Predators AND PREY in the RV Industry – a Powerful RV Buyers Guide

A True RV’ers Story Experiences becomes a real “learning experience” for us all…

I wrote this to provide Insider Tips to enable you to navigate the minefield you enter when purchasing an RV Camper. This post amounts to the first (in a 3 part series) that can serve you as an RV Buyers Guide.

Have YOU ever owned an RV Camper or thought about buying one? What you’re about to read pulls back the curtain and reveals an industry FILLED with PREDATORS. This post even raised MY blood pressure as I prepared it!

This article was inspired by the video testimonial by one RV camper owner was truly the “prey” in RV stores. His name is John. When John purchased his first RV, he was as many are, he was TRUSTING, and he THOUGHT the people at the RV dealership were looking out for his best interests. Unfortunately, a more realistic perspective is to think PREDATORS when you walk into MOST RV Camper stores. And, it’s not just the sales staff there, it’s the products they’re selling!

In his video, John sounds off about the worst RV camper store in the nation and reveals NUMEROUS issues that YOU need to understand thoroughly before “entering the lion’s den.” This post extends John’s RV camper issues to far broader picture than what he directly experienced – with numerous tips and insights to navigate the shark infested waters.

Who am I and why do I care?

If this is the first post of mine you’ve read, please allow me to introduce myself. When it comes to RV Life and RV travel, I have been on the road full time for nearly 14 years now. I’ve owned 4 different campers – two motorhomes (2003 – 2006) and two towables (since 2011.)

I worked in RV sales with a dealer in Casper, Wyoming for 5 Summers (March thru September.) As a lifelong educator, I was a sponge – learning about various manufacturers and seeing construction techniques employed on literally hundreds of campers first hand while they were in our service center. I saw the shortcuts, shoddy craftsmanship and cheap materials found in many campers. As you read on, you’ll learn about some of the worst offenders.

I was so alarmed, I started my own Concierge RV Buying (and Selling) Service

I now offer a Concierge RV Buying (and Selling) Service, through which I counsel my clients on who the “good guys” are and which manufacturers (and camper stores) to avoid at all cost! (If you check out my service, you’ll find I do far more than offer advice!)

My Concierge RV Buying (and Selling) Service developed as the RV Store in Casper was preparing to shut down. That was 8 years ago now! Since then, I’ve had a steady flow of clients despite never running a paid advertisement. Perhaps its a result of my extensive (positive) reviews that can be seen at the bottom of the page that describes my service.

The RV owner whose experiences inspired this post

The video that inspired this post is HERE. In his video, John shares all his RV related experiences. He was clearly (at first) not familiar with RV’s or RV dealerships. Despite his experiences over the past few years, he still demonstrates several important and serious misunderstandings. I feel for him as his lack of knowledge has cost him plenty. I will devote the balance of this article and the next to help YOU avoid the pitfalls that impacted John (and many others!)

As I travel, my Medicare plan gives me genuine Peace of Mind

When I turned 65 a couple of years ago, I did extensive research on Medicare, medicare advantage and medicare supplement plans. Learned the difference, and made a very important decision. As a traveler, I knew it held great consequences. Here’s my journey and a report on the choices I made. Choices YOU may wish to consider as well, visit… “Medicare for RV Travelers”

Camping World is at the center of this story – however, it could EASILY have been one of many other camping stores aka Predators

Camping World is the retailer he bought from and kept returning to. (Really?!) The campers he identifies in his video as units he’s owned (or seriously considered) include a Wildcat, a Heartland MALLARD, and a Georgetown motorhome. Important tip: When working with any of my Concierge RV Buying Clients, I would NEVER recommend ANY of these campers. Stick with me and you’ll see why.

Corporate Dirty Laundry

One of the great problems today in our nation is the “corporatization” of industries. As a skier and ski instructor, I see how the skiing experience has been impacted by three GIANT corporate entities (umbrella corporations) taking over many ski areas. These “entities” exist primarily (exclusively?) for ONE reason: PROFIT. When it comes to skiing, skier safety and the skiing experience, are considerations that take a DISTANT back seat to the “almighty dollar.”

