Grand Design RV, a towable manufacturer known for its travel trailers and fifth wheels, has announced its entry into the motorhome market in late fiscal year 2024. The company will begin building motorhomes in late fiscal year 2024 for the first time in its 12-year history. Grand Design RV will debut its first motorized RV product, Lineage Class C, in July 2024. Lineage is a new brand that reflects Grand Design’s commitment to providing high-quality products.
The Lineage Series M is a Class C RV built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis with a rear king-sized bed, a full-wall slide-out, and optional full-body paint. The Lineage Series M offers a modern, Euro-style design and is expected to launch in July. Grand Design Reflection, a Class C motorhome, combines luxury, value, and towability in one amazing package. Its lightweight construction and low profile design ensure it can be safely towed by today’s half-ton trucks without sacrificing comfort or luxury.
Winnebago Industries CEO Michael Happe announced that Grand Design RV will begin manufacturing motorhomes within the next year. Grand Design will have three divisions manufacturing motorhomes by the end of 2024. The Series-M 25FW Class C motorhome is the first motorized RV product from Grand Design, leading the way in the motorized market.
In summary, Grand Design RV is set to enter the motorhome market with the Lineage Series M, a Class C motorhome built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis. The company’s commitment to providing high-quality products and a commitment to exceeding customer expectations will be evident in their future ventures in the motorhome market.
📹 Are All RVs Junk! Problems With Our Grand Design RV
Today I wanted to explore the idea I have heard that all RVs are junk. We have had our share of problems with RVs but are they …
📹 Grand Design RV Will Build MOTORHOMES & Partners With Camping World
Winnebago has announced that its subsidiary, Grand Design RV, will make motorhomes for the first time in its 11-year history.
Went to a big RV show this weekend and was generally appalled at the quality of 95% of what was on display (Hundreds of RVs, dozens of brands). A salesman happened to overhear me complaining about simple things that could have been done to improve fit and finish. The salesman came over to “reassure” me that the RV dealership would fix most of my complaints in their pre-delivery prep. He said they spend on average 14 hours of labor to get a unit ready for delivery. Holy cow, it takes the dealer 14 hours to fix the sloppy workmanship by the manufacturer?? I think he thought that was a positive selling point but I view it as an inditement of the manufacturer. Makes me wonder why the dealers didn’t prep their show units before hauling them to the expo to show the public. Seems like a really sketchy business to me.
I have a small 16′ hybrid camper. I have had to do so many improvements. I have added drawer glides and made many upgrades. We are constantly fixing things and making the camper more livable. We don’t live in our camper, but we like taking long camping trips. I need the camper to “work.” We have spent 4 years changing little things: hinges on the dinette benches for easy access to storage, flipping a medicine cabinet to make it reachable, changing the bathroom sink and faucet to make it useable, etc. I’m glad I know how to make all the changes. I just wish the quality was a lot better. We are fighting a leak in the front tent-bed. I am finding water damage and will need to address that soon. The bed seems to have been installed crooked. I can see gaps on one side where the other side is tight. I have made about 60 upgrades and have about 12 more on the list. Thanks for sharing your article blog. Lots for me to learn.
Keep an eye on the wall separation from the floor. Some trailers don’t have actual support under the wall. The cabinets provide most of the support and the outer edge of the floor can sag, pulling the wall further away from the floor. Coachmen trailers have outriggers supporting the walls. That’s why I bought mine.
Great article Jared. We have a small notebook in our 5th wheel, every time we go on a trip and find something that needs repaired or that we want changed, it gets written in the notebook. Next on my list is to change the 2- 8 3/4″ steps to 3- 6 1/2″ steps and possibly add a handrail somehow. We’re both having issues with our knees and those steps need to be changed. I think it just comes with the territory to keep things adjusted or repaired when needed.
I accidentally landed a tour of a major RV trailer manufacturer with the plant manager some years ago. How I got this personal tour with the brass is another story, but once he realized I had no interest in his products, he became much more at ease and that comfort pervaded the 1 hour tour and corresponding coversation. Of the many things I learned from him one stood out. “These trailers expensive or otherwise are not made to live in. They will not stand up to thousands of miles, potholes, road construction, flexing over the axles and uneven loading. We have to strike a balance between durability and towability. They are made to get out a few weekends and a 2 week vacation every year for about 5 years in varying levels of the comforts of home.” I took him at his word.
As a retired Quality Assurance engineer I can tell you that there are VERY few companies that view QA as a ‘value-added’ component of manufacturing. QA finds mistakes and problems, which have to be fixed or reworked, which delays production, adds cost and decreases profits. In touring RV manufacturers you will most likely not see ANY in process inspections done by an INDEPENDENT QA organization, you’ll see workers check their own work and a QA inspection only done at the end of the build. I’d be willing to bet that RV companies that do have a QA department have it report to the production manager who’s job it is to build the units, not find problems with them. Ask any QA professional who wins unless the mistake is so large as to be a safety hazard risk that isn’t ‘acceptable’ or covered by insurance. I could go on and on.
I own Holiday RV Repair LLC in Georgia and every week I see things that blow my mind. We just completely removed both roof and ceiling from front to back on a class C built by Thor. The roof was sagging starting at the cab over section and going back about 6 feet. After we took the ceiling down, we found that the factory failed to put 3 of the roof bows (rafters) in therefore the roof had zero support for the roof as well as the ceiling.
Excellent article. We are long time RVers. We’ve owned 8 over a 35 year period. I’ve seen a difference in quality between brands and as we consumers wanted more accessories. The more in them, the more to go wrong. We travel with friends who own different brands of trailers as well. I think we realize all RV’s will have issues but I truly believe there are some brands better than others. But salespeople and dealers lie. Not all but many. And buyers don’t know what to look for and where problem areas are. There are some reputable dealers who will sell you want you need, not what they are trying to move. We purchased a new Winnebago class A gas coach 30 months ago. 38,000 miles later we are still very happy with it. Did things come loose, or break, yes. Most interior issues ( a piece of molding, drawer latch, microwave molding ) were minor and as person who’s handy, not an issue for me. I live in the desert and 115 degree summers are common which puts a world of hurt on the RV. Most of our issues have been with supplied parts. Water pump, step motor, propane regulator, etc. We wish the industry was better regulated. My advice is get an RV inspection prior to purchase, get lots of information before purchasing and watch Jarod’s articles for good tips. Thank you again
My first travel trailer was absolutely the best. It was a Fleetwood Prowler. The fit and finish was outstanding. Solid cabinetry. Everything worked as it should. A Lance couldn’t match this trailer. The interior was a copy of the Airstream layout. Center twin beds and full rear bath. The units i bought after were junk compared to the Prowler. I don’t know what to buy for my next one. I prefer a excellent pre-owned unit to avoid the immediate depreciation.
