Had to say something

[Derek700]

I met a guy selling boats part time and he said when a young guy came in looking at boats all you had to do was have him imagine a bunch of girls in bikinis in the boat some cold beer and it was " where do I sign" with low long term payments. I am sure RV sales isn't a whole lot different.

[cekkk]

I'm with the caveat emptor crowd. Please, choosing a camper is hard enough. We don't need the government's "help."

[Bassdogs]

To assume that the dealer sales rep has anything in mind other than selling you what they have on the lot, is a huge mistake. Example: Stopped at the CW in Dathan Al on our way home from Fla in 2013 to get a feel for the new stuff as we had decided it was time to move to a larger unit. We also liked the idea of a 5'er as we had met several people at the CG who were towing a 5'er with a 1/2 ton. Anyway after explaining what we were doing and making it clear that we were
"real" buyers, the salesman immediately took us to a used unit that was upon review too heavy for our 08 Silverado 1500. Looked at some other stuff and reviewed the models inside. I told him what my limits were and he said, No way!! You can handle a lot more than that. I even showed him the manual from the truck and he said anything that new could handle thousands more. At the end of the day, we loaded up [our existing TT] and headed back on the road. At home further research made it clear that GM did not want you towing a 5'er with a crew cab 1500 as in 08 they only came with a short bed. Sayed right in the paperwork, not designed for or intended to pull a 5'er. The sales guy if he was worth his salt in rv knowledge, knew the truth, but they don't care. Its all about the sale.

later bought our 2014 white hawk from the middlebury IN DEALER and got a great deal. As a buyer, you have to be incharge and expect to be lied to and fed BS.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

As a buyer, you have to be incharge and expect to be lied to and fed BS.

This is just sad to me; unfortunately true, and VERY sad. I knew what I was getting into when I bought my trailer; I knew I was going to be at the top of my capacity. I did the research for years before I ever stepped on a lot. No salesperson was going to pull the wool over my eyes.

How many other people out there get duped into buying something way too heavy (and thus dangerous for their family and mine as I share the road with them).

In this day and age with all the information and communication flying around out there, I'm surprised more dealers don't get hammered on customer reviews for stuff like this. My dealer had the best reputation in the region, even so, my salesman said I would have no problem towing my rig. He didn't look at any of the specifications on my truck. He said "is that your truck? Yeah, you'll have no problems"; I just rolled my eyes, but I should have called him out on it. Granted, I don't have problems, but I'm at my max and I know it.

Should we have laws for this? No, I think we have enough laws. But the RV industry should self-regulate this and TRAIN and AUDIT their sales reps and dealers. Jayco and other manufacturers should "mystery shop" their "authorized" dealers. I spoke to a few sales people when I was buying my trailer and not one of them knew their posterior from that hole over there. Why is that tolerated? Why have consumers not eradicated that behavior?

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by Donedroolin

This is alittle more safety critical then buying fertilizer or appliance. Yes the buyer should research, but lets be honest who researched there first trailer..

That was sort of my point about mentioning buying appliances. Buying a truck and trailer IS a safety critical thing. And yes, we heavily researched our first trailer and each one since then. I'm not laying out that kind of money without knowing what I'm getting into. And there were two times when I knew I would be towing close to my limits. But I knew that ahead of time.

I'm certainly not trying to sound critical, but even if every salesman were certified honest, why would anyone look at something that will cost them many thousands of dollars and not do some advance research? People spend countless hours researching whether to buy an LCD, LED, or plasma TV because they are afraid they will do the wrong thing. But they'll spend 20 minutes looking at and deciding on a travel trailer? Maybe it was the way I was raised, but that approach doesn't make much sense to me.

[cekkk]

"Yes the buyer should research, but lets be honest who researched there first trailer.."

I would hope most of us did.

As for salesmen lying to buyers, I'll bet my boots every sales contract has disclaimer language in it protecting the dealership from any salesmen's claims.

[glsimms]

Originally Posted by Derek700

I met a guy selling boats part time and he said when a young guy came in looking at boats all you had to do was have him imagine a bunch of girls in bikinis in the boat some cold beer and it was " where do I sign" with low long term payments. I am sure RV sales isn't a whole lot different.

I don't think my wife would allow me to have a bunch of girls in bikinis in the TT...

[msturtz]

Originally Posted by glsimms

I don't think my wife would allow me to have a bunch of girls in bikinis in the TT...

I guarantee that mine would not allow it!

[Derek700]

My wife and I running joke is if I die first she is getting on of those little Rpod trailers to tow around with her van and I say if she dies first then I am buying a 40' toy hauler with a bar and a stripper pole in the back. All in good fun.