Custom DRV 5th wheel with problems

[DAVIDnRENEE]

My husband and I ordered a DRV 5th wheel this summer only to have it delivered November 13, 2013 to the dealership with NUMEROUS problems! We are aware of the fact that when folks (ourselves included) look at RVs on dealership lots all of the problems or "kinks" have been worked out prior to them being put on the lot. However, have any of you folks ordered custom RVs only to have problems (from the factory) keep you from taking immediate ownership (after the thorough PDI is completed of course)? We understand the possibility of problems occurring while in transit from the factory to the dealer, but the amount of problems that LEFT the factory is disheartening! We hope to take ownership FINALLY December 10!! We still will not have the specific couch we ordered at that date. That will not be in until the end of the year or possibly later!!! Please share any comments or experiences if you've ordered RVs before...THANKS!

[Hunter11]

DAVIDnRENEE, I know we have talked some on the other DRV forum and this is not what I want to hear about your new unit. We now have our house on the market and were intending to order a new MS when it sold for us to full time in. I will be following your story both here and on the other forum if you post it there as to your issues and them being resolved. Please keep us informed.

[DAVIDnRENEE]

Hunter11,
I remember chatting on the Suites forum. Good luck selling your home. We did the same thing before ordering the Elite. Our RV was delivered Wednesday, November 13. We still have not taken possession due to the numerous replacements/repairs that are needed, and they were there before leaving the factory!! We did see our RV almost immediately upon arriving at the dealership (the techs did an initial walk thru and released the driver) which didn't allow them time to "hide" some of the mistakes. I am sure the 2009 Cardinal we currently own had problems too and were touched up before hitting the "show room" floor. We just expected DRV (because of their increased prices and better materials) to arrive better!! Our dealership is working with us to replace the items we would not settle merely being repaired, and they are repairing others all to our specifications!. We have been back an additional time to view the changes and are well pleased. We were just curious if this is the norm or if our RV is just a fluke.

[Hunter11]

I would also post this on the Suites forum to see what others there have to say. As you say with the price increase and the DRV reputation it would concern me to pay that much money and have issues like that from the factory.

[netjam]

My info is certainly dated, but it mirrors your experience. Ordered an Elite with a bunch of changes (window deletes, suspension changes etc etc) in Jan 07. Was called by dealer to pick it up in Apr and refused it till things I noticed were defective were corrected. A month later I took delivery but the real problems were not discovered til after that. I think you will find that some people seem to have good experiences and some do not...its a crap shoot.

[DAVIDnRENEE]

Our RV arrived at the dealership November 13 and 19 days later...it is still there!! We hope to take ownership December 10 with the pending arrival of the correct couch (the DRV rep ordered the wrong couch) being later in December. Our issues - to date - have been with the carpet (ripped), the floor (marred), island base board (small chunk missing), wall boards (scratched), etc. They have replaced the toilet and the problems with the hydraulic fluids leaking. Other issues that occurred during transit (chipped door, scratch on the paint, damaged dinette chair, etc are also being replaced/repaired. We will not know about appliances until taking ownership other than the dealership's PDI. We were just shocked and disappointed in DRV to say the least!!

[Joezilla]

DavidnRenee,

We special ordered our Select Suites in June/July of 2011. It arrived at the dealer in October of 2011. It is a 2012. It had the big slide that scratched/gouged the tiles coming in and going out. It had 2 air conditioners that sounded like jet airplanes. We refused the coach and even rehooked our old coach and took off from the dealership. We weren't 15 miles down the road before we got a call from the dealer and then 2 or 3 DRV vice presidents asking/begging us to accept the coach and they would fix any problems. We did end up accepting it, and headed to the factory from Tennessee where they replaced 16 different tiles, adjusted the slide by adding rollers (imagine sending out a coach where the biggest slide had no rollers on it.), and replaced one of the a/c's. They paid our expenses to get to the factory.

