Are RV Quality Problems Getting Worse?

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This week on the RV Podcast:

• RV quality problems don't seem to be getting better, and campground infrastructure issues are straining the 2024 camping experience
• The brutal heat wave gripping the West is being blamed for at least four deaths in National and State parks.
• In Jen & Mike’s storytime, we’ll share how what sounded like a good marketing idea turned out to be the most embarrassing thing we’ve ever done as RVers.
• All this plus the RV News of the Week and your questions coming up in Episode #506 of the RV Podcast.

You can watch the video version from our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel by clicking the player below.

If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below.

This is a big travel week for us and a bunch of our RV Lifestyle followers as we make our way to Bar Harbor, Maine. There, we will soon be part of a near-month-long RV caravan tour of the Canadian Maritimes. Organized by Fantasy RV Tours, this is one of those bucket list road trips that we've wanted to do for years.

We will be sharing our adventures as often as we can with videos, live feeds, photos, and social media updates. The best way to follow us is through our RV Lifestyle Community at https://community.rvlifestyle.com

We can't wait!

P.S. And yes, we do have our new truck! Look for a Saturday video on our RV Lifestyle YouTube Channel that shows the truck, what we've added, and how we are prepping the RV for a long trip. To be alerted to when we have new videos, make sure you subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon. To subscribe go to https://youtube.com/rvlifestyle.

SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ – Wendy Bowyer

Wendy Bowyer reports on the hot issues most talked about this past week on social media and our RV Lifestyle Community group.

In our RVLifestyle Community, we sometimes run polls. Now we may use these polls for research, or stories, or just for the general enjoyment of the group and they are fun to read. This week I have two polls to share with you.

The first poll ran in our Campgrounds Space and we asked: What features do you prioritize when choosing a campground? The top answers were:

50 percent said location

20 percent said views/scenery

15 percent said cost

9 percent amenities, including things like WiFi and power outlets and 

4 percent said accessibility.

In the comments people added to this with Julee saying feeling safe, cleanliness and lately in these temperatures a pool have been important. Michael says he wants sewer at the sites.

Cost was an issue for several folks. Laura said if she can spend 7 days in a state park for what would cost three days in a resort, that is going to play into her decision. This was a fun post to read.

In another poll in the General Discussions Space we asked: “What is the single most frustrating part of the RV Lifestyle?”

41 percent said RV quality issues

34 percent said finding campground vacancies

15 percent said the increasing costs and

8 percent said bad internet

In this post's comments, Jim was one of a few who said random mechanical issues that happened despite doing all the maintenance were particularly frustrating. Woody and Inca said unpredictable bad weather was a frustration. James said his major frustration is not being able to RV as much as he wants because of things that happen in life. That can be frustrating!

Then, over in our RVLifestyle Facebook Group, Justin recently published a photo of his beautiful Class A  covered with dead bugs and wrote: “Driving through South Dakota after sunset proved to be a gross mistake.”

This picture drew more than 525 comments. People could not believe all the dead bugs splashed across his RV. His windshield looked like a Jackson Pollock painting had Pollock used splattered bugs instead of splattered paint!

Vanessa took one look and said, “That's insane.” And I have to agree.

Many like Mary said, “Been there. done that.” And several people shared similar pictures of their bug-coated rigs. Apparently this kind of drive happens much too often in the Dakotas which is good to know!

We'll share a picture in the show notes for those who want to see for themselves.

RV CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK – RV Quality Problems

Earlier, you heard Wendy report in our Social Media Buzz that in our Facebook group, 41% of the respondents said RV quality issues were the most frustrating part of the RV Lifestyle this year.

We wanted to investigate, so we posted a question in our RV Lifestyle Community asking our members to tell us how frequently those quality issues occurred. The results were dismal. 52% of our community respondents said something broke in their RV half the time or even more frequently.

Did you catch that, That means every other time they take their RV on a trip, something breaks. 15% said something breaks EVERY TIME they take their RV someplace,

Again, over half of our respondents report something breaking it at least every other trip.

