What happened to QUALITY?!?

[TCayer]

We went to an RV show yesterday. I had a chance to look at many different brands and models I normally would not have checked out. I noticed several things that made me wonder if anyone looks at these things before thay leave the factory.

A 2007 Damon Daybreak- I looked in the basement compartment and there was an invertet or chaarger or something. I looked in the next storgae compartment and there were the 4 screws holding that in from the other side- sticking riight in to the pass through storage bay about an inch and 1/4!!!

A new '06 Beaver- not a low-end coach. They mounted a big TV over the front dash and iit was impossible to enter without slamming you head on the corner of the cabinet! I'm only 5'8" and it would have got me had not the salesman said something. He said they're sending it back to the factory to have a flat panel TV installed there. I can't believe no one from the factory entered the coach through the door before it left!

There was a new Winnebago Class C- It had an entertainment center over the cab with a slide-out bed under it. When you pull the bed out, the mattress was about 2 inches too short for the opening, leaving a gap to the space under the entertainment center for anything small to fall in and get lost.

It sure makes you wonder whats going on in these factories!

[TCayer]

We went to an RV show yesterday. I had a chance to look at many different brands and models I normally would not have checked out. I noticed several things that made me wonder if anyone looks at these things before thay leave the factory.

A 2007 Damon Daybreak- I looked in the basement compartment and there was an invertet or chaarger or something. I looked in the next storgae compartment and there were the 4 screws holding that in from the other side- sticking riight in to the pass through storage bay about an inch and 1/4!!!

A new '06 Beaver- not a low-end coach. They mounted a big TV over the front dash and iit was impossible to enter without slamming you head on the corner of the cabinet! I'm only 5'8" and it would have got me had not the salesman said something. He said they're sending it back to the factory to have a flat panel TV installed there. I can't believe no one from the factory entered the coach through the door before it left!

There was a new Winnebago Class C- It had an entertainment center over the cab with a slide-out bed under it. When you pull the bed out, the mattress was about 2 inches too short for the opening, leaving a gap to the space under the entertainment center for anything small to fall in and get lost.

It sure makes you wonder whats going on in these factories!

[Fred and Bonnie]

American consumers are our own worst enemy. We WANT, WANT, WANT, the manufacturers just give us what we asked for. I can guarantee that if people just stopped buying, things would change. Money Talks.

fred

[smlranger]

Agree with Fred...we demand multiple TV's, surround sound systems, multiple slides, and other elaborate and complicated systems. In order to give us all this 'stuff' and keep the price fairly reasonable, manufacturers have to cut somewhere. I believe the biggest problem is not the engineering as much as the execution of the assembly. There seems to be little inspection/quality control during and after the build process. The dealer is left to fix things and, in many cases, the dealer is not able to deal with the complexity of the unit.

[Jestme13]

Quality and Profit don't rhyme. I remember back in the day a coach that didn't leak was a quality coach, and they didn't come with TV's.
I never asked for all this techie stuff, but I like it.

[TCayer]

I was at a dealer taking a test drive and I told him about the screws sticking out his reply: "In the business we say those were mase on a Friday!" LOL

[BOOKWORM]

Looked at a fairly new Bounder.
Water tank installed across the rear.

Passenger side 1/2 of the tank is supported by at least 1" styrofoam.
Driver side 1/2 of tank just laying on AIR.
Tank was full of water and had a very noticable bulge hanging down due to water weight.

[rebelsbeach]

Shorter warranty,less quality....both are products of the manufacturers wanting to meet the rising cost of production...

I've owned the top of the line Newmar coach for almost a year and been back to the factory four times for lots of minor things, but several MAJOR leaks as well.
Cracks in the roof near the front cap,where I believe they had to of "jammed" the front cap in and caused the hairline cracks....A bedroom slide out leak where the slide worked it's way down to being a sixteenth of an inch low.
None of these things should happen,but everywhere you read about RV manufacturers it happens every day....
A quick check of EVERY manufacturer forum represented here on iRV2 confirms the industry is indeed in the tank....
Maybe one day there'll be a manufacturer who will come along and answer the tough questions and make an RV worth owning.
For me, I haven't seen THAT happen yet...

[Cruzer]

I agree, it's a compromise between how much time they spend sweating the details and how competitive their pricing needs to be. As long as the public is willing to buy them as is, at the price point they're now at, they don't really have a problem. If the demand suddenly dried up because of quality, then that would put the industry into a tailspin and (assuming they caught on as to why ) they'd have to change their ways. Of course the price would go up accordingly if that were to happen and they probably still wouldn't sell so it's kind of a Catch-22.

We have been very happy with our Allegro Busses, but when I take a real close look I still see things that I would have done differently. So, while they have an edge in the quality per price paid area they still are firmly placed in the same group as the rest of the Class As.

I'm of the opinion that if you really want to get into a higher quality coach you almost have to go to a Marathon, Featherlite, etc Prevost coach conversion. Then again, that's probably why it takes much longer to build them and costs a whole lot more - which is why most of us wind up with traditional class As and put up with what we get for the price paid.

[RustyJC]

There's a saying that's unfortunately more true than not in many industries - "Price, delivery and quality - pick any two of the above."

Rusty

[doc]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've owned the top of the line Newmar coach for almost a year and been back to the factory four times for lots of minor things, but several MAJOR leaks as well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bill, I had not noticed you changed coaches. What happened to the Essex?

[rebelsbeach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by doc:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I've owned the top of the line Newmar coach for almost a year and been back to the factory four times for lots of minor things, but several MAJOR leaks as well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bill, I had not noticed you changed coaches. What happened to the Essex? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Bill is the "other" guy.....

In January at the Tampa Super Show I made a deal with Newmar.....gave them the Essex and lot's more money and got more problems.....I MEAN the LADB.

They've been WONDERFUL to deal with while getting it fixed.....February in Nappanee in the snow, July in the heat and now it was cold again in October.

While Nappanee is nice, I've learned entirely TOO MUCH about the town.....so much so that the local retailers thought I LIVED there...

(One of the waitresses at the Corner Cafe thought I was a local.......REALLY happened).

[TXiceman]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RustyJC:
There's a saying that's unfortunately more true than not in many industries - "Price, delivery and quality - pick any two of the above."

Rusty </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Unfornately, way too much stuff is being designed by the accountants now and not engineers. Since the accountants lead on the design (ultimately decide how much to spend on engineering), the number one item on their list is price. Sell it for as much money as they can get, but build it for as little money as possible.

Ken

[doc]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Bill is the "other" guy..... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>



Bob, I'm so sorry!! Heck I know what your name is but sometimes the CRS kicks in.
Sorry to hear you have problems. I thought the Essex was a boss coach.

doc