Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 09-13-2015, 02:28 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
troutslayer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NW AR (God's Country)
Posts: 2,051
Why I would not buy a new RV now

Back in 2008, 2009 and 2010 the RV industry was laying off people "left and right". Now, RV shipments are at a all-time high. I have also noticed, on this forum, that there seem to be more QC problems with RVs than say, a couple years ago. With the huge increase in RV orders and most manufacturers concentrated in Northern Indiana where the labor force has its limits, I come to the conclusion that buying an RV at this time will probably have more "issues" than in the past. I think its a matter of too many orders and not enough time and experienced people to complete the job(s) adequately.
RVs on target for record expansion of shipments | RV Daily Report | Breaking RV Industry News and Campground Information
__________________
Skip

2012 Eagle Super Lite HT 26.5RKS
2005 GMC 2500 SLT HD D/A
troutslayer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2015, 07:00 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: MD
Posts: 3,856
So u would only consider buying a RV that was a few years old or older? My 2014 has been fine. If my wife, the reason we even have one, has her way we'll have a new one next year.
__________________
2017 JayFlight 28BHBE
2014 JayFlight Swift 264BH (Sold)
2007 GMC 2500 Sierra Classic Crew Cab LBZ Duramax / 6spd Allison
SouthCo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2015, 07:30 PM   #3
Site Team
 
Crabman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Virginia`s Eastern Shore
Posts: 17,091
It also seems the higher end units are having the most reported issues here, I suppose due to their complexity?
__________________
2017 Coachmen Catalina 283RKS
2018 Ford F250 Super Duty 6.2l CCSB
2010 Jayflight 28BHS (sold)
Crabman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2015, 07:39 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Hard pill to swallow, but there is a lot of truth to that. What I'd give to have my 2007 Mobile Scout fifth wheel back. I've noticed the same thing, in every one we've owned. The first several were flawless, 3rd was great, but that's when Leland frame had gotten bought out or something, and Mobile Scout went to Lippert frames and slides out mechanisms. It just seemed to be built a little cheaper, thinner fiberglass etc. After that, I got away from them as they got really cheap, especially when Winnebago bought them. Went to Tiffin after that, decent but lots of problems, then a FR motorhome and Cedar Creek fifth wheel (no comment) and though they have great eye candy, they just aren't built that great anymore. Now the Jayco we have now, granted it has had little to no issues, is ok. But, looking at how it's built, I know it can't take the abuse the first few Mobile Scouts could. They were built like a brick **** house per say. I will be hesitent to buy another any time soon. We still have the prints I drew a while back to build our own, and it may come to that for the next rig. When we bought this Jayco, it was buy it, or spend a year or better to build my own in our shop. Wife didn't really feel like waiting that long for me to complete one, so we bought the Jayco. Even now though, she says, we will build one at some point.

The faster they build them, the worse they get. Add that to a new generation of workers that don't take the same pride as workers used to, and you have the modern RV.
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2015, 08:46 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
wags999's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Surprise
Posts: 2,623
One potential flaw in your theory, when orders are small, you have a person doing multiple jobs...IE installing electric and cabinetry for instance. Today, when I toured the factories, a person was doing a single task 12 to 20 times a day. Far more experienced in that "job" than doing multiple tasks, a few times a day. You may see more issues, but, much of it is because of the larger number of units being built. We purchased this winter, it was built in March and we took delivery in April. We lived in it all summer, just returning to our home last Friday. We had zero real issues, a few small issues that I took care of easily. Nothing more than tightening a screw or two.


Sometimes, when you not building much, your quality is not better, nor is labor better at doing everything. Doing one thing often and well, will trump being able to do everything once in a while. JMHO.
__________________
2011 Toyota Tundra double cab
2015 27RLS


wags999 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2015, 09:12 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Just wish they paid by the hour instead of by the unit. Mobile Scout employees were paid by the hour (then), so the pace was a little slower, and the quality was far superior to others. I've toured a lot of the factories too, some I wouldn't even consider purchasing. I just like to research the industry constantly. I've yet to see many that impressed me. Only reason I really picked a Jayco, was it had the most component brands I liked in one rig (AC, water heater, power panel, furnace, stove etc etc), I found a decent dealership, and they're not owned by some big outfit like Thor or FR / BH. Only thing I don't like is the lippert frame under it, so I pay close attention to that.
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-13-2015, 09:20 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
roving legrands's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: geneseo
Posts: 110
Funny I should run across this post. In our business section of the paper today they talked about the baby boomers retiring and th RVsales being near an altime high.
__________________
2011 25.5rks
2019 2500 Chevy LTZ Duramax
roving legrands is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-2015, 06:37 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Seann45's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Saskatoon Sask Canada
Posts: 10,714
All these new RV's but where will we camp in them.. there are not a proportional number of RV parks being built..
__________________
Seann
2004 Chev Silverado Duramax optioned past the max. 2009 Jayco Eagle 308 RLS 900watts of solar, Lithium batteries (400amp hour), 2000 watt (4000 surge) whole house inverter.
145days boondockinig in2023 2022/151 2021[/COLOR]
93/2020,157/2019219/2018 206/2017,215/2016, 211/2015, 196/14, 247/13, 193/12

