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01-18-2015, 10:30 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 506
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MY thoughts on quality and MANAGEMENT.
From what I have read here and in other forums workmanship seems to be a major problem with many RVs. Not only Columbus but almost all brands. I put that on management. You can not inspect quality into a RV. You can not expect a dealer to finish work that should have done correctly at the factory in the first place. 0 defects should be the MAIN OBJECTIVE by management before a unit leaves the factory. Out of all the issues I had with our new Sabre none were with components all were workmanship. Stripped screws, missing parts, parts installed incorrectly, backwards ect. I can go on and on. A Dometic stove doesn't know if it's going into a $10,000 RV or a $100,000 RV. American car companies were building junk back to in the 60s. Because of competition from the Japanese automakers they were forced to change their procedures and their QUALITY of workmanship. Until management insists on quality workmanship it will never happen. The people on the line will do whats expected of them and not much more. MANAGEMENT has to stress good workmanship ( Good enough.....is NEVER good enough) or it ain't gonna happen. My opinion.
__________________
2012 F250 Super Duty
2013 Sabre 33CKTS
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01-18-2015, 10:32 AM
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#2
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Done with this
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: KY
Posts: 698
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Numbers rule the business world now. Quality has taken a back seat to the numbers. Numbers SUCK!!!!!
__________________
I'm a little too truthful, I guess.
Y'all have fun in "Fantasy Land".
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01-18-2015, 10:39 AM
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#3
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15,288
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Until manufacturers loose business to a quality competitor ( either domestic or foreign) I do not expect much change. The auto industry only changed because they were forced to in order to stay in business. Those that didn't change are gone. It has to be less expensive to do it right the first time than to pay to have it repaired under warranty later.
__________________
2015 Freedom Express 248RBS
TV 2015 Silverado HD2500 Duramax
TST Tire Monitors
Honda 2000I + Companion
2 100W solar panels
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01-18-2015, 10:53 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 13,729
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Sadly, output takes precedence over quality construction. IMHO that's true in almost every manufactured product today.
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01-18-2015, 12:03 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 506
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I would tour the Sabre factory and see for myselfe how they work. I worked in Q.C. at Ford and saw the change take place first hand.
__________________
2012 F250 Super Duty
2013 Sabre 33CKTS
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01-18-2015, 12:56 PM
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#6
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Site Team
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: top side land of Lincoln
Posts: 7,509
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Then I read this in RVBussiness news
Page 73.
Think they could invest a little in qc
__________________
2014 LaCrosse 323RST-TE-C
2009 Chevy 2500HD Z71
Seasonal
Zelda the campin dog
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01-18-2015, 01:07 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 24
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I bought a Sabre TBOK new in '13. I like to call it the "Monday Morning Build". Terrible "craftsmanship. But hey, that's what happens when you pay laborers $16-$17 an hour. There is obviously no ISO standards in these builds. I had a nylon slide bearing tear away the 1st year and permanently ruin the bunkhouse floor. This year the same issue in the main room. It has been at the dealer since October because the entire main slide needs to come out. So again, laborers who are unqualified and don't give a crap except collecting a paycheck.
No American pride. We will all be in chinese RV's soon enough
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01-18-2015, 01:13 PM
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#8
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 21
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Our first RV was a pickup camper in 1968. We have had 10 RVs since then, and over the years I have realized that these things are just expensive toys. Remember when as a kid you got your favorite toy on Christmas morning, and by New Year's Day it was broken. It's the same principle. Of the 10 RVs we've had, an Aljo 5th wheel was the highest quality construction and most trouble free. We went from the Aljo to a Jayco class C. It was a toy. An example of the workmanship was a panel under the refrigerator that was hidden from view. In order for a water line to pass through the panel, some genius had just bashed a hole through the panel with a large hammer. That really said it all for Jayco's quality of construction. We now have 2011 FR Surveyor, and it has been nearly as trouble free as the Aljo. A similar panel on the Surveyor has neat hole cut with a hole saw, and the water line and electrical line secured so they don't rub on the edge of the panel. Anyway, more consumer reports and comments may help to improve overall quality in RV industry.
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01-18-2015, 01:13 PM
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#9
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15,288
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Pretty much says it all. Why would you change anything?
__________________
2015 Freedom Express 248RBS
TV 2015 Silverado HD2500 Duramax
TST Tire Monitors
Honda 2000I + Companion
2 100W solar panels
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01-18-2015, 01:33 PM
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#10
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 67
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And lets not forget the poor owner of FR. Warren who?
© Forest River, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway Company | 2014 | All Rights Reserved
__________________
2008 Roo 21SS
2003 GMC 1500HD 4X4 6.0 3:73 Diablo tuner
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01-18-2015, 02:13 PM
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#11
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Oklahoma Proud
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: central OK
Posts: 2,784
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While i have issues with my camper too, i fail to see where a Chinese or Japanese maker would do any better.
I work for a huge auto group that sells every thing from Fords and Kias to Maserati and Porsche. The Koreans are making huge strides in quality and fit and finish and some American brands too, while some of the Japanese are getting awful, but people still think they have quality. Unbeknownst to them, their cars are rusting away, and sub par parts and finishes are being use......and when they get caught and fined by the US government for withhold recalls, they just pay and move on.
I find that even when i try really hard to do the best job possible for a customer and yes, i really care about my work quality, sometimes there are comebacks. While it may not be necessarily my fault, it could be a new part failure, a hidden problem that wasn't noticed or wasn't problematic at the time, or anything.... I WILL and my company WILL do all we can to make the problem right for our customer.