We had the other a/c replaced a month or so later under warranty. We had the entire underbelly insulation removed due to a constant drip from the water filter that wasn't discovered until after we left the factory. I will say this though for DRV, whenever we had the above problems, they were very quick to own up to them and repay us for any out of pocket expenses.

We will be in the market for another RV in another 3 to 4 years ( we've had this one two years now), hopefully the Suites will be better made so that these types of problems do not happen……….I can hope, can't I?

Joe

[hitchup]

We had no major problems on our Custom order back in 2008, except the shower leaked and there were potential leaks which we found under the kitchen sink and tightened easily. It was delayed a week because of the couch, but we took delivery in about 10wks.

We picked our new Mobile Suite Estates up last week, after over 14 wks. So far, the only major problem we had was the DirecTV roof dish couldn't get a signal. But thanks to Slade and some unexpected bad weather including 4-5" of snow, we were able to stay in OK next to their shop until he discovered the problem. Once a short piece of cable was replaced under the roof plate, we had satellite, not just OKC locals from roof antenna.

The only other minor issues, small section of Elite backsplash on one side is loose, poor caulking in shower track (which David fixed this weekend after letting it dry out) and the panel around the bathroom wall behind the bedroom slide-out was never stapled on the upper section. Will get that fixed soon, too.

Other than that, we haven't figured out how to get the outside TV a satellite picture. We had the Genie receiver installed and were going to add a Client to it, but the Tech wasn't sure if it would work. At least we now have Whole-Home TV connection to one of our old HD DVR's in the bedroom.

Haven't found any leaks or flaws and it was basically built exactly to our specs. We had numerous adds and deletes and are thrilled with it. There are a couple of things I don't like. But we have some ideas in the works.

We added a few shelves this weekend and hope to get a closet unit built, too. Was surprised to only see a bar on right side, no shelves like most of the other Estates. But David is handy and we'll design something to work better than what the factory "would" have installed.

Good Luck with your new Elite.

[bstark]

I'm going to start my post with a question: are Kay and Paul Cross still in business?

If so a very efficient way to sidestep these quality issues prior to delivery is to have the rig dropped shipped the five miles to his business and have him and his crew perform the PDI before the rig goes to your dealer.

Those folks were virtually indispensable when we owned our 38' Mobile.

Paul and Kay have, or had an excellent relationship with the factory and were able to achieve compliance from them with just a simple phone call without any other verification being necessary in our case.

It would seem to me that for whatever his fee would be to PDI a custom rig, it would be more than worth the aggravation savings in firstly having to negotiate with your dealer and his scheduling issues before then having to get agreement from the factory to authorize adjustments.

They would be working for you rather than your dealer who is walking that fine line between keeping both you and the factory happy.

[wingnut60]

Yes, Paul and Kay are still in business.

http://www.crossrv.com/


Joe

[Motor31]

Davidnrenee, I am sorry to have to say this, but welcome to the world of mobile suites.

The idea of having major and multiple issues like this from the factory is an old familiar situation with this brand and goes all the way back to 05 and earlier. I am sorry to say your experiences and those posted by others are not new or even unusual. Yes you will get the occasional good units and the cheerleaders on the forums are quick to praise the brand because they "won the lottery" with their rig. The rest of us have to deal with shoddy construction and an obvious lack of attention by quality control (if that really exists in DRV) by doing repairs or having to take measures to see that repairs that should never have been necessary are done. The idea of having to use an outside company like Paul Cross and others, who left DRV to make a lucrative living fixing the factory screw ups, to make a brand new off the factory line rig fit to live in is silly. Yet, you will find the cheerleaders fervently suggesting just that as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do, at your own expense no less.

DRV is now demanding Teton prices for Jayco and Coleman quality materials and less than competent assembly of same. Just because you put some flashy paint and glitzy interiors on a unit does not make it functional or livable, yet the factory and cheerleaders will have you think it does.