Seann45 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-2015, 08:03 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 1,588
It's true. Parks are getting way too full and the whole reservations thing pisses me off to no end. In Ontario, it costs 10 or 12 dollars to make an online reservation at a Provincial Park. If you cancel, you get your money back less the reservation fee. People will book every weekend of the season at the beginning of the summer and then cancel if anything comes up, bad weather, etc and just forfeit the reservation fee. This totally blocks other people like myself that have a random month-to-month schedule.

Getting back on topic - this is why I went with the dual 6V set up... Most RVers need shore power and that allows us to go to spots that are less popular and therefore less busy.

The more incompetent RV owners there are, the more money the industry makes from poor maintenance and improper use. It's a vicious, money driven cycle.
__________________
2013 F-150 EcoBoost MaxTow, Roush tuned (415hp 506tq), lifted on 33s, R.A.S.
2013 Jay Flight 28BHS Elite (Equalizer 10K hitch)
SkyBound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-2015, 10:34 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 3,430
In comparing fit and finish between our 2013 hybrid and our old 2003 I'd say they were just about the same. Overall both are solidly built, and both had little fit and finish issues like misaligned doors, loose interior door trim, etc., all small stuff I fixed myself.
__________________
Chuck
2013 Jayco Jayfeather X20 E (sold)
2016 Chevy Silverado LTZ 2 Z71 Crew Cab (sold, and dearly missed)
DocBrown is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-15-2015, 12:00 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: New Richmond
Posts: 247
No problems with our 2015 SLX 264BHW after 26 days of camping this year. But tried to make reservations for next year ( Aug then Sept) in a specific Minnesota SP and found it was booked (best sites for our size TT). We had no problems getting nice site there we used this summer. Guess will have to go private campground in the area, one available that is pretty nice we have stayed at, but prefer the State Parks..

Larry j
LarryJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 06:33 AM   #12
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: mishawaka
Posts: 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by troutslayer View Post
Back in 2008, 2009 and 2010 the RV industry was laying off people "left and right". Now, RV shipments are at a all-time high. I have also noticed, on this forum, that there seem to be more QC problems with RVs than say, a couple years ago. With the huge increase in RV orders and most manufacturers concentrated in Northern Indiana where the labor force has its limits, I come to the conclusion that buying an RV at this time will probably have more "issues" than in the past. I think its a matter of too many orders and not enough time and experienced people to complete the job(s) adequately.
RVs on target for record expansion of shipments | RV Daily Report | Breaking RV Industry News and Campground Information
I live next to the 'RV capitol' in Northern Indiana and let me tell you, the labor force is struggling to keep up. That is to say, it' tough to find quality workers to get the job done. A friend of my works in one of the storage trailer manufacturing plants and he says its common for guys to show up late, or even miss days of work and yet keep their jobs. They can't find 'decent' replacement workers.
__________________
2015 Jayco Jayflight 287bhsw
2011 Nissan Armada Platinum
iurv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 10:03 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
wags999's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Surprise
Posts: 2,623
Campgrounds had a record summer this year with most being up from 10% to over 20%. You are correct in that the growth of campgrounds have not kept up with the growth in RV's. Also the typical RV is getting larger with more 50 amp and even some 100 amp units on the road. I can only speak of the West, but, during peak summer months, in typical tourist areas, you best have a reservation well ahead of times or you won't get a site. With high demand and limited availability I can only surmise that costs of campsites will continue to rise.

Plan ahead is the name of the game.

At Jayco the "team" gets paid by how many units they build in a day. This "team" concept does work as each workers pay is effected by every other worker on that team. Hence they tend to be on time, work hard and do a good job. They are only as good as the weakest lint and it is to everyone's benefit to make sure they all do the best job possible in the fastest time frame. Also workers are typically doing the same task on each RV, hence they get good at what they do.
__________________
2011 Toyota Tundra double cab
2015 27RLS


wags999 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 10:57 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: columbus
Posts: 166
when the TEAM gets paid for quantity, quality will slip
rjackson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 11:07 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
ctbailey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 609
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigJohnD View Post
Only thing I don't like is the lippert frame under it, so I pay close attention to that.
Big John,

what about the Lippert frame and slide out assemblies specifically do you not like?

