How RV OWNERS Would FIX The RV Industry

Join Jason Epperson in this insightful episode of RV Miles as he addresses the real issues facing RV buyers today. From the complexities of the purchasing process to tackling maintenance and service challenges, Jason shares valuable feedback gathered at the RV Miles Homecoming rally. Learn from seasoned RVers about improving dealer training, quality control, and service standards.

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00:00 Introduction: What Do RV Buyers Really Want?
00:51 Annual Homecoming Rally Insights
01:53 Sponsorship Message: RV Mattress by Brooklyn Bedding
02:48 Challenges in the RV Buying Process
04:07 Training and Education for RV Owners
05:19 Improving RV Manufacturer Support
07:11 Service and Repair Issues in the RV Industry
08:10 Innovative Solutions in RV Service
08:23 Challenges in Motorhome Service
08:47 Factory Service Experiences
10:07 The Quality of RV Construction
10:50 Improving RV Manufacturing Standards
12:25 Quality Control and Marketing in the RV Industry
15:01 Engaging with the RV Community
15:39 Conclusion

[Honukimo]

We purchased our first RV in February 2021, an Alliance 310RL. We both camped as kids, but an RV was a completely new experience. For the most part, we have had a great experience. Our dealer, Wilder RV in Clinton, MO, did a thorough PDI and the tech who performed the PDI also did our walk through, taking as much time as we needed to understand our rig. Being RV newbies, having a small RV Park on or near the property would have been a great addition to the customer experience. Alliance has also been great to work with post sale.
To your question, Jason, what would entice us to purchase a new RV? First, build quality in general. Although our build has had few problems, there have been a number of cosmetic things we had to fix, mostly because the wrong or wrong type of fastener was used. In addition, the rats nest of wires, pluming pipes and hoses was a huge turn off. Alliance touted the color coded and numbered wires, but then had no schematics, not a one. Build quality, in my opinion, includes neat and orderly wiring, plumbing, etc and MUST, include the proper documentation and build drawings. I have seen some improvement in some current builds. I also think the warranty’s need to be three years.
Another issue I see in the RV industry is Elkhart. There are to many jobs chasing to few skilled personnel. The solution to this is to setup manufacturing in areas with good labor pools and areas where work ethic is highly regarded.

[TheGunCollective]

All of these things that you're describing are exactly why i DIDNT buy an RV but instead am building a custom campervan. I know every little part of this thing and how it goes together. RV brands are cash grabs at best.

[tonyrodgers]

Oh Dude (aka Jason). This is THE MOST NEEDED THING IN THE INDUSTRY!!! As a certified mobile tech AND an RV owner, I wish the whole industry could desire to move in this direction. You get a 10 (out of 10) for this episode!!!

[zackdemundo]

Digging below the surface to get to the heart of the matter of RV and camping stories that need greater focus. That’s why this channel is so stellar.

[luminousveiws]

Buyer price sensitivity is a huge issue. Far too many buyers can barely afford the luxury of an RV so the difference can be whether they buy at all.

I'm looking for quality that isn't just high gloss polish. High end brands seem to put too much into fancy decor and extreme convenience. Heated and massage seating, but plumbing that leaks.

[ceciliapetrowsky]

This video is 🔥! So many great points. I LOVE the video idea. If you buy an RV, the customer gets a video of that exact model. The manuals you get are insufficient. Thank God for YouTube so people can look up how to fix their issues. Also, your point about having some parts on hand. I never understood the stupidity of having a customer drop their RV off for service and then waiting several weeks on a part order. It’s madness. I’m so grateful we did our research and bought our fifth wheel from an excellent manufacturer. Seven years and not one problem!

