New model

[Dodge Guy]

Went to the Rosemont RV show. Looked at some different RV’s. Walked through a couple new Georgetown’s. Not impressed at all! The fit and finish left a lot to be desired. The feeling of walls and materials was sub par. They make my 2012 look and feel like a high end DP! Even looked at some other brands and some of them felt the same.

[NXR]

I got the same impression at the Tampa RV Show. We went on Thursday, the second day, and the cabinet doors were hitting each other when closing, etc. I felt sad because anyone waking through was going to notice the same thing and wonder how the units would look after just a few trips.

Other manufacturers (or maybe dealers) had people cleaning and polishing the units throughout the day. It would not take a lot of work to have people go through the units every few hours and adjust doors, clean fingerprints, etc.

First impressions and all that.

Ray

[Dodge Guy]

I agree. Except these weren’t issues from walking through and looking. This was build quality! For instance the wall that separates the bedroom and bathroom had a gap at the cieling. The trim that was up there wasn’t straight. Trim was loose, it had the look and feeling of a cheap entry level MH.

And my biggest gripe is the dash layout! It’s been what? 12,13 years with the current poor center console layout! Come on FR!!!! It’s time for a complete dash redesign that is more driver friendly and ergonomically correct! I seen plenty of other MH’s with much better dash layouts!

The fit finish and feel of my 2012 feels so much better after 40k miles than what I walked through at the show!

What I seen at the show is not what I looked at 4 or 5 years ago, and is not something I would want to buy today!

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Dodge Guy

I agree. Except these weren’t issues from walking through and looking. This was build quality!

Yes, that was the point I was trying to make but did so poorly. We walked out of other manufacturer's units as well due to the same problems, some with MSRP's over 200K and 300K.

An old boss of mine taught us to "put on our customer hat" by walking down the street from the facility. Then we started walking towards the building looking and noting things we missed because we were there so often and just used to it. Then he walked us through the building pointing out things like tools lying around, cords and boxes, etc. Once you take that approach it makes you a better employee and makes your facility's first impressions better.

If the manufacturer doesn't have enough pride to make their demo units shine on public display they need to take some tips from the used car people.

Ray

[Dodge Guy]

Ok gotcha. I agree, make them look the best.
Even the Berkshire I walked through was on the same level of quality.

[bob213]

And the problem is....people keep buying them accepting this poor quality.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we could get everyone on this forum to sign a petition that stated neither we our our friends intend to buy another FR product until quality is improved, would we see any change?

We wouldn't accept a new car with the headliner falling down, or the doors not lining up. Why do we accept the low quality the rv industry puts out?

[congrejoloco]

I purchased a new 2020 GT5 31L5 a couple of months ago. It was my first Class A motorhome. Prior to that I owned a Winnebago Class C (Vita). I can honestly say that from a quality perspective there is no comparison, the Winnebago wins hands down. However, the 31L5 gives me things I didn't have with the Class C. Would I recommend the GT5 to a new buyer? Probably not.

[NXR]

What year was your Class C?

Ray

[congrejoloco]

Originally Posted by NXR

What year was your Class C?

Ray

It was a 2019.

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by congrejoloco

I purchased a new 2020 GT5 31L5 a couple of months ago. It was my first Class A motorhome. Prior to that I owned a Winnebago Class C (Vita). I can honestly say that from a quality perspective there is no comparison, the Winnebago wins hands down. However, the 31L5 gives me things I didn't have with the Class C. Would I recommend the GT5 to a new buyer? Probably not.

Don't go look at the new Winnebago Class As then. We were Class C winnie owners and really wanted to stay with Winnebago. They have made some terrible product choices and build quality is awful. I know a couple friends that bought Winnie Class As the same time I bought the Georgetown. They both own Georgetowns now.

Actually, when we were shopping the Class Cs Winnebago had at the Hershey RV show were TERRIBLE compared to the competition as far as build quality. I found it extremely dismaying since our old 2007 Navion was nearly perfect.

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by Dodge Guy

Went to the Rosemont RV show. Looked at some different RV’s. Walked through a couple new Georgetown’s. Not impressed at all! The fit and finish left a lot to be desired. The feeling of walls and materials was sub par. They make my 2012 look and feel like a high end DP! Even looked at some other brands and some of them felt the same.

The industry is in a sad state of affairs. The best thing to have happen would be for demand to seriously die down. They still can't build them fast enough to keep up. And it affects purchase after the sale too. They depend on dealers to fix the shoddy build quality because they are in a hurry but don't pay them for the labor. Because of that dealers don't fix small things that could easily be fixed but just order and wait for replacement parts from the manufacturer. The whole thing snowballs.

That said, we were extremely impressed with the build quality of our 2019 31R5. It was way better than I expected. We found about a 1/2 dozen really small things that we took it back to the dealer to have taken care of. It has been there for 5 months mostly waiting for parts . Frankly, if the dealer had told me they were going to out and out replace the things they are waiting for parts for I'd have taken those items off the list and just fixed them myself. Who is to say the replacement parts are any better than what they are taking off?

I would and have recommend Georgetown and FR to other buyers. Aside from the parts situation they have been very accommodating and responsive. I mostly blame the dealer for the parts thing. The conversation I had with them after about the 5th time I called and was told they are waiting for parts was "Have you called an asked about the parts"?
"No. We are at their mercy and just wait for them to arrive".

So I called Forest River. The parts got shipped the next day. Go figure.

[BehindBars]

It’s my opinion that customers are also responsible for dropping product quality in RVs., in that pricing pressures may be driving RV quality down. People want to keep their RV price or monthly payments as low as possible. So, the manufacturers respond with competitive pricing. The only way for them to survive is to build a lower quality product.

