Travel Trailer Quality?

[fagnaml]

Snowbird --

Before upgrading to motorhomes, I purchased a new, 2011 Tracer Executive 3000 BHS travel trailer to use as my temporary home while on a capital project assignment. I would give that Tracer a "B" for quality of construction, fit, finish, amenities, etc. and zero problems. A work colleague of mine has a 28 foot Grand Design travel trailer (I don't know the exact model number) that he is very pleased with. When I toured his Grand Design, I'd give it a B+ compared to the Tracer.

I don't know if any RV manufacturer get's an "A" rating. Even Newmar motorhomes like mine (and the higher end ones) have trouble such as the synthetic leather used on Flexsteel captain / co-captain chairs peeling. I agree with other posters that now may not be the time to purchase a new travel trailer given the rush by manufactures to meet the Covid driven increase in demand. Quality of travel trailer manufacturing probably has slipped during the last 12 months.

[BrassPlayer]

I had a 2012 Camplite that I lived in for 3.5 years, because I had nowhere to go after a moldy house made me ultra-sensitive to mold. It had a metal roof, aluminum floors, rather an industrial look, and nothing went wrong in those years. I sold it a couple years after I found a house I could live in. About a year ago I thought maybe it would be nice to get a 5th wheel because I still have a good tow vehicle, and I could not believe the crap that was out there. Brand new trailers and the doors, windows, cabinets, didn't fit and wouldn't shut. I just walked and said no TT for me. Maybe some day I'll get a van and outfit it myself to camp out of, but unless something changes big time, I'm done. OP is correct about everything being crap. (Camplite was sold a couple years after I got mine, and the new owners completely ruined them, then, no surprise, went out of business.)

[Jaxon]

Originally Posted by Steve578

Air Stream makes good trailers.

We’ve owned five - from a 1968 22’ Safari to a 2008 Classic 34’ with a slide. We liked the iconic design but feared hail storms (we lived in central Texas) and leaks... later models are built just as cheaply as other RV’s but with a huge price tags. The demand is such dealers can’t keep up and blow off decent (or even just adequate), dealer support.

[38Chevy454]

Old saying "The bitterness of poor quality lasts far longer than the sweetness of low price"

[Gforceone]

Bought a 2019 Lance 2375 after looking at many. I felt build quality was better than Airstream at twice the price. Kept for 1-1/2 years before trading in on a Class C MH. I was very happy with the unit, but also had a top notch dealer that readily took care of my small issues within days of letting them know of the problem. In my opinion, an excellent dealer can make up for a lot of little frustrations and warranty issues.

[Dadeoo]

The simple answer is no, there is nobody mass producing a high quality, high craftsmanship travel trailer.

But nobody is producing a high quality, high craftsmanship RV of any type.

That's because RVIA standards are not up to ISO - 9000 quality standards.

RV manufacturers and RVIA simply believe that they can make lots of money without even making the attempt to get ISO-9000 certified.

And they are right. As long as you all keep buying their junk, RV manufacturers are going to keep making junk, and making money doing so.

As for me, I am starting to think my first RV is my last RV. If I have to spend another $1500 to fix a leaky pipe, I am done. It will get dumped at the RV dealer I bought it from.

[Spurticus]

This is probably the most comprehensive list of manufacturers and the lines they produce that I’ve seen.

Happy shopping!


https://www.rvtravel.com/wp-content/...makes_what.pdf

[Dadeoo]

This story tells me that the manufacturer of your Cougar has a problem with quality. The fact that yours is fine, and the other one is a nightmare only proves one thing: The manufacturer isn't using a consistent quality process that builds quality into each and every unit they build.

When I bought boats, ships, and IT equipment for civilian and military agencies, I had to always review their ISO-9000 quality control certification documentation. Such certification gave me some assurance that the company was serious about using process control and measuring their defects with statistically valid methods.

NO RV company can do this today.

Originally Posted by Martian

Just a comment on where I am coming from. Had a 2004 Starcraft Aruba 25 and it was a solid well built trailer and we used it well for ten years and just kind of got tired of hauling more trailer than we needed. Met lots of other owners of the same unit and it was about fifty fifty on wether they thought it was a well built unit. Next was a 2015 Rockwood Mini Lite 2305. I considered it flimsy and it had lots of problems whose causes ranged from bad engineering to bad workmanship. Met many owners that thought it was the best trailer out there. Currently we have a 2020 Cougar 22RBS. There were two to choose from at the dealership and we picked one of the two "identical" units that had sequential serial numbers. We had one very minor problem that took me twenty minutes to fix. I know the folks that bought the other one and it has been in the shop for almost every major system from heater and ac to a cracked slide and shifting wall. They have had no camping time in it since new. Ask me and I would say the Cougar is a solid, well built trailer. Ask the people that bought its twin and they would say it is a piece of crap. There goes your grading system. You need to look at individual units and not lines as a whole.