[andrewmoore]

This a great conversation, I come from as a licensed electrician and facility manager. I wonted to cry when I found a non water proof box with just wire nuts under my trailer. I also don’t understand why the A frame is so close to the body of the trailer. Now I bought my geo pro going into it knowing I was going to have to make significant changes to the electrical system, plumbing system in HVAC system, and frame. I just wanted the box. I had a bent frame from the factored and they covered most of the repair. The new A frame is now 18” longer, and I am happy we did that, it forced me to re -wire all the feeds and get rid of the non-waterproof electrical connections under the trailer, all the in line fuses and install a break battery that is off the house battery. I would be willing to pay a bit more if the electrical was installed just to National electrical code and the United States Coast Guard yacht code for 12v systems. A basic wiring diagram of the system would also help in trouble shooting. I would also love to an exterior hatch that houses all the electrical controls equipment, just like a school bus. just my 2cents

[NicholasLuthy]

@rvmiles - dunno if you’ll see this but:

1) Until quality is better, less random junk adding. Lighting under chairs… so we can see dust? Speaker and sound systems when we could do Home or Alexa? Many of these systems are one off and don’t play well anyway. Please don’t make us pay for things we don’t end up using.

2) better components for driving and suspension. I’m excited for the stuff in your recent videos about the shock absorbing hitch (with spring) and better suspension. Maybe less damage while driving reduces many of the other quality issues?!

3) sensible construction choices. Too many to list but a few examples: our skirting around the outside bottom of the rig is panels held on by screws but they are not backed by anything so they just unscrew and fall out. Our cabinets in the kitchen… the shelves were fastened with non threaded finishing nails from the bottom up… putting anything on the shelf pushed down and the shelves fell. I had to rebuild them just to hold a small pot and toaster.

4) dealer addons. Complicating the purchase process are the addons dealers push. And they flirt the line of pressuring and lying that things are required. I said no to most but fell for the run flat junk. Thinking “safety… yes let’s be safe if and when a blow out occurs.” Well the run flat exploded and destroyed tires and rims in all four tires within 2 years. I still had many miles on my tires. But now I’m out the money for the bum upgrade, plus a full set of tires and 2/4 new rims. Though I should have done the other two rims but decided to wait a little for budget reasons.

5) systems that play well. I shouldn’t have to have 6 apps to use my rig for the stuff the manufacturer provides. If they are using a hardware component they should provide a software integration. In a truck you don’t need the manufacturer app and the sound system app and the app for lighting and the tire app and the fuel app. Why for RVs are the systems they choose to use not integrated into their central app and systems?


Aside from the specifics, it would be nice if RV manufacturers stopped saying that RVs weren’t meant to be used, or lived in, or driven. That’s the product they are selling. They need to start believing that and acting accordingly.

It’s as if ford didn’t intend people to put anything in the bed of a pickup. That’s what the vehicle is for!

[JesseHires]

Quality Control and training would do wonders. I'm a first time RV owner. My RV was purchased new by my father. It was too big for his liking, so I bought it from him and he bought a smaller one. He had multiple warrantee fixes on it including one that cost him the first season of use. When I bought it from I figured maybe the bugs were worked out. But I am finding poor manufacturing and quality control issues all over the place. Drain valves placed where they cannot be turned. Hot water bypass installed so it doesn't actually bypass hot water. Wiring worn through on sharp metal cross members with no grommets or poor routing. A screw driven straight through the 35 amp main feed. Low point drains that were not the low point. The plastic fender flares that are all cracked at every screw because they were driven in with such force it cracked the plastic. What are the parts that I haven't seen yet? I'm pretty sure I won't be buying my next RV from that manufacturer, but it does give me some things to look into before taking ownership of one. I can repair most anything myself, but some of these things shouldn't have to. I know manufactures and dealers need to make money, but if they don't make a product people have faith in they will make even less.

[anthonyb]

Jason- great video.
We purchased our first RV in 1985. We are on our 9th rig. There isn’t much we haven’t seen or been through with RV’s.

The more stuff we add to our RV’s, the more issues we’ve had. But we’ve learned with each one and we may be one of those rare owners who see the possibilities more than the problems.


Competing on Quality would be the biggest step forward they can take. In my opinion. Second is training for owners.