Is there any other product where such results would be tolerated?

Granted, RVs are complicated things. When you drive one, it’s like having your house shaken by a 4.0 earthquake for hours on end. Something is bound to shake loose, break, or crack.

Here are some specific answers to our question:

From Brenda and Marc – We headed out for our trip out to NV and we didn’t even get 200 miles and our “brand new” suspension broke. Luckily we knew the area and got off the street into a Lowe’s parking lot. Spent three days there till we were able to find someone to come to us to fix it. 

Here’s another. This woman and her disabled army veteran husband (30 years of service) finally acted on their lifelong dream, selling the house and buying a New 2023 Forest River Arctic Wolf 3810 suite (Fifth Wheel).

They are out for about 4 months. June 21, 2024, had a cable snap in the bunkhouse. They called a mobile tech to fix it – while the tech was there, they noticed the whole kitchen slide was not attached correctly. They get it into the dealer for service on July 2, 2024, and they are at a Hotel and eating out all the time- costing them a fortune. Forest River told them they would only reimburse about $75 of the $400 it cost to have the cable replaced! This person is ready to give up the dream.

Brian shared this: I’m a 25-year Army disabled vet who sold our house in Virginia and bought a 2023 Keystone Raptor. We took it out on our first trip. When my wife took a shower, water poured into the bathroom, so they put the shower tracks in backwards. Then, on our bedroom slide, the angle under the slide was bent, and water was coming into the bedroom. Then, the level jacks were not working properly.

Here's what Kimberly wrote about her 23 Forest River Wildwood Grand Lodge.

“It's been problem after problem – furnace motor broke, wrong thermostat made furnace circuit board fry, weak shower floor that caused a leak under the shower and a leaking grey tank, hole in the gutter caused a drip constantly on the slider door and leaked out of track and down hallways, the awning pulled the gutter off they found out it was only fastened with a few temporary screws and never fully fastened! There was a leak in the bedroom and a big leak through the cubby under the bed, causing a bunch of mold, The bed on the slide was messed up it kept ripping the floor when retracted, and only ever retracted it to take it in for repairs! The toilet pipe broke when sitting on it once because they cut the pex tubing too short it had too much pressure on it that caused a mess in bathroom, the tongue jack broke when we tried to hook it up to take it in for repairs in May too, lord knows what else I'm forgetting, but yeah, it's a damn mess!

Then there’s Loretta. Here’s what she said:

Loretta said they pulled into a park, began filling their fresh water tank, and then the tank collapsed through the floor of their  2018 Forest River 5th wheel. She shared pictures.

In the comments of this post: Don said their Forest River did that in their driveway.

Wendi said happened to them, too, with a brand new camper.

So many people said this happened to them – some with empty tanks – it was amazing.

Apparently has been a recall for some of these folks.

Karen said…Yep, we had just purchased a brand new Forest River Vibe, and the first time out, the same thing happened to us. We strapped it up like you did. When we got back home, it went back to the dealership for repairs. Apparently, this is a fairly common issue. Crazy! I might add that this happened at the water fill station. If this had happened on the highway, it would have been a disaster. Since that happened we never travel with a full tank, ever. Just enough to use the toilet and wash our hands a couple of times.

Look. We could go on and on. But in our 12 years of doing this RV Lifestyle, we have never heard more complaints about RV quality. And we haven't even mentioned the issue of frame flex, which particularly affects big fifth wheels and toy haulers.

There are RV recalls every month. Here’s a sampling of this month’s.

• Recall notices are going out sometime this month for 3,157 Brinkley RV 2023-2024 Model Z Fifth wheels and Model Z-Air travel trailers. The 12-volt system may be incorrectly wired, which could result in overheating.
• Recall notices will be mailed by July 14 to owners of 126 Forest River 2024-2025 Cross Trail motorhomes. The backer on the ladder receiver may not have been installed, which can cause the ladder to fall off. On the highway, this could be life-threatening.
• 573 Forest River 2024-2025 Salem and Wildwood travel trailers are being recalled because they may not have a secondary emergency exit installed.