We bought our 2024 Z3100 Brinkley for 89,000. It was expensive but we love it and it really does feel like a quality product that we will be able to keep for many years. We’ve had ours since August and, even living in it full-time, have only found one small problem—a missing light sensor in the pantry. I think the RV industry will have to up their game if more companies like Brinkley show the quality that is actually possible and customers start to demand a better.
These are the type of articles that need to be made by you big time YouTubers. You have the viewing capacity to change the RV industry and to inform potential buyers. If everybody would stop buying the cheap garbage they would be forced to spend more time on quality over quantity. Thank you for this article !!
Brinkley knows the junk the others are putting out there and I believe strive to do better. When you put cheap china shit in RV’s it’s not going to last long. If the big RV company’s built them right, they would sell a whole lot more of them and have less problems with repairs. Try to take short cuts and eventually it catches up to you. Note how RV sales are down so much this year, people are tired of buying junk and the manufactures don’t want to fix it.
I RVed for 20 years, starting from an old used 1972 Dutchman with no bathroom, that was actually rock solid, to a 2012 Outback. And I quit due to I got tired of fixing things over and over again because of them being cheap. Instead of screws, lets use glue or staples. That caused water damage for us and it was just sitting over winter Every penny saved for them is money that costs the owner down the line. I live having free time back, and not wasting an entire weekend getting the thing ready for winter to park it, and the reverse in the spring to get it ready for summer. I like not having to pay insurance for something that sits unused 6 months a year or more. Live in Canada, and we dont winter camp. I like not worrying about mice getting into it, or every hail storm that comes by will my trailer be ruined. Its been 5 years now, and will never go back
Good article. One of the key challenges for RVs is the need to hit price points and also weight targets. This leads to cheaper and lighter materials being used, which don’t last as long. This doesn’t excuse the sloppy workmanship, but it’s just a fact that many customers want or need to have an RV under a certain weight and under a certain price point.
Lack of QA & competence aside, another thing to consider is that tow-vehicle payloads aren’t very high these days and trucks are insanely expensive, so everyone’s looking to tow with a lighter duty vehicle. Enter the ultra-light TT segment, which promises that you can tow with a medium-duty SUV (which is often a false promise depending on the TV, but that’s another story). In order to make an “ultralight” TT, they have to make compromises like using lightweight composite materials, many of which can be very flimsy and may not finish very well around the edges. Such is the case with my Coachmen Apex Nano, but thankfully I knew this going in, and was prepared to get my hands dirty. The Apex line is well QA’d compared to others, and we haven’t had any major trouble after 6 years of ownership other than trim, a cabinet door repair, and one broken ceiling fan which we wanted to upgrade anyway. But I know of some manufacturers whose ultra-lights wouldn’t see an entire year without major issues, so yes, rush manufacturing and lack of QA could really compound the issue.
I got an Escape 5.0 TA back in 2019. It’s a lot smaller than what most people use. Still, the quality is such that I go out of my way to show folks what the standard of quality should be. The wiring, especially the electrical distribution panel was perfection that I have never seen before. I might add, I’ve taken this trailer into places you wouldn’t think about going in other RVs. I have to give credit to the Escape workers in Chilliwack, BC for being responsible for this kind of quality.
Here’s the problem. Binkley will become like all the rest. Sure, they have great quality, and craftsmanship. However, like all others like them, they will eventually get bought out by one of the big boys, and the same cheap products, cheap labor, will bring the quality way down all to boost shareholder profits.
Rosie and I are on our 8th fifth wheel. We’ve been doing this a long time. We had a Reflection, and I am pretty handy and fixed a lot of things. We had good backing from Grand Design. We actually toured the facility and met Micah and all the top guys. Then we got a Solitude and started having frame and spring and shackle problems. At first we had help from Nate at G.D. Then Grand Design changed, and our support ended. They put us off and finally just stopped responding. Well guess what? Micah and Nate along with many others had left (after G.D. sold to Winnebago) and started a company called Brinkley. We finally pulled the trigger on a Z3100. What a game changer. Not only in Quality but support. We have been to Alaska and back and will head to Yuma, Az. soon. H rated tires (cooper) Heavy duty shackles and springs. The inside is quality and modern. Solar on and ready to go plus I added (with guidance from Brinkley) a second 370-watt panel, a 3,000-watt inverter and 4 Battleborn Batteries. We went down from Wisconsin to Indiana and had the red-carpet treatment at their beautiful facility. I do expect to have to fix things over time, but I can deal with that as long as I have support. This is Burlington Bill busking from the road and here on You Tube.