My belief is Forest River and probably most manuf. are trying to do the best they can about making things right too. But in the litigious and scandalous society we live in, there are rightfully some steps that u will need to go thru to get your problems solved to safeguard the losses to the company.
This i believe is how it really works! A company can't make it very long if its only goal is to screw people.
Happy camping!
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01-18-2015, 02:28 PM
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#12
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Camper Less Camping
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: NW
Posts: 3,642
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Platokidd
Then I read this in RVBussiness news
Page 73.
Think they could invest a little in qc
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X2...when you read the article the CEO is so tickled with their growth & income...
__________________
2013 Sabre 32RCTS-6 (sold)
Family of 4 whose always on the GEAUX!
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01-18-2015, 02:47 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Orange Texas
Posts: 790
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The CEO should take his own advice and spend a little time in the factory and see how his product thrown together. He state clearly that they are making a lot of money. Some of that money should be used for repairs BEFORE shipping.
__________________
2013 Crusader 330 MKS
2013 Chevrolet Silverado LT 2500 D/A
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01-18-2015, 04:02 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,428
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Here's my thoughts based on my current situation.
I've not had serious issues with my 5er, but the issues I've had getting them fixed show problems from the bottom up.
My dealer took weeks to even look at it, then gave me lame excuses such as it hasn't rained so we can't check your water leak complaint. Offering to buy them a garden hose with spray attachment embarrassed them.
Then, it took months to get a rear window. Now, this is no custom window. It's the same window that's being installed in units every day, they couldn't pull one out of assembly line stock?
Just examples, so we have issues with the dealer, the dealer had issues getting parts. I'm stuck in the middle.
I'm going to take pictures Monday of shoddy repairs and could not duplicate despite visual evidence problems and I'm penning an email to Sierra sales and service managers listed on their website. I'm going to do my due diligence before I get very vocal.
It's irritating to say the least. I've got a dealer that doesn't care and a manufacturer that apparently doesn't care about giving that dealer the parts they need for a timely repair.
Sadly, I'm afraid I'm about to enter a fairly serious battle.
__________________
Now-2014 Sierra 346RETS 5er BUB
Then-2002 Keystone Springdale 286RLDS TT
Nights camped in 2014-28, 2015-127, 2016-10
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01-18-2015, 04:02 PM
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#15
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2014 Berkshire 360QL
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Turnersville, NJ
Posts: 26
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Since we purchased our 2014 Berkshire (July 2013), after every campout, we had to take the rig in for some kind of issue to be fixed. I can only think that quality control is left to the customer. The dealer was fantastic with fixing all the issues but again, most if not all of them should have never happened to us, the customer but been caught at the factory.
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01-18-2015, 04:11 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 422
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4mula1fan
Numbers rule the business world now. Quality has taken a back seat to the numbers. Numbers SUCK!!!!!
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In my business the two go hand in hand. I've found that in every business I've ever dealt with that good quality on the front side is always cheaper in the long run
Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
__________________
2014 Surveyor SC321BHTS SOLD
2016 Nissan Titan XD SL4x4 Cummins SOLD
2007 Sierra Sport M26FSFB Toy Hauler
2002 Ford F250 7.3l 4x4
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01-18-2015, 04:34 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Mohawk Valley of NY
Posts: 268
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My 2013 Sunseeker just got back from being repaired at the dealer. My major issue was that the rear window leaked causing delamination of the interior wall. Although out of warranty, FR did repair the unit gratis. The leak was evidently caused by sloppy installation at the time of manufacture. The problem could have been alleviated altogether with more time taken at the time of manufacture to do the job right. I have to give credit to my dealer, Wilkins, in Rochester, NY for going to bat for me for that issue and a couple other minor ones, again covered, although out of warranty.
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01-18-2015, 06:45 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 941
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BuckeyeChuck
From what I have read here and in other forums workmanship seems to be a major problem with many RVs. Not only Columbus but almost all brands. I put that on management. You can not inspect quality into a RV. You can not expect a dealer to finish work that should have done correctly at the factory in the first place. 0 defects should be the MAIN OBJECTIVE by management before a unit leaves the factory. Out of all the issues I had with our new Sabre none were with components all were workmanship. Stripped screws, missing parts, parts installed incorrectly, backwards ect. I can go on and on. A Dometic stove doesn't know if it's going into a $10,000 RV or a $100,000 RV. American car companies were building junk back to in the 60s. Because of competition from the Japanese automakers they were forced to change their procedures and their QUALITY of workmanship. Until management insists on quality workmanship it will never happen. The people on the line will do whats expected of them and not much more. MANAGEMENT has to stress good workmanship ( Good enough.....is NEVER good enough) or it ain't gonna happen. My opinion.
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SPOT ON!!! What will it take to get this point to line supervisors and QC? If you can't get it done right the first time, when are you going to get it done right?
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01-18-2015, 06:57 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 941
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One more thought . . . I can buy a $12,000 car and get a 3 yr/36,000 mile warranty or I can buy a $40,000 vehicle and get a 5 yr/50,000 mile warranty. However, if I buy a $100,000, $300,000 $400,000 RV, I still get a one year warranty. Says a lot for the quality and assembly line, doesn't it??!!??
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01-18-2015, 07:28 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Missouri
Posts: 441
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We're at the point where we'll camp another season in our 2015 FR TT, and then I'm thinking seriously about looking at those vintage trailers that have been professionally rehab'd. They may cost more initially, but they have a lot of appeal and seem to have quality, modern materials and pride of workmanship. Who can forget those Shasta wings and wide whitewalls? Plus, we have a 21 year old pulling monster of a Suburban that I wouldn't trade for anything!
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