There have been numerous articles, blogs, and multiple stories of late complaining about or trying to address the seeming lack of drop-in recreational vehicle (RV) quality and workmanship. You cannot read any RV brand user groups’ social media pages without being inundated with quality complaints. NO brand is immune.
Who is to blame? Is it the manufacturers, the associated supplier logistics systems, or the dealers?
We all have our favorite scapegoats. Many people blame a reduction in workers, shortages in material, and everyone’s favorite, COVID-19, which is seemingly all-powerful and controls all things.
The manufacturers seem to be facing a plethora of challenges: worker shortages due to a host of reasons; supplier shortages, mandated shutdowns, and pretty much all production taking place in a central location, Elkhart Indiana. If an employee gets angry or decides to quit a particular manufacturer, there are multiple RV factories in the same area. They can easily walk across the street into another manufacturer that has job openings with an increase in pay. How much workforce can one relatively small community produce if the town hosts over 90% of RV production and the majority of industry suppliers? If the RV industry were a national/governmental effort, it would be considered a national security risk having the entire industry centrally located in a small area with no redundancy.
The shortages and interruptions of manufacturing raw goods certainly have had an impact on the RV industry. Who could have predicted that there would be a shortage of RV ladders! Most logistics systems have experienced global shortages and interruptions. No industry seems immune. What raw material is available is hampered by a reduction in global, interstate, and intrastate transportation.
The RV manufacturing process is virtually 100% handmade. There was a time when handmade was synonymous with quality above reproach. Rolls Royce built their reputation on hand-built custom cars. It takes individual pride, work ethic, and a positive work environment to produce a high-quality product day in and day out in the absence of automation. Do we have craftsmen or workers? Is it an option for the industry to incorporate automation that can consistently produce an error-free product? Could the RV industry learn from the automobile manufacturing processes and all the Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing techniques they and other automated production
industries use?
Dealerships obviously don’t manufacture the RVs, but they are the face of the industry and should be the first line of defense when we as customers have discrepancies that need correcting. As an RV inspector, I am told repeatedly by sales staff, that an inspection isn’t needed on a new RV because it is under warranty. My experience proves that most new rigs have issues at the same rate as used units, mostly minor but often significant. Any NRVIA inspector you ask will have a litany of issues with new rigs: missing safety equipment like fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, plumbing and electrical components not connected, and even propane leaks. I would hope no dealership wants an excited client to travel multiple hours to pick up their new shiny coach to find out they have to wait all day or can’t take their pride and joy home that day because an air conditioner doesn’t work, or the slides don’t function correctly, especially if it could be avoided.
Cannot dealerships reject a newly arrived RV if it is determined that it isn’t up to standard? It may sound like a ridiculous question but is there a compelling reason for the dealership to fix discrepancies that are found during the original check-in when the transport company delivered the unit to the lot? Whatever time and money the dealership invests prior to the sale directly reduces the dealership’s profit margin and sales commission. If it is “found” during the PDI or the customer’s first few camping trips, it becomes a chargeable warranty repair. I personally and most of my clients complain that they can’t even get a returned call or email from RV service
departments to get warranty work done by the dealership. When they do get a returned call, they are required to take the unit into and leave it with the dealership before they will diagnose and order the parts from an already slow logistics system. We all would like the opportunity to continue to use our RVs until the part comes in. The boon of RV full-timers has further complicated this practice. Full-timers simply can’t leave their homes on the backlot of a dealership for weeks and months waiting on parts. From the dealership’s perspective, they are at risk of ordering parts that they may not ever install if the customer doesn’t return or gets it repaired somewhere else. Our rigs are held as ransom to reduce dealership risks. Dealerships also face another business-related issue. Warranty repairs paid by the manufacturers are at a reduced rate. If a dealership charges up to $200 an hour for non-warranty repair and only gets $75-$100 an hour from the manufacturer for warranty work, which one gets priority? I suppose it makes business sense from a service department profit center mindset, but falling customer loyalty, negative word of mouth, and social media posts against the dealership should tip the scales. Most communities only have access to one or two of the big four RV dealerships. With very few remaining independent dealerships and limited mobile RV technicians, the consumer has limited options when it comes to RV repair.
I believe the only true bearer of the blame for poor RV quality is us, the customer
If we are honest, the RV industry has always had some issues with quality control and many annoying malfunctions with systems and/or fit and finish. It is arguable that the frequency and severity have increased over the last couple of years as systems have become more complex, but we accept it as the status quo. We just accept it as that is the way it is and makeup excuses as to why it is that way. The RV industry loves to give the excuse, “The coach experiences a hurricane and earthquake” at the same time when we drive or tow them down the road. As a Certified RV Inspector, I have found myself making the same excuses to my clients. We further explain that a piece of trim may pop off or a water line may suffer a leak due to vibration, etc. Isn’t it reasonable for consumers to expect more? After all, these units are “supposed” to be engineered for the travel environment.
What other industry could survive such a miserable track record? We certainly don’t accept the same level of performance from the auto or any other industry. Most industries couldn’t survive the same lack of quality control that we willingly accept from the RV industry. Since people have been locked down from airline flights, cruises, and the hotel industry many have gotten into RVing with almost total disregard for the lack of quality they are getting for their investment.
The RV industry has skyrocketed in popularity and costs with inversely proportional quality. The 2021 model year saw numerous price increases and 2022 models have already seen several in the first quarter. Most manufacturers/dealers can not offer a price lock on any unit that is not already on their lots. RVs are more expensive than ever, it is a sellers’ market for new and used RVs, but it seems the quality is (antidotally) at an all-time low; no manufacturer seems to be immune. Yet we as the consumers, me included, continue to pay higher prices for new, used, and all things RV-related like ancillary equipment and campsites.
As a newly full-timer, I truly love the RV lifestyle and it is a source of income for me personally. But I believe we have almost blindly accepted our fate. The only impetus that will create the much-needed change in the market— are willing to accept the status quo or demand change by letting our purchase power affect the change?
David Cantrell has been an avid RVer for over 30-years and is an NRVIA Certified RV Inspector.
He is the owner of Miles From Monday RV Inspection Services LLC, https;//mfmrv.com,
headquarters in the Orlando, Florida area during the Winter and throughout the US during the
Summer months.