Excellent video.
Excellent points
We love RV’ing.

Thank you

[StressLessCamping]

I am glad I got to sit in on this round table discussion. It was incredible how many good ideas there were and how common some of the complaints/challenges are. Nice recap, Jason!

[LoCleTXRV]

I like the idea about entering in the vin number and everything comes up. Just like on my new F350. Yes, Ford care improve on it but it a start for them. I contacted the RV manufacturer and asked for a wiring diagram. They said it was proprietary information. Why? Contacted the RV manufacturer again while still under warranty, 3 roller blinds broke. They sent me to the blinds manufacturer, who send me to their repair department, who sent me back to the blinds manufacturer, who stopped responding. RV manufacturer now says the 1-year warranty is over contact the extended warranty company or take it to the dealer. It is all an endless circle. I do not want to drive the entire trailer 40 miles to a dealer to sit in a lot for months, just to replace the defective blinds. The whole process needs improvements. You have made some very good suggestions. Can only hope some can become reality.

[kenmcclow]

I went to a RV show 3-4 weeks ago and I saw one of the models that I was interested in and they marked the price down, so I started getting excited about it. I went inside and the door to the bathroom was stuck shut. I pulled it open and couldn’t close it again. There were some other things but I wandered around and looked at some things and went home.

I think they do have a ridiculous amount of overlap of models. Maybe there is a reason that I don’t know. A B van that I am interested in by Thor has two models, Sequence, and Tellaro. They are identical. They each have four floor plans which are also identical. One floor plan appeals to me as a solo traveler, but they are producing two name plates that they glue or screw onto each van. Plus they are producing separate brochures and maintaining separate websites for each. Then someone buys a unit and it almost immediately goes into the shop for service where they wait the first five days for a part, of the first 40 days of ownership, 30 days are spent in the shop. I don’t know what is on the dealer and what is on the manufacturer, but I do know from watching a legal YT channel if I was the customer, I probably wouldn’t be the winner if they started pointing fingers at each other.

With that in mind, I decided to buy a used unit from a rental company. I haven’t taken possession yet, but I have an online version of the owners manual, and hours of video on how to work everything in the van. There are also videos on assorted channels of people using and reviewing the vans.
I also have a 40 year old trailer and it has operating manuals for everything in it and the original manual that came with the trailer.
People have to be proactive about getting information instead of waiting for it to manifest. Just prior I was reading an article about retirement and people upset that it was not going as expected. They went through their whole lives saying nobody told me. They must have assumed they would push the button and it would be cake and cruises with no effort on their part. RVs are the same. You can pay someone else to do it all for you if you can afford it. Everyone else has to learn to do some stuff for themselves

[vincentsmith]

The industry should operate more like the automobile industry. Dealers for specific brands and Service Techs and parts on hand for those brands. As well as implementing more automation

[paulshannon]

Yea on the wiring. I just added several plug for use with just my inverter. Running the cable for my Starlink and router. Auxiliary lighting for at night when dry camping.

Fix. Have a wiring chase, front to back to run wires, cables through that has access area in each room and compartment. In truth a major of people would never use them but it would probably be helpful for technicians and upgraders to use.

[thisoldrelic]

I understand you said don't just say build higher quality stuff but that pretty much sums up what I have to say. I have spent a lot of time and money at the hardware store just upgrading simple things like screws. I still have to purchase and replace broken plywood that was hidden instead of not used in my RV. My firdge advertises that it doesn't need to be mounted or door latches. I had to engineer a way to secure it because it kept coming out during travel and had to add a child proof lock to secure the door. Had cabinet doors fall off during travel because they used the wrong type of screws to secure it. My attena broke off on our shake down trip instead of fighting warranties for the same garbage I purchased a higher quality and installed it myself. Not knowing the old antenna was hallow and was raining through, fortunately it wasn't that bad by the time I replaced it. I have had to restaple the walls and ceiling back up. Did I mention it's a 2024 model?
I am having fiberglass cracks in the side and I called my dealer to schedule service. The service department couldn't take my call at the time so they took my info for them to call me back. 2 weeks still no call back.
I emailed Gulf Stream the manufacturer about the fridge. Never got a response back. Months ago.

