What I saw at the RV show

[GPW]

We stay away from RV shows and most everything else labelled RV .... These products are made not for the Love of trailers but for maximum PROFIT .... and once you look beneath the cake decoration , you see substandard materials and labor ... all hurriedly assembled to maximize the Money made... Not the best way to make a trailer ...

[GerryS]

Profit isn't bad. Profit is the reason we have cars, trailers, TVs, telephones and everything we use, and depend on every day...

18k for an empty pressboard box...if people were t willing to pay for it, it wouldn't cost that much. Smith was right...

[GPW]

Gerry , yes , you’re so right ... Honest profit is a Good thing!!! ... But profit derived from deception , not so good ... We caught our RV dealer in so many outright LIES, we just gave up ... 20 Big ones , down the toilet... But then , out of all the Bad came something GOOD !!! Foamies !!!

Ps. Barnum was right too  !!!

[GerryS]

Agree completely. I just bristle when I see profit being vilified... Profit is good. It's the engine that drives innovation. Yes, I'll gotten gains are never good.

[doris s.]

It's all about a good quality product and a good price...with profit of course. But I have to say I'm not buying anything on the market out there, it's all not made very well. Makes me upset. I want a 16ft Airstream but $44k is way above my price range. So we are going to build for the second time. Our kids keep camping in our teardrop so we need another one!

Doris

[Java Jack]

It's all about a good quality product and a good price...with profit of course. But I have to say I'm not buying anything on the market out there, it's all not made very well. Makes me upset. I want a 16ft Airstream but $44k is way above my price range. So we are going to build for the second time. Our kids keep camping in our teardrop so we need another one!

Doris

There are good quality production tears out there but they are not cheap. I have the Camp Inn 560 and it is amazing quality...but it comes at a price.

I did not see much quality in the typical travel trailers though. They all use similar materials and construction process. They feel cheap, they smell of glue, etc. when you climb in them. Sure, some have some great features but but they are more like shiny rocks than they are well designed.

I think Airstream is probably the only high quality build I have seen in a production trailer, but again, it doesn't come cheap.

[GerryS]

I am a 560 ultra owner. I agree completely. We paid a a little more (ahem) than a what little guy is asking, but mine is still showroom new today and I've had it for 4 summers now I think...nothing against little guy.

The coach companies out of Elkhart are notoriously cheap, I have seen it first hand. Brackets to hold a joint together made from aluminum as thick as a soda can....the businesses were started by gypsies and the mentality continues. Growing up a mere 20 minute drive from RV Capital of the world I know first hand.

I've thought about buying a class C, mostly to get a shower and head. I'm fascinated by the idea of full timing, and as an IT consultant can easily see myself living out of hotels. I'd rather have my own sheets. But the quality just isn't there for the long haul. Maybe some of the higher end newmars are different, but those are more expensive than my home. Which also is 2005s highest quality

As a campinn owner, I too feel a kinship with airstreams. But, at least for now, I like having a 20 a month insurance bill, and no storage cost. I am only missing a shower and head.

[wincrasher]

There is still quality out there for reasonable (not cheap) prices. Check out some of the stuff I've reviewed on my blog. The Oliver is every bit as good as an Airstream - in some ways far superior - for a lot less.

www.wincrasher.blogspot,com

[Yak]

The new RV ’s are Lucky to get through the warranty period without falling apart ... Made to FAIL!!! ... by Design .... That way the RV companies and deceitful dealers make HUGE profits ...and that’s ALL they are concerned about ... An Evil Empire ...

Made to fail is right! Ultralights are among the worst of the breed as the floors fall apart in front of the door, stove/sink and toilet. OSB should be outlawed for floors and roofs! They save a couple hundred dollars over plywood in exchange for a camper that will fall apart in 10 years or less.
I was told by the service manager that the big new diesel pushers are a $10,000/yr income stream for the service department. I am building my Weekender-XL for what a repair ticket with 8 hours labor and parts would cost a customer.

I don't know how something that falls apart during the warranty period makes anyone any money. The manufacturers have to pay for the repairs and the dealers get about 2/3 of their shop rate, great way to make money. The manufacturers could make quality products but no one will pay Airstream prices for a 16' Hybrid like mine.