Question Industry quality?

[Rosy]

I have only purchased two travel trailers new (my first one was used), and from that small scope of an experience I can say the cheaper travel trailer I purchased in 2008 was built with greater quality than the more expensive one I bought in 2021. The first was a 17ft trailer, no frills that slept 5 with a queen bed which turned into a dinette and two bunk beds. Other than doing a little caulking here and there it was a great trailer and we did a lot of trips in it without any issues for several years all accross the US. In 2021 I bought a new trailer which looked superior with more amenities, it was 21ft rather than 17ft, slept the same, but just looked a lot nicer, had more cabinet space and was still a lite series easy to pull, but I have had to fix a lot of stuff on it, for example: the door wouldn't open after driving in the sun because it was fitted too tightly (had to remove the striker, grind it down so it would not catch the latch once the metal expanded and reinstall), the GFCI outlet quit working on the first trip and started blinking red (dealer reaplaced it under warranty), one of the wheel wells was missing sealer for about 14 inches and you could see a 1 inch gap where water could just come up into the travel trailer if you went through a puddle, cabinets appeared to be caulked with mud, that you would use for sheetrock, and not only did it look horrible, but pieces were falling off while driving down the road, door trim for the bathroom fell off after the first few trips and it wasn't cut to proper length, ceiling trim fell off after a few more, the refrigerator door fell off when I openend a few trips ago, the sewage pipe was held by a thin metal strap which broke and dropped the pipe down about an inch off the ground during the first trip as well, the sealer on the roof was cracked and large chunks were missing in several areas which I had to reseal, the sheet metal screws at the base of all the siding outside backed out (lost some of them), so I added silicone and reinstalled them to make sure they didn't back out again, and I will stop there, but there is more. So between the two trailers I have purchased, there was a vast difference in build quality when considering my 2008 trailer versus my 2022 model trailer, although they were purchased from the same RV dealer (the components in the new travel trailer are fantastic, but the quality of how they built and installed them in the trailer is lacking). I am happy with the new trailer, but being new I didn't expect to put in the amount of work I have had to do, its great now that all the bugs are worked out though.

I wonder how much of that of being built in 2021. But it sounds like you could have caught some of those things on your inspection before you took possession.

 

[A-Texan]

I wonder how much of that of being built in 2021. But it sounds like you could have caught some of those things on your inspection before you took possession.

You know, I was thinking I should have too, but upon inspection everything looked intact and good (even in the pictures I took of it after first taking it home). However, after pulling it 700 miles on its first trip, stuff just started coming apart, but I just started fixing what I could on the road and then fixed the rest when I got home. In all honesty, I really like the trailer and still would buy it all over again, but if I had known, I would have fixed all that stuff before I even hit the road the first time. Maybe it wasn't built for Texas roads, ha...

 

[Rosy]

You know, I was thinking I should have too, but upon inspection everything looked intact and good (even in the pictures I took of it after first taking it home). However, after pulling it 700 miles on its first trip, stuff just started coming apart, but I just started fixing what I could on the road and then fixed the rest when I got home. In all honesty, I really like the trailer and still would buy it all over again, but if I had known, I would have fixed all that stuff before I even hit the road the first time. Maybe it wasn't built for Texas roads, ha...

I'm surprised the "mud" on the cabinets and cracked roof sealant didn't show up until later.

 

[A-Texan]

I'm surprised the "mud" on the cabinets and cracked roof sealant didn't show up until later.

I did notice it looked a little funny, but at first I thought it was just crusty looking latex caulking, but once the trim come off I tried to remove it and found it was rock hard and seemed to be mud (like I used to texture my home's walls). If it would have never come off, I would have left it alone because it was a minor thing, but considering the trim fell off, I wanted to make it look nice when going back together.

On the other hand I have to admit, I never checked the roof until I got home

 

[TheLooks]

They turn up the air pressure to make sure they don't have to stop and set any finish nails that don't set. LOL....I have found plenty in newer campers with nails sticking up. But turning up the air to high shoots them thru to the backside and the trim falls off. Heaven forbid the piece is to short or long.

 

[A-Texan]

They turn up the air pressure to make sure they don't have to stop and set any finish nails that don't set. LOL....I have found plenty in newer campers with nails sticking up. But turning up the air to high shoots them thru to the backside and the trim falls off. Heaven forbid the piece is to short or long.

Considering how it looked, you are probably correct, the nails did looked pushed through way to far on the trim. When I put the pieces back up I used a counter sink and screws to make everything flush (I figured the nails couldn't hold it the first time, so there is no sense in trying to nail it again). Some of the trim was too long and began to buckle after a while which helped it pop off over time as well (for example the bathroom door trim and ceiling trim), so I cut about 1/8 of an inch off and reinstalled it, and so far it is holding up great (our Texas humidity may be to blame for some of this). These are little things that are easy fixes, so not a big deal, but they are things I didn't have to do to my other trailers.

 

[Rosy]

I did notice it looked a little funny, but at first I thought it was just crusty looking latex caulking, but once the trim come off I tried to remove it and found it was rock hard and seemed to be mud (like I used to texture my home's walls). If it would have never come off, I would have left it alone because it was a minor thing, but considering the trim fell off, I wanted to make it look nice when going back together.

On the other hand I have to admit, I never checked the roof until I got home

That's a good reminder to check the roof before buying an RV.

When I bought my current trailer (used from a private party) the two owners were falling all over each other to see who could get "their" ladder set up quicker so I figured they were up on the roof pretty regular.

 

[kenw]

This is the exact situation my wife and I are in. We want to buy a class A and full time travel the country. My concern would be getting a piece of crap that would leaves constantly working on little fixes, putting it in a shop, or broken down. I really like the Thor Outlaw class A toy hauler but have heard some horror stories about Thors quality.

Having spent a lot of time in the rv buissness,any you haulers are not made very well.Everyone I have worked on, biggest issue was lack of insulation.

 

[tdkkart]

Sadly no there isn't. Forums full of irate or satisfied owners is about it. Mostly, they use the same exact appliances. These are unchanged for the most part for many years. There are a few new technologies showing up. So quality is generally about build style and execution. This is where almost all complaints come from. The workers are pushing for speed and execution is sacrificed for quota. You can't blame the workers when they are paid for 8 hours after 4 if they have met the days quota, then go next door and do it again for a double payday in 8 hours. It incentivizes "Send it" as we learned.

You really can't blame the workers for wanting to make a living, and you sure as hell can't blame them for being given half-ass'd materials to work with, other than the fact that they should have pride enough to stand up and say NO to building crap.
At a recent show I saw overhead cabinets with bypass type sliding doors on the front. They looked ok, they were installed as designed, so the workers had done their job. The problem was the doors were made out of a pressed paper product, not much thicker than a good cereal box. You could literally push on it with one finger and push the door off it's rails. I was afraid to lean on anything inside the entire rig for fear it would collapse.
It looked good in a picture, but it was entirely NON functional.

 

[sanda]

I think some of us are to blame for the cheap materials in our RV'S. We want lighter weight for better fuel mileage which usually means cheaper materials.
The best rv I ever owned was a Great Divide. 28 feet and 7500# empty. All solid wood and built like a tank. Took an HD pickup to tow it. They went out of business in the late 70's or early 80's because they refused to build junk to compete in the market.