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Old 11-22-2018, 09:29 AM   #21
Montana Man
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I was more kidding, partly serious. When we bought, it was assumed that the trailer was checked out thoroughly. In watching the video, the trailer was partially inspected. It would be ridiculous for any manufacturer to offer a QC option. It would make the non optioned trailers look as though they had little or no QC. Which as it turns out, what we are getting. What I do know is that if an assemblers pay is based in part to passing inspections, the workmanship would improve. Keystone knows that but for some reason (money) they believe their current ways are fine. I would love to set up the program to remedy this issue but don't understand why anyone there doesn't.
 
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Old 11-22-2018, 10:26 AM   #22
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IF they made EACH worker responsible for double checking his work and docked their pay if they got it wrong (based on issues the end customer has with the unit) then QC would go way up. That would make the workers directly accountable to the owners. But of course that will never happen.


The fact is they have to make these things as fast and cheap as they can so people will buy them. If people would pay for quality then all the RVs would be built like a New Horizons or better. Its not going to happen because people are willing to buy flash over quality and many don't recognize or can't afford to buy quality built.


We made the mistake of buying a Montana BEFORE we had done enough research into quality of build. I thought I was a good judge of quality but after joining MOC I can see I needed more education! I really regret that I joined MOC after we bought our unit. But having said that the 381TH is the ONLY floor plan that met our initial goals when we were weekend warriors. The only other option we have is to get New Horizons to build a custom (which we did not know about when we made our purchase). Based on the total lack of quality control of Thor or Forest River, I strongly suspect our next unit will be a New Horizons or something similar.


You get what you pay for! But if your holding out for the mass marketers to improve their QC I think your wasting your time. If anything I suspect QC is going to get worse if that is possible. The big boys only care about how many units they can push out the door. They are doing everything they can to build them cheaper not stronger.
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Old 11-22-2018, 11:04 AM   #23
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The average salary for a Production Worker is $13.33 per hour in Elkhart, IN, which is 18% above the national average. Salary estimates are based on 27 salaries submitted anonymously to Indeed by Production Worker employees, users, and collected from past and present job advertisements on Indeed in the past 36 months. The typical tenure for a Production Worker is less than 1 year." .... You can google this. Assembly workers do what they are told to do by the company management.
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Old 11-22-2018, 11:15 AM   #24
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Part of the reason I almost went with GD is they supposedly use a separate facility just for QC. This is supposed to ensure it’s not a “rush” point on the assembly line during fabrication. Now while this “sounds perfect” I’m not sure if it’s 100% accurate but if it is then maybe it’s something every manufacturer should implement because as mentioned above and one of the points GD makes is that it pays for itself and keeps brand loyalty.
Funny I’ve seen same issue with similar companies like Jayco that quality was good up until probably 2015 and then everyone started going downhill. I haven’t decided if it is more of the sheer numbers overwhelming them or, what I’ve noticed in my own field, people’s work ethic over the last 10-20 years has gone down hill. They care less about pride in what they do and more about what’s in it for them.
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Old 11-22-2018, 01:13 PM   #25
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This is the direct result of an economy that has been building steadily since the 2008 crash. Just can't build fast enough to cover demand, and rather than keep it slow and right, they've mostly opted for fast and wrong. I hope it bites them somehow just like the Japanese bit Detroit.
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Old 11-22-2018, 02:42 PM   #26
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Some of the problem with quality control is not the workers fault. The parts that are installed are of poor quality. A worker is only as good as his material. It cost the same in labor to install quality or inferior parts. Sadly the manufacture's have chosen to go the inferior route.They may not make the parts but they could demand better quality parts from there suppliers and get them but they obviously don't want to. The 'Big Three' learned how to build quality cars and trucks thanks to Japan's Toyota,Honda,Nissan and a few others . Maybe if the Japanese started building rv's we might start getting better quality from our U.S. manufacture's. It's a shame it takes foreign competition to get things done right in this country.
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Old 11-23-2018, 06:03 AM   #27
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I believe it's the whole industry. I read this form and think I will not upgrade to another Montana this next year but then realize Montana's are as good as any of the others.

Example: My brother bought a new Mobile Suite in October 2017. At a quite expensive cost. They have had it into the dealer several times and had to take it back to the manufacturer in August for a 5 day repair. They love it and I will say it is quite nice. A step above any Montana I've looked at but at a step up in price also.

The quality control in the industry is terrible. We as customers should not stand for it but I don't totally know how to fix it but I do know this. I will not pay another dime for a quality check list that the manufacturer should be doing anyway.

That's my 2 cents worth.
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