Quality of Impression 5th Wheel

[Jenkinsj104]

Have we all just accepted a sub standard build quality from RV manufacturers?

[Bob K4TAX]

In general, I feel we are observing a pullback in quality in order to offset the cost to some degree. I think we all can agree that the cost of everything has increased over the past 4 to 5 years.

If the cost of materials and labor today were factored in as compared to 5 years ago, none of us could afford any type of RV. In most commodities, we find prices have doubled or more. That formula would likely apply to RVs as well.

I know if I had to pay 2X or 3X the price for our TT, we would not have one today. Then there is the law of economics of supply and demand. Since COVID, the industry has seen an increase in RV demands. The companies made efforts to ramp up production and in doing so, less attention to detail exists. In many cases, they were forced to use sub-standard materials and assembly processes in order to meet the demands.

I view that's just the world we live in today.

Bob

[Jenkinsj104]

That is a fantastic explanation and I appreciate hearing that. It's just a shame that leads to manufacturing practices that ultimately lead to un usable products. I just wanna go camping and I don't think it is too much to ask that a RV I paid for operates in an acceptable manner. I.mean it's just basic frigging quality control issues. I would have paid more for this unit. Especially if the dang thing operated as it should. At a minimum!

[Jenkinsj104]

I've spent substantially more on diesel fuel pulling it up and down the road to the dealer than I would have paid in costs at RV parks. It's disappointing and a joke at this point!

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Jenkinsj104

Have we all just accepted a sub standard build quality from RV manufacturers?

You did.
I did.

[Jenkinsj104]

That is the absolute best reply! Lol!!!

[dblr]

Sounds like your still in the work force, could you travel to say the Indiana area where it was made in the summertime? If so, try to attend the FROG Rally in August and maybe be able to get some of your issues corrected seeing you are still in the warranty stage. Just a thought

[Jenkinsj104]

I'm recently retired and my wife is soon to be retired. Might be a possibility.

[Jimmers59]

I purchased my 2021 5er new and only found 1 issue(bathroom exhaust fan not working) during the walk through at time of pickup. It was replaced right then. For the next 12 months every time we took it out I would find other things that needed repaired. The first issue I called the dealer for a appointment and they said they had a appointment3 month down the road. At that moment I decided that I would simply have to repair everything myself and the extended warrantee would only be good if a major-major issue took place. I have probably fixed at least 12 different things in the past year. Range hood falling down, refrigerator door beeping all the time, refrigerator fan falling apart and needed replaced, water leaks at the connections, slide ski shredding and a whole lot more minor issues. I'm one of those that feel like if I can understand what is needing repaired, I can do a better job and take more care in doing it than most dealers can or will do. I spent a lot of time googling the issues and learning how to do the repair before I start and so far have been able to fix everything that has happened. I feel like that during covid the manufactures were short handed so bringing in a lot of untrained inexperienced people, that didn't know the difference between a caulking gun and a nail gun, to fill the spots. And with minimal on the job training or over sight. My son puchased a 1/2 mil Class A and even had issues with it but not as many as I.

[doc73]

We've purchased our 315 in 2021 as a replacement to our Arctic Wolf that tore itself apart. We knew it would be a bit of a risk as the aptly named "Covid Trailers" were not coming out in the best conditions nor where they as "cheap" as they once were.

We repaired trim and other loose things. We made some fit an finish things and needed to rebuild the fridge surround as it began to separate from the walls (staples do not have a working load rating esp when they shoot 30 of them and only 1 hits the target)

The dealer needed to realign the main slide as the motor was mounted off slightly and caused the slide to twist. Lippert "forgot" to install the support brackets for the bedroom slide and it cause a crack in the fiberglass side wall, and just a month ago
the outside fridge died.

With all that said, we love our impression. The issues we've had are ones that we've had on other units previous and many other also have had though out the many brands and manufacturers. Impression has been great to work with, have met and spoken to the production manager, many of the design and sales folks and the lady whom runs their warranty division. Our dealership (General RV in Elizabethtown PA) have been amazing and are quick to get us in and the work completed.

But this is why we have our 1 year warranty. We put 16k miles on our units this year and shook the heck out of it. Not sure who or where you bought it from but for us the dealership was just as if not more important than the unit because they would be with us to keep the trailer running down the road.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

In general, I feel we are observing a pullback in quality in order to offset the cost to some degree. I think we all can agree that the cost of everything has increased over the past 4 to 5 years.

If the cost of materials and labor today were factored in as compared to 5 years ago, none of us could afford any type of RV. In most commodities, we find prices have doubled or more. That formula would likely apply to RVs as well.

I know if I had to pay 2X or 3X the price for our TT, we would not have one today. Then there is the law of economics of supply and demand. Since COVID, the industry has seen an increase in RV demands. The companies made efforts to ramp up production and in doing so, less attention to detail exists. In many cases, they were forced to use sub-standard materials and assembly processes in order to meet the demands.

