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[GMCnet] New RV quality [message #325207] Fri, 20 October 2017 15:19 Go to next message
glwgmc is currently offline  glwgmc   United States
Messages: 1014
Registered: June 2004
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Senior Member
A bit of a different take on this subject. Between 1998 when we purchased our first motor home, a Beaver Patriot, and now, motor homes became longer, much heavier and the sides have been penetrated in numerous places for slides. None of these bode well for something that lives in an earth quake zone!

Construction methods didn’t change much so most are still a floor mounted to a chassis, walls fastened to the floor, a roof fastened to the walls with a front cap (penetrated for a monster windshield) and rear cap about the only anti-rombus agent present.

When we purchased, a big coach was 40 feet, had one slide, weighed between 30k and 40k pounds, had no tag axle and offered reasonable net carrying capacity. Now a big coach is up to 45 feet long, pushes 50k pounds, has tag axles and still may not have much carry capacity at all. Ever more batteries to power the electrical loads, and ever bigger engines to carry the weight all add up to ever more flex raising havoc with the structure.

No wonder the apparent quality has diminished.

Jerry
Jerry Work
Kerby, OR
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Jerry & Sharon Work
78 Royale
Kerby, OR
Re: [GMCnet] New RV quality [message #325215 is a reply to message #325207] Fri, 20 October 2017 17:07 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ken Henderson is currently offline  Ken Henderson   United States
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
Senior Member
Re: The quality problems buyers see.

I suspect many manufacturers use the philosophy the founder/president of
Safari (previously a VP of Beaver) presented in response to my, and other
recent buyers', complaints at the owners meeting in 1998, almost verbatim:
"We allocate $10,000 for warranty work on each and every coach we sell.
That's more economical than setting up a dedicated quality control
department...". HONESTLY!!! Can you imagine anyone having the audacity to
admit to a room full of owners that they have that little respect for those
owners and their time? Wish I'd had a tape recorder running!

Sure 'nuff, it took me a solid year to "finish building" that coach. For
example, the engine quit running 7 times during our 200 mile trip home with
it the day we bought it. Things went down hill from there.

But we did wind up enjoying it for 9 years (8 of which we also used the
GMC).

Ken H.


On Fri, Oct 20, 2017 at 4:19 PM, Gerald Work wrote:

> A bit of a different take on this subject. Between 1998 when we purchased
> our first motor home, a Beaver Patriot, and now, motor homes became longer,
> much heavier and the sides have been penetrated in numerous places for
> slides. None of these bode well for something that lives in an earth quake
> zone!
>
> Construction methods didn’t change much so most are still a floor mounted
> to a chassis, walls fastened to the floor, a roof fastened to the walls
> with a front cap (penetrated for a monster windshield) and rear cap about
> the only anti-rombus agent present.
>
> When we purchased, a big coach was 40 feet, had one slide, weighed between
> 30k and 40k pounds, had no tag axle and offered reasonable net carrying
> capacity. Now a big coach is up to 45 feet long, pushes 50k pounds, has
> tag axles and still may not have much carry capacity at all. Ever more
> batteries to power the electrical loads, and ever bigger engines to carry
> the weight all add up to ever more flex raising havoc with the structure.
>
> No wonder the apparent quality has diminished.
>
> Jerry
> Jerry Work
> Kerby, OR
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
Re: [GMCnet] New RV quality [message #325231 is a reply to message #325215] Fri, 20 October 2017 20:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
richshoop is currently offline  richshoop   United States
Messages: 190
Registered: April 2017
Karma: 0
Senior Member
Ken: an alternate response to his "let's spend $10,000 per coach" mantra should be "Spend $5,000 per coach on employee training" and you won't have the warranty issue!

----- Original Message -----

From: "Ken Henderson"
To: "GMC Mail List"
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2017 3:07:39 PM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] New RV quality

Re: The quality problems buyers see.

I suspect many manufacturers use the philosophy the founder/president of
Safari (previously a VP of Beaver) presented in response to my, and other
recent buyers', complaints at the owners meeting in 1998, almost verbatim:
"We allocate $10,000 for warranty work on each and every coach we sell.
That's more economical than setting up a dedicated quality control
department...". HONESTLY!!! Can you imagine anyone having the audacity to
admit to a room full of owners that they have that little respect for those
owners and their time? Wish I'd had a tape recorder running!

Sure 'nuff, it took me a solid year to "finish building" that coach. For
example, the engine quit running 7 times during our 200 mile trip home with
it the day we bought it. Things went down hill from there.

But we did wind up enjoying it for 9 years (8 of which we also used the
GMC).

Ken H.


On Fri, Oct 20, 2017 at 4:19 PM, Gerald Work wrote:

> A bit of a different take on this subject. Between 1998 when we purchased
> our first motor home, a Beaver Patriot, and now, motor homes became longer,
> much heavier and the sides have been penetrated in numerous places for
> slides. None of these bode well for something that lives in an earth quake
> zone!
>
> Construction methods didn’t change much so most are still a floor mounted
> to a chassis, walls fastened to the floor, a roof fastened to the walls
> with a front cap (penetrated for a monster windshield) and rear cap about
> the only anti-rombus agent present.
>
> When we purchased, a big coach was 40 feet, had one slide, weighed between
> 30k and 40k pounds, had no tag axle and offered reasonable net carrying
> capacity. Now a big coach is up to 45 feet long, pushes 50k pounds, has
> tag axles and still may not have much carry capacity at all. Ever more
> batteries to power the electrical loads, and ever bigger engines to carry
> the weight all add up to ever more flex raising havoc with the structure.
>
> No wonder the apparent quality has diminished.
>
> Jerry
> Jerry Work
> Kerby, OR
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>
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Re: [GMCnet] New RV quality [message #325246 is a reply to message #325215] Sat, 21 October 2017 08:38 Go to previous message
Matt Colie is currently offline  Matt Colie   United States
Messages: 8547
Registered: March 2007
Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
Senior Member
With three different employers, I had to prove that quality does not cost, it pays....
That is the reason I did not stay at the Navistar engine plant. I couldn't stand it or do anything about it.

Matt


Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
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