Doc S needs more info !!

[Doc S]

Good Morning Friends !

Need some more answers please. I assume some "group" or "agency" rates motor homes each year based on best constructed, dependable, appearance, ease of use, etc. Can anyone tell me who the top five manufacturers and models were in 2011 ??
What group does this type of rating ?
Thanks !

Doc S

[michelb]

Most of the categories you're listing are arbitrary (except maybe dependability but mh numbers are so low that it isn't all that reliable (one or two bad models or more difficult owners would throw it off completely - also a lot of components on motor homes come from 3rd party companies so it's pretty meaningless (e.g. a statement like Dometic refrigerators have a high failure rate doesn't help you much as they are used by most companies)) and I don't think there's any company that puts out anything like what you are looking for. You could certainly find a list of the top selling ones (and even then I suspect that depending on who you ask, you'll get different numbers) but that doesn't mean very much anyway.

[RJay]

The one group I know is the RV Consumers Group.

[RVNeophytes2]

There are several ratings lists on line, I don't hold much stock in them.

Not enough customers to attract an impartial rating agency like Consumer Reports.

Plus, the bar is pretty low in our community: we all tend to accept reliability akin to cars in the 1950s; it then falls to manufacturers' service after the sale.

In this regard, Mr. Tiffin seems to dominate. You'll here good things from Newmar owners about service after the sale, too.

Members are probably your best source of info; I'll guess that, unlike cars, it's the layout, chassis/engine combo, distance from dealer or factory, other factors that make one coach better for you than another.

[michelb]

I stand corrected.

I'd be curious to see the reports though. I'm a bit sceptical of the way they do the reliability (from their description, it sounds like something like an American Eagle might end up with a low reliability score because they'd be factored in with Fleetwood which has some much lower price models that may not have the same quality). I do like their pricing information (although that depends a lot on where they get their information). I don't like their 'Highway Control' and 'Occupant Safety' - I just don't think that they can provide objective and accurate information based on what they list in their sample (e.g. there's a lot more to handling carateristics than wheelbase to length ratio).

[deandec]

Originally Posted by Doc S

Good Morning Friends !

Need some more answers please. I assume some "group" or "agency" rates motor homes each year based on best constructed, dependable, appearance, ease of use, etc. Can anyone tell me who the top five manufacturers and models were in 2011 ??
What group does this type of rating ?
Thanks !

Doc S

Doc, that information would make this hobby too easy!!!

Just remember that you would not be buying a machine with the quality control invested in a mass produced car model.

Most Class A rv's are assembled on a sourced chassis like Ford, Chevy, Freightliner, Spartan with engines that are produced for a mass market. So the chassis and drive trains have some high production quality control but are still subject to product failures.

The house portion of the MH and its attachment to the chassis is where quality control tends to fade and you try to mitigate your risk with the pleasure of the layout, interior features, and quality of materials.

There are subjective, but informative lists of motorhome manufacturers in the threads on this forum. Usually, they are in a response to a query of "what are the high end coach manufacturers".

Those lists might help you position your search.

[mccsix]

entegra!