RV.org "consumer reports" style info

[bmwbob]

I've just taken a look at some of the comments regarding GVWR and GAWR on the RV.org website.
I had no idea the practice of chassis/axle overloading, or poorly balancing the load weight was so prevalent among the class A manufacturers.
I wonder how many folks have spent untold $$$ on upgrading suspension, larger anti-sway bars, etc. in an effort to correct the negative effects of this practice.
I will most certainly note which rigs DO actually have a usable payload and take that into account early next year when we buy our first class A rig!
Bob

 

[rlmurraysr59]

Re: RV.org "consumer reports" style info

You have learned a good lesson through the internet that wasn't available when I bought my rig. I have said this before on other post but will say if for your benefit. Remember back in the 70's and early 80's when the oil embargo hit and the domestic automakers were caught with lots full of gas guzzling, living room couch sized vehicles? Massive lay-offs and union contracts reopened to give concessions to help the corporations survive. I was involved with one of them. We told them that we would agree to the concessions on three conditions. 1. We wanted some control over the quality of the product. Something that had been a practice for a long time in Japanese plants due to an American named Dr. Deming and his theory of participative management. 2. We wanted education for the workers that helped them do their job better or even prepared them for work elsewhere. 3. We wanted them to do something about the deadbeats they had hired who were a thorn not only in their side but in the unions also. People who worked 4 days because 3 wasn't enough and 5 was to many. 145 people were discharged properly for absentism out of our factory alone the first year.

Finally the quality of American autos started to improve. Now the Chevy Malibu is rated higher in customer satisfaction according to J. D. Power and Associates than the Toyota Camry. But people continue to buy Toyotas. Once you lose a customer it is really hard to win them back.

My point being, I think the domestic RV Manufacturers are in the same place the domestic auto industry was in back in the 70's and 80's with no foreign competition therefore no incentive to make progress on improving their products. They have engineers working for them designing vehicles that suffer from the situation you describe. And they have no intention of ever owning one of those vehicles they design so what do they care. And the problem is then pushed off to the dealers who seem to have thrown up their hands, hired some low paid high school kids to work on them, and just push off the blame to the workers in the factories who have to try and put them together the way the "Boss" tells them. Ever take a look at the wiring compartment in an RV. Looks like spagetti.

This is just my opinion. Glad you are going to do some serious investigations before you buy.

 

[rlmurraysr59]

Re: RV.org "consumer reports" style info

If you are in the market for a new motorhome you need to also watch out for these extended warranties the dealers push and the "life insurance" policies. While there is a debate on the value of the warranties you have to watch out for the "fine" print. I have had a couple small items fixed under mine but didn' t realize that anything major was going to require me to produce any and all records of vehicle service. I usually change my own oil and do my own lubrications. I found over the years that dealers and garages have a tendency to overlook those hard to get at places that call for chassis lube or have a grease fitting where the tires might need to be turned for access. Like the upper ball joints. Anyway, I have to keep the receipts for every quart of oil, tube of grease, and filter I buy otherwise the warranty company can deny the claim.

On the life insurance, which I have purchased on my pickup truck and it covers it for the full length of the financial contract, a motorhome policy is different. They cost in the neighborhood of 4K but only last for a couple years. You would be better off buying a decreasing term life insurance policy that would match the length of your financing. And they usually only pay 60% on the value of the motorhome.

Just a couple more things to watch out for in the rv marketplace.