Those are just the latest. Every month, there are new recalls.

We work really hard on this podcast not to be negative.

So, devoting our conversation of the month to this topic is not usual.

The quality issue has been steadily increasing since the COVID years. There was such a demand for RVs by people whose only vacation options were to camp out that all the manufacturers did everything they could to crank out new models as fast as they could. They hired off the street, and a lot of inexperienced workers assembled RVs. 

Things have settled down. Demand for RVs has plummeted and new sales are down. 

Quality, you'd think, would be improving.

But it doesn't seem to be.

And that’s why we’re talking about it.

So if you are thinking about getting a new RV, new or used, we have this advice.

Hire a certified RV inspector. Yes, it costs. Over $1,000 for a detailed one.

But since RVs are the second most expensive thing most people buy after a house, and given the quality issues people continue to experience, that inspection is extremely important.

Have a pro look it over very carefully. An independent inspector not connected with a dealership. You can find one at nrvia.org/locate

What is the dealer won’t let you bring in an inspector? We heard from some who say they wanted to bring in an inspector, but the dealership wouldn’t let them. Well, if that's the case, it tells you something, doesn't it?

Don’t buy there. 

Go to another dealer.

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK

Yosemite rangers urge visitors to “keep it classy” by taking their used toilet paper with them

Here’s a disgusting sign of our thoughtless and selfish culture. Rangers at Yosemite National Park had to remind visitors to keep it “clean and classy out there” by disposing of soiled toilet paper properly.

I know. Repulsive.

Apparently way too many visitors need to “go” while out exploring this stunning park. And when they do, they leave their used toilet paper behind and let's just say it is a disgusting sight to behold.

Yosemite National Park Service's Instagram page posted this, sharing a few pictures of dirty toilet paper laying about what would otherwise be a stunning setting.

And while many people do bury the toilet paper, it doesn't stay hidden for long. Rain, erosion and animals are all responsible for moving the soil leaving used toilet paper piles exposed before it can decompose. (Toilet paper typically takes 1-3 years to decompose.)

The solution? Rangers are urging everyone to pack it out.

If you are heading to Yosemite anytime soon, don't forget to check out our RV Guide To Yosemite National Park here.

Car drives into geyser at Yellowstone; all five passengers successfully escape

What is it about Yellowstone National Park lately? Last week we we told you about a shoot out, and this week the iconic park was in the news after five people drove into a 105-degree geyser “inadvertently.”

The good news is all five successfully got out of their car on their own before being driven by ambulance to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The car sunk 9-feet into the acidic 104-degree water before being successfully lifted and removed.

The whole incident happened at the Semi-Centennial Geyser thermal feature near Roaring Mountain between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Junction. It is not clear how this happened, but pictures do show a fairly steep slope from the road to the geyser.

We are very glad to hear all five passengers are going to be ok.

Last week at Yellowstone, there was a shootout you may remember reading about here. The shooter WAS an employee. He was from Florida, working at the park for the summer. He held a woman against her will and intended a July 4 massacre before he was killed. (See news release here).

Let's hope that this week, Yellowstone can have zero incidents.

To see our Yellowstone Adventure Guide complete with suggestions of what to see, what to do, and where to camp, click here.

Tourists flock to Death Valley National Park to experience heatwave

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A post shared by Death Valley National Park (@deathvalleynps)

The massive heat wave gripping the west is killing tourists. In Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, a 52-year-old father and his 23-year-old daughter from Wisconsin were found dead after they got lost while hiking and ran out of water in triple-digit temperatures

That was Friday. On Saturday a similar incident happened at Snow Canyon State Park. A multi-agency team of first responders arrived and rescued the two people who were overcome by heat exhaustion. 

