Buyer beware

[woodhog]

Is your TC built like this one? Hope not!

One of the best video's I have ssen to show how a lot of our TC's are made...

[Kayteg1]

You are fortunate Flip, to live on the farm.
Even in Las Vegas, where codes allow big garages, my RV garage with its 10' high door will not accommodate TC.
I am using portola for camper, but even with 12' clearance there, the basement camper will not fit roof AC under, so I can hide it only partially.
When in CA, the building codes would not allow to build big garages at all, when city codes were banning RV from parking on most of the lots.

[SidecarFlip]

My bottom line is... When I'n not using the TC, it stays in the tractor shop, inside, under roof, always. Outside in the elements is always detrimental to it's longevity. Even the fiberglass tub ones.

Shop is heated and air conditioned as well, nice and dry year around.

Tractors stay inside as well as my 1997 Ford. Amazing how inside extends their life.

[Grit_dog]

specta wrote:


People who spend north of $2 million on a Prevost coach have zero interest in a slide in truck camper.

Eggzactly. And if one takes care of their "cheap" rv, it will last a long time. If one treats it like alot of people treat their possessions, it will fall apart much quicker.

[Eric_Lisa]

jimh425 wrote:
...I think most people with issues are hard on stuff or don’t maintain their TCs, or both.....

Kayteg1 wrote:
...The 99% issues are triggered by leaks...

In my opinion, those comments hit the nail on the head. My '03 Lance had a lot of dry rot in it by the time it was four years old. I did a write up on it in 2007 here (looks like Photobucket ate the pictures). I bought the camper in 2006 and it had spent its first three years outside unmaintained and rarely used. I have always kept it in a heated shop, so I know the dry rot did not occur on my watch.

No doubt, most of the wear and tear on RVs happens when they are stored outside, not when they are in actual use.

-Eric

[jimh406]

Airstream will always be a niche product just like Northern Lite and Bigfoot (is/was). Bigfoot tried to create trailers, but weren’t very successful. I don’t think the utility of those products equal quality. Sure, if you have less features, you have less to go wrong, but you also have less features.

MSRP may approach 70K for a TC, but I think mid 50s is the cost for even the top of the line Hosts unless someone is doing a dealer a great favor. Kayteq1, you don’t seem to be up on new TC prices at all. That’s ok since you don’t buy new, but just throwing out wrong numbers isn’t helpful.

As specta noted, TCs aren’t a Prevost, and I’ll add will never be. Those are for people who aren’t worried about how much something costs and have no interest in the utility of having a truck separate of their living quarters.

Back to this thread though, it doesn’t seem like the video has a lot to do with TCs built in the past few years and not really relevant to new TCs.

[gitpicker2009]

I loved the mod at 59 minutes where he added the "ledge" under the lifting plate so that it was not only lifting at the bolt points but by cupping underneath the corner! What a simple but great idea! Why don't the manufactures use this??? It would cost less than a dollar to add and would make a huge improvement. It's like when you build a deck- you don't just bolt the cross member to the post. It's better to notch the post and set the cross member on it, then bolt it.

[Kayteg1]

specta wrote:

People who spend north of $2 million on a Prevost coach have zero interest in a slide in truck camper.

And yet, you are talking to previous Prevost owner, even Id did pay way less than $2M for mine.
Look like Airstream trailers sell regardless high prices.
Why owners of aluminium TC go long way to remodel/extend/update their campers?
When most of the market shop for "cheap, cheap, cheap", some buyers appreciate quality.
Would Airstream quality campers come on the market, I guess you will find buyers willing to pay $100k for them.
They pay $70k for fiberglass units right now.

[specta]

Kayteg1 wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
The question I have is, would the existing TC market be willing to pay 1.5 to 2 times as much for a better built unit? My assessment of the situation is, no, by and large they would not.

Better built campers have come and gone. Gonna come in and set the industry on its ear. What happened? "Too expensive."

Until the buying market is willing to put its money where its mouth is, and more of it, you will continue to get more of the same.

US buyers pay north of $2 millions for quality Prevost conversions.
What was the question?

The question was would they be willing to pay 1.5 to 2 times as much n a truck camper.

People who spend north of $2 million on a Prevost coach have zero interest in a slide in truck camper.

[Kayteg1]

mkirsch wrote:
The question I have is, would the existing TC market be willing to pay 1.5 to 2 times as much for a better built unit? My assessment of the situation is, no, by and large they would not.

Better built campers have come and gone. Gonna come in and set the industry on its ear. What happened? "Too expensive."

Until the buying market is willing to put its money where its mouth is, and more of it, you will continue to get more of the same.

US buyers pay north of $2 millions for quality Prevost conversions.
What was the question?

[Grit_dog]

^ Eggzactly!

[specta]

jimh425 wrote:


If I would have been worried about resale, I wouldn’t have bought an RV.

Isn't that the truth.

I've only had two campers.

The first one was junk because the previous owner didn't take care of it.

My present camper, my second one is 25 years old and in extremely good condition because the previous owner did take care of it.

[otrfun]

jimh425 wrote:
. . . As previously noted, my TC was built in 2005. 15 years old with nothing wrong with it. Also as previously noted, there are Northern Lites and Bigfoots that had significant issues that were way younger than that . . .

Any camper can have significant issues. However, the most serious issues will typically be structural. The OP's video link described how the underlying wood supports for each corner jack had seriously degraded---to the point there the camper was seriously unstable while supported by the jacks. Can't speak for older NL campers (or BF), but the later model NL's attach the jack to aluminum brackets which are directly attached to the side and bottom of the fiberglass shell. No organic materials are used in these important assemblies so there's little to no chance of experiencing the most serious structural issues noted in the video. I would venture to say this is probably a major reason why NL offers a 6-year structural warranty on their campers (for the original owner).

[mkirsch]

The question I have is, would the existing TC market be willing to pay 1.5 to 2 times as much for a better built unit? My assessment of the situation is, no, by and large they would not.

Better built campers have come and gone. Gonna come in and set the industry on its ear. What happened? "Too expensive."

Until the buying market is willing to put its money where its mouth is, and more of it, you will continue to get more of the same.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

Kayteg1 wrote:
A note about Simpson brackets.
I used couple of them on my Lance repair 3 years ago. Now parting the camper I removed them for demolition. They had cracks in the corners. They did not give up yet, but looks like it would be only matter of time.
Looks to me that they are not design for flexing TC do.

I am able to inspect the brackets on my truck camper and all are in perfect condition. No surface rust, cracking or anything else visible.