want to use your recreational vehicle on a regular basis, i.e. whenever you want. Hang on as the next US financial bust will 'cure' many of these ills and lots of RVs wont go beyond their home parking spot.
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Old 07-15-2016, 04:23 PM   #147
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Man, I gotta say,....he's hitting the nail on the head for sure. Of course I feel like it's the same issues we discuss here quite often.

I definitely saw my fair share of trashed out "RV Parks" on a cross country jaunt last summer; including one park that had a miniature land fill right next to the street. It was full of RVs that looked much like the one pictured in the article, many had roofs covered with tarps too.

Overpriced resorts that are just glorified campgrounds? Yep. With the exception of Anaheim RV Resort, where we stay fairly often, we generally avoid the term "resort" now, preferring to find "campgrounds".

Internet that is slower and less reliable than smoke signals? Yep. I'm convinced that my WiFi Ranger has been the biggest waste of money I've spent on my rig yet, because I'm yet to stay somewhere that has had usable internet.

Will this series of articles change any of that? I don't think so. It's nice to rant, but I don't see any real change coming. Most of the "change" I see comes from better communication between fellow RVers as we share which locations are worthwhile and which ones aren't.
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Old 07-15-2016, 04:49 PM   #148
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Hang on as the next US financial bust will 'cure' many of these ills and lots of RVs wont go beyond their home parking spot.
Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe the answer is quite simple. But, would you please elaborate on your statement? How will a financial bust keep RV's at home?
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Old 07-15-2016, 04:56 PM   #149
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Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe the answer is quite simple. But, would you please elaborate on your statement? How will a financial bust keep RV's at home?
Maybe because people won't have money to spend on RVs or RVing.
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Old 07-15-2016, 05:13 PM   #150
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I am really having a hard time understanding this author. RVing is definitely not spiraling downward. It's been around for 100 years through many financial downturns. It's not going away.

This recent post on campgrounds is so unreal and he says he's a full-timer.

We full-timed for 16 years and traveled constantly. We never found his issues to be our issues.

- he uses Google Maps to find campgrounds. He needs to branch out a little more. There are many much better ways to find campgrounds. One site will not do it.

- we never spent $30/day or more for a campsite. There are many ways to cut costs if your really need to

- he talks of reserving far in advance. We rarely made reservations except for having to be with our family for a wedding, etc. We stayed in the most popular national parks such as Yellowstone. There are even campgrounds in these parks that don't accept reservations. For the major 3-day holidays, we easily found a place to stay if you don't need to be at the most popular places.

- he complains of long-term folks in RV parks then turns around and complains of public parks that only have a 14-stay limit

- he states national parks are RV-unfriendly - narrow sites, no electric or water. RVs are self-contained and don't need to be hooked up to utilities. That's a choice that people think they need. We found the sites in public parks have a LOT much space than a typical RV park with RVs all in a row.

- he complains of Wifi. We were on a committee at one time to try to get Wifi into a park. People don't realize how expensive this is. Also, if a park is in outlying areas it's not going to have high speed unless they put a lot of money into it. If there is Wifi in a park, it's definitely not meant for a hundred people to stream movies and play games. It's not meant to run your business from it or to do your financials. It's meant for emailing and quick web searching. People abuse it and then complain that it's not fast. There are easy ways nowadays to carry your own Wifi with you wherever you go.

90% of our stays were in public parks because they're cheaper, have more room, have space between the sites and are in preferred scenic areas. With our 40' motorhome we were able to get sites in national parks, national forest campgrounds, Corp of Engineer, state parks, county and city parks. We also loved boondocking on national forest lands and BLM lands. We didn't do WalMarts. We traveled to Alaska and easily found places to stay.

If people want the 'resort-type' parks then yes, they will pay more. However, this author is not telling the whole picture of RVing. It can be done cheaper and easier.
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Old 07-15-2016, 05:31 PM   #151
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I am really having a hard time understanding this author...
I understand that in this case, campgrounds, the writer is often wrongheaded; your opinions and experiences on this topic closely mirror mine.
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Old 07-15-2016, 05:43 PM   #152
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.....- he uses Google Maps to find campgrounds. He needs to branch out a little more. There are many much better ways to find campgrounds. One site will not do it....
Google isn't one site. It is a search engine that searches the whole internet and pulls together likely information that matches your search. Yes, it's influenced by sites that pay to advertise with Google, but it does provide matches that many other search websites don't.
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Old 07-15-2016, 06:30 PM   #153
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Google isn't one site. It is a search engine that searches the whole internet and pulls together likely information that matches your search. Yes, it's influenced by sites that pay to advertise with Google, but it does provide matches that many other search websites don't.
The author said he uses Google Maps. I just plugged in a town that I'm very familiar with and all the RV parks did not come up. National forest campgrounds were not there either.

It's hard to rely on one site. I have found that the popular AllStays is not complete either.
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Old 07-15-2016, 06:51 PM   #154
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Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe the answer is quite simple. But, would you please elaborate on your statement? How will a financial bust keep RV's at home?
I'll provide my two cents on that statement...

The RV and Motorhome industry has been experiencing the perfect storm for brisk sales the past few years. Low interest rates, reasonable fuel prices, a rising stock market and a somewhat stable economy has delivered a recipe for strong sales for all sectors of this industry.

However, the economy is cyclical and things will change at some point. When they do there's a good chance this industry could experience a somewhat abrupt slow down and the current bubble would burst. When this happens there will be more people selling RVs than those who are buying them, the market could become saturated, prices will drop and fewer people will be taking their RV on the road. Hence, more open campground spaces.

After all, it wasn't that long ago when the rock solid housing industry took a toll on the economy and while we're doing pretty well today, there's factors such as the national debt, a fiscal cliff scenario, worldwide security issues or a potential market sell off...any of which could make consumers reel in recreational spending.

Yes, it's a perfect storm for the entire RV industry at the moment and things are currently booming. The question is: How long will this last?

The good news is that when sales fall off, the manufacturers and service providers will need to up their game to capture as much of the remaining market as possible In a strange way, that could be a very good thing for RV consumers who have the resources to weather that storm as they will migrate to those who provide quality and value.
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