To the casual RVer, most folks are more worried about the color of the backsplash, or if the fabric on the dinette cushions matches the drapes. 99% of RVrs wouldn't know a Lippert frame from their elbow.
__________________
Craig T. Bailey
Hudson, NH
2015 Jayflight 32BHDS
2018 Chevy 3500HD Crew 4x4 Duramax
ctbailey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 12:44 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
wags999's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Surprise
Posts: 2,623
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjackson View Post
when the TEAM gets paid for quantity, quality will slip
I could not disagree more with you. When you have a team, and the whole team is rewarded or punished based on what that team does, there is great pressure to put out the maximum so you don't disappoint the rest of the team. This is what the whole Marine Corps is based on, team efforts. Everyone works with the weak link to get him or her up to speed, for the good of everyone. Slackers don't last long. They will police themselves.
__________________
2011 Toyota Tundra double cab
2015 27RLS


wags999 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 04:07 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: columbus
Posts: 166
Quote:
Originally Posted by wags999 View Post
I could not disagree more with you. When you have a team, and the whole team is rewarded or punished based on what that team does, there is great pressure to put out the maximum so you don't disappoint the rest of the team. This is what the whole Marine Corps is based on, team efforts. Everyone works with the weak link to get him or her up to speed, for the good of everyone. Slackers don't last long. They will police themselves.
IF they inspected every trailer and checked every appliance,switch and leak tested I would agree, but they don't and you can easily see the lack of quality work. big difference between the marine corps and making trailers
rjackson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 04:24 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
wags999's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Surprise
Posts: 2,623
Quote:
Originally Posted by rjackson View Post
IF they inspected every trailer and checked every appliance,switch and leak tested I would agree, but they don't and you can easily see the lack of quality work. big difference between the marine corps and making trailers
Big difference between building an RV and inspecting the unit. They do a quality control on the base unit at the factory. The testing of systems is part of the delivery process by the dealer. Much like an automobile, the workers that build it do not test all systems, the dealer does that at delivery. It is the dealers responsibility to add propane and test systems, connect to water and test etc. They also are to check for fit and finish, again much along the lines of a car dealer. Factory does it tests and the dealer has the final responsibility.
__________________
2011 Toyota Tundra double cab
2015 27RLS


wags999 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 04:54 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
glsimms's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 1,326
Wags999..... Thank you for your service to our country!!
__________________
2017 Some Other Brand (SOB)
2013 Jayco Jay Feather X23B (She Gone)
2014 Ford Expedition
Gerard
glsimms is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-16-2015, 05:42 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
BigJohnD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Florien, LA
Posts: 1,872
Quote:
Originally Posted by ctbailey View Post
Big John,

what about the Lippert frame and slide out assemblies specifically do you not like?

To the casual RVer, most folks are more worried about the color of the backsplash, or if the fabric on the dinette cushions matches the drapes. 99% of RVrs wouldn't know a Lippert frame from their elbow.
Most wouldn't know, or wouldn't care. But, having broke out into the RV thing owning Leland frames, it was a let down when they went away. Like comparing apples to oranges. You look at a leland frame, and you don't worry about it. 16" worth of stacked box tubing for a frame. VERY stout. Even looking at their welds, it didn't look like the typical beginner welder welds you see on a Lippert, with a ton of them not even having good penetration in the steel. Box tubing is stronger by all means if done right, but it's a heavier frame, and everybody wants lighter. Not me. I'd be happier towing 20k pounds and trusting the frame than getting light weight and iffy I-beam with a terrible reputation. Leland didn't have that terrible reputation. I could go on and on. Biggest thing, I can't afford what I'd be 100% satisfied with, at least in a store bought version. Biggest reason we still toy with the idea of building our own in our own shop. We would control the frame construction, and everything else.

When we shop, we're looking at everything BUT the eye candy and colors. Colors we can change easily. Even my wife can look under the rig and say, that aint built like the first few were.
__________________
John and Rebecca Dickson
Emma-13 / Little John-10 / Iva-7
2013 Ford F-350 Lariat FX4, CC LB PSD, DRW
2015 Jayco Jay Flight 28BHBE (#8)
BigJohnD is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:05 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.