Just responding to the customer would be good.
I feel as if the moment I took delivery I pulled out and got a big middle fingure from the dealer and manufacturer as I drove away.

A happy problem was my rig was advertised with an electric hot water heater it's actually gas. Not complaining I actually wanted gas.

You mentioned advertising I found out advertising claims such as the fridge doesn't hold up to what they say.
The first big problem ends up being manufacturer quality.
Fix that and a lot of the other problems are fixed.
Forgot to mention no owners manual with my rig and I never got the details on the $12, 000 worth of warranties I paid for.

[penelopebartell]

Insulation. Windows. Insulated water bags and lines and not cheaping out on plumbing. Packages for stuff that some of us don’t need (TVs, speakers, etc). Some pride of construction/craftmanship would be nice.

And yes, sales and service model should be re thought.

[Livin_inRVA]

Jason, thanks so much for this! As potential first time Class A buyers, your content hit on many of the key points that has caused us to go VERY slow in our decision process. We'd love to experience the positives of RV ownership/use but are put off by the industry and the way it appears to be run...with few exceptions. For such a large purchase, you would think that the process of research, purchase and acclimation would be more "professional" and geared towards the consumer. Luckily, we do have the internet and an array of smart, experienced RV'ers who have helped us learn more about the ins and outs of RV'ing. Unfortunately, sometimes the internet focuses on the bad...for clicks sake; and thus we get a skewed view of things at times. We've been doing research for over a year and are still no where near making a final purchase decision until we feel confident that our entry into RV'ing will be a positive one. Hopefully, your and Abby's advocacy and assistance in helping the "industry" understand the consumer side of the puzzle will help things move in a positive direction for everyone involved. Keep up the awesome work!!

[sgriffith]

I teach my MBA students, when they are working on their capstone projects, to get data that goes beyond the symptoms and reveals the root causes of the problem they are addressing. In the case of the RV industry, there are conflicting pressures that make the business model unsustainable. First, there are the laws of mechanics and physics. These dictate the size and, more importantly, the weight of RVs that people can reasonably tow with a realistically sized truck. As consumers demand more and more amenities and more house like equipment, this makes maintaining a reasonable weight more difficult. If you add washers, dryers, residential refrigerators, multiple slides, and the like, you have to save weight somewhere and this means reducing the weight of of structural elements, furnishings, and components which makes them less durable. The same applies to cost. If you want to maintain a price point, you have to reduce the cost of the basic structures and components. In addition, there is little differentiation between many products since they all use the same major components such as air conditioners, furnaces, water heaters, and the like. As a result, the only thing to use to differentiate products is price which results in a race to the bottom. Just look at the so-called "show prices" vs the MSRPs and any show. The reduced margin at all points throughout the supply chain makes it difficult for dealers to make the investments necessary to improve training and service. It is an axiom that, in industries where margins are tight, distributors seek to expand to more locations and take on more lines. That is the only option they have to grow. If you want dealers to devote enough time and effort to create differentiation based on the sales and service experience, you have to ensure they make a reasonable profit on your product line. Airstream seems to come the closest to this with their Five Rivet Dealers. However, it is curious that organizations like Airstream Nuts and Bolts and Vinnie's North Bay Airstream seem to make money on major repairs and upgrades. In most situations, dealers would want to do this and be equipped to do it.

As for your comments on quality, it is an axiom in manufacturing that you have to design in quality, you can't inspect it in. The product has to be designed to facilitate assembly in a way that facilitates quality. Of course, this requires enough margin for the manufacturer to devote the time and effort to better design practices and more advanced assembly methods.

[DiamondL]

You guys need to interview Liz Amazing. She is making some strides with RV companies.