I've heard this before and I would disagree. If you are not satisfied with the product you are making for your client, then don't make it. It's your name on your product and what do you think will happen when things go south.

I do not know what goes on in the RV industry, but they have a budget, because if they did not, nobody could purchase their product. They need to have a weight goal because if they did not, nobody could pull it. This is a tough balance to make an item that fits the budget and weight balance. I suspect that Lippert knows what the final goals of the trailer and how it will be put together. They certainly could put requirements on the frame build that the manufacturer must follow.

Like Boeing, it's sad to think that it's all about how much money we have to make so the share holders keep buying your stock. That goal is much more important that quality. Until the quality drops to the point it ruins the product/sales. It's hard to imagine that Lippert does not know what is going on and therefore they are partly responsible.

When the dust settles, the products will be built better because of this problem they made.

 

Quality is a word never used in the RV industry. The only Quality you will find are in the million $$$ busses. For us average folks, the only difference between a $40K trailer and an $80K trailer is the brand. The cabinetry in a $98K Montana is exactly the same as what is in my $42K Arctic Wolf. Same toilets, same furnace, same water heater, same stove, same AC, get the picture? They are all built exactly the same, though some may have thicker frames on the side walls, some may have Adzel instead of glass on ply, but internally, same materials are used.

What was pointed out in a few videos is that the construction of the walls to the frame is not done properly or with too little hardware, which leads to frame flex. A bare frame WILL flex, its how the sidewalls are attached that stiffen the frame.

 

I dont know that I'm going to wait for the dust to settle. I went and looked at a bunch of RVs and there is ZERO quality difference between a $50k trailer and a $190k trailer. They have the same LCI parts and pieces and they're built by people making the same hourly wage. I'm seriously considering going a different route altogether because I can't stomach to spend the money all over again to be put in a position of losing my *** because whatever I buy new is going to be garbage and won't hold up to the miles I've put on in a year.

I was moving every week to every other week. That means using my slides 26-52 times per year x2 because every time you set-up the slides go out then you leave they come back in. The leveling system is the same. Goes down to set-up and retract to leave. My auto-level finally started acting up after 3 years of use. I've known people who had a lot less use and their systems were giving them issues so I considered myself lucky until recently. I have a jack leg leaking hydraulic fluid and the auto-level won't hold calibration anymore even after resetting forcing me to go inside and manually level from the touch screen. The last RV park I was at for 2 months and I saw at least 5 LARGE 5th wheels like mine from different manufacturers with jack legs that were messed up.

Quality is non-existent right now and with interest rates being where they are I might end my full-time RVing journey. I would rather sleep in a tent and keep following the sunshine than lose so much money to have a broken roof over my head.

 

They are outlawing tent camping the cities I live in.

 

We just bought an Avenue 32RLS 2 weeks ago. One of the leveling motors died right after we drove off the lot. We had used the system a few times before closing so it wasn’t just a missed PDI item. Just bad luck. Dealer fixed us in 24 hours.

The cable slide in the bedroom worries me the most so far. Tension was off when we toured it but dealer fixed that as well. Time will tell how it holds up.

Other than our bad luck leveling motor we really like the unit (obviously since that’s what we went with after looking pretty exhaustively at RLS plans at the 14k GVWR limit we wanted to be at)

 

Rather than downsize to a backpack or tent, buying an RV used, while not for some, is a way to get into a rig with some of these issues like frame flex and delamination revealed and dealt with, before you get into it. Does take time and a broad search area to find the unit you want, and then find an owner that has taken care of it, but it's still possible. Find a pre-covid built rig from your preferred brand and get a deal, especially if you can pay cash. I didn't have the resources for a new RV anyway, and the repairs due to poor upfront quality would dampen the experience for me considerably.

This 2019 Solitude has taken some DIY work to get 100%, but I have been able to talk to the previous owners, and understand the repairs and upgrades they performed and why, before applying my energy to it. It's been a good starting point for making the rig the way my family wants it, with the quality and reliability we need, for a fraction of new cost.

 

Brinkley seems to have a good unit. My 2018 GD Reflection 337rls has been pretty good. Not perfect, but not like them now.

 

I watched the Brinkley video on YouTube and they do seem to be builter better than most crap coming out of Indiana. Too bad they look like a doctors office inside, just a little to sterile for my taste.

 

I wish we would call it like it is, Its frame failure. And lippert has a part in this too. even though brands send them specs, its up to Lippert to produce a quality product. And I, as well as many people would like to know, what changed. This wasnt an issue a year and a half ago. Hardly anyone heard of this. I find it hard to believe that a few lag bolts are the main cause.
It was either a re design of the frames, and not tested thoroughly, or something. I am not buying into the fact that a couple lag bolts screwed into a aluminum frame with a piece of 1/2'' piece of wood inside is the reason these frames are failing.

 

Bad welds is the primary reason. The couple videos I watched, they had to reweld corners and braces and add in some additional ones. The frames appear to crack where the upper floor meets the downleg to the main frame.

 

Wow...if this isn't a cover our azz and you just live with it excuse. I guess if you park the rv and don't travel you wont have frame flex.

 

We all have our opinions about what is going on, but I doubt if there are any that really know what they are talking about. Even less that run a business/corporation. If you were the CEO, what would you do? Give everyone who complains a free 5th wheel. How many people will come in without a problem and demand a free one?

As a mechanic, I have see what the manufacturers have done and I have seen what clients have done. Between the two, clients are the worst. It is amazing what they have done to a vehicle and expect that the manufacturer to fix it for free. I've seen front bumpers ripped off cars because clients part until the bumper over hangs the curb. Once they back off, the damage is done. The client whines that it should not be built that way. I've seen a bunch of cheap aftermarket stuff added to a car only to effect the warranty and then the client bitches that the manufacturer should fix it for free.

There is something about the problem happening with Grand Design more than others and the problem will eventually be resolved. I have a Grand Design and like all other RV's on the road, it's built like all the others. "Good enough, ship it". Fortunately, mine is only 30ft long. My Ford truck would not even try to pull any of the big ones that are failing.

 

I agree that virtually everything within a trailer is the same. I've always wondered how Airstream commands the prices they get when everything inside is the same.

 

I wonder why Rolex, Nike, etc get what they get. I wonder why Superbowl tickets are so expensive when watching it on TV is so much better [I lie, I don't watch any professional sports on TV or anywhere else].

I don't know anything about Airstream. I totally do not get them. They are ugly. Are they built good? Who says that? The owners? I know some Rolex owners and they like their watch. Do they keep time, no, not really. I do know, the local Airstream dealer closed up a couple years ago. Not enough people buying them?

 

No different how Starbucks gets the price they do for coffee. Polish the turd and make it look fancy or put a creamy design to look at and make tasty burnt coffee.

Customers feel special... marketing at its best.