Satisfaction with your RV

[pondlady]

I have found in my many years of running businesses that if the business is making money the way it is working, then it will continue its practices. If there is a way to make more money quality will be immediately sacrificed. If the customer is satisfied now, let's see how far we can lower quality/service to make more bucks before we start losing money. Sad, but true.

[grhodes50]

Very good point, pondlady.

[Goomph]

Did anyone read the posts and classified the answers to see what the correlation is between "it is great" and high end RV's is ? When I have time I will read the answers and and see if there is any link. Of course not everyone who voted necessarily posted .....I am Just curious. Of course people only bother to post if they have a problem.

[TWO4THEROAD]

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being great, I'd give our Flagstaff by FR 5er a 7. We bought it in Sept of 06 and have used it quite a bit, Right off the bat, The water pump went out,had it changed and then the new one broke. then the Oven, The landing gear assembly started coming undone, bolts falling off gear sticking. The exterior front cap came apart from the sides, Two complete sets of Carlisle tires had to be replaced due to blow outs. Finally replaced them with a better quality tire. The converter blew out and had to be replaced. Kitchen drawers slides broke. TV stopped working, had that fixed. The exterior vent for the stove broke and fell off. The screen door latch broke in half as well as the screen door handle. The roof vents (2) rotted away and were replaced. The trailer it'self is nice, I like the layout and easy to tow. We had a Prowler by Fleetwood for 15 years before this Flagstaff and had next to no problems. The only thing that went out was the water heater and a set or two of brakes. That was it. I guess we got spoiled. We're heading out in a couple of week for a month long trip to the Southwest and keeping our fingers crossed that nothing else happens... wish us luck...
M

[NWJeeper]

Originally Posted by Goomph

Did anyone read the posts and classified the answers to see what the correlation is between "it is great" and high end RV's is ? When I have time I will read the answers and and see if there is any link. Of course not everyone who voted necessarily posted .....I am Just curious. Of course people only bother to post if they have a problem.

You make a good point. Of all the RV forums I have been on I seem to see more displeasure from the TT and 5er owners than the motorhome owners, however I venture to guess that TTs and 5ers outsell motorized RVs 3 to 1 also. I would be interested to know just what the repair rate is for trailers VS motorhomes.

[Radio]

MY furnace has never been quite right, that's ok, we heat with electric to save propane. Minor nit-picky stuff. If a huge rock fell on the 5th wheel, I'd order another just like it from the same dealer.

[Traveler II]

I also would give our Cardinal a 8. We had a 40' pusher before, A REAL NICE RIG. Yes I miss it, but for the money our Cardinal is great. In fact based on value of money I give our Cardinal a 10.

[azwade]

Two weeks and 1K miles on my new 2011 Rockwood 8280WS 5er (one month tour of east coast). No major defects found. Everything worked right out of the dealer. Only gripe is the horrible "upgrade" mattress FR supplied. Purchased a 2in 3lb per sq ft memory foam mattress topper which fixed that.. Once I get home (in about another two weeks) I will post pictures. Great, good looking unit that pulls great with 07 Tundra (air bags, bilstein shocks, top-of-the-line Michelin "E" ten ply tires). It looks like I made a great choice at this point. I'll keep my fingers crossed. More to follow.

[Radio]

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

You make a good point. Of all the RV forums I have been on I seem to see more displeasure from the TT and 5er owners than the motorhome owners, however I venture to guess that TTs and 5ers outsell motorized RVs 3 to 1 also. I would be interested to know just what the repair rate is for trailers VS motorhomes.

Really?

I figured it would be the other way round due to the complexity of motorized units vs TT/5ver types, which aren't much more than nicely appointed boxes on wheels.

Perhaps since only the better dealers sell the better motorhomes the customer is better taken care of. Seems anybody with a gravel lot can sell TT/5vers.

But as I say, the issues with our 5ver have all been minor and with over the phone tech support from the dealer I have been able to handle most all of them myself.

