Maybe. Maybe not. My grandfather's 1985 Dodge Ram ran for 30 years without needing major powertrain repairs. No other Dodge in our family since then has gone even half that long and I wouldn't have confidence that a new one would either.
(some brands listed below are in related markets - such as buses or boats - rather than RVs per se)
My grandfather's Plymouth 60' model was retired in the 80's. The point to be made however was it was retired with less than 90 grand on it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
That's a good reminder to check the roof before buying an RV.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
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.
