Forest River Quality in my New Vibe 311

[wbduckman]

As far as 5th Wheels go, Grand Design is one that I have yet to hear a complaint about.

Our RV Dealer says there the only one other than Air Stream producing a Quality product right now. Company started by Ex- Keystone Management that left Keystone in aggravation of being told to produce more, cheaper, less quality units.

[BandJCarm]

Haven't seen one up close, but Van and Leigh Tiffin are apparently making a pretty good 5th wheel now. Made in the South, too. And they use theirs before selling....

I still see one or two at my dealer's service lot, though.

[vmfa]

What's the name of the company by x Keystone management?

[wbduckman]

Grand Design RV.
Go to their website and it will tell you the story behind the company. It tells of these three gentleman who left in their words a large RV company to start this one. That company was Keystone RV.
And their words they described leaving because of a disconnect from customers that they were not comfortable with. Translation, Keystone began building RV's that began to have major problems. this is the reason why we did not go with Montana.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by wbduckman

Grand Design RV.
Go to their website and it will tell you the story behind the company. It tells of these three gentleman who left in their words a large RV company to start this one. That company was Keystone RV.
And their words they described leaving because of a disconnect from customers that they were not comfortable with. Translation, Keystone began building RV's that began to have major problems. this is the reason why we did not go with Montana.

Well that was all well and good but guess what they have been bought so much for the QC. Later RJD

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by BandJCarm

I continue to believe that comments about Forest River Quality is not totally fair. It's too universal. I don't think all the Divisions are the same quality.........based on what I read and experience first hand. Now THAT is a problem, I admit. But they are not all equal.

Nor are all units of SAME section the same. The guy above has problems with a Cherokee. Ours was almost perfect.

X 2 mine also was about as good as it gets. Later RJD

[wbduckman]

Well that was all well and good but guess what they have been bought so much for the QC. Later RJD

Wow, you were correct. I swear,,, Is there any US Company willing to stay on its own two feet?


"In a conference call Monday morning, Winnebago officials announced the company had agreed to a $500 million purchase of Grand Design"

[vmfa]

So you ifgure quality control will

[vmfa]

Go away now?

[pgandw]

Even the poorest production lines produce some good units. IF the initial design is good, then improved quality in production can mean more good units. But quality in production does not make up for poor design. Quality in production means output more consistently meets the design specifications, nothing more.

Given the RV industry has horrible quality issues in both supplier and production, I would not be surprised to see design quality issues, too. Right now, due to significant supplier quality issues (Lippert, Dometic, and so on), to make a truly quality RV would mean bringing all manufacturing in-house. Doing so is a huge up-front expense that would not be easily recouped in sales several years down the road.

Fred W