Take it from someone who had had bitter and expensive experience dealing with things like this, that you need to pay very close attention to the unit while it is in warranty and make darn sure everything gets taken care of fast. Once the warranty expires the support situation changes radically. Having a dealer fight for you is also important. I had the misfortune of having a dealer who liked to go through the motions rather than really fix things. as a result I had over 800 miles of travel, one way the first 3 months of ownership, to get things dealt with including not one but two factory visits in one year. Even so, I still had to fix things myself like windows mounted without caulk that caused massive leaks inside the rig.

Next you are likely to hear that all RV's have some issues. That's true but not to the same extent. Visit other RV owner forums and you are likely to see more mundane issues listed than what has been posted here on this forum about DRV units.

If you do go through with your purchase, I sincerely hope you get one of the good ones that does not need much in the way of repairs. I would not wish my experiences with mobile suites on anyone else.

[bstark]

Gosh Mike; since it was my post suggesting Paul and Kay Cross be resorted to as PDI performers I guess I'm left to conclude I'm the cheerleader you're scathingly attacking?

Here's an idea for your future reference: search "past posts" to glean exactly how much of a cheerleader I've been and you'll find I've posted my share of indictments about the quality of Doubletree/DRV products.

I've fostered discussion as early as 05 on everything from torque settinghs on screw guns being set for one screw and left at that. Mine was one of the rigs where nearly every screw holding exterior trim pieces had their heads torgued off.

Sliding door falling into basement storage area, aluminum angle worn through where it contacted center roller supports under kitchen slideout, bedroom vanity support rails coming away from cabinetry, nail putty the wrong colour, shower skylight leaking, I even posted a heads up about the bathroom vent fan not being ducted to the roof vent so moisture laden air from shower would simply be exhausted into attic space and subsequently soak the insulation.

Wheel fender trim splitting, storage doors gas lift cylinders separating from doors, light switch to halogen light bar in kitchen heating up to point of emitting fumes, too many high draw items on one breaker when space is available in panel for additional breakers, outside junction boxes under slideouts filling with water sprayed up from tires.

These are just some of the issues I had and posted vociferously about on this forum before the SOITC even came into being so before you assume everyone on here is a cheerleader for the brand please step back and consider where this new owner is now standing and perhaps you could leave the vitriol behind for once and consider how best to help new owners rather than simply castigate previous owners trying to help them.

I stand by my recommendation to utilize Paul's business, and will go one further; negotiate it into the deal at the agreed to price beforehand.

IF someone has already decided to purchase and has ordered one what earthly purpose are you serving by going on a non-productive rant?

[Suitelife]

Sorry to hear about the number of issues and late delivery of your unit. We ordered our customized 38' MS in 5 August 2012 and took ownership two days before thanksgiving of 2012. The unit came in really great shape from the factory. Everything we had customized was delivered. What took so long on repairs was not DRV rather the dealer we purchased from. It was less than a good experience from sales to service. We are still dealing with the dealer on a few items. However, one could argue the fact that we are full timing now makes it difficult to leave our home at the dealer to complete the last few items. We try and schedule our service when we pass though Oregon.

The most annoying issue we had was a squeak in the floor, it actually got fixed!

[Gemstone]

"We try and schedule our service when we pass though Oregon"....

"I had the misfortune of having a dealer who liked to go through the motions rather than really fix things"

IMO, there is no reason to continue to use a dealer you are dis-satisfied with, you can arrange for work to be done at other dealers....and DRV has been known to authorize mobile repair service for fulltimers, so there is no reason to leave your home, or eat the transportation costs for most repairs.

In my previous line of work, the cost of anticipated warranty repair was built into the sale price....so either the factory or the dealer has a pot of money commonly referred to as the "warranty reserve" to work from. If you choose to have work done by a dealer other than the selling dealer, it's only a matter of transferring warranty reserve $$$ from one dealer to the other.

I suspect the vast majority of cheerleaders frequent the "other" forum...ya want real world experiences with DRV, this forum is the place to be....IMHO of course.

