RV Suppliers

[dave&ginny]

With just returning from our 4000 mile trip and talking to many RVers on the road, I just have to wonder why the RV manufactures keep using the same suppliers.

All the RV owners are experiencing the same problems regardless of the RV brand. Bad shade motors, pumps, refrigerators, locks, awnings and windows just to name a few. If these are the only parts manufactured, then I have to wonder why the RV manufactures themselves don't create their own supply line of parts and split the costs among themselves.

Talking to gas or diesel owners, regardless of the brand or MSRP value, they all told me the same thing......love the coach but hate the components. The other complaint I heard was the lack of service both from the dealerships and the manufactures. As one guy said "once you buy it, you are forced to fend for yourself".

[Gary.Jones]

Amen x 5...... Same thing that I hear.

[brobox]

In the "old days" parts use to read, made in Elkhart IN. Now 2/3 of the buildings sit vacant while the other 1/3 are used to assemble parts from other parts of the world to be sold to the RV industry. I won't get into politics, but why was this allowed to happen? Aqua Hot learned that lesson the hard way with it's motors.

[dave&ginny]

Originally Posted by brobox

In the "old days" parts use to read, made in Elkhart IN. Now 2/3 of the buildings sit vacant while the other 1/3 are used to assemble parts from other parts of the world to be sold to the RV industry. I won't get into politics, but why was this allowed to happen? Aqua Hot learned that lesson the hard way with it's motors.

I agree about AH. I found a few folks that want the forced air systems back after dealing with the motors from Aqua Hot. I met one guy who went from a King Air back to a $80k 5th wheel. He said that he realizes that his 5th wheel doesn't look as impressive BUT Junk is Junk and now he only has $80k wrapped up in junk. He said he sleeps better and forgives the little things.

He had a pretty good point

[Lault]

The industry is a mess for sure and have a long way to get better.

[Matt D]

Just look at the state of the US auto industry from the mid sixties, through the early eighties when things finally blew apart.

I personally feel that the revolution the auto industry had will not happen in the RV world because our numbers are so small. Yes, I know people buy high dollar coaches every day. However, the auto industry is simply massive.

I wish someone would decide there was enough value to give it a try.

Frankly, Brett is the person I see pulling this off. He probably doesn’t need another headache!

-Matt

[UFO Pilot]

One of my jacks was leaking and dropping when traveling. RV tech ordered a new jack, waited 3 weeks for it, installed it and it leaked out the top (solenoid). They ordered a replacement jack, waited another 3 weeks, installed it and it leaked out the top. Tech unscrewed the solenoid and found no seal on either of the new jacks. How do you manufacture a $1000 part and not test it prior to selling it? Supplier acted like it was no big deal.

[Ann n Gene]

Matt hit it on the head, the market is small and no manufacturer uses enough units of any component, fridges, microwaves,toilets etc to dictate anything to vendors. Yes, many of those parts work well for a few years in a house but not f you put it on whelks and shake it at60+ mph fr miles at a time. All JMHO

[lowejug]

As I always say.. rv Industry is a un-regulated industry that gets away with murder.. and why .. because we the consumers let them.. for starters we could stop trading our used motor homes in at peanuts and letting the dealer make a gold mine on every deal just because it was easier than selling on our own and we don’t want the hassle.. so when that dealer just made close to 100 grand on the coach you traded and the one you bought why would they care about providing crap services or giving you cheap parts .

[l1v3fr33ord1]

The component manufacturers make what the RV manufacturer's want.

The RV manufacturers make what the buyers want.

What that means is we, the buyers, want what we get- in other words, we're unwilling to pay for higher-quality components.

The only way to break that chain is for someone to develop components of higher quality at lower cost, usually through innovation. That is unlikely in mature, low-volume product markets.

Take tank monitor systems, for example. Garnet Technologies sells a great system, well-regarded by almost everyone, the SeeLevel. And yet, all but the high-end RVs have something other than the old-fashioned, mostly-unreliable through-the-tank sensor systems. Why? Because it would cost the RV manufacturers a few hundred dollars more per coach, with the result they make a few hundred dollars less on the coach sale.

Hey, y'all know all this already.

I wouldn't be surprised if the RV manufacturers weren't working to lock the component suppliers into exclusive contracts. You're already seeing consolidation in the component suppliers, as a few companies buy up competitor's product lines and/or diversify. It's tough to predict how the opposing forces will shake out, although I'd probably not lose money betting the quality will not go up or the price down.

[UFO Pilot]

Originally Posted by l1v3fr33ord1

The component manufacturers make what the RV manufacturer's want.

The RV manufacturers make what the buyers want.

What that means is we, the buyers, want what we get- in other words, we're unwilling to pay for higher-quality components.

I don't believe that is true. If the manufacturer had offered upgraded items (see level tank gauges, surge protection, better inverter / charger, etc) I would have gladly paid extra. I believe most buyers would also. I believe the problem is most buyers are uneducated, otherwise there wouldn't be such a huge market for after market upgrades.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by UFO Pilot

I don't believe that is true. If the manufacturer had offered upgraded items (see level tank gauges, surge protection, better inverter / charger, etc) I would have gladly paid extra. I believe most buyers would also. I believe the problem is most buyers are uneducated, otherwise there wouldn't be such a huge market for after market upgrades.

OTOH, we could buy a Foretravel as our "starter" MH and skip the hassle. The MH market is situated so the masses can afford to own a MH today. That means many are built using the lowest cost components available.
When we were shopping for our "starter" MH, we decided we would buy the highest quality we could afford, yr of mfgr was secondary. We bought the Winnebago top-of-the-line and have never regretted our decision.(couldn't afford a Foretravel back then)

BTW, if you need a water pump, look in farm stores. They sell the same pump at a much lower price than in the RV stores.

[dave&ginny]

Here’s the good news......

IF one RV manufacturer really did it right.....controlled the quality, stood behind their product.....AND in some way controlled their dealers ( factory owned dealerships), they would change the industry. This change would be so massive, that the other manufacturers wouldn’t be able to compete.

I believe, right now the RV industry is ripe and ready for a major change and whoever starts this change will see a massive following.

[Rollin101]

Originally Posted by dave&ginny

Here’s the good news......

IF one RV manufacturer really did it right.....controlled the quality, stood behind their product.....AND in some way controlled their dealers ( factory owned dealerships), they would change the industry. This change would be so massive, that the other manufacturers wouldn’t be able to compete.

I believe, right now the RV industry is ripe and ready for a major change and whoever starts this change will see a massive following.

When Brett takes over Jayco/Entegra maybe you'll see those changes.