Community Forums

oakcreekeric · 03-02-2015, 02:58 PM

Hello..

Just a quick question for the throbbing brain of the IRV2 forum...

A friend of mine is looking for their first motorhome.. they are looking at all of them at this point.. However, while talking/working with a local RV Dealership.. they were told to "watch out" for anything built between 2008-2010...

Obviously, that was the downturn period of the RV industry.. but to categorize all units built within the time frame as "junk" or substandard??

What say you ??

**NLOVNIT** · 03-02-2015, 03:39 PM

I can only state what I know about Fleetwood based on owner feedback seminars by FW reps/engineers at their rallies I've attended. During that time, FW went bankrupt, lost experienced factory personnel & factory equipment. RV's came off the line with a lot of problems & QC issues. They've been rebuilding ever since & slowly improving.

No matter what mfr RV, do proper research on the unit...including searching for recalls & reading the Mfr Owner's Forums for posts regarding possible problems with model candidates.

Lori-

**CLIFFTALL** · 03-02-2015, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oakcreekeric

Hello..

Just a quick question for the throbbing brain of the IRV2 forum...

A friend of mine is looking for their first motorhome.. they are looking at all of them at this point.. However, while talking/working with a local RV Dealership.. they were told to "watch out" for anything built between 2008-2010...

Obviously, that was the downturn period of the RV industry.. but to categorize all units built within the time frame as "junk" or substandard??

What say you ??

My 08 Bounder was as trouble free as you can get. I guess I was lucky.

UFO Pilot · 03-02-2015, 03:43 PM

My 2008 was built and purchased in 2007 before the downturn. Just an FYI.

Walt Bennett · 03-02-2015, 04:21 PM

We purchased our '10 Keystone Montana used, early in 2013. My wife and I did two separate inspections using the RV Consumer's Group guides and could find nothing wrong with anything save for the large TV that had the antenna connector broken off - the dealer replaced it before we signed anything. We've since put well over 20k miles on it, including many over rough roads, and found only one thing that could be called a manufacturer's defect. They didn't attach an antenna to the home theater system so that the radio portion could get anything. In the almost two years I've added a lot of things and modified others, but still have not found anything to cause me any concern about how this unit was put together.

From my past experience, it doesn't matter who made it or when your RV was built, they can have problems from poor workmanship or just plain slop. It's much like Detroit cars were made forty years ago, and it's up to you to be careful about what you go home with.

Wizard · 03-02-2015, 05:10 PM

Probably that dealer didn't have any made in those years.

D Lindy · 03-02-2015, 05:15 PM

More likely dealer is trying to UPSELL your friend into a NEW unit being as he has a much larger profit margin on a new unit over a used unit. IMO I would not deal with any dealer saying such a blanket statement. in other words, "How can you tell when a salesman is lying - his lips are moving, type thing.

GaryKD · 03-02-2015, 05:19 PM

Newmar made it through the recession/depression, 08 - 10, quite nicely. Newmar has no debt and builds only to order. Kept all the best skill and for the last several years, is having record breaking sales.

dennis45 · 03-02-2015, 05:36 PM

How do you tell when a salesman is lying? When his lips are moving.

Arch Hoagland · 03-02-2015, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wizard

Probably that dealer didn't have any made in those years.

That was first thought too. All years are bad and all years are good.

Ray,IN · 03-02-2015, 06:06 PM

That nonsense reminds me of the old(1960's) rumor about buying a new car. It said never buy a new car built on Monday or Friday because the assembly line workers were not doing their best those days. Fridays they were getting thinking about the weekend, and Mondays they were hung-over.

If you do buy an RV built during those years, all the initial build problems have been rectified by now, if it was used regularly.

wajell · 03-02-2015, 06:17 PM

I think this theory makes a lot of sense. Unemployment (as I recall) was over 35% in Elkhart. The only thing I might consider is extending the years to 2012 or 2013. The RV manufacturers lost A LOT of skilled labor that never returned.

MotorPro · 03-03-2015, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wajell

I think this theory makes a lot of sense. Unemployment (as I recall) was over 35% in Elkhart. The only thing I might consider is extending the years to 2012 or 2013. The RV manufacturers lost A LOT of skilled labor that never returned.

So your theory is that they layed off their best people and kept the people who knew nothing? Seem to me when unemployment was high they would be able to pick the best people to build their rvs.

Uncle Larry · 03-03-2015, 06:42 AM

The salesman may have recommended staying away from the 2008-2010's because of emission issues. After 2010, most diesels use the DEF fluid, and has eliminated "some....not all" of the DPF problems.