Regards
Gemstone

[Motor31]

Bstark, Nope I wasn't classing you as a "cheerleader". Yes I am critical when I say that having to engage Paul Cross and company to fix the drv mess is a bad idea. Not because it was your suggestion, but because drv lack of quality and history of "workmanship" makes it almost a necessity. That should never need to be an option from what is supposed to be a top of the line producer of an allegedly quality product. No one in their right mind would think that it should be expected to buy a high dollar car then have it delivered to a garage specializing in restorations at the purchasers expense to make it drivable, yet that is practically the situation with drv and Paul Cross. That you suggested that might be necessary does not make you a cheerleader, just a realist in regards to the situation with drv products. It is a reflection on drv, not you.

A cheerleader would think that is a normal situation and still be happy with the situation. If you do think that is in fact a normal expectaion to have in purchasing an RV then perhaps you are a cheerleader, but I didn't think so.

Teton did not need to do that, neither did King of the Road. New Horizons certainly does not do that and those units were or are priced in line with drv.

My comments were not about you, you inferred that. Sorry you felt that way but you took it on yourself when it was not intended to be on you.

[hitchup]

By Mike's definition, I'm a cheerleader. But I just tell the truth of our experiences.

2006 Elite Suite was a leaker. After 2 1/2 years, we decided DH couldn't fix them anymore, so we traded it off. We couldn't afford a Carriage Royals, but after going through their factory tour, we didn't like what we saw in it or during the construction of other Carriages.

So we ordered a custom 2009 Mobile Suite with the latest features. It was very good to us, had a few issues, but they were taken care of in a timely fashion by good techs or Paul Cross in IN.

Fast forward, we wanted to continue our lifestyle of working and full-timing, so we decided our comfort level ordering a new Suite would be worth the risk. Plus this one is much more than we anticipated. We're in 10d or less and picked the correct options to keep us warm and toasty. While the Excel next to us and the Sabre on the other side don't look as comfortable with their foil in the windows.

We'll also be prepared with 3-AC's for the hot humid summers, so am not concerned about being stuck in the RV 24/7-365.

Our OK dealer, Rolling Retreats did 3 PDI's before we moved in. Two were done before he left the factory. Since then we've still found a few other flaws, some of which he fixed before we headed back to Dodge City. But they have been easy fixes so far. There will be more, there always are. Sorry I'm such an Optimist and have a handy hubby. But we are both Happy with our newest purchase. I am always glad to share my experiences good or bad when someone asks...

One last point. We've seen New Horizons, don't care much for them either. We almost went on the Factory Tour when we stopped overnight in Junction City, KS, but decided it wasn't worth it. Can't afford one and don't like the fact it takes 18 mos average to build one.

Vickie

[bstark]

[quote="Motor31"] The idea of having to use an outside company like Paul Cross and others, who left DRV to make a lucrative living fixing the factory screw ups, to make a brand new off the factory line rig fit to live in is silly. Yet, you will find the cheerleaders fervently suggesting just that as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do, at your own expense no less."

Well Mike you should be able to understand why I took your comment to be addressing me as a "cheerleader".

At least there was the word "sorry" in your follow up post albeit a backhander but it was there.

When you jump on here to offer up one of your diatribes describing owners in a less than flattering light, I believe you should consider the reality you're essentially preaching to the choir.

You are not going to change a factory ethic that has been endemic for at least the better part of ten years or more by castigating ANY of the individuals who own these things. You also must face the reality
that there are more than just a few owners who are genuinely satisfied with their purchase.

What is your ultimate goal with shouting invective directed towards owners that all of the intervening years of irate emails, phone calls, factory visits by owners etc., haven't managed to achieve?

You really need to let this go and simply jump on from time to time to counter what you might find to be a bit too much "gilding the lily" by some and offer up constructive support for those who ask for it.

Being one of the longer term owners out there you've undoubtedly got reams of useful info to help get some over the rough spots. That would be a far more productive usage of your typing time on these boards than merely shouting "cheerleader" at anyone and everyone you do not agree with.

Bottom line; we're all big boys and girls who have or will make a decision and then learn to live with it warts and all. No one will TELL any of us what to think with any degree of success.