I view that's just the world we live in today.

Bob

Availability of motivated labor is another factor. Several industries are going through the same situation as the RV industry, fast food, retail sales included. Employees feel they have a right to unjustified high salaries, generous benefits, and limited working hours. If they don't get it, they won't work or they will do the work badly. Easy to see that these 'entitled' folks are behind the $15.00 minimum wage.

This is not new. The labor unions in Detroit acted like this in the 1970s. They demanded higher and higher salaries; the union bosses encouraged this and established a disgruntled attitude that led to strikes which closed the plants and poor quality automobiles when they were open. Chrysler went bankrupt, and Toyota began to eat GM's lunch.

It was similar in the tire industry. Firestone was plagued by union issues and angry employees. The Decatur, Illinois plant was probably struck more often than it was working. And the quality was questionable. IIRC, that plant made the "shed-A-tred" Firestone 500, the "flyapart" Firestone 750, and the "turnover" Wilderness AT tires, not to mention the ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT tires. Since Titan Mike, Tireman9, Aircommuter, and Wmtire may read this, here's a citation: The defective ATX and ATX II tires were primarily manufactured at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois factory which produced tires with a significantly higher failure rate than the other two factories that manufactured these same tire models, Wilson, North Carolina and Joliette, Quebec. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firest...re_controversy

Same thing with teachers' unions. In New York City, union strength made it impossible to fire bad teachers. The Board of Education eventually assigned them to an office from 9 to 4 each day where they were free to read magazines or play cards at full salary.

[wheelin14]

The FROG Forest River Owner's Group International rally is typically held at the Elkhart County fairgrounds in Goshen, IN about the third week of August. The last few years they have repaired anything on units two model years old or newer. I've actually attended one FROG and two Coachmen rallies to get things fixed. The technicians are better at assembly than diagnosis, but they'll try usually by throwing new parts at problems. Some venders such as Lippert and Dexter also have technicians there. There are seminars, factory visits, and some meals provided. It's definately worth the price if you need repair done--maybe a bit pricely if not.

[wheelin14]

OP, you're not alone. All the units are poorly assembled. Occasionally you'll get a good one--our 2014 Forest River, Palomino, Puma was very good. Our Coachmen Chaparral has experienced problems threw all of its 3 1/2 years of life. It was assembled in spring 2019 before Covid. I believe that line workers don't care about anything that will not be obvious on a final visual inspection. In addition, our terrible roads are shaking our trailers pieces. I hope the OP turns the corner soon and has some great years.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Availability of motivated labor is another factor. Several industries are going through the same situation as the RV industry, fast food, retail sales included. Employees feel they have a right to unjustified high salaries, generous benefits, and limited working hours.

Considering the record profits companies are raking in right now, I'm not sure the word "unjustified" is the word I would use.

[wheelin14]

OP, once you run out of warranty repair, don't be afraid to contact the factory plant manager, sales manager, warranty manager, etc. That has worked well for me as I pointed out problems caused by poor, hidden, assembly. Most if not all of the factories have their own repair shops.

[wheelin14]

The factory workers are paid on a unit basis. When they get their quota of units done, they all go home for the days. There is NO Amish craftmanship--that sailed away a LONG time ago. The vast majority of workers in the factories that I have toured are not Amish, but are skinny because they never stop moving. I believe they'll get away with whatever they can to get done. Until there is competition, the industry will not change. NuWa tried and failed to build road worthy quality.

[mike lucas]

Hopefully the dealer can fix it. My dealer is absolutely worthless. Took 12 trips to repair some grease zerks in the suspension then finally fixed it myself. Very disappointed

[Marv n Mabel]

Well, the Arctic Wolf (271RK) we bought in 2021 has been almost without issues. Just be happy you didn't buy Keystone. We made them buy it back. It was a 2020 model and was simply a living nightmare. Happy to be back with FR.

[doc73]

Originally Posted by Marv n Mabel

Well, the Arctic Wolf (271RK) we bought in 2021 has been almost without issues. Just be happy you didn't buy Keystone. We made them buy it back. It was a 2020 model and was simply a living nightmare. Happy to be back with FR.

Be happy LOL
Our 2018 Wolf shook itself apart and fell apart. Needed to be totaled out by insurance.

[JonathanC]

Yes, I just bought the same rig new. Trim finish is poor all over, pieces too short or too long, slide not closing fully on one side, light showing through on all 4 corners of swintech slide. Prewired for inverter but no instructions of where and how to fit one. The worst is the amount of cold coming through the front bedroom windscreen area, our heads are freezing at night. I love the space, layout storage, cargo capacity, I just wish the craftsmanship was there.