Guess how long it takes to make a travel trailer?

[Ballenxj]

  In my day~~~  :s ~~~ We used a hammer and American made nails. Not a gun and clip of chinese low bid staples.  The screws were put in one at a time, not on a belt feed.

You too eh? I still have my old Craftsman tool box loaded with names like Plumb, Vaughn, Stanley, etc, and all made in America!

 

[Phantom Blooper]

OSHA would of had a fit years back.....I guess Quality Control is thing of dinosaur past....

 

[steamjam1]

You too eh? I still have my old Craftsman tool box loaded with names like Plumb, Vaughn, Stanley, etc, and all made in America!

Yep me too.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I don't know why but fiberglass insulation has never made me itchy. I can roll around in the stuff. I learned pretty quickly to stop telling people this though, because i always got stuck putting the stuff in. Just because I don't get itchy doesn't mean I like installing it!

I'm a cabinet maker by trade too, thus what makes me cringe watching these videos. Before cabinet making I grew up installing floors with my Dad.

 

[SoulRaven]

We were looking at new TTs and thought we could just pick it out and take it home, more or less. We were told by both dealerships that it would take them a couple of days to a week to go through the trailers and make sure everything worked, nothing was leaking etc. and then, they said "hopefully everything will work for you". These were not the highest end trailers, one running about $20,000 and the other around $26,000 which would have been a LOT for us to be spending. I had previously heard that the manufacturers just want to move them out and let the dealers do the quality check and it seems at least for these two manufacturers that was correct. We were very interested in the one for $20,000 but it was longer trip and along the route, a Hi-Lo came up, excellent quality compared to most, 7 years old and we got for less than $10,000. "Good things come to those that wait?" Don't be afraid of going used.

 

[MrNoodly]

I'm guessing these factories have incentive programs like others I've dealt with. Management sets what it considers to be ideal number of units produced each shift. If the workers manage to hustle enough to crank out more units than that, they get a cash bonus at the end of shift. Not a great system for assuring quality -- particularly when the product is engineered to minimize material costs while barely meeting the definition of "travel trailer" or "recreational vehicle."

 

[DuneElliot]

We were looking at new TTs and thought we could just pick it out and take it home, more or less. We were told by both dealerships that it would take them a couple of days to a week to go through the trailers and make sure everything worked, nothing was leaking etc. and then, they said "hopefully everything will work for you". These were not the highest end trailers, one running about $20,000 and the other around $26,000 which would have been a LOT for us to be spending. I had previously heard that the manufacturers just want to move them out and let the dealers do the quality check and it seems at least for these two manufacturers that was correct. We were very interested in the one for $20,000 but it was longer trip and along the route, a Hi-Lo came up, excellent quality compared to most, 7 years old and we got for less than $10,000. "Good things come to those that wait?" Don't be afraid of going used.

The plus side of buying a slightly-used vehicle is that often the kinks and issues have already been worked out or fixed by the previous owner under warranty. Anything that is between 2 and 10 years old seems like it would fall into this area and be a solid but not-too-old camper.

 

[Gunny]

I watched the builder construct a new house across the street from me, they used the same sort of sloppy, haphazard, get it done as fast as you can thing. The buyer was taking a shower one evening and leaned back against the shower wall to relax. The wall went down. Then he found more and more of the same stuff as the RV.

I blame management trying to squeeze every last penny from a build and no thought to the consumer.

Rob

 

[Goshawk]

Love the spirit of the conversation. But the problem is that no one can inspect a new or used and tell good from bad construction, unless you have 5 years experience with construction.

Nail a box together with 10 penny nails; or slam a bunch of fasteners in the joints while cracking the joints and wood frame. How do you tell the difference behind a quarter inch of covering?

Can anyone give three steps to take to detect good versus poor quality ?

Right now am thinking look at old versions five years old. See if there is real or particle board in anything. Look for any warping. Ask about roof maintenance and any proof.


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[Gunny]

I don't, except to touch and feel. But as to a craftsman I don't , and I don't think many do, know what to look for. I company, such as Craftsman, was at one time a great middle line product, just below Snap-On, now; not so much.

Many years ago I sold Cessna's for Five Star Aviation out of Redbird Airport. The standing rule we told all customers of higher dollar aircraft was to not do any 'true' IFR flights until all the kinks in the systems were worked out. This was early 70's. Nothing changes.

Rob

 

[SoulRaven]

I read a book years ago that the founders of the Escapees club produced, and the biggest thing to look for is "pride in workmanship". That sort of works. Look at the cabinets and see how straight they and the hardware are for starters. Also, what really helps is to look at used units to see what has failed, not because of lack of maintenance, but just fell apart and you'll learn what to look at when you are shopping.