[George D]

Jeez - I didn't see this before I just made my new post!

Sorry to hear about your problems folks but that seems to be the norm for DRV. We wanted a Mobile Suite but after talking with many dissatisfied owners and seeing the flaws on new units on dealers' lots (and some more recently on a 2014) we opted for an Excel. Hope you get all your problems taken care of. I'm not a "cheerleader" but I hear nothing but good about Paul Cross. That is where I would go if I needed work done!

Good luck!

[Hunter11]

All of these quality issues that have come up this week have me rethinking ordering a new MS when our house sells. I thought we had about settled on a new MS but I have now pulled out my research info on Excel and Lifestyles again and begun to do some pricing on them. One thing that kind of bothers me is the fact that DRV only has a 1 year warranty and LS and Excel both have a 2+5 bumper to bumper warranty. I thought somewhere in my research on the "other" DRV forum that I read DRV had a 2 year warranty at some point and then dropped it to one year, can anyone confirm that? I know the Redwood and Heartland Landmark both have the 2+5 year warranty as well which makes me wonder why DRV would not have the same especially with them being the most expensive full time built unit of all of the above units. I am not knocking the MS I am just trying to do everything I can to make sure we get the best unit we can to live in full time for the kind of money we are going to have to spend.

[netjam]

Hunter 11. My 07 had a one year but when I started looking in 06 they had a 2 year. No sure but I think they went to a 2 year for a very short time after I bought my 07. AS far as 2 year warranties, my 2011 Escalade had that but the trailer components (fridge, A/C, furnace etc) only carried the component manufacturers warranty.

[terry and jo]

It has been quite some time ago, but at one time, I posted the details of the warranty on the 2010 model that we have. It was listed as some items being a 1 year warranty, others were 2 years, and systems like hydraulics and such were 3 years.

Thus, I'd suggest checking with a dealer or the factory itself to see just what the warranties are.

Terry

[Motor31]

Hunter, I asked a rep several years back why the change form 2 year to 1 year warranty. The answer I was given was that "quality had improved so much that a 2 year warranty was not needed". He actually said that with a straight face too.

Our time in the mobile suites is coming to a close soon, we are going to be paroled from it in the next 60 to 90 days. Right now Heartland is at the top of the list for a replacement (because finding an excel dealer is pretty tough in the areas we travel) and we have been scouting which model unit we want. Getting financing is one of the harder issues since we are full timers with no real estate property that a lender can place a lien on. Not a surprise given the economy and the way the industry has gone in the last 6 years or so.

Since we are leaving mobile suite that will bring to a close much of any reason to remain on this forum since it is almost exclusively active only in the drv area because of the shoddy quality issues. That should make some folks here rather happy.

[terry and jo]

Well, perhaps I should be relegated to being called a cheerleader because we've had darn few problems with our Mobile Suites. In fact, the biggest problems we've had were actually with certain appliances of the rig. Namely, the GE Advantium was dead when it first arrived and the fridge went out after only about 2 years.

However, please allow me to put a bit of perspective on forums. Forums attract a lot of interest because of two things. One, the chance to research about a product before buying with the help of owners speaking of their coaches; and two, owners are there looking for solutions for some problem that they have encountered. Because of "two," there will be more of an appearance of problems, thus a question as to the brand's quality.

I have noticed that there are likely a LOT more owners of a brand than there are participants on a forum, whether those forum participants are researching or searching for problems. While 5th Wheel Forums may be a bit off because of so many brands on the forums, most owner's forums show a different picture.

For instance, SOITC has a total member list of 1755 registered users. However, with my experience with forums, there are a huge number of folks that register just to ask one or two questions and then they are gone. In light of that, SOITC's information shows that they have 215 "active" members. My question there would be to ask, "what constitutes an active member?" If it is "active on the forum within the last "x" number of months," how accurate can that be if quite a few of those are among the number of low usage?

With those numbers, using SOITC as an example, how do they relate to the number of coaches that DRV has actually built? If DRV has built 6500 coaches, then there must be a lot of folks out there that are not having such serious problems.