One of our RV’s had the same annoying slide trim. Turns out, it was that way because there were components behind that off center trim that were a lot easier to access by just removing it instead of taking the entire 11 feet of trim off ( Which eventually fell off by itself while going down the road )
I feel your pain…bought our camper new in 2022 have been able to use it 1 time…bought it in April went on our first trip in July just 40 miles away as a test run…no refrigerator….lost everything…Took till August to get it in the shop took till October to get it back…already had a trip booked from June…did not get it back in time for the trip so had to cancal and was a non-refundable deposit…Got it back in late October and started putting all the personal stuff back in to take a trip in late December so i decided i should probably try the furnace even tho i had asked them to test it again while it was there for the frig….And low and behold…yup no furnace…So back to the shop again this week for who knows how long…Will never buy a Clipper again. Have paid for 7 months towed it 40 miles never used…Worst piece of junk i have ever bought. Needless to say it;s 200 mile round trip to my dealer…I am totally disgusted…It is junk…
We have been very lucky with our GD Imagine. Other than a window shade and a minor water leak we have had no issues in over 3 years of ownership. With that I do think quality has gone down. We went to trade in for a Reflection 312BHTS and it didn’t feel as well put together as our Imagine so we didnt buy it. Also, the same Imagine now its over 20k that what we paid for ours in 2020. Crazy stuff
Great article again. Now my question: what about the weigh of an Rv…heavier is better? Heavier built is a potential reason more expensive Rv are a little better? We had a 2012 Light Rv and it was amazing….and we are now with an ORV unit (those are much heavier) and after our Alaska trip (33,000 km to and back home) we va attest: heavier is better! Ours is intact from the difficult roads, and we can only complain of one thing…heavy requires a heavy truck with a heavier price tag…
I have 3 Maxxair fans that all started squeaking. I took them apart as you’ll see on Youtube, cleaned them out, and had short term success. I found the bearings are the same size as sealed skateboard bearings… It’s pretty easy to take the motor apart, clean it, replace the bearings, and they are quiet again. I haven’t seen anyone else mention it, so… new pro tip Happy RVing
Good job of scratching the surface Jared. We are not new to the RV world, having owned what is now our third fifth wheel since 2015. Our first was a used unit which needed regular fixes during every trip. When we retired we purchased (after much research and evaluation) the Vanleigh Beacon. Unfortunately it was a 2022 model (read covid and shutdown news) and never was right. We went to the Tiffin Service Center and after 5 weeks of repairs and a repair valuation of $34K (warranty, nothing out of pocket) I traded the lemon in on a 2023 Grand Design Solitude 310gk. This unit, built in March of 2023, came with 660 watts of solar, 50 watt mppt controller and 2k inverter. I added my lithium batteries and generator. This is a better built unit than my Vanleigh ever was. I have 5k miles on it since picking it up (we are full time) and have not had to do anything but level our 12 volt fridge. I did clean up my electrical wiring (strictly for my mild OCD) but nothing leaks and none of my cabinets are falling apart. This being said, I totally agree that the manufacturers need to step up their game. Just build to quality and QA your product. There is no reason for a dealership to be responsible to repair shoddy work, especially since most dealership techs probably don’t even know the product, just the basic systems, and even then, there is so much new tech coming out that many of the technicians don’t even know how to fix it.
Great article as usual. I have been full timing in an Outdoors RV 33′ 26RLS Glacier Peak for 2+ years. I would agree that if you are a diligent DIY’er you can handle 99% of the issues that you will experience. If you have no DIY skills and depend on a dealer to service everything I think your RV experience will be a poor one. If you don’t routinely get on top of, underneath and pay attention to whats going on with your plumbing/electrical systems and learn about and take of things before they become major issues, yes you will think these are junk. Some manufacturers are better than others, that is a fact. I am fortunate to have a solid RV, knock on wood, but I spend time looking at and maintaining, re-sealing, and overall preventative maintenance.
Finally, someone (you, Jared) called out the RV industry on their products. Thank you! In my experience, it seems that the manufacturers push out the products and make the dealerships repair their flaws, but only if the buyer finds the faults. On my RV, first time new purchase, I was amazed at the lack of grease in the wheel bearings found at the first service. I’m surprised that they lasted 500 miles. I’m glad I didn’t go farther that first year.
After 3 previous RVs, I was hopeful that moving up to an Airstream would finally get us into a quality-built trailer, but I was wrong. While the exterior and interior designs appointments are beautiful, I keep running into things that just make you scratch your head – like the electrical system – which appears to have been installed by elementary school kids. Of the four RVs we have owned, the Airstream by far has had the longest warranty punch list of all of them.
My husband is a DYI guy, thank goodness. We’ve only had to have our Grand Design in for a slide repair, which was confirmed to be a bad install at the factory. Our RV was unavailable to us for 3 months. Grand Design covered the repair and extended the warranty on the slide. All other minor repairs we do ourselves. We had to add plastic corner protectors because of peeling wallpaper. The heat in AZ takes its toll. We replaced the TV already and some of the doors are warping from heat. It’s an RV. We get it. At least Grand Design has been incredibly responsive. GD sent all new cabinet handles free to protect against cuts from sharp edges. Overall, I like Grand Design, and I’m still in love with our RV. I don’t think I’d want to live in it full time. Love your content.
Oh man you got me there. Click bait. PROBLEMS NEVER STOP…. I thought you were doing a article about my marriage. Great article Jared. RV’s, just like any other type of moving vehicle will require maintenance, maintenance and more maintenance. We also have to keep in mind that most RV’s are simply made and designed for recreational use, i.e. weekend trips. With many more people like yourself buying RV’s and living in them permanently, this may be more wear and tear than they were originally designed for, which in turn will shorten the lifetime of parts and pieces of the RV and may give the image that they’re cheaply made.
Anything built after 2019 I can see without doubt….YES. At this point, i will never own an RV over 12000 lbs. Grand Design is perfect example. They cheap out of the frames while overloading on features with shotty workmanship. I have had an Class C from 80s and 3 bumper pulls in the last 25 years. I expect the normal stuff related to roof leaking, AC going out, the odd plumping issue, and the cabinets breaking. What I never expected was the literal base structure failing. While I was luck never to have purchased a Grand Design. My neighbor was not so luck. I literally saw his RV have full frame brake at the tonge going down the road on a camping trip on the highway. At this point, I would rather rebuild an 80s RV than purchase the crap being sold today. Why because that 80s frame has more strength than a brand new Grand Design.
Here are some hard realities that most RV owners don’t want to deal with: 1. Most of them are NOT engineered or manufactured to last more than 5 years, and DEFINITELY not for full time use. I don’t care that the Marketing Dept says they are “rated” for full time use – it’s simply a lie. 2. The warranties are not worth the paper they are written on, and if you purchase new, you must sign documents that make it IMPOSSIBLE for you to take legal action against the manufacturers and dealers. 3. Many owners want a behemoth “rig” that has “everything.” If the RV was really built with quality materials, you would need a semi-truck to haul it. If you really want an RV that has less problems, forgo the slides, “garages”, fireplaces, and all the rest. Get a solid, smaller one you can Glamp in and be satisfied. The laws of physics, metallurgy, and engineering materials apply to you. If you ignore this, you will own a titanic Junk Wagon. 4. These are not cars, trucks, or crossovers, and lemon laws do not apply. You either accept this, or learn the hard way. 5. They are a depreciating sink hole, not an “investment.” I’ve met widows who are still paying off an RV that is rotting away on their property. If you can deal with that reality, then pay cash if you really want one. Remember, most won’t last long (let alone the 10 or 15 years of your loan).
Dude, I’ve said it on other websites; I don’t think it’s feasible to want a home on the road. Home is home, and camping and trailer hauling is another story. Maybe it’s because I don’t have that kind of money, but it seems like if you are in Yosemite, or the Grand Canyon, or anywhere nice–are you really going to just stay in and watch satellite TV?
