Private Equity owned RV manufacturers have found a way to reduce warranty claims to just about zero.
intercst
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A person would have to be insane to sign those closing papers. And if you don’t understand the wording of the contract, don’t sign it. Run, not walk, away, lol. But at least the CFPB got dismantled, one less burdensome hoop that the RV industry doesn’t has to deal with. But from the description of that contract, the RV industry just has their customers sign away all rights and protections. So CFPB probably couldn’t have helped, anyways.
Darwinian, in a “capitalist” way, lol.
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Yes, but there are some rights you’re not allowed to sign away.
For example, an employer couldn’t force you to sign away your right to sue for discrimination as a condition of employment.
The states could clear this up by passing a “lemon law” for RVs just like automobiles. If a contract is in violation of state law, it can’t be enforced.
Of course, you could argue that someone spending $99,000 on a new RV is just a guy with more money than brains.
intercst
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“could argue that someone spending $99,000 on a new RV is just a guy with more money than brains.”
hey, he got 2 good weeks out of it,lol, that’s less than $50k per week !
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I’d argue that for the vast majority of people, buying ANY RV is insane. Unless you plan, truly plan, to roam around in the RV full-time, it very likely is not worth owning one. If you want to go on a few week trip, or even a few month trip, just rent an RV. In fact, even people who plan on roaming full-time should probably rent an RV for the first few months to see if they are really suited for RV life.
(I’ve never taken an RV trip, so the above is just my opinion not based on any real experience at all with RVs.)
Rental RVs are generally shabby, small, and don’t give you a true picture of the lifestyle.
Mrs.Goofy and I bought a 37’ Dutchstar diesel pusher, used ($75k), in 1999. (At the time new was $200k +) We kept it for 20 years, and took it out at least once a year, often more, starting with a 4 1/2 month trip from coast to coast, and South to North. [The equivalent model now goes for $700,000 ! Holy carp!]
Along the way we traveled as far south as Key West, and north to Prince Edward Island. We did a “civil rights” tour through Mississippi & Alabama, and a coastal tour along the eastern seaboard. We took it to family Thanksgivings, old homesteads, and friends in disparate states.
We never made it to Alaska, although that was the dream (we flew & took a tour instead).
With a rental you are severely limited. We, for instance, carried a motor scooter on the front, towed a car behind, and had a bike strapped to the ladder in back. We had a satellite dish we used sporadically to stay connected to the world, but other times just luxuriated in the anonymity of the road. We put an extra fridge in the “basement”, and tricked oiut various other accoutrements as we wanted.
(If you don’t have a car or some means of transportation, the “RV experience” amounts to sitting in a campground all day, some of which are basically asphalt parking lots, and none of which are particularly interesting. With a car we visited the Boeing assembly plant in Everett, the Bingham copper mine in Utah, The Mormon Tablernacle Church in Salt Lake, Memphis & the famous “duck walk”, Yosemite & Yellowstone and multiple state parks (some of which wouldn’t allow a rig as large as ours), the Redwoods of California, Mt Rushmore, and too many others to mention.
(I also got to visit a childhood friend of Mrs. Goofy’s, now a farmer, and got to drive his Combine! About 100 yards. God that thing is huge. Also air conditioned cab, GPS, stereo, etc.)
Anyway, no, a rental is nothing like it. We reluctantly gave up the unit a few years ago, when the musculature required to drive it became too much for my aging arms. It is a “well equipped truck”, FWIW, and driving it requires some stamina.
While I’m waxing poetic, I’ll just say that we starting looking for a Class A (bus), investigated 5th Wheels (unbelievably spacious and appointed and relatively inexpensive, but I didn’t want to drive a pick-up), then moved to “trailers” (Airstream & similar), and finally wound up back at Class A with one enormous slide-out - it was big enough for two separate living spaces: hers and mine front/back, and a commodious bathroom, with lots of power and ability to be customized.
It was also expensive to maintain and to run, but that’s part of the deal, at least if you’re going to do it right. No, we never stayed overnight in a WalMart parking lot to save a few bucks, but you accept going in that it’s a lifestyle that doesn’t make financial sense - you’re in it for the multitude of experiences in a variety of settings you won’t get any other way.
One more: we were at Mt. Rushmore on 9/10, 2001, and were to travel to Rapid City on 9/11 to see a favorite Aunt & Uncle which we did, even after sitting slack jawed at the events on TV that morning. After the visit we went to stay in the South Dakota Badlands, which if you have not seen, is like