Those of you that know me any by the posts on the 5th Wheel Forums and SOITC may know that I'm also a participant (and moderator) over on RV Dreams, which is NOT an owner's forum. It is made up of a lot of folks researching RV'ing and particularly full-time RV'ing. As such, they are looking for recommendations of brands that will stand up to the full-time lifestyle in an RV.

On that forum, I generally suggest that folks register and ask questions of the owners on the forums any questions that they have. I also advise them that the forums will indicate a large number of "negative" comments and questions because of the desire of folks looking for solutions of problems. Then, I tell those readers to ask one other question of the owners when they are on those owner's forums, and that question is:

"If you were to buy another RV, would you buy "X-brand" RV again, and if so, why?"

I asked that question both here and on SOITC back almost over 4 years ago and received a generally positive response from the participants of both forums. That is part of the reason we have a Mobile Suite. Now, while there are a few "really disgruntled" participants on both forums, how many are still really glad to have a DRV?

Terry

[terry and jo]

It has been quite some time ago, but at one time, I posted the details of the warranty on the 2010 model that we have. It was listed as some items being a 1 year warranty, others were 2 years, and systems like hydraulics and such were 3 years.

Thus, I'd suggest checking with a dealer or the factory itself to see just what the warranties are.

Terry


I just stumbled upon a link to the forum post on SOITC where I spelled out what the 2010 DRV warranties were listed as. Here is a link to that SOITC forum thread. My comment will be post number 4 and lists the things covered for each of the three years.

http://www.suitesowners.com/forums/showthread.php?2421-What-is-the-DRV-Warranty

Terry

[DAVIDnRENEE]

Our new DRV RV will be our 3rd 5th wheel (2001 Jayco Designer and 2009 Forest River Cardinal). With each purchase we did extensive research and felt that we bought exactly what we wanted, spending what we wanted at the time. We were happy with and have enjoyed both RVs completely and only bought new ones as "stepping up" along the way. We sold our home in February so we will officially be "full timers." Even though we still have not taken ownership of our DRV (25 days and counting) we feel we bought a quality product (after touring the factory and speaking to numerous DRV owners). The cosmetic issues that have prevented us from taking ownership (rip in the carpet, chunk out of the island baseboard, scratch on the wood valance, a marred place on the wood plank flooring, etc) - while they are disheartening - in no way reflect the durability of the DRV product itself. It rather reflects - possibly someone's lack of taking their time (or possibly just not paying attention to the task at hand) in doing another project and damaging the floor, baseboard, valance, or whatever it may have been damaged, etc. The only major problem has been having to replace the toilet. Our dealership found that problem and is currently awaiting the arrival of a new one. They have been very good to keep us updated on their progress, and we believe there have been no other discoveries with regard to appliances, the generator, satellite, slides, etc. With respect to those items just mentioned - they are only as good as the manufacturer who makes them (even though some would probably still want to blame DRV [or whichever brand RV they happen to be installed in]). While we are disappointed that we weren't able to take ownership of our RV after the initial 4-5 day dealer PDI - we are not disappointed that we ordered a DRV. We do not regret our decision and are still looking forward to being able to leave the dealership with our 41RSSB4 secured to the back of our truck. We were merely asking (when originally beginning the thread) if anyone else had had numerous problems that prevented them from taking ownership after the dealer PDI. We truly look forward to posting our happy, positive news once we take ownership and begin our traveling journeys loving and enjoy our new DRV RV!!

[Gemstone]

"41RSSB4 secured to the back of our truck".

Assuming you are going to weigh the rig right off the lot, before any loading, would you kindly post the real weights for others to see ?