[Dadeoo]

The problem is that RV manufacturers aren't even producing to Chevy level quality. As for Mercedes.... their quality has been subpar for about 20 years.

When I went looking for a small travel trailer, I found that the quality in all off them was awful. The more expensive small Airstream model was even worse than the Grand Design I got. A recent Motor Trend article compared the quality of the truck they were using to tow an Airstream. The list of defects they had with the Airstream was astounding. And they only got to use it for a week. The Ford truck had no defects. The Airstream cost more. than the truck, and was junk.

I paid only $20,000 for my 22 foot trailer, with all its defects. I had budgeted up to $30,000, so yeah I probably would have bought a $30,000 travel trailer, if it was better built.

But nobody makes one.

I'd love to be able to get a travel trailer that has the same level of quality that my 2021 Ram 1500 truck has.

Originally Posted by Martian

Actually, you missed my point. You are looking for something that does not exist for many reasons. Yes, the buyers will put up with problems, management knows that and so do most of the employees. If you want Mercedes quality you do not go to a Chevy dealership or a Kia dealership. You want something above and beyond what everyone else sees as acceptable because of either price points or availability of numerous floorplans. I personally consider any new trailer I get only 90% finished but I am willing to finish it myself because it will then be exactly as I want it. Not like how the factory thinks 500 people will want it. I would love to get a perfect trailer but I am not willing to spend four times the amount on it. There are a lot of other things that money can go to.
Order a custom built trailer and pay the price for what you seek. Then when there is a scratch somewhere when you go pick it up a team will gladly come out of the building and redo whatever needs to be fixed. You will have no complaints about poor design or craftsmanship or equipment. It will all be what you choose. But again, you will pay for that.

[cx205]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

Yep, it's the nature of the beast; if all manufacturers produced an RV that was the same quality as a new car, most couldn't afford one.

Check out Earthroamer and Black Series and get out your checkbook.

Cheers,
Dave

Originally Posted by Snowbird69

Any recommendations?

We totally agree with your assessment Snowbird and have been searching for a low production, quality built, travel trailer ourselves.

We narrowed it down to two:

> Living Vehicle

> Bowlus Road Chief

Both very different from one another... but each of these companies only makes about 25 units per year, have solid reputations for quality and very satisfied owners out there. And just like Dave mentioned above with his two recommendations, these two are both expensive as well.


Cheers,

[Dadeoo]

Originally Posted by cx205

We totally agree with your assessment Snowbird and have been searching for a low production, quality built, travel trailer ourselves.

We narrowed it down to two:

> Living Vehicle

> Bowlus Road Chief

Both very different from one another... but each of these companies only makes about 25 units per year, have solid reputations for quality and very satisfied owners out there. And just like Dave mentioned above with his two recommendations, these two are both expensive as well.

Cheers,

These may be high quality, but the prices are extreme. Astronomical. Isn't there someone who sells a quality 20 to 25 foot travel trailer in the $35-40,000 range? I don't need a fancy Mercedes. A Camry would do fine.

[mote]

Lots of good discussion here. Unfortunately RV's are not known for Toyota or Honda like quality. The complexity and massive variation of floorplans just doesn't allow it at a price point people would pay.
I've lost three good friends to cancer this year. All three were fine one day then found they had cancer and were gone within a year. Life's to short to sweat the small stuff folks. Find something you like in your price range and get out there and enjoy it. Sure you'll find some stuff you wish was built better and you'll need to make some repairs along the way. But if you're waiting for that perfect camper you'll be waiting a long time and then it may be to late.
Blessings

[Martian]

A note on ISO-9000: it has no bearing on quality as it only deals with consistency. If you make turd piles the same exacting way every time you can be ISO certified. There is nothing in the certification that addresses quality at all, just consistency. Thus, ISO certified trailers would not be built any better but they would all be built the same.

[Dr. Mike]

You know.... Snowbird may just be on to something. I just purchased an Anthem, but my wife (for some reason) wanted to go to an RV show featuring only TT a few weeks ago. So, off we went.
These things are made like crap. I have never seen such poor quality in a US-manufactured product. There were doors that were falling off, doors that did not close properly, LP tanks that were not secured (and no way to secure them), plenty of exposed wiring, poor (or broken) hand cranks, and broken (cracked) taillights.
In addition, they were absolutely not giving these things away. The smallest tear-drop trailers were $35,000 with just a piece of foam (for a mattress) on a 1/2 inch piece of non-painted plywood. There was a 5000 BTU in-the-wall air conditioner.

Perhaps Snowbird should open his own TT manufacturing plant. All that would be required in a large building, lots of supplies to construct the units, and a dedicated team of employees who, like Ford used to say: "Quality goes in before the name goes on." I think it would be great to see a Snowbird TT going down the highway or boondocking in the woods. Don't laugh- Bob Tiffin had to start someplace and so did the Miller (Newmar) family.