Agree the Rv industry needs to step up the small details that can turn to big problems later. And customer support. That seems to have gone down hill a lot, but Covid hurt everyone in that sector. One thing I always tell people is stay away from entry level units. They are as cheap and flimsy as they get. A quality used unit would be better than the new ultra lights or base model units. And a transferable warranty on a less than 3 month old unit should be standard. Had no idea nothing transfers, and I mean nothing. This was for my new Jayco. Which so far is solid. Been happy so far. 🤞🏼
I think your assessment is very honest and consistent with what I have seen in looking at several different manufacturers. Yes, some are certainly built better than others but even if the perfect RV exists, drag it down the highway for a few hundred miles and there will be opportunities to work on it. Personally, I have an RV designed for Overlanding. Not saying it is built better but it does have superior suspension to the standard RV’s. It is my belief that this will help things to move around less while traveling which should mean less opportunities to fix stuff. In any RV, it is my opinion that if you are not a DIY or handy person and you are not willing to learn, that you should avoid all brands of RV’s.
I got shivers when I saw the spring support bracket welded to the frame horizontally at the 2:47 mark. I had a toy hauler with the same welded supports and those welds caused a weaking of the frame and the flexing back and forth caused massive cracks to radiate out from where the bracket is welded to the middle of the frame. Lippert told me this was a known issue and wanted me to drive it 2000 miles to their factory for a free repair. I had a local truck trailer repair shop do the repairs. So surprised they are still using this method instead of welding a bracket from top to bottom.
After just over a year full timing in my Grand Design Imagine XLS I’m happy to say the only major issue was the sliding bedroom door and it’s track falling off 2 or so months into owning the camper. The 2×4 that the track was screwed to was just screwed to the thin plywood ceiling with 3 screws. They didn’t design it such that one of the roof joists was overhead to screw to (which they easily could have) and the people putting it together didn’t screw it to the 2×4 in the wall behind it. A few long screws to attach it to that 2×4 and it hasn’t fallen down since. Major issues aside there have definitely been a lot of fit and finish or smaller/potential future issues I’ve run into, mostly just from the rushed construction. Jagged holes and errant screws poking wires, wiring in the underbelly just resting on the sharp frame and rubbing through, lots of gaps and some peeling trim, but thankfully nothing that wasn’t pretty easy to fix (okay, the underbelly wiring was a pain but I did that while installing tank heaters, which was an even bigger pain, so I didn’t have to drop the underbelly just to fix that. From talking to people in the industry it seems like a lot of it is down to the rushed construction, with many to most of the people assembling RVs now being rushed contractors instead of regular employees. Companies love contract labor because they don’t have to pay for benefits and they can do things like pay per unit that rolls off the line instead of by the hour. Corporate usually loves it because if there’s any delay the workers eat the cost, not to mention, when pay and bonuses are tied to how many units are rolling off the line it puts a lot of pressure on people to rush things to try and get even 1 more rig out the door each day.
One post. I’ve owned 4 RVs (3 Class As and 1 C). All were top of the line manufacturers and they all had problems. From plumbing, to trim, to missing screws, to plastic pieces that were accidentally left in the plumbing lines and caused zero water pressure, to hand-prints in the full-body paint job, to warped pocket doors, to dented refrigerator doors (all of these were identified right during our pre-delivery walkthrough). Others were identified within 2 months. RVs are 10-year throwaways at best and idiots finance them for 20 years. RV= ruined vacation. Save your money. If you want the camping experience, get a nice pickup truck, some good camping gear, and stay in the campground cabins. You’ll be able to afford this plus probably a Hawaiian vacation once per year for what I spent in maintenance. Sunlight kills the roof / seals, so I stored mine in an indoor facility. All were top brands. They all touted their detailed factory QA inspections. It’s a joke. I even had one $200k+ diesel pusher (in 2010 $200k was alot), that had problems because the front tire wouldn’t clear the body when the wheels were turned.
I have a 2008 sunny brook Bristol bay 3420 bh. I’ve owned it since 09 and I glad to say that till this year never had a problem. Yes I’ve replaced the roof cause it was aging and had a small hole from a branch. Rv roof repair did the work and glad I had them do the job best thing I ever did. It Never leaked no water damage ever cabinets are strong and the outside still looks new. We use it seasonally every summer without a hiccup. End of this year I had to replace the water heater element and also did the thermostats on it. Knock on wood it’s been a great unit. But as for todays Rv’s there junk.
We’ve owned 6 different rigs over the years and bought our Brinkley in late July after terrible problems with a much ‘fancier’ 5th wheel. Brinkley is hands down got most things right. They addressed many of the issues most RV’r’s have. The only comment I’d make, is the price comparison of the Brinkley to other RV’s is list price comparison. GD only allows RV’s to be sold at list, while Brinkley list can be negotiated with your dealer. We did well on our purchase and was much closer to GD’s price than the list price difference.
When Grand Design was bought out by Winnebago that is when they went downhill. I wouldn’t own one now. Check Outdoors RV out of Oregon. I had been following their product and business model for several years and just this weekend went to an RV show in Round Rock, TX and found that a local dealer, Princess Craft, now carries them. The quality of construction was far above the GD models sitting adjacent to the Outdoors product. You should check them out and possibly do a review on them. We are seriously considering owning one. They are priced higher but the quality construction and warranty makes it justified IMHO.
Like owning a boat you have to love the experience to live with it otherwise it will drive you crazy. You have to love camping which may make it possible to overlook most of these issues which personally would drive me over the edge. If I have to worry about fixing issues or have an issue staring me in the face for my supposed vacation I had might as well just stay at work for the week. Again, you had better love the experience.
There’s good and bad in ALMOST all RVs, but room for improvement in ALL…Enjoyed the article. I, too, seem to be constantly fixing (or improving) something in our RV. It’s a 2013 Winnebago Class A pusher, so some maintenance/upkeep is expected, but it doesn’t matter what type or class of RV you have. Learn to love it or spend a miserable time in it…
Just my two cent but every 5th wheel we looked at buying this year was already having trim unglued, electrical issues, plumbing issues, and even had two different brands have the slides not go out because of electrical issues. Campers are not worth what they cost. The only way to get good worksmans ship and quality parts is to spend over $100k, or be prepared for your camper to be at the dealer for extended periods the first year for warranty work.
Are they ALL junk? Let’s just put it this way: I’d say anything in the sub-$400K class are shoddily constructed. The industry, consumers, and the gov’t tolerate a level of shoddiness in RVs that would never be tolerable with standard automobiles. If we had “lemon laws” for RVs, the current RV industry would go out of business.