[NWJeeper]

Trust me Radio, you certainly do not get better service from a "motorhome" dealer. They are all pretty much the same. Good service after the sale on RVs seems to be the exception not the norm. I only assume due to the amount of complaining I have seen over the years on many forums that the trailers get more complaints. For many makes they are built in completely different facilities with different management and many times far removed from the motorhome divisions where they need to be close to the chassis maker. For instance a good friend here at work just ordered a new Sierra 5er which is built near Salem Oregon.

Again, I would really be intrested to know what the actual numbers would say but we have no way of knowing.

[j2detroit]

we have an 06 cherokee 30f tt and love it 10 for the floor plan absolutly no problems in5 great seasons about 175-200 days camped thanks forest river

[whitebb]

I would give mine a 8, and part of that resides with the dealer and FR. I have a 2008 George Town SE 350. I have been RVing in some fashion for 37 years. We are currently full timing since May. There has been a few thing I would have build differently. But for the money I am happy. I am always looking and reading about ideas for the next coach if I decide to upgrade. For sure it will have a arctic package. I have a few ideas o well we will see.

[Char_n_Kath]

Overall I'd give F.R. an 8, with a 9 on our new unit. My wife and I had a Rockwood 2104, but with the addition of our grand-daughter full time, we needed more room and upgraded to a 2304 - larger bathroom (a/k/a dressing area) and pantry. The stock 2304 with murphy bed didn't have the up-front pass-thru storage that I liked so much, so F.R. built us a custom unit - with a fixed bed and the pass-thru. The 2104 roof had to be 're-caulked' after four years in the Southwest sun, but no other major issues aside from the dometic recall. The build on our custom 2304 was great - only minor issues like the bathroom items being installed when we requested they not be, and the threads on two feet of the table being stripped - but gorilla glue fixed that!

[flyrotor]

I have to rate my trailer 9/10. The only reason for less than 10/10 is the quality of the materials used in construction, but the trailer has served me well with this first year season. I have towed it nearly 5,000 miles and spent several nights camping with no issues.

The layout design fits my needs.

Also, I do not have slides, television, concertone or many of the other home-like conveniences, I do have A/C and a microwave, refrigerator, waterheater and shower, all of which I have had no problems whatsoever.

[kvtaylor]

I gotta be different and say our Georgetown gets a 9. This was our first FR product as we towed Montana's and Terry's before. I expected some problems at first, but they were minimal. some were caught at our dealer, others it was better if I took care of them. I have learned a lot off this web page from all of you. I hope someday we can have a rally somewhere so we can meet some of you.

[revrnd]

I've had my trailer for a year now & had it on the road for 4 trips. Other than my well documented FM reception issue, I'm quite happy w/ my TT.

Now if I could light the water heater quicker, I'd be pleased as punch.

[sailingsuppo46]

Since this is our first RV, I have little to compare it to, but we are very happy with it. Right size, comfortable, easy to tow and maneuver in the CG. The little issues that we have had are small and I can fix most of them. This site helps as well. I am happy with what I have and enjoy getting it out ad much as I can. To bad the camping season is coming to an end....

[wnytaxman]

We would have to rate our Berkshire a 9 also. Overall it has been good. As for dealers doing better on service for motorhomes as opposed to trailers, well, I don't know of any dealer who seems to be "good" at the repair business end of things. Our dealer was great from the sales end. On the service end.....well, if you listen closely you will hear a large sucking noise! Most of the problems we have encountered are fairly minor and nothing that I wouldn't expect from any vehicle or residence.

[revrnd]

As someone posted a while back, anyone w/ a gravel lot can sell RVs. Maybe if the OEMs made sure an individual had an actual building for working on RVs that would be a start. Yes, some repairs/service work can easily be done out side, but major repairs that can't be done in a day should be done inside. Would you leave a disassembled vehicle outside in the elements? This might be OK if the weathe is OK, but what about early spring/late fall?

[Bob Fields]

Awesome, it took 54 posts for someone to mention Concertone and that was only to say they did not have one! (and revrnds reception problem was a bad connector on his antenna cable)>

Made me feel good anyway! :-)