I wanted to buy a Winnebago Cambria or Aspect, but they don’t make them anymore. Instead Winnebago is shifting their models to the lower end quality spectrum in the class C market.

If there was an explosion in public demand for higher quality RVs, and pricing was not an issue, I’d expect then quality would improve.

[NXR]

I would and have recommend Georgetown and FR to other buyers. Aside from the parts situation they have been very accommodating and responsive.

We go out of warranty in mid-June and have one significant issue from the original build where the bed slide actually lifts off the rearmost roller when the slide is within 15" of fully closed. That means part of the weight of the slide is being shifted somewhere it should not be while driving or when the slide is in.

FR is arranging the factory visit right now for that repair and when I mentioned I had a dealer visit in mid-April for remaining warranty items, the FR rep suggested we just give him the list and they would fix everything while we're there. Yes, we are going to take him up on his kind offer.

The few interactions we've had with FR Georgetown employees before and after purchasing have all been outstanding. The people running that division really seem to be trying to get things improved. I think the entire motorized division is moving in that direction as well.

Some stuff is unavoidable such as vendor part delays. As long as I'm not getting ignored and am being kept up to date I'm usually happy. Fortunately our dealer has been fantastic in getting items handled in a timely manner as well.

We're currently at almost ninety days on the road and so far nothing significant has malfunctioned. And actually, other than some loose and squeaking things, nothing has malfunctioned. Yet.

Ray

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by NXR

We go out of warranty in mid-June and have one significant issue from the original build where the bed slide actually lifts off the rearmost roller when the slide is within 15" of fully closed. That means part of the weight of the slide is being shifted somewhere it should not be while driving or when the slide is in.

FR is arranging the factory visit right now for that repair and when I mentioned I had a dealer visit in mid-April for remaining warranty items, the FR rep suggested we just give him the list and they would fix everything while we're there. Yes, we are going to take him up on his kind offer.

The few interactions we've had with FR Georgetown employees before and after purchasing have all been outstanding. The people running that division really seem to be trying to get things improved. I think the entire motorized division is moving in that direction as well.

Some stuff is unavoidable such as vendor part delays. As long as I'm not getting ignored and am being kept up to date I'm usually happy. Fortunately our dealer has been fantastic in getting items handled in a timely manner as well.

Ray

The factory visit is definitely the way to go. I think FR in general is really trying to move toward the forefront of the customer experience but the dealer network is what it is. And I'm not necessarily faulting the dealer. The RV & Marine industries are light years behind the auto industry in empowering dealers. Dealers bear the brunt of any quality issues yet good luck trying to hire techs to fix stuff. They are always behind and don't really get compensated by the manufacturers.

In my case, were I paying for services I suspect the dealer service department would be fine. They have a very good reputation. But I don't like having to harass them about warranty stuff. Happily other than the inverter not working, none of the stuff we found for warranty would be anything considered major. I just thought I'd have them fix even the minor stuff while still in warranty. In retrospect, I should have just solved those minor things myself and been done with it.

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by BehindBars

It’s my opinion that customers are also responsible for dropping product quality in RVs., in that pricing pressures may be driving RV quality down. People want to keep their RV price or monthly payments as low as possible. So, the manufacturers respond with competitive pricing. The only way for them to survive is to build a lower quality product.

I wanted to buy a Winnebago Cambria or Aspect, but they don’t make them anymore. Instead Winnebago is shifting their models to the lower end quality spectrum in the class C market.

If there was an explosion in public demand for higher quality RVs, and pricing was not an issue, I’d expect then quality would improve.

There is definitely a lot of truth to this. Manufacturers trying to make a price point is a quality or perceived quality killer. Winnebago is a good example: In their low to mid-range RVs they moved to cheap acrylic sinks the in bathrooms, really cheap, faucets everywhere, no electric option on the water heaters, some have no outside shower, and a bunch of other silly cost cutting measures.

[Dodge Guy]

I agree on customers wanting affordability. But the Georgetown is not an entry level MH. Or at least it never used to be. I even walked through a Berkshire and what I seen did not make me want to buy one. It made me want to look at what others had to offer!

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Dodge Guy

I agree on customers wanting affordability. But the Georgetown is not an entry level MH. Or at least it never used to be. I even walked through a Berkshire and what I seen did not make me want to buy one. It made me want to look at what others had to offer!

That note of yours was the same impression I had. I saw nothing inside the Berkshires that would make me want to send double or more what I did, even though we're thinking about upgrading to a DP in two or three years. Maybe the GT5 was just too much of a step-up from whatever the previous model was.

Ray

[NXR]

But I don't like having to harass them about warranty stuff. Happily other than the inverter not working, none of the stuff we found for warranty would be anything considered major. I just thought I'd have them fix even the minor stuff while still in warranty. In retrospect, I should have just solved those minor things myself and been done with it.

Maybe yes, maybe no, depending. Sometimes what looks like a minor issue to correct actually has a much bigger underlying cause that I might have bandaided. Those can come back to bite you in the rear after the warranty period has ended whereas if we documented them and they recurred we may have a chance at goodwill assistance. So I choose to write up everything and see where it all shakes out.

I think a lot of our success with our dealer (other than them being great inherently) was our ability to work with the dealer, setting up advance appointments and giving them a week or more to resolve the issues (not rushing them). It also helped that we have not yet had any showstopper or trip-stopper problems so we could let items build up to a list.

I know they need good documentation and pictures for their warranty documentation so I always include pictures marked up with the problem. They can just submit my documentation and it's in my words, not theirs, so hopefully nothing gets lost in a translation.

As the owner I see my job as making it easy for them to do their job right the first time.

Ray