Regards
Gemstone

[DAVIDnRENEE]

We definitely will. We are taking our RV directly to the scales after leaving the dealership (empty). We have been told numerous times the weights (from the factory) are never accurate. With that being said the paperwork from DRV states our 41 weighs 17, 769 #. The transporter did not take it through any weigh stations, so it will be up to us to get - as close to accurate - weight as we can. The old "floor plan" brochures clearly state the 41RESB4 weighs 16,950 # (for the Elite and 15,250 # for the Mobile). So it is feasible that our Elite (including washer/dryer, satellite, Onan 6500, and other adds) might realistically weigh the almost 18K# documented. We'll let everyone know as soon as we take ownership (26 days at the dealership can counting). "41RSSB4 secured to the back of our truck".

Assuming you are going to weigh the rig right off the lot, before any loading, would you kindly post the real weights for others to see ?

Regards
Gemstone

[DAVIDnRENEE]

With regard to the cosmetic issues and how DRV RVs can arrive at dealerships with so many flaws...

We toured the factory in September, but it never occurred to us to ask the question relating to the employees' work schedule. Everyone was working - what looked like diligently -but it was early in the AM. I did read a previous post (on another thread) that mentioned the employees were allowed to leave once their job was completed while receiving a full day's pay. I have not verified that, but the consensus was the quality would possibly suffer if someone knows they get to leave early (and still get full pay) because they would "slap" the RVs together...scary thought! However, since we are still waiting to take ownership of our new RV (26 days and counting) since it arrived at the dealership. I had positive things to say about the dealership and both Kyle Miller and Chad Olinger @ DRV last night while updating my post, but today is another thing!!! We found out we are no further along today than we were a month ago!!!!!! We called Chad (head of customer service) this AM, and still haven't received a call back today (and they are closed since it's way after 4 their time)! We are beginning to rethink our DRV purchase and contemplating looking AGAIN at other high end RVs.

[GlennWest]

I don't pretend to know the rv industry but in my profession we get this option sometimes. We will work somewhat harder but our quality remains the same. If it didn't we would not get to come back for future jobs. You all may be reading more into this than you should. We are a "specialty" welding company and our speed and quality is our "specialty".

[DAVIDnRENEE]

I completely understand that in many cases the quality of the work does not waver or suffer; however, in the RV industry there may be (in fact, several of us have testified to the fact that there is) exceptions to the rule. I do not know that the option of "coming back for future jobs" is contingent on the DRV employees' quality if they are employed year round. That may be worth checking into. I do know that I was told they no longer produce 2 units a day, but rather quite a few more - leaving room for quality to suffer.

I don't pretend to know the rv industry but in my profession we get this option sometimes. We will work somewhat harder but our quality remains the same. If it didn't we would not get to come back for future jobs. You all may be reading more into this than you should. We are a "specialty" welding company and our speed and quality is our "specialty".

[5thwheeler]

This is the checklist we used when picking up our Suite 7 years ago.
We gave the dealer a copy about 1 month before delivery.
Delivery day - we found 3 small items (I guess we were lucky)

We also purchased an extended warranty package - $1800. It was suggested by our dealer. Purchased from a Canadian company. Expensive, but covered virtually everything for 7 years. ($100 deductible) It has been an excellent value. With the exception of the grey water tank replacement, all issues have been with "non-DRV" items - fridge, furnace, awing, etc. We've had an excellent relationship with the insurance company.

Yes, we had our share of issues, but our rig has travelled over 100,000 miles. Do we need a new Suite? No Would we buy a new Suite? Yes, without question! (But, we'd also buy an extended warranty package)

[DAVIDnRENEE]

Thank you!

We have downloaded your PDI check list and will definitely take it with us once we take ownership of our Suite. Today marks the 27th day it has been at the dealership with no end in sight...yet.

With regard to your extended warranty you purchased - did it run concurrent with the standard DRV warranty or did it begin once the DRV warranty expired? Would you please share the insurance company name and number with us? Also, which plan (if several plans were available) did you purchase?

[Red Ram]

It is sad to read that the commitment to quality is still not where it should be with the Mobil Suites. I bought a new 36SB3 Mobil Suites in 07 and traded it off in Dec of 11. I now drive a class A Foretravel. I will not dwell on all the problems we had, but I would not buy another one.