Here is Why You Must be INSANE to buy an RV These Days, Steve Lehto

I think if I had a horse in the game of building RV’s I’d be as much about quality as anything. Personally to me it’s a crime all those resources are used for building crap! And charging the prices they do is a bigger crime… unless they put some of that in a fund to recycle these rigs before they are so bad… but it should be a crime to put products whether a wash machine or an RV out there with the quality we have today!

As I've said before RVs were made for a couple weeks of vacation a year. They used the cheapest material such as particle board floors instead of osb or treated plywood. I've been in several plants & have known several workers paid on piece work. All those pennies add to the RV company's bottom line. I don't agree but this is just what I've seen. I don't if it's true now but when the RV co bought a cutaway from say Ford they got no warranty from the cutaway mfg so many made the buyer take it to the RV factory where it took forever to get repaired.

Gr8ful said:

As I've said before RVs were made for a couple weeks of vacation a year. They used the cheapest material such as particle board floors instead of osb or treated plywood. I've been in several plants & have known several workers paid on piece work. All those pennies add to the RV company's bottom line. I don't agree but this is just what I've seen. I don't if it's true now but when the RV co bought a cutaway from say Ford they got no warranty from the cutaway mfg so many made the buyer take it to the RV factory where it took forever to get repaired.

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You and everyone else…. And people keep buying the crap… I’m just saying in my book it’s criminal and irresponsible… that they build them so poorly. Most people are lucky to get a vacation out of one the first year! And to make people sign something that says no warranty basically says you’re buying from people that want to destroy an already crappy industry.

It has been this way a long time. Warranty work took so long to get approved that your RV would not be worth fixing as it had depreciated so much due to age. You’re gonna end up having to fixing it yourself in most cases. You are better off to buy the highest quality old one you can afford and rebuild it. You will still be amazed at the poor quality build of even the old ones. You can get a lifetime roof installed. You can make it boondock ready or full hook ready which ever you plan to do without compromising for less money than a new even more poorly built one. If you are skilled you can build on a much better heavy duty utility trailer base. Sites like tnttt.com make it possible for anyone to learn the skills. If you are like my wife and just want to spend several thousand dollars for something that may last 5 years or so before it starts to fall apart buy a new cheap RV ($15,000 to $40,000) and hope it lasts! Our new Forest River developed holes in the membrane roof because the workers that built it failed to sweep off scrap wood and splinters before they laid the thin membrane roofing material. It has set for 5 years in one spot in the Arizona sun. Rubber stripping, seals and even outside wall panels have come loose and developed gaps due to expansion and contraction design and build flaws. The single trip to our lot over a graded dirt road broke wooden braces and caused interior panels that had not been well secured to come apart. I believe it would have fallen apart if we had continuously traveled. My wife feels we got a good deal as it cost way less than rent and we got to live where and how we wanted to when we wanted to. She got tired of waiting on me to finish building a trailer the way I wanted it to be! Lol!!! Hopefully I’ll finish mine before her’s falls apart! A few thousand dollars down and $200 a month got her a 25’ new Forest River with the floor plan she wanted delivered and set up a few days after signing the paperwork. She is happy and a roll of Eternobond roof repair tape, a tube or two of 6000 glue as well as me putting things back together every now and then made this way of living 5 years earlier which I now realize was worth it as it is five good years we may not have had but it irritates me when I see the poor quality work and realize how much she is paying in the long run, even though it was reduced to a good price when she bought it.

That's why I bought a low milage high quality 1 ton diesel ambulance, last full year with no computer so no EMP issues, always very well maintained, rust free, new tires, 250 amp alt & serp belt, heat/air front & rear. Over 1/2 million to replace it new. Too bad I can't use it.

5 Most Common Faults on Used RVs!! This is a You Tube from a dealer in Coldwater, Mi, Good info in 12 minutes. Look at the right wall of the ext storage area. It's interior 5.2mm Interior Luan which Box stores RVs use, We only sold Exterior which was pennies more.

Bullfrog's comments make a good point. Although my trailer and van builds are a much better quality as far as insulation and durability, I have to admit theirs look better on the surface. And my materials won't go spongy the moment they get a little wet. But I've known more than one person that felt looks and immediate gratification were more important.