Great article!! I think it also shows that cost is not really an indicator of quality. The most important thing anyone can do before purchasing is research. Learn some of the things that can help you determine what is a better quality build. For instance are the cabinets real wood or particle board. Is the plumbing Pex or flex tubing, or a combination of both? Do the running gears have wet bolts or nylon bushings? The information is out there, well the information is actually right here on this website! So yeah, do some research first. I do agree with the one comment that you need to be a bit of a DIY’er if you own an RV. But that said it’s an RV, not a space shuttle. The systems are fairly simple to learn and work on, and again, much of that information is right here on this website, (Noticing a trend here??) Lastly, with a little research I think it’s easy to find what manufacturers are the ones with a better quality build. In the towables space I would say my top three in alphabetical order are Alliance, Brinkley and Grand Design. Thanks again for a great article Jared! And thanks for taking the time to put all of this together.
I’m honestly surprised that RVs are able to hold together going down the road. Every RV manufacturer uses the same parts sourced from the same companies – there are just a few that might do a little better job of selecting the less “junky” part for the job. As you spend more money on an RV, you might get some nicer finishes and possibly a little better materials (thinking cabinet doors for the most part), but no matter how much you spend, you’re still going down the road with a rolling turd!
There is no “perfect” RV. RVs are a house designed to move down the road at 70 mph. Components come from many sources and cost, strength, flexibility and weight are all factors that affect the final quality. I agree that there is a big difference in workmanship that can always be improved. If you own a RV, you had better be able to perform at least some of the required maintenance. I liked this article.
A few points…. The plastic exterior trim is cracking because those piece have a lip with an unsupported void on the back. This results in screw depressions and eventual stress fractures. To prevent cracking remove the trim and add support via glued on washers. Be sure to add butyl where screw go into insulated or enclosed walls. The fan squeal is a general annual maintenance item. The motor needs cleaning and lubricated. Interior trim pops off over time for a number of reason. Oftentimes it’s due to being too long or under stress (wall bowing). Other reasons include slide box shifting out of square and high temperature/humidity swings. Anyone full-timing should have an air compressor and brad nailer/staple gun. Seasonal use units, like yours GD, are not going to have as robust construction, materials, or components as full-time use units. The draw glides, overall unit rigidity, and slide floors on your unit are designed for seasonal use. As a whole you do get what you pay for in terms of construction quality, finish work, materials, and components. That said for the most part many components on a full-time unit are the same as on seasonal units. The difference being one replaces components more often on a full-time unit. Furnace, AC, and other motors all fail in a three to five year period because they were never designed to be used full-time. These DC motors have a loosely set running time life cycle. When possible upgrade to a higher output option. Higher output equals less running time.
I am a NRVIA certified Inspector and I recently looked at some 5th wheels by a new manufacturer which is mentioned and every one of them had missing sealant on the vertical trim where the sidewalls meet the front cap. Some of the trim was already buckled as well. If you’re buying new regardless of price, manufacturer or type, get it inspected by a 3rd party !
Unfortunately it’s about money. One of my biggest complaints is insulation. The insulation in the ceiling is horrible. The roof material is cheap. It would be interesting to find the actual cost, parts, and labor to see how much profit is made. The ac and heat system are inefficient and poorly designed. We have an older Everest better quality, but I still have to fix stuff all the time. Keep up the GOOD articles.
Back in 2015 bought a new Fun Finder travel trailer. In my opinion above average quality. Just yesterday went to a few dealers to look at some new units and compared to what I have the quality overall of the trim, wood, molding, etc just seemed inferior overall. Felt like things were just slapped together and like always no quality control. In my unit behind the cabinets I found lots of sawdust, pieces of wire stripping, and even a cutout piece from a hole saw. Just sloppy and lazy workmanship. Plus the prices today are a good double for what I paid for my 2015 trailer.
RV isn’t a year yet….water damage from leaking window. Paint rubbed off on cabinets. The shower separating. Our toilet is now leaking. Why? Because it’s hooked up with garden hose material…NOT plumbing material! The ball bearings already broke in a drawer. Our storage behind TV has had shelving come apart.
I built my house in the early 1980s. I milled most of the lumber in it. I went on to spend 12 years in construction. Whenever I would go into an RV and look around, new or owned by someone, my impression has been, “these things are junk.” Artic Fox is the only RV, that I’ve seen that seems to be decently built. It doesn’t help that these horribly built (manufacture and materials used) are subjected to hurricane force winds every time you move them. And further that while they are being exposed to these hurricane force winds, they are slamming into pots holes, raised pavement edges and any other obstruction lying in the roadway. This year I really wanted a trailer to haul my adventure motorcycle in that I could also camp in in remote places. Every toy hauler (new and used) that I looked at was junk. I ended up buying a tank of a cargo trailer, 16′ with a 7.5′ inside height (I’m 6′, 1″ in my socks). It has 3,600 pound Dexter torsion axles, three member tongue (1/8″. 11 gauge) square tubing. I’m building the interior myself from wood that I’m milling.
I agree – lesser quality products does not excuse poor workmanship. The RV industry is very similar to the airlines – they take your money then not take responsibility for any problems and not deliver any customer service. They have to do better in the factory and provide much better dealer support so that RV owners are not held captive by needing to go back to their dealer to get any kind of service. These units are for traveling around the country so we should be able to get Good, Timely service all over North America with no excuses.
I can identify with much of what is said. We have had three travel trailers. The first one worked o.k. for a number of years and then things started to fail. When the audio system took a powder due to poor wiring that was the last straw. I traded it on a slightly higher end unit and it actually worked pretty well. A few issues, but not as many as I expected. Last summer bought my “last RV”, a Rockwood Mini-Lite 2509S. Our 10 year old needed his own space. After four months of ownership I still marvel at the quality of the design, materials, and workmanship. The cabinetry rivals our custom cabinetry in our home, for example. Excellent! No issues whatsoever. I upgraded the mattress on the murphy bed and the TV and soundbar, which I would have done anyway. Hats off to Forest River and Rockwood. Impressive.
