Jan
20
Written by:
Julie Miklaszewicz
1/20/2010 2:38 PM
Seven years ago, I purchased my second truck (a half-ton), which just happened to come with a tow package. After thinking about all the RV vacations I took as a child (my parents loved to travel and I had been to 48 states by the time I was 16 -- without ever being in a plane), I told my husband "my truck has a tow package, we need to buy a camper!" Of course, he thought I was nuts, after all, who buys a camper just because they have a tow package? Turns out WE do! That story always provokes a laugh and one fabulous line from a cousin: "I guess I should be happy when my wife just wants a new pair of shoes to match a new dress!" It really doesn't get any better than that! We've since upgraded trucks to my beloved Chevy Crew Cab Duramax. Of course, with a bigger truck comes a bigger RV! The RV we drag around behind us now is a beautiful 33-1/2 foot Cedar Creek.
Ten years ago, I was a legal assistant for one of the top divorce attorneys in Milwaukee. Now, I live in the "middle of nowhere" in North Central Wisconsin and, for the past five years, have been running my own RV Parts, Supplies & Accessories store (www.rvingoutpost.com). We even have chickens and geese running around the yard! It's truly amazing the twists and turns our lives take that we never expected. If you had asked me ten years ago where I'd be now, it's certainly nothing like where I am. I've heard that if you want to hear God laugh, all you have to do is tell Him your plans. I think I've heard a few chuckles from Him now and then!
As someone who would rather lose her right arm than lose her beloved fifth wheel, and owning an RV parts, supplies & accessories store, I'm pretty sure I have a rather unique insight into the RV world. I'm hoping that this blog will help others to understand that view and help bring a positive impact to the RV industry.
Notice I used the word "impact" above, rather than "change." I hesitate to use the word "change" as that can be a BAD thing, as well as a good thing. We've all seen the "changes" taking place in Washington. Goodness knows, we don't need that kind of change for the RV industry!
In my opinion, one of the biggest transformations needed in the RV industry is for the manufacturers to produce quality RVs without all the problems and bugs that plague just about every new RV owner.
The problem is that we, as owners, HAVE dealt with it, and HAVE put up with it for years. Why should manufacturers change anything when they can continue to get away with what they've been doing for years. RV owners have been notoriously lax in demanding quality products from RV manufacturers. If the cabinets are falling off, what do we do? We fix them ourselves If the sewer lines are plugged with building materials, what do we do? We tear it apart and fix it ourselves. If only half of the lights work, we spend hours trying to figure out the problem and fix it ourselves. When we contact the dealer, we are told that they can fix it, but even though it's under warranty, it can takes months to fix those problems. Who is the one at fault? The dealer, for being busy and not having time to fix our rigs, or the manufacturers, who are producing substandard RVs in the first place?
If we're lucky, all the problems are fixed by the dealer, but most times, they're not and we're stuck going back again and again and again to have something fixed properly on the RV we spent thousands of dollars to purchase. Meanwhile, we're making payments on an RV we can't use because it's sitting on the dealer's lot, waiting to be fixed and the manufacturer and dealer are enjoying the money that we've spent on a unit that cannot be used or we have to fix ourselves.
This is not meant to criticize dealers. Most of them are doing the best they can with the product they are given. I'm sure dealers want the manufacturers to build quality units as well, and I'm sure they'd rather spend their time, money and energies on selling new units, rather than fixing them.
Frankly, if you bought a car or truck and had problems that made it unusable and had to take it back to the dealer again and again and again to have the same problems addressed, you'd be looking into lemon laws. Why do we allow RV manufacturers to get away with it? So, what's the solution? You tell me.
7 comment(s) so far...
Re: Life's Twists & Turns
Julie,
What you say make perfit sense to me. It is also true, that we as rv'ers will take the time to fix rather then return to the dealer. In my case, the dealer is a joke, and I would not let him fix a light bulb, let alone anything of value.
We need to have the fed's/states inact 'lemom laws' that pertand to rv's. most do not have that.
Dale,
aka, Shotgun
By Dale Paris on
1/20/2010 9:31 PM
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Re: Life's Twists & Turns
Your right with pretty much of what you said, problem is, if the manufactures build "quality" Rvs, the prices will go up. Look at the car industry. Most people can't afford what they are charging now, let alone a 10% increase, because the Rv is made will more "quality parts".
