way2roll
Wilmington NC
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Why does it matter where they are built? It's who builds them that's the issue. Geography has a lot to do with parts availability and cost.
Production RV's typically lack lower quality and this can extend to even the highest end offerings. Some brands are better than others. It's quantity over quality. Keeps the stockholders happy and that's the goal, not getting you the best RV. Returns and stock prices are driven by cheapest materials and labor for the highest sales price possible. Some small start ups have tried to build good quality MH's on a budget and usually don't last long. If you want good quality I would suggest looking at Prevost, Newell or Foretravel. You get what you pay for. But even they have issues. Anytime you put a house on the road and it's subjected to what equates to an earthquake in a hurricane anytime you drive it, stuff happens. Custom brands are not immune to issues, even during the build. You're also comparing apples to basketballs. Couple hundred k vs a few million. That kind of money buys better materials and attention to detail.
You could always buy a bus and build your own. What you'd save in money and add in quality would be a cost in your time (which is worth money - probably enough of your time to equate to a brand new production RV). However, most people that start those projects never finish them. After realizing it's a massive time suck, complicated, and also not immune to problems, it's just plain easier to buy turn key off the lot and deal with small issues.
2023 FR Sunseeker 2400B MBS
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Thermoguy
Graham, WA
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Marathon Coaches are built in Oregon. I think those qualify as high quality.
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way2roll
Wilmington NC
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Thermoguy wrote:Marathon Coaches are built in Oregon. I think those qualify as high quality.
Isn't Marathon built on a Prevost?
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BobGed
BC, Canada
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Tiffin coaches are built in Red Bay, AL, but they're definitely not built any better than a Newmar.
2017 Tiffin Phaeton 40QBH
2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited
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way2roll
Wilmington NC
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BobGed wrote:Tiffin coaches are built in Red Bay, AL, but they're definitely not built any better than a Newmar.
And Thor owns Tiffin now. Not sure if the quality is impacted.
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LouLawrence
Traveling the US fulltime since 2000.
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Tiffin is Red Bay, AL.
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DaveRVman
Texas
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way2roll wrote:BobGed wrote:Tiffin coaches are built in Red Bay, AL, but they're definitely not built any better than a Newmar.
And Thor owns Tiffin now. Not sure if the quality is impacted.
Do you know when this happened? I just don't trust Thor as a company.
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BobGed
BC, Canada
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DaveRVman wrote:way2roll wrote:BobGed wrote:Tiffin coaches are built in Red Bay, AL, but they're definitely not built any better than a Newmar.
And Thor owns Tiffin now. Not sure if the quality is impacted.
Do you know when this happened? I just don't trust Thor as a company.
Tiffin has had quality control issues for years prior to the Thor acquisition just like many other coach builders.
Thor has left the day to day operations in the hands of Tiffin with Leigh Tiffin as President. There has been no significant change in those operations since the acquisition.
Why would Thor purchase Tiffin for millions of dollars if they didn't want it to succeed? It certainly wasn't for proprietary reasons as the only thing Tiffin had was its PowerGlide chassis which is going to be discontinued.
My 2009 Phaeton was a nightmare coach while my 2017 has been excellent so far (knock on wood).
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LouLawrence
Traveling the US fulltime since 2000.
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way2roll wrote:Thermoguy wrote:Marathon Coaches are built in Oregon. I think those qualify as high quality.
Isn't Marathon built on a Prevost?
YES! If your most important parameter is quality, you can't afford to NOT buy a Prevost. You may have to move back a few more years than you had expected but a Prevost built in 1995 is still better than anything built today.
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ArchHoagland
Clovis, CA, USA
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When they start importing RV's made in Japan things will get better just like they did 50 years ago when Japanese cars entered the market.
Until then expect the same old junk and poor service.
2004 Monaco La Palma 36DBD
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2000 LEXUS RX300 FWD 22MPG 4020 LBS
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