But then, a passerby reported that a third person was unconscious nearby. First responders found the individual, a 30-year-old female, and determined that she was deceased.

You’d think people would have the summon sense to avid hiking in such conditions. But at Death Valley National Park, there’s been a surge of visitors anxious to have selfies taken next to the giant thermometer outside the Park’s Visitor Station.

Temperatures in Death Valley have been in the 120s, reaching as high as 129 degrees. Because it is so hot, people are urged not to hike after 10 a.m., bring lots of water, and “travel prepared to survive.”

But people keep coming. And dying. A group of German motorcyclists who decided to visit Death Valley last week were overcome by the heat, and one rider died there. 

That's four heat deaths in a week out there. All could have been avoided. 

Canadian Campgrounds struggling in heatwave

One last story related to the heat. Up in Canada, the president of the Canadian Camping and RV Association said campgrounds in certain regions have been experiencing brownouts on their property because every single RV is running an air conditioner, and they are already at capacity for electricity draw.
The problem is Consumers are becoming accustomed to a level of service that is outpacing park infrastructure.

It’s the same thing in the US. Most campgrounds are old. The infrastructure was laid down when people were happy with 20 amp service and used kerosene lanterns for lights.

Many increased capacity to 30 amp service 20 years ago. Then they had to bring in 50 amp service a dozen years ago as RVs got bigger and came with two AC units and microwaves.  The demand has just continued to increase.

The cost of upgrading is astronomical and beyond the reach for many campgrounds and parks.  

That’s why camping is becoming more expensive. Why big corporations are buying up Mom and Pop campgrounds. 

The growing problem of campground infrastructure inadequacies won’t be going away any time soon.

RV QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK

QUESTION: Just finishing up watching your latest podcast. You mentioned that, along with sandwiches, you sometimes prepare your dinner meal before you leave. What are some of the meals that you prepare? – Janet

ANSWER: Lasagna, chili, stews, salads, and soups.

MIKE & JEN’S STORYTIME

The dumbest thing we ever did with an RV was getting a complete custom wrap.

This happened maybe five years ago.

A marketing friend in the RV industry suggested the idea of a wrap to us, saying it was a good way to promote our “brand.”

We didn't even know we had a “brand.” But they sent us some artwork and we arranged for a local shop to do the wrap.

“Meet the Wendlands,” it said, on the side windows. On the back windows. Our YouTube channel was listed and so was a hige caricature drawing of the two of us and Bo.

Was it eye-catching? Oh yes.

But it was also (to us) obnoxious and embarrassing.

As we drove home from the shop that did the wrapping, we were very aware of all the people looking at us.

It felt creepy.

No longer were we just regular Rvers. We were a rolling promotion and there was no escaping.

We drove it up to the UP for our winter campout and as we brought it to the campground, our friends and fellow campers were pointing and snickering.

It screamed, “Look at me…look at me.”

It was indeed attention-grabbing.

After the weekend campout, as we drove back home, we checked the web traffic to see if this mobile billboard had brought us more web views.

There did seem to be a slight uptick in traffic.

And there were some emails.

One was from a campground owner who said we would not be allowed to camp on their campground with that vehicle wrap because it was clearly a commercial vehicle and a giant advertisement.

That email was echoed by an insurance company rep who wrote to say our RV could now be considered a business vehicle and thus subject to higher rates.

Others contacted us to say we were making ourselves a target to thieves and stalkers. 

But then we heard from a traveler who passed us on I-75. 

This, as best as I can remember, is what it said.

“I looked up your website after seeing your camper. Not to watch your videos but to get your email so I could tell you that I found your vehicle wrap offensive, self-serving and very prideful. There’s enough advertising pollution on our highways. You’re only adding to it. Count us NOT as fans.”

We were humbled.

And very embarrassed.

Needless to say, the wrap didn't stay.

It wasn’t us. 

Now, we travel anonymously. 

So much for mobile marketing.

Send questions [email protected]

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