Gr8ful said:

That's why I bought a low milage high quality 1 ton diesel ambulance, last full year with no computer so no EMP issues, always very well maintained, rust free, new tires, 250 amp alt & serp belt, heat/air front & rear. Over 1/2 million to replace it new. Too bad I can't use it.

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Why can't you use it?

i'm in the late stages of ALS. I broke my back 15 years ago, After surgery & a year of PT I could walk again with a 4 footed cane but now my mobility is shot. I led a very adventurous life until then but now I'm on death row. I've had a fantastic run & am still the same blessed happy man I've always been.

Gr8ful said:

i'm in the late stages of ALS. I broke my back 15 years ago, After surgery & a year of PT I could walk again with a 4 footed cane but now my mobility is shot. I led a very adventurous life until then but now I'm on death row. I've had a fantastic run & am still the same blessed happy man I've always been.

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Bummer! I hope you can make the best of what's available to you. None of us really know what might be around the next corner. And as we age, it's seldom good. Hang it there.

Thanks Ron! I've lived a very full life & at least it's given me time to get things in order & ready for the really big adventure we all have coming up.

Been a few months since this was posted. I doubt I'm saying anything anyone else is unfamiliar with.

I bought a 87 Nissan RV (just like the Toyota's). As already noted, they were never built to last that long. I'd fix one leak and two more would pop up. Someone came by and wanted to know if I would sell it. Off it went.

I used my Chevy City Express van for awhile. No leaks there. Then we decided to get a pull behind. Quickly figured out that by and large the RV dealers are pretty lousy entities to deal with. Advertise $18,500 but when you get there after this fee and that fee it's $21,000. I wanted nothing to do with a stick built camper either.

We found a used Casita. Clam Shell fiberglass. Yes they can still leak but nowhere near the issues. No wood to rot.

Resale is very high also.

RonDean said:

...None of us...know what might be...

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.
Sister had a second pace-maker installed.
Medics ordered her to lose weight.
Sister went from over 300# to a skeletal 80#.
I still don't recognize her.
.
Sister will "...soon be dancing in the arms of Jesus!"
Her god may have other plans.

NctryBen said:

I’m just saying in my book it’s criminal and irresponsible… that they build them so poorly.

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Welcome to the US of A, where freedom reigns!.... for the corporations and their lawyers to screw you any way they can.

rruff said:

Welcome to the US of A, where freedom reigns!.... for the corporations and their lawyers to screw you any way they can.

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It does seem to be a regular business practice anymore, anything for a profit.

rruff said:

Welcome to the US of A, where freedom reigns!.... for the corporations and their lawyers to screw you any way they can.

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I know… I guess the reason I think it’s criminal per se is that building something so badly and cheap is basically wasting our resources. Filling landfills… and the safety margin is… well… marginal!
You’d think even one manufacturer could make a quality product! They seem to start out that way kinda, but then after they build a name it goes south fast… very profit oriented!!! The big corporations are money grabbers… so it’s weird that we have a push to phase out small business.

Most RV’s build in the USA all get their components from pretty much one source which is owned by one RV manufacturing corporation I believe. Large corporations are profit motivated encouraging monopolies and destroying smaller businesses before they can become competitive. If you are the only option poor quality equals larger profits with no real consequences. It is a sad situation and defunding regulatory agencies is part of the cause as corporations now are rich enough to change laws and out last court battles.

bullfrog ! said:

Large corporations are profit motivated encouraging monopolies and destroying smaller businesses before they can become competitive.

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The competitive free market is great... for us... but the real profits are in monopolies.

But how can there be a monopoly, with all these different companies? The smaller ones get bought but the names are retained to make it look like diversity. When there are just a few entities that own the whole market it's easy for them to collude, set policies, and make deals together rather than compete.

RVs are made to look nice and have desirable features for the absolute minimum cost. The owners can't tell crap from good, so the low bidder tends to get the sale. And most RVs rarely get used.

rruff said:

Welcome to the US of A, where freedom reigns!.... for the corporations and their lawyers to screw you any way they can.

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It's the inevitable outcome of unregulated, end-stage capitalism.