From my perspective most RV’s have about a 10-15 year life span before materials reach a point of degradation where DIY level repairs become more and more difficult. This is where paying more may get you ahead in the long run. More money will generally get you a nicer rig with better materials, better build quality, and better longevity and most important a higher resale in the used market. The same could be said when purchasing a used RV. Premium brands RV’s will cost much more in the used market, but,they may have a much better lifespan with fewer issues due to the better design and materials. In both scenarios, the costs amortized over time factoring in purchase price minus the value when you sell may put you ahead in the long run. Plus, you get to enjoy a nicer RV the whole time. Historically, the premium brands (ie Airstream and others) are double the price of similar standard brand trailers with similar specs. Fortunately there a number of new companies that are aiming at premium brand quality, maybe even better, but with “in between” price points. We were recently in the market for a 25-26′ travel trailer without slide outs and we were close to pulling the trigger on an Airstream until we investigated other new companies. We ended up buying an Intech Terra Oasis which has similar materials and build quality to an Airstream but with better design from our perspective such as fully welded aluminum frame in the walls and ceiling, higher ceiling height, better ground clearance, seamless roof, and exterior materials that can handle a hail storm.
I was a previous owner of an American Star by New Mar back in 1995. I full timed in that RV for 10 years. Everything worked as advertised. I just thought that was how all RV’s were made. Fast-forward to 2020, I purchased a 2020 VanLeigh 5th wheel. In the first two years I endured 18 discrepancies, 12 of which were in the first year. 8 of the discrepancies were water leaks, a shorted wire in the walls for the galley fan just to name a few. When I opened the service bay to fix the water leaks I was met with 1/2 to 1′ piles of wet sawdust everywhere in the utility area. The VanLeigh was 80K and the American Star was 22K. I long for the days of the American Star.
Great article, thank you for posting! We have a 2019 Coachmen Catalina. We have had so many issues with this travel trailer that I can’t begin to even list all of the problems. Luckily, I’m pretty handy and fixed the majority of them. Our travel trailer is almost paid off and I think once it is, I may unload it. As a matter of fact, I may quit RVing altogether. When I look at the payments, insurance, registration and maintenance, it’s really not worth it. I could stay in a 5 star hotel while traveling and have money left over. The quality of the RV’s they are producing now are literally junk. Anyway, again thank you for posting!!
I recently purchased a Brinkley Z3100 in August. I just finished living in it for two months, traveled 7,000 miles. My favorite saying is “one test is worth a thousand expert opinions” and that extended trip showed the quality we have with the Brinkley -we had no issues with the rig so far. I don’t want to sound like Brinkley walks on water -this is my fifth RV and I had some quality other brands before Brinkley (Outdoors RV, Fleetwood). What Brinkley is doing outside of their modern design and amenities is they are obsessed with quality and holding their suppliers accountable. I did a factory order and Brinkley caught one of their suppliers sending a major part that did not comply with their Brinkley standards that affected my build. Getting it right before my rig shipped delayed my pickup date but I was so glad they caught the issue with their QC process before it shipped to the dealer. Brinkley was honest and transparent with me about the issue too. Everyone is using a lot of the same suppliers. Is the manufacturer holding the supplier accountable for quality too? That’s a big part.
Great article. What’s unfortunete is, not ALL RV’s are junk, just MOST! We were sold Grand Design was high quality yet, in 1 year of ownership, we’ve fixed bad leaks, our doors get stuck, storage doors don’t stay closed and the list goes on – it’s absolute junk. Thank God we enjoy RVing – I can only imagine what some first timers that don’t know what to expect.
We’re on our 3rd rv. In 2021 we purchased a new 2022 5th wheel. In a very short time, we had to take it in to replace and fix 20 different issues. My wife always said these aew put together with popcycle sticks and glue. And there are times She is right . Workmanship is fair at best and even the dealership staff that worked on it sometimes you wonder if they care at all.
My 2021 Hampton 388FKL I bought as a home(It was 145k CAD). Housing is absurdly over-priced here so it was my best option. I love how it’s designed and it’s a perfect size for myself, girlfriend and 2 pets. It is easily the most expansive thing I’ve ever bought and it is indeed horribly disappointing. As people said in the comments you read… cheap parts built by people who either don’t care, are inexperienced or cheap labor. Many things failing in terms of trim and water lines. Elec fire place already completely died, blower motor on my furnace, converter all dead. Had to be replaced. The blower motor I had to pay for myself. Black tank flush 1 way valve was installed backwards, water pump not tuned properly, caulking on all areas was terrible(even the dealership that inspected it failed horrible after I specified to check that so I can to do it myself). The king mattress is horribly uncomfortable. I wake up every morning with a sore back and cannot afford a new one just yet, shower wallpaper separating, the wood around the bottom of the cabinets in the bathroom are deformed due to being soggy before we saw how bad the calking around the shower was and from the leaking shower pex tubing, ALL crown molding trim and trim around the doors are poorly done. They don’t sit flush very well and many of it I had to reattach, curtain appearance trim is all falling off, external LEDS under the awnings have failed and the awnings sound like you’re dragging a 500lb plastic couch over a linoleum floor.
Quality is nonexistent in the RV industry. I worked in the aviation industry for forty years before I retired and I know a thing or two about quality. My wife and I decided we’re going to do a little traveling so we started going to RV shows and that was a big eye opener for us. We decided early on the only brand we were interested in was an Airstream. Yes they’re a little small but we weren’t going to live in it full time so it didn’t matter. Is it perfect, no but it’s better built than any other production unit out there. Great article and thank you for bringing the quality issues to light I hope more people watch your articles before they buy.
We were very fortunate to buy our first RV from small family owned dealer. They really did a thorough PDI to insure there were no significant issues and spent four hours with us operating every system. The only major issue we had during the six years we owned it was the shower drain separating from the line to the gray tank. It was fixed under warranty by an independent local repair shop that the manufacturer approved so we didn’t have to drive three hours back to the dealer. By the time we purchased our second RV we were very well educated and spend three hours running every system, opening every door and draw, testing every electrical outlet, thermometer to measure the air temperature at every A/C outlet, television, CD player, microwave (making hot water in it), slide, awning, etc., etc. around, under and on top of the RV. I told them a day ahead of time the fridge needed to be turned on well before we got thete. After the three years we had to replace the A/C unit and tack down some molding that came loose. A few simple things can be done to prevent having issues when you drive off the lot. Don’t be in a rush. If you don’t feel up to doing a thorough inspection pay an inspector to do it. Have the dealer demonstrate how to close the awning, get the slide in and out, lower the front jack if the motor fails, article the walk through.