 

[Goshawk]

Went to look at a HI LO trailer this weekend. It's built like a tank. Dry weight is 5000 pounds. Nice set up but too long for me. They go for $10000 to $15000 used as the company went out of business in 2010.

If I needed something big I would get one. The flooring board as viewed underneath is glued pressed chunk plywood. Not sure if that will hold up to rain and water over the years. The frame looks solid. All cabinets look solid.


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[Every Road Leads Home]

I've been in construction since, well since I was a little kid helping my dad on flooring jobs. Then after I graduated High School I started working at a cabinet shop, then framed houses for a few years, then finish carpentry for about 7 and then opened my own cabinet shop. I've got a pretty good eye for whether something is decent or not but i'll be damned if I can put into words what someone needs to look for. The easiest would be quality of materials. The cabinets and face frames in my trailer aren't solid wood, just paper faced mdf and particle board. However, if you've not built cabinets for years, i'm not sure the average person would even know how to tell. Just the same as I couldn't tell you if the rubber they used on the roof is a higher quality vs lower quality but I bet someone that has roofed their entire life could. Or if the siding on the trailer is better than one brand vs another. And as far as what's between the walls, the only way I could judge that would be to judge what I can see and assume it's comparable.

And sometimes cheap stuff is perfectly fine and functional. I own a 2004 Forest River Travel Trailer and although I consider it cheap and cheaply made, I'm perfectly happy with it. It serves it's purpose and does everything it was designed to do quite well. I just bought cheap pre built in stock kitchen cabinets from Lowes to put in my kitchen i'm remodeling. They are cheap, but they look good and will serve their purpose. I don't think they'll last 30 years but I bet they last 10 to 15.

 

[Ballenxj]

I've been in construction since, well since I was a little kid helping my dad on flooring jobs.  Then after I graduated High School I started working at a cabinet shop, then framed houses for a few years, then finish carpentry for about 7 and then opened my own cabinet shop.  I've got a pretty good eye for whether something is decent or not but i'll be damned if I can put into words what someone needs to look for.  The easiest would be quality of materials.  The cabinets and face frames in my trailer aren't solid wood, just paper faced mdf and particle board.   
<----snip---->
And sometimes cheap stuff is perfectly fine and functional.  I own a 2004 Forest River Travel Trailer and although I consider it cheap and cheaply made, I'm perfectly happy with it.  It serves it's purpose and does everything it was designed to do quite well.  I just bought cheap pre built in stock kitchen cabinets from Lowes to put in my kitchen i'm remodeling.  They are cheap, but they look good and will serve their purpose.  I don't think they'll last 30 years but I bet they last 10 to 15.

I too worked in a cabinet shop for a number of years during my youth, then opposite to how you did it, I worked construction for another number of years.
What I'm trying to say here is; I think I know what you mean about quality. I might add that I hate particle board for any cabinetry, but it is cheaper to buy.
I believe I can spot cheap cabinets easily enough, but to explain it to somebody else you have to just about write a book before the average person will get it. This is one reason why I believe a person can convert an enclosed trailer into an RV that will hold up much better than a travel trailer. The person building it for themselves will put a lot more love into it.

 

[DannyB1954]

GM can build a car in a day. That doesn't mean I would want to build my own car. I looked at cargo trailers and to get a larger one and convert it costs more than buying a well made used trailer. I bought a Keystone Hobbi 220. It has an aluminium frame for the structure and a fiberglass exterior. I don't think I could have built one for the $9k that I paid.

 

[GotSmart]

They have laws and regulations on building cars.  Not on TT's

 

[Sabatical]

GM can build a car in a day. That doesn't mean I would want to build my own car. I looked at cargo trailers and to get a larger one and convert it costs more than buying a well made used trailer. I bought a Keystone Hobbi 220. It has an aluminium frame for the structure and a fiberglass exterior. I don't think I could have built one for the $9k that I paid.

I had thought the same thing and in the end we did just like you. First year we lived in it stock. Last year i renovated it to fit our needs better.
We bought ours for a song from a high volume dealer who had taken it in on trade and didn't want to deal with it. Apparently they make more on the new ones. Ours is an '03 and built fairly well considering. I'll have to continue doing repairs to things like windows, door, floor, and roof, but we haul ours almost 7k miles a year and over many nasty roads so that is to be expected.
At some point in the future we'll look for an older beat up unit and rehab it. That's really the way for us folks that want to do more than spend a couple weeks at a resort every year. Not to mention that we don't want to make payments.
One last thought. We have yet to find an rv that was setup for boondocking. Some claim they are by adding extra fresh and waste water capacity, but those of us on this forum don't typically live to use more. We want to travel light and have systems be simple and low maintenance. We want to spend our hard earned money one time on quality components, not over and over on crap.
Stepping down from the soap box now. Sorry.

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