Brett Davis from NIRVC on Inflation, RVs & Truths About Motorhome Industry Decline

[Neal]

There was a post on Facebook in the Newmar owners group asking why all of the recent model years are going up for sale. As with many RV groups the speculation and answers are half the fun, it's sad sometimes, but it was mentioned and I agree that the quality issues are driving some to sell. They don't have the time or energy to be making multiple trips to Newmar or maybe their dealers aren't offering solutions, timely nonetheless. Prices have gone through the roof yet the quality seems to have tanked. Let's hope that era is over and they can improve.

 

[turbopilot]

There was a post on Facebook in the Newmar owners group asking why all of the recent model years are going up for sale. As with many RV groups the speculation and answers are half the fun, it's sad sometimes, but it was mentioned and I agree that the quality issues are driving some to sell. They don't have the time or energy to be making multiple trips to Newmar or maybe their dealers aren't offering solutions, timely nonetheless. Prices have gone through the roof yet the quality seems to have tanked. Let's hope that era is over and they can improve.

Clearly you are advantaged owning a Class A if you know how to fix it, carry spares and regularly participate in forums like this where you can crowd source a problem and have 10 people helping to find a solutions. Owning a Class A without participation in an owner's forum is a ticket to frustration.

 

[FLSteve]

There was a post on Facebook in the Newmar owners group asking why all of the recent model years are going up for sale. As with many RV groups the speculation and answers are half the fun, it's sad sometimes, but it was mentioned and I agree that the quality issues are driving some to sell. They don't have the time or energy to be making multiple trips to Newmar or maybe their dealers aren't offering solutions, timely nonetheless. Prices have gone through the roof yet the quality seems to have tanked. Let's hope that era is over and they can improve.

I remembered seeing this post on an earlier thread, so maybe there's still some hope at Newmar.

Newmar International Rally slim this year? (Sedalia)

I went to Sedalia I think in 2018 it was? 470 rigs I believe was the count. I saw a drone shot on Facebook from earlier today and it looks a little slim, my rough count is around 200 coaches.

rvforums.com

FLSteve

 

[Bigblockyeti]

Just the good ol' fashionable stick it to them as fast as you can?

Yes.

This is also the answer to your question regarding how hard QC application is.

 

[TheLooks]

I can tell you it is mirrored in the quality in housing everywhere I have been. Upstate NY, Charlotte NC, Chattanooga Tenn. IT is a population trend within the US. Custom builders used to pay by the hour and valued quality, now it is by the square ft. or linear ft.(trim) etc. I see it in the residential wiring of new homes also and plumbing. For some reason, it is a race to the bottom. But it generates greater profits for realtors, bankers, and their general contractors. Particularly the ones that can ignore the complaints of the consumer's.

 

[Joe Hogan]

My $2.... as we move away from Family owned businesses and more to a Public Stock style Ownership of the MFG, the engineers and QC folks take a back seat to the Accountants and Finance teams.
Every year costs must be shaved to X% of sales to meet budget. The sophisticated groups change product mix or work the supply chain. The rest just slash where they think no one will notice. At least until warranty runs out.
Long Term thinking is Qrt to Qrt. Then the yearend scramble to meet Street expectations.

The mix of RVs is changing. With the popularity of large 3/4 and 1 ton plush family Pickups, towables become a more reasonable alternative. Campers have become less inclined to manage the RV themselves. Motorized RVs are more maintenance intensive, more expensive, harder to manage.
Most full timers are in a Towable of some sort unless they are fortunate enough to have the resources (Money/SKill/Time) to manage an expensive Class A.

RV Market trends see PDF

 

[DennisT]

** At this point, I am not even raising any issues relating to safety defects or other defects that from time to time are ignored (read swept under the carpet). However, in due time.

I do know that at least a couple of the issues we had fixed at the Newmar mothership have resulted in a bunch of meetings as to “how / why” they happened.

Largest one was the missing exhaust in our Oasis system. Wasn’t just not hooked up properly, it was not there at all. So, assembly missed, final QC missed, dealer missed, and our master certified inspector missed.

When we met our service rep for our coach line she mentioned how many meetings and changes were being made as a result of that miss.

A couple of others have led me to make recommendations as to what could be done differently to make things better. Those have been welcomed and passed along for consideration.

Nice to be working with a manufacturer that cares.

No excuse for the issue in the picture posted though. Should have been noticed by the dealer and fixed before being posted at a minimum.

 

[TheLooks]

In houses, we found people took in the whole thing, not focusing on details. My old business partner said the most important thing to get right and finish well is whatever is in front of the toilet. He was not wrong.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

In houses, we found people took in the whole thing, not focusing on details. My old business partner said the most important thing to get right and finish well is whatever is in front of the toilet. He was not wrong.

So let me verify what you just said! When you stand in front of the toilet, you should try to get it right!

 

[DennisT]

So let me verify what you just said! When you stand in front of the toilet, you should try to get it right!

My take is that whatever you can see while sitting on the throne should be finished properly as people will have some time to look at that view more than other places in the house.