We’ve been RV-n for over 50 years. In that time we’ve had a number of types & brands of RV’s. We’ve always bought the little more expense, a little better quality models. We have seen a big difference in quality & more problems with the last two over the last 10 years. This last one we bought was from a small manufacturer building higher end product. We paid more but felt we needed to in order to avoid a lot of issues we see people having. I do 99% of all my repairs & maintenance as I have ended up redoing what the service shops have been so poorly executing. I think you better be handy or unless you have a “guy”, expect service issues in this day & age. I’ve learned not to get all excited & in a hissy but attempt to stay calm & fix the issue. I was helping a young couple in their first RV. It was a small, low end tt. I was appalled at how bad the materials & workmanship that was done. They didn’t know any better. My bet is this is a ‘disposable’ in 5 yrs or less.
I am a Brinkley fan. Also having spent years in the QA business, not only did I find problems and potential problems, I was able to put in design changes to ensure the problems didn’t happen again and they were always implemented. I read some of the other QA folks said below. They are right insofar as some of the issues found with some lesser quality-oriented manufacturers is that they just don’t care, they want the sale. My son, who works for an RV dealership, freaked out when I bought a Destination Trailer to live in part-time (for now) as a snowbird. He has the same attitude about RV builders as do you. The drawer guides are a must-fix but the slide trim that is off-center does not…. as one is function and the other is form. However, it would bug me too. You made some good points. As I said, I am a Brinkley fan and proud of it.
I’m so glad I bought my 2000 Monaco dynasty back in 2017. It is now about to be 24 years old and I would still match it up to any RV out there. I bought it for $45,000 and have put another 35,000 in it upgrading and repairing things because I do full time in it. That still puts me way below a lot of the very substandard RVs being sold now in price. Thanks for the article Jared.
After being an RV dealer for 16 years and owning campgrounds for the last 34 years to answer your question from my experience they may not be total junk but they’re definitely not worth the asking price. You do have to consider if you’re constantly traveling causing the unit to flex and bounce down the road things are going to work loose. Currently in my campground even the Park Models especially the one’s with slide outs have no fewer than 4 visits to repair things from the dealer after a new purchase. Hot and cold waters switched, drain not being hooked up, stapled wires, walls coming loose etc. All the same problems I had to fix 20 years ago when I had my dealership. Every year constant visits from the dealers that is if you can get one to show up which isn’t entirely the dealers fault since unless it’s a 12 ft. wide model the manufacture expects the customer to tow it back to the dealership to have repairs done and won’t reimburse the dealer for service calls.
I purchased a smaller Grand Design travel trailer this year. I was approached by another customer on the lot who asked me what year trailer i bought. He told me to stay away from any trailers built during Covid pandemic due to the huge demand there was to meet customer demands. Quality control was bad due to pushing out product to fast and the lack of journeyman builders.
Good to know paying the extra 50% gets some better quality. The value is not just less work fixing things later but peace of mind that there aren’t looming disasters. It probably also hold’s resale better so used ones get more than used cheap ones. People with smaller budgets could chose to get a smaller RV that is higher quality. Or just accept the money saved will be spent over time instead, plus practice learning to fix anything
The real problem in the RV industry is QUALITY CONTROL. Not the price or the product itself, but the BASIC checking to see what the customer will see in the end if they even do that. (Plenty of behind the panel ugliness too!) The “other” problem is the “quality” of the typical worker at the factory. If they don’t give a rip and just want their paycheck, you will never get a decent product! Get them out! Great article Jared!
We purchased a small RV (Our first) a few years back and with all things considered, we were novice first time RV’ers etc. and with time I realized these things are truly made cheap. Today I consider almost all your run of the mill RVs just so so, and ours would be in the above (ever so slightly) average quality (Cruiser RV). I think we share the same approach and that is you buy an RV, you live and deal with it. Not always pleasant but easy to fix. The most important of all is regular maintenance and proper end of season storage. Great little article, easy to follow and appreciated.
We’ve had our Highland Ridge for 10 years had minimal problems. I found the quality from Highland Ridge to be better than everybody else. The only problem I have like anybody else is with tires. I finally switched to a 14 ply if anything in the industry that’s where they can improve RVs a whole bunch. In fact, if you buy a new RV and it has a tan place force the dealer to get you some 14 or 18 blaze and pay the extra well worth it.
Those comments you highlight are justified. I have owned 3 trailers in my lifetime. A 1969 Boler, 2014 Coleman Dutchman and a 2019 Aspen Trail by Dutchman and BY FAR the 2019 Aspen Trail is an embarrassment to Dutchman. Couches peeling, counters peeling, cabinets that have no stay open ability, cheap plumbing, cheap toilette, peeling wall paper, no sealant in bathroom, trim on slide is falling off …. like I can go on. The 1969 Boler Trailer was a far better trailer than this. My 2014 Dutchman was FAR better than this and all issues were not related to build quality. But this is not the case with the 2019 model. Dutchman should be ashamed at what they put out. I will never buy another Dutchman. Go Brinkley. It is weird to be going gaga over metal plumbing connectors but here I am. Good job Brinkley. The trailer company that learns that your brand reputation matters, will win.
One of your better articles because its an import question to ask. I liked how you look under the covers to see how work was done like wiring. It does speak to the design build of the rig. But it also speaks to the price. I bought a cheaper Class A and while it was a good purchase for the price it had a much cheaper build. The master bed was all engineered wood so it wasn’t solid. The mattress lifters actually pulled it apart after a while. But that said my bed had home doesn’t require lifters and does do 65-70 down the road on a regular bases either. So being able to do a little DIY is kinda a requirement on a moving house. If not you will be in the shop all the time.
Our 2023 Grand Design 278BH is what I would consider to be fairly well built, though we’ve had minor issues with things like trim popping loose. The bottom line is that quality materials and quality workmanship costs money, and most RV buyers are only using them for a few weeks a year at most. If a trim piece falls off or the wallpaper sags, they don’t really care. However, this doesn’t meant that spending more money will guarantee you a better rig. As you pointed out, you can spend more money and actually get lower quality. But we can’t expect RV manufacturers to turn out Lexus quality on a Suzuki budget. Manufacturers can certainly do better. But will buyers pay the inevitably higher price? Given the large number of manufacturers out there and the highly competitive market for RVs, I’m inclined to say that few buyers are willing to pay much more. If there were more such buyers, some manufacturers would have stepped up to the plate. Perhaps I’m totally wrong though.
RV’s are junk? If it is NOT JUNK it’s not an RV!! I work on 15+ year old RV’s. You save a TON of $$$ after 10 years and even spending $5K to $8K to go through every detail no matter how small on the coach you would have spend under $30K for a class A and have a very reliable machine vs spending 90K+ on a Class B or C. Biggest complaint is for new owners paying over $100K — you deserve better. YES owning an RV you must be DIY or $Rich.
