The RV's Industries Dirty Little Secret

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · February 23, 2021, 07:21:42 AM

The underside of many 3&4 Season Travel Trailers have a protective barrier to cover everything under the floor and are packed with insulation to prevent from freezing.

An RV technician I was talking to last week told me the owner of a BRAND NEW travel trailer was complaining about a sewer smell on his first trip out but was happy the very large capacity of his Blackwater tank. The family bought the trailer only two months prior.

He removed the cover and was completely covered with raw sewage and sewer soaked insulation and created a hazardous waste spill in his shop.
After showering and mopping up the waste, he discovered that when the factory assembled the trailer they failed to connect the toilet to the sewer tank so the sewer filled up the underside of the unit.

If this doesn't convince you to convert your own bus, then I am not sure what will. The quality of many of the units coming off the assembly lines now leaves much to be desired as you can read in this article.

https://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-rv-industrys-dirty-litle-secret.html?m=1

David Anderson · February 25, 2021, 07:05:53 PM

This is all so true. In the volunteer builder group I have been with since 2008, some of my friends in it are on their 3rd rv. I,m still in my old Houston Metro Eagle going on 21 years now. One guy bought a factory new Airstream in 2019, paying nearly $100,000. Even an Airstream which is lauded for quality, he has had it back at the dealer at least 8 times for various quality issues. The main reason he bought it, "no slides, no leaks." I second that with my bus.

Everyone in my group that has a trailer in any form has had slide issues and at least one tire blowout.

The motor home guys, they have had numerous problems and are all upside down in their equity.

Any time I see an old acquaintance on a new job, they are always astounded and ask, "you still driving that old bus?"

David

bobofthenorth · February 25, 2021, 07:29:19 PM

30 years ago we were shopping for a new RV. Marilyn would go inside and I would lie on the ground and roll under them. One salesman kind of mocked me - "What do you expect to see down there?" I told him they all look nice on the inside when they're new but if you look at the underside you can tell how much the manufacturer cared about quality.

TwoFeathersRD · March 08, 2021, 06:46:25 PM

Quote from: Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM on February 23, 2021, 07:21:42 AM
The underside of many 3&4 Season Travel Trailers have a protective barrier to cover everything under the floor and are packed with insulation to prevent from freezing.

An RV technician I was talking to last week told me the owner of a BRAND NEW travel trailer was complaining about a sewer smell on his first trip out but was happy the very large capacity of his Blackwater tank. The family bought the trailer only two months prior.

He removed the cover and was completely covered with raw sewage and sewer soaked insulation and created a hazardous waste spill in his shop.
After showering and mopping up the waste, he discovered that when the factory assembled the trailer they failed to connect the toilet to the sewer tank so the sewer filled up the underside of the unit.

If this doesn't convince you to convert your own bus, then I am not sure what will. The quality of many of the units coming off the assembly lines now leaves much to be desired as you can read in this article.

https://livingstingy.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-rv-industrys-dirty-litle-secret.html?m=1

As a Life Time Member of the RV Hall of Fame. I know a thing or two..lol

All dealers are to do what is called a PDI post delivery inspection. They are to test all systems. Mistakes are done on the lines when a shift change happens etc. It comes down to the dealer failing to do the proper inspection with tests.

That is the first story of that type I have ever heard. But, it is also a insult to our company personally. We build custom RVs. Either Vintage buses to Vintage Trailers and other builds. We test everything and even pressure test all lines as what is required by code. That is before it leaves our shop.

It has been some time from the last time I have visited this site. I must say, I am shocked to see a publisher make such a statement that target the industry as a whole. We as a whole do not have these issues. Again, the statement should be that the manufacture of that model and the dealer failed to properly do a quality control test.

I can also say, that over the years even back in the 1940's to present. There has been quality control issues by any major production run. It is really a sad story to hear. But, defects to happen as they do at the builders of our buses. I can tell you at least two handful of design flaws on our three buses. I have not seen much about talk about defects on each bus design.

that is my two cents. I hope you understand why we defend our quality work.

richard5933 · March 09, 2021, 02:06:19 AM

Quote from: TwoFeathersRD on March 08, 2021, 06:46:25 PM...It has been some time from the last time I have visited this site. I must say, I am shocked to see a publisher make such a statement that target the industry as a whole. We as a whole do not have these issues. Again, the statement should be that the manufacture of that model and the dealer failed to properly do a quality control test....

Have you been to a new RV show recently?

I have been to a few in recent years and have been in many units - from high end luxury coaches to entry level trailers. It is astounding what we saw as far as quality control issues and defects. These are not isolated incidents, and it's a problem the RV industry as a whole is faced with. Just read any of the many RV forums and you'll see countless tales of new owners that have had serious problems from day 1.

I really wish what you're saying is true, but if the manufacturers can't get the problems repaired in units they take to RV shows for them to show to show off the the public, what hope is there? I've seen all kinds of problems ranging from plumbing hanging loose, electrical harnesses in a jumbled mess behind cabinets with nothing fastened down, to cabinetry, wallboards, and trim hanging loose or not properly fastened. Needless to say, it doesn't inspire confidence in the QC of the companies.

