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Old 09-15-2020, 08:02 PM   #39
mtlakejim
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Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Bee Branch
Posts: 2,620
M.O.C. #20693
Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
Do your research on GD. They are no better than any other brand. They came out strong (ex Keystone execs) touting build and customer service. They are just like all the rest...and they have to be if they want to sell units.

They were on my short list but about 10% higher than a Keystone so I wanted to investigate to see what I would get. Nothing really. Same build quality but maybe, possibly, a better customer service experience. That doesn't mean a lot since they have to work with a dealer anyway.

Dealers/warranty work? I was in FL at the time but the dealer there said he had warranty work backed up....2-4 weeks before they could even assess it. Called the TX dealer....might be 2 MONTHS before it could be assessed. I bought a Keystone.

I do believe you might be able to find a better quality 5th wheel than those most buy but I'm not spending 200k to find out I was wrong.

Edit: Looks like CaptnJohn and I were typing at the same time saying the same thing.
Yep this is similar to what I have said in the past about Grand Design as well. There is more than one guy up in Indiana that has made their fortune starting RV brands, building them up (with better quality at first and a LOT of hype over it) then selling the brand off to one of the major three that in time will draw the quality back down to maximize profit.

RV manufactures are in the business of making money. They could care less what the final consumer thinks about their products. Their customers are the dealerships. The dealerships only care about moving product out the door so they buy what sells quick. They will smile real big and fill you a line of BS a mile long to get you to sign and pull it off the lot. After that they could care less about you or the camper. There may be a couple of exceptions to the rule but this applies to about 90% of the industry. If you think otherwise, your just the kind of person they love to see walk into the door of the average dealership.

I have been watching this industry for a good while now and have come to the conclusion that unless your willing to spend your life fortune on a custom build, your going to be buying something that was made as cheap and as fast as possible. Quality be damned. Especially right now with the industry growing as fast as it is.
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