Also there are quality Rv's out there now, but the average blue collar worker can not afford them, or won't pay that kind of money.
The Rv industry, like any other industry, targets and builds what people are capable of buying.
If I want "High quality" I can easily go to a dealer and buy a 34ft Rv for 250.00, but I can't afford to do that, so I choose to buy in my price range, which unfortunately, is not build with the highest quality products. Houses, cars, trucks, everything that is sold out there is based on that premise, Not just Rvs. Basically, what Im saying is you do "Get what you pay for."
By Chris on
1/21/2010 9:17 AM
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Re: Life's Twists & Turns
Unfortunately, our consumers of today are completely caught up in appearance and bells and whistles. I bet that 9 out of 10 RV owners could not tell you how their RV was built. They did not take the time to compare construction methods, or even manufacturers reputations. Our monster manufacturers, like the number one sellers, slap them together - give them a Hail Mary out the door - and count on the dealer to finish the units when they are getting them ready for the retail customer. Until our consumers smarten up - this industry will continue on its path of building disposable garbage.
By RV Queen on
1/22/2010 5:15 AM
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Re: Life's Twists & Turns
I have to disagree with "chris" a bit as far as cars & trucks. His (or Her) statement that you buy to your price & get the corresponding quality definitly applies to RVs and may be houses but not vehicles any longer. (This may change when the China & India built ones arrive) Most vehicle today are built to a similar quality regardless of price but the cheaper ones have much less features, plushness in fabrics, etc but they are fully and proerly assembled in most cases. This changed back in the 70-80s when the offshore manufacturers came here to North America with basic, cheap, but well assembled (in most cases) small vehicles forcing the Detroit based guys to up the quality and they did.
Unfortunatly for RV buyers, no one has yet forced the current manufacturers to up the ante so we keep getting the same poorly assembled stuff, especially in the entry level market. This often turns many first time buyers off so these same manufacturers are losing future buyers cause they scare them right out of the RVing world with the poor quality they turn out.
I do agree with Chris that there are quality (less defects, higher quality materials, better assembled) BUT they are much more expensive.
Unfortunatly, it is hard to decontent an RV and leave stuff out cause its not like leaving power wdws & seat out of a vehicle and lowering the price. All RVs need certain components!!
The only solution is to try & better assemble an RV and offer the minimum of reqd features at a price the masses can aford I quess. May be can not be done?
By v10superduty on
1/22/2010 12:03 PM
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Re: Life's Twists & Turns
Chris, I'm sorry, but I don't agree. Building a "quality" RV doesn't mean you have to spend $50,000 on one. I'm talking about building RVs that don't come from the factory with leaks, missing components, ducts filled with building materials, or lights that don't work. Whether I paid $10,000 or $100,000 for an RV, I expect all those things to work properly when I pick up a brand new RV.
By Julie Miklaszewicz on
1/24/2010 9:15 PM
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Re: Life's Twists & Turns
Julie,
I fully agree!!!!! Unfortunately - the manufacturers scramble, especially now, to keep up with the high turners out there. Prep of a new rv used to take 4-5 hours.....now a days - we are a full day plus realigning cabinet doors - so they are straight......cleaning excess adhesive off the trailers....finishing the fit and finish on the interior - that the factory slapped together to rush out the door. Gotta meet that quota.
By Rv Queen on
1/25/2010 5:21 AM
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Re: Life's Twists & Turns
Julie is 100% correct - there is simply no excuse for poor quality workmanship and lack of quality control before you burden the dealers with yet another unacceptable unit that they must repair before the sell or deliver to the consumers. This industry will grow when we stop selling garbage to unsuspecting newcomers to the RV lifestyle (not accusing all manufacturers here) - the guilty ones know who they are. What amazes me is that dealers continue to support the companies giving the industry a bad name for poor quality and giving consumers the reason "to buy one and then I'm done" because they are so disappointed with the product they have purchased. This is going to start changing and consumers are going to drive quality improvements because all the information is out on the web and the younger generations of computer literate consumers - that day can not come soon enough for those companies that build them right and support their dealers and customers.
By Bob Zagami on
1/26/2010 10:14 PM
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