Some Things to Think About

[Stephen_Albers]

There are two problems with the RV industry: Insufficient standards and inspections.
Starting from the ground up, nearly all RVs are not built strong enough to stand up to boondocking. No formal stress testing has been done as is required by law for automobiles or aircraft.

Inspections are voluntary in the USA, unlike Canada which requires them for plate issuance. As a result, over time they deteriorate. Typically, frames rust from the inside out until they fail. Initial and annual NRVIA inspections will identify most problems. But few owners are sophisticated enough to appreciate them.

[thrifty bill]

I've lived in two states with annual auto inspections: PA and NC. All I can say is that it is a JOKE, based on cars I see on the road with in state plates. In PA, they needed to do a better job at inspecting the inspectors. Word got around fast where to go to get a car that would not pass inspection to pass.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Stephen_Albers

Inspections are voluntary in the USA, unlike Canada which requires them for plate issuance.

I live in Canada. None of my trailers has ever been inspected. Plus, they are registered for life. Cars do need an inspection after a certain age, but only when they change owners.

[Glenn Baglo]

To be more accurate, and specific, you live in Alberta. Each province has its own requirements.

[Uplander]

Many people ( I am one of them) will only look at a used travel trailer or motor home. The reason is simple.... urgent production in the last few years has been rushed trying to keep up with demand....result....a lot of shoddy workmanship without requard to quality resulting in dealers service departments unable to keep up with warranty repair orders and a serious parts shortage.

My advice is buy a quality used RV made back when the RV manufacturers actually cared about quality over quantity.
Also suggest you subscribe to the free weekly newsletter....RVTravel.com....they have been reporting on this widespread problem for over a year and have a special “horror stories “ feature with endless accounts about the industries bad attitude about customer service.

[Ice-breaker]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

I live in Canada. None of my trailers has ever been inspected. Plus, they are registered for life. Cars do need an inspection after a certain age, but only when they change owners.

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

To be more accurate, and specific, you live in Alberta. Each province has its own requirements.

Come now Glen, as of this date Alberta is still part of Canada, no matter what many in other parts of the country would like to believe. You are correct though that different provinces have different inspection requirements. I have had to have a van inspected once after moving back into Alberta after a three year stay in Newfoundland, and last year I had to have an inspection done on an Escape trailer that I purchased and imported into Canada (not Alberta) from the USA.

[Stephen_Albers]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

I live in Canada. None of my trailers has ever been inspected. Plus, they are registered for life. Cars do need an inspection after a certain age, but only when they change owners.

Here is a great YouTube video about a fairly new Casita that failed inspection in Quebec. The video shows the frame rusting through from the inside out at the bumper corners.

https://youtu.be/gQmyVbZpmVc

It starts a little slow. But about 2:30 it starts addressing inspection. The owner intends to have welding done to fix the rusted out locations which may get it through inspection. But it will only rust out again somewhere else soon or worse, simply fail structurally at an inopportune time. The correct repair is frame replacement.

[Ev in Oregon]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlson

This report is over two years old... I'm sure all of the problems have been fixed now...

LOL, and here we are 4 days later, so surely by now?


If you're not already familiar with Chuck Woodbury of rvtravel.com, you might want to check out his website. Not only does he put out a weekly newsletter with lots of good info about RVing, but he's also becoming a loud voice addressing RV quality, or lack thereof.


We're fortunate to be fiberglass owners, but with more & more folks joining the fun world of RVing, will Bigfoot, Oliver, Casita, Scamp, etc. feel compelled to "crank out" units, too? Heaven forbid, I like to think FG trailer manufacturers have more soul than that, but you never know, as Mom used to say.