The RV industry has similarly been “corporatized.” Thor and Forest River are giant umbrella corporations. They control MUCH (though NOT ALL) of the RV industry. In my opinion, here too, PROFIT greatly outranks quality and customer experience as their corporate goals. Each of these umbrella corporations own dozens of RV manufacturing companies. Incidentally,

Tip: NONE of these manufacturers are on my “recommended list” for my Concierge RV Clients.

In John’s video, he explains that he considered and purchased a Wildcat and a Georgetown. Both are Forest River companies. Personally, I wouldn’t pay a dime for either. In his video (linked above), he detailed how his two year old Georgetown motorhome is holding up. He noted its “peeling” issues. I’d say these issues the RULE and NOT the exception.

Surprise! The Georgetown is showing serious signs of wear and tear after just 2 years

To clarify, John did state he’s living in it. Full timing in a camper is ROUGH on any camper, but when it is built as cheaply as possible, outcomes like these are inevitable. John talked about serious wear visible in just 24 months.

One of his prime complaints was the condition of his sofa. In the RV industry, we refer to the material on sofas (and recliners) as “pleather.” It’s a cheap plastic-leather material that easily cracks and peels, but it looks GREAT when new! Two years for peeling is a bit quick. Campers often make it 4 or more years before the furniture shows signs of peeling.

Interestingly, I’m going to release a report soon on MY camper after 8 years of full time living – I think you’re going to like what you hear and see.

Continuing, John also complained about the countertops and the dinette. Forest River often uses cheap laminate surfaces on both. The surfaces readily “peel” or flake apart, especially if they get wet as the underlying material is typically “press board”, also known as particle board. Tip: In general, I’m a fan of “hard (corian type) surfaces” for countertops.

Incidentally, particle board often uses formaldehyde in the adhesives. Formaldehyde often outgasses inside the camper – and it is TOXIC! Ever walk into a relatively new, cheaply built camper on a hot summer day (without the air conditioning on)? Your watering and burning eyes are likely reacting to the outgassing of this toxic material! It is your body’s way of telling you to EXIT this thing!

Heartland – Mallard

Now lets touch upon Thor… Thor is no better these days than Forest River! Heartland was a Thor company. I say “was” because they have been “absorbed” by Jayco (another Thor company.) It was a corporate downsizing and cost saving move. John was clearly shown (and may have owned at one point) a Heartland Mallard RV.

But wait… it gets better! Mallard is a PRIVATE LABEL. Read on for the skinny on these disasters…

PRIVATE LABEL RV’s – the REAL story…

Private Label products (almost always) exist for ONE reason. They allow the retailer, in this case Camping World (CW), to AVOID competition. When looking for Mallard RV’s, the ONLY place you’re likely to find a new one is at CW. This way, CW knows if you shop their competition, you won’t find another major RV store (Blue Compass, Campers Inn, Bish’s, General, etc.) offering Mallard. The end result? YOU can’t compare prices and THEY (CW) make MORE PROFIT. Incidentally, I did a thorough report on Private Label RV’s HERE.

What about QUALITY? Ha! That is not even on the list of considerations when building these “campers.” I put campers in quotes just as I would put food in quotes when talking about ALL fast food restaurants!

While I’m talking about important RV tips, may I offer a thought about PRESERVING WEALTH?

Want to learn more about purchasing Goldbacks? You can visit my preferred vendor HERE. A “1 Goldback” (contains 1/1000th Ounce of Gold) now sells for just over $8. It will float as the spot price of gold floats. Note: Be advised – while Goldbacks provide unprecedented ability to trade for goods and services, they do carry a relatively high premium relative to “spot gold.” This however works BOTH WAYS – ie – you pay a premium (relative to spot price) when purchasing AND get well over spot price if you sell them back to a vendor.

This post DESERVES a Part 2 – and here’s what we’ll talk about…

This is getting a bit lengthy, so I’m going to do a Part 2. In the next post, I will address the term “4 Season Camper” (or “all season camper.”) We will then move onto the topic of “Extended Warranties“, who is best to contact for service and repair when needed, new vs. used – more “smoke and mirrors” in RV sales, and the folly of trading in a camper, sellers who care vs. those who do not, and cost saving RV travel tips (this topic will likely be its own post.)

Need “tried and true” RV Accessories? My personal recommendations…

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