It sounds like you do better work in your shop than the high-production manufacturers, but sadly all do not. No need for you to take offense when someone points out the obvious.

sledhead · March 09, 2021, 04:31:15 AM

my sister bought a new c class rv so she would have no problems ...

2nd day both slides failed 1/2 way out ? the dealer did a onsite repair and had to replace all the electric slide motors and both control boards ?
wow what a great start ! the thing is junk and many many repairs but no more on site fixes . all repairs have to be at the dealership and most times the rv is there for weeks ?

the thing was well over 100 k new

yup nothing but quality there

dave

dtcerrato · March 09, 2021, 04:58:36 AM

What Dave said. Our engineering world is run by bean counters, not the motivation of a free democratic society to win wars. Times have changed. Technology is awesome but sometimes out of our realm.

Utahclaimjumper · March 09, 2021, 05:59:16 AM

Year before last the wife and I were touring thru some high end coaches at Quartzsite,,in the dining area two large pieces of partical board with phony wood grain ,were laying near the dinete that had been stapled poorly and had fallen off.. I noticed on the sink top the dealers invoice listed the price at $665000.00!!! >>>Dan

richard5933 · March 09, 2021, 06:02:27 AM

Quote from: dtcerrato on March 09, 2021, 04:58:36 AM
What Dave said. Our engineering world is run by bean counters, not the motivation of a free democratic society to win wars. Times have changed. Technology is awesome but sometimes out of our realm.

Yeah - I think we're all a bit biased towards our old beasts designed by the same people that built the tanks and war machines. Our old buses are a breed apart, and nothing on the road today will come close to the quality or longevity.

That said, what's being sold today in the RV world is seriously lacking in the QC department. There's no excuse for what they're selling.

lostagain · March 09, 2021, 07:24:53 AM

Richard, some higher end RVs are very well built. The 07 Country Coach we bought last fall is high quality in all aspects. It is as good or better than any professional conversion I have seen. It is built on a solid chassis and rides and drives as good as any late model bus.

But I know what you are saying about the majority of RVs nowadays.

I remember buying a new living quarters horse trailer a few years ago. All pretty in Western decor. We towed it home and found some of the cabinet doors falling off their hinges. A few days later, the air conditioner was falling off the ceiling. Oh and when the couch was folded out, you couldn't open the bathroom door! The horses part was good though.

richard5933 · March 09, 2021, 08:01:47 AM

Quote from: lostagain on March 09, 2021, 07:24:53 AM
Richard, some higher end RVs are very well built. The 07 Country Coach we bought last fall is high quality in all aspects. It is as good or better than any professional conversion I have seen. It is built on a solid chassis and rides and drives as good as any late model bus.

But I know what you are saying about the majority of RVs nowadays.

I remember buying a new living quarters horse trailer a few years ago. All pretty in Western decor. We towed it home and found some of the cabinet doors falling off their hinges. A few days later, the air conditioner was falling off the ceiling. Oh and when the couch was folded out, you couldn't open the bathroom door! The horses part was good though.

Of course there are outliers with exceptional quality. Too bad the outliers aren't the ones with poor quality though.

Jim Blackwood · March 09, 2021, 08:32:06 AM

WWII tanks were heavy, prone to rust, inefficient, polluting and uncomfortable. And really not all that reliable either when you get right down to it. But there were a lot of them. So yeah the new stuff is a trade off, better in so many ways but maybe not so good in others. What the heck are ya gonna do? Draw a line in the sand somewhere and pick a side. Everybody thinks what they have is what's best naturally enough but I'm not sure it does any good to pick apart other people's choices. It's a flawed world we live in and we're all headed downhill and fighting a losing rear guard action. Waah.

OTOH, isn't it a wonderful thing that all those folks are building RV's for the masses so they aren't driving up the prices of the stuff we need? Yeah it's not perfect but then, it never was, was it?

Jim

freds · March 09, 2021, 09:12:18 AM

Was just helping a lady parked next to me in an RV park with her hot water heater that is only running on gas, not electric.

Turns out all the AC power stuff is on the backside of the heater and she would have had to empty an entire storage bay which you would have to crawl into and then remove a wall to get to that location. To maybe access a reset switch on the heater..

She elected to keep burning the gas instead...

chessie4905 · March 09, 2021, 11:38:02 AM

One thing that irritated me at rv shows. The ceiling vents used on the 30k units were same as used on 200k units.

windtrader · March 09, 2021, 01:34:08 PM

What is the point of this thread at all anyway? We all know better than to even consider a S&S coach and know we can do better for a huge amount less money.

This post can join the thousands where RV owners suffering what we are talking about can provide plenty to think about.

And you can't make any blanket statement that all RV have this issue as pointed out. There are literally maybe a handful of companies producing fantastic high quality product at similarly fantastic prices. I'd guess you starting writing checks at $750,000 and more you will not see particleboard and stuff falling apart. Marine grade electronics and craftsman quality attention to detail. Once over a million I'd bet for sure you start getting it all "included". lol