List of things I've broke

[Dray]

I tend to break things, so I like to buy quality merchandise.  I thought I was doing that when I bought my Fleetwood.  I have had it only since about April 2007 and so far this is what I have broke.

Tongue jack busted clean off
Latch on the door
Fridge doesn't get cold
Outside wall screws came out and now it needs refastening

I'm gonna start calling my PU the egg cause it seems to be as delicate as one.

[AustinBoston]

I tend to break things, so I like to buy quality merchandise.  I thought I was doing that when I bought my Fleetwood.  I have had it only since about April and so far this is what I have broke.

Tongue jack busted clean off
Latch on the door
Fridge doesn't get cold
Outside wall screws came out and now it needs refastening

I'm gonna start calling my PU the egg cause it seems to be as delicate as one.

Fleetwood used to have a reputation for building the most rugged non-off-road pop-up.  We have a 2000 with over 30,000 miles on it, and there are only a few things we've had to repair or replace:

The drawer glide mounts.
The drawer glide mounts.
The drawer glide mounts.  Came up with a permanent fix that doesn't use the factory mounts.  Hasn't been a problem since.
The tongue jack.  In our case, the jack itself failed when the threads on the lifing screw or lifting nut (it's been many years, I don't remember which) stripped out.

Austin

[austinado16]

Mmmm.......that seems like a lot for a PUP that's just a year old.  Bummer. Maybe it's time to give the entire camper a good once over and take care of any land mines before they pop up.....so to speak.

Makes me appreciate my 20 year old Starcraft Nova!

[brainpause]

Dray, it can be frustrating.

However, I bet you will (eventually) reach a point where you will have minimal troubles. You may have a little something here or there, but most of the time I think people reach that point where the weak points are fixed.

Larry

[cojake]

I have found that to be a pop up owner it is extremely beneficial to have some handyman/woman skills.  They can be a little quirky and in need of repair or adjustment in the field.  sometimes it can be fun and sometimes it can be extremely frustrating.  
I keep a toolkit with extra screws, zip ties, duct tape, multimeter, socket set, hammer, crimper, and a multitude of small handy gadgets.  I think I have used everything in my kit with my old pup as well as my brand new one.  
If I took my camper back to the dealer for every minor thing that I have tightened or adjusted, I would never get to use it.  That being said, I still love my new camper as it has given me many happy weekends this summer.  Jake  

[Dray]

I have found that to be a pop up owner it is extremely beneficial to have some handyman/woman skills.  They can be a little quirky and in need of repair or adjustment in the field.  sometimes it can be fun and sometimes it can be extremely frustrating.  
I keep a toolkit with extra screws, zip ties, duct tape, multimeter, socket set, hammer, crimper, and a multitude of small handy gadgets.  I think I have used everything in my kit with my old pup as well as my brand new one.  
If I took my camper back to the dealer for every minor thing that I have tightened or adjusted, I would never get to use it.  That being said, I still love my new camper as it has given me many happy weekends this summer.  Jake  

Good advice about keeping a tool/repair kit on board.  I too have some essentials.  Some of my favorite tools are a hammer and vice grips.  I also love the silver tape and zip ties.  

I actually do enjoy fixing some things here and there.  I'm gonna go through my PU soon and check all the water lines and fittings.

[wavery]

If you consider the whole concept of the PU camper I am extremely impressed how well they actually stay together.

Please remember, the concept of PUs is "Light weight" and "Low profile". If you consider the thousands of individual parts that it takes to assemble one of these campers, it is really remarkable that they stay together when you consider that each one of those parts has to be #1 light weight, #2 marketable (pretty), #3 low cost and somewhere down the list of priorities comes "Durable". At some point,, if the camper is constructed in an inferior fashion, the warranty costs will come back and bite them (in more ways than one). That is where the balance comes in.

The end product is a camper that you can tow with a moderate TV, store in a small space and have minimal fuel consumption and wear & tear on the TV.

If the manufacturer were to build the parts that you mention stronger, that would change the entire dynamics of the PU itself. I'm not saying for one moment that poor quality is acceptable. All I'm saying is that I believe that you get what you pay for.

In order to increase the strength of fasteners, you are faced with 2 options. #1 bigger, #2 high tech (expensive). The first option will increase the weight of the camper #2 will increase the cost of the camper (significantly).

All of this stuff has to do with where the manufacturer positions himself in the market place. That is all consumer driven. The consumer demands light weight and low price. That is the bottom line. It's called, "You get what you pay for". If someone were to try to market a high quality PU at a higher price, they would get very little market share which would, in turn, lower the # of units they  build which would increase the price of each individual part. The dynamics are exponential.

Just my 2 cents

[waygard33]

I bought a new Fleetwood E3 in late June (actually a 2008 model). Before I left the driveway, I needed to have several items repaired:

1)Cold water line under sink kinked when the galley was raised. No cold water at sink.
2)Supply hose connection to the water tank had a hole in it and leaked.
3)Clearance light was not riveted properly and was falling off.

I scheduled an appointment with the dealer and they did a great job repairing everything.

Since then I noticed my water heater panel is pulling away at the exterior. Stripped screw. I will take it back once I'm done camping for another warranty service.

I would say that I expected these types of items to popup   because while looking at the campers my feeling was the frame was very well made but from there up, it is a fragile piece of equipment. I think that's true for most campers that are reasonably priced, no matter what type they are.

My plan is to handle with care...but be prepared to repair.