After repairing numerous quality issues on my 2015 Cougar tow behind, and seeing the materials mostly made in China, I can I will never bother to upgrade nor buy another RV. The last two have been nothing but down hill in terms of quality. Better than a tent when camping, but a royal pain in maintenance. Never again.
You see factory tours showing inspectors, but then you see dealers of that brand with units with awnings wired backwards, missing sealant, trim missing, thermostat wire never connected to AC… Might be a bit of an accountability problem. IE boss hears about a unit that shipped with the fireplace never hooked up- let’s go have a chat with the inspector who initialed off that the fireplace was ok. First time might be a teaching moment. A second time and the conversation might start “Ted, how long have you been working here, not counting tomorrow…”
I have a forest river dual slide 26 foot and I bought straight cash money used, its a 2020 Ive been living in it full time and traveling all over the US for almost two years. Not a single major problem yet. All over youtube is littered with the charred remains of grand design trash units, I would never buy one.
This is why I watch you regularly Jared! The things that bug you bug me too about quality and craftsmanship. That comment about centering the decorative badge of the slide border is a great example. I can’t tell you how many things in our GD are just slapped into place crooked or un-centered when just a little bit of care would have made the forgiving other poor quality a little easier to stomach. Light switches that follow the order of the lights in the rig would be another. Put the switches in some kind of logical order and not willy-nilly. Good content, as usual. I won’t be surprised when some enterprise snaps you up for the quality content creator you’ve become.
Your one comment was spot on. You definitely have to become a DIYer to own and maintain an rv. I’m glad I have articles like yours to watch! Our family purchased a brand new Winnebago last year. Like you said, it’s made with good parts, but poorly assembled. We’ve had over 40 individually repaired issues, and some still aren’t fixed 13 months later. The worst being a recall on the lippert slide system leaving us 2000 miles from home, stuck in Las Vegas with the slide half out. I feel bad for the dealership because they get the brunt of our frustration, and have been really good trying to take care of us. Unfortunately fixing things aren’t always easy.
I had a new 2019 Grand Design Reflection and it was a dude. The ceiling fan cover and furnace squirrel cage blew up because they were made of plastic. The tandem axle alignment was cocked causing uneven tire wear. There were granular pebbles poking a hole through the TPO membrane leading to water damage on the roof. They used a 1/2″ floor on the kitchen floor in lieu of the 3/4″ spec for convenience. This resulted in the kitchen floor edge trim scraping a hole on the main floor laminate. Worst of all, customer service basically told me to take a hike. Unloading the rig was the best part of the whole experience.
We just purchased a Grand Design Reflection 324MBS 5th wheel after looking at several designs and owning a 2600RB TT for 7 years. Really shocked at the issues we are finding. Exterior door will be replaced (doesn’t fit, you can see daylight at top when closed), dealership made a half-hearted effort to repair it, didn’t work, back it goes. Microwave and shelf installed crooked, on dealer list to fix. Repaired several minor things myself (uneven blinds, missing door guide). Our 2017 came standard with furnace vent screens and middle awning support….first time back to dealer, service rep suggested we purchase these “upgrades” to ensure we didn’t have issues…really! Doing it myself. Then the rep tells us “You MUST inspect the roof caulk within 90 days or no roof warranty…..these roofs move around a lot when you tow these units…..WTF? We just purchased end of Feb and won’t even use the unit until 90 days, so what are supposed to do. Called GR service and they explained 12 year roof warranty, please inspect/clean roof every 90 days…OK makes sense. We felt good going with Grand Design again as our 2600RB held up well, but my initial reaction is they have cut costs in several areas and the quality of components has gone downhill…a lot…and it’s supposedly one of the best/better built brands. Scary stuff.
Tired of perusal people still buying these RVs knowing they are built like garbage!! STOP BUYING THESE RVs! Building reliable vehicles is VERY HARD and requires years of R&D research, trial and error, and highly skilled engineers using advanced tools to simulate and identify failure points in vehicles. The RVs are not built like Hondas or Toyota and these companies don’t have the skilled engineers, knowledge, and advance R&D tools needed to build really reliable vehicles like Toyota or Honda. They just hire cheap labor install these RVs.
I’m currently renting a 2022 Grand Designs trailer and I appears to be so delicate. I feel that it’s basically built out of balsa wood and tissue paper like the model airplane Gullows kits. The owner said new RVs are built really crappy and literally fall apart as they bumble down the highway above 25MPH.
The RVs manufacturing world here in The United States has transformed the meaning of the term ‘Made In America’ into the equivalent quality of products of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s to that sentiment of ‘Made in Taiwan’. Cheap materials of the outer shell, chassis, and suspension. They focus more on dressing up the inside with nice amenities to sell the buyer, but if the outer shell, frame and chassis is junk, the whole system is junk. Winnebago did it right, but now we have 30-40 rv manufacturing companies that popped up, and their only interest is PROFITTING! They build CHEAP and sell at a premium based off of looks and not quality (like the Winnebago).
My first fulltime job was building RVs for a year. I know this trade. They’re mostly junk nowadays, built by low paid halfwits and pot smokers. Absolute ripoff market and I hope it continues to tank. Lance, Rockwood, Winnebago, and Newmar are decently built from what I’ve seen lately. Jayco is absolute garbage, Northwood has gone downhill over the past 10yrs, I’d not buy one. I’m designing my own aluminum camper, I give up
If you are going to buy a RV YOU MUST be able to repair and or upgrade components yourself. Otherwise stay in a lodge or the holiday inn. I bought a new RV 2 years ago. After about $2000 and a year of my own labor I have a nice unit. Problems I found in my Forest River Wildwood 1. All water connections barely finger tight. 2. China bomb tire coming apart on 300 mile trip home from dealership. Piece of wire reinforcement sticking out of sidewall. 3. Main wiring harness laying loose in frame holes where they WILL chaff through. 4. 115v romex wire run between to drawers in kitchen where drawers were rubbing against the wire 5. Axle spring hangars showing signs of flex. Upgraded to mohr ride hangars & braces. 6. Holes for wires roughly cut with sawzall. 7. Tv antennae coax not hooked up 8. Holes in underbelly not sealed In addition to the trim issues, loose and other shoddy work that you mentioned. If you are not capable of fixing issues such as these DO NOT BUY A RV !!!