On a side note, I inspect homes for a living and I'm always telling buyers of new construction homes that they will have problems and it can sometimes take a couple of years to get all the kinks worked out. The second owner is usually very happy

[wavery]

On a side note, I inspect homes for a living and I'm always telling buyers of new construction homes that they will have problems and it can sometimes take a couple of years to get all the kinks worked out. The second owner is usually very happy

I couldn't agree more. The same thing goes for cars and RVs (IMO).  

I was a car dealership service manager for many years. I would never buy a new car. I prefer to let the original owner get the kinks worked out and I'll buy it 2 years old and in better than new condition, with most of the kinks worked out.

I did the same with our PU. The original owner gets the pleasure of taking the big hit on depreciation and all of the warranty hassles . I'm quite happy to fix anything that might happen from then on.

[AustinBoston]

I was a car dealership service manager for many years. I would never buy a new car. I prefer to let the original owner get the kinks worked out and I'll buy it 2 years old and in better than new condition, with most of the kinks worked out.

You mean like the NEW ENGINE Chevrolet put in our Astro when it had less than 1,500 miles (yes, less than one thousand, five hundered miles) on it.  I checked the oil about a week into ownership, and it was down TWO QUARTS.  That was strange.  Within a week, I had added two more quarts.  Long story short, on one cylinder, it either had a bad casting (more likely) or an out-of-round bore (less likey but still possible).  It took 11 days after they received the new engine to swap them.  I know the factory didn't take 11 days installing the original engine, so I felt confident a good job had been done.  But that was one heck of a bug to work out.  Really ticked us off; we had custom ordered it, and we needed it in short order, or we would have told them to give us a different one.  It is approaching 200,000 miles with only maintenance type items since then.

Austin

[sacrawf]

If you consider the whole concept of the PU camper I am extremely impressed how well they actually stay together.

Please remember, the concept of PUs is "Light weight" and "Low profile". If you consider the thousands of individual parts that it takes to assemble one of these campers, it is really remarkable that they stay together when you consider that each one of those parts has to be #1 light weight, #2 marketable (pretty), #3 low cost and somewhere down the list of priorities comes "Durable".

Wavery, that's similar to buying racing bicycles.  Light, Strong, Cheap.  Pick any two.

In the bicycle industry, you can buy a light,strong, and very expensive bicycle, costing more than most pop-ups.  Unfortunately, the market for popups has not been such that anyone has seen fit to make available a light, stong, and expensive pop-up using an all-aluminum frame, carbon fibre/fiberglass/titanium construction, etc.  My guess is that it would retail in the $30,000 dollar range, and there would be very little market for it.  So, in the meantime, we keep doing our little repairs.

[wavery]

Wavery, that's similar to buying racing bicycles.  Light, Strong, Cheap.  Pick any two.

In the bicycle industry, you can buy a light,strong, and very expensive bicycle, costing more than most pop-ups.  Unfortunately, the market for popups has not been such that anyone has seen fit to make available a light, stong, and expensive pop-up using an all-aluminum frame, carbon fibre/fiberglass/titanium construction, etc.  My guess is that it would retail in the $30,000 dollar range, and there would be very little market for it.  So, in the meantime, we keep doing our little repairs.

Yep!!! You got the point. :sombraro:

[robpoe]

You mean like the NEW ENGINE Chevrolet put in our Astro when it had less than 1,500 miles (yes, less than one thousand, five hundered miles) on it.

My 2000 Malibu I had got a new engine @ 8000 miles.  It was slapping the pistons when cold.  A known issue /w those cars, there is/was a piston upgrade kit.  Seems to cut on weight, they shortened the piston skirts so much that they slapped around.  Damaged the cylinders and they replaced the engine.

But that car was a lemon, I believe.  They replaced the fuel pump, front brakes, a flip door on the console, left a coolant line loose when they did the engine, throttle got stuck open (that was FUN!!!), transmission would sometimes just .. "forget" what it was doing and would just "let go" (no, not in neutral!).  My service history was from the floor to the ceiling on tractor paper.  I think I spent more time in a rental car than I did in the Malibu.

Owned a 1997 Monte Carlo.  By 55k miles it was JUNK.  In 1998 1/2.  No, I didn't drive it any harder than I did any of my previous vehicles, it just had all kinds of problems and rattles and squeaks..

Now I have a 1995 Toyota 4Runner.  225k miles.  My previous (87) 4Runner had 320k on it .. and it only needed a timing chain and a clutch..  The truck before that was an 84 Toyota.  309k when I sold it and it's still running..

[txsarge]

If the manufacturer were to build the parts that you mention stronger, that would change the entire dynamics of the PU itself. I'm not saying for one moment that poor quality is acceptable. All I'm saying is that I believe that you get what you pay for.

I understand your point and I don't disagree but have you ever listened to a sales pitch from a dealer.  They talk like their PUPs are as strong as a battleship even though they shoould know from service records that quality has been sacrificed for the issues you mention.

Is that right?

[AustinBoston]

I understand your point and I don't disagree but have you ever listened to a sales pitch from a dealer.  They talk like their PUPs are as strong as a battleship even though they shoould know from service records that quality has been sacrificed for the issues you mention.

Is that right?

Well, they wouldn't sell many units by saying "They're fun, but something breaks every time you go over a speed bump."  Besides, somewhere, someone makes (or used to make) a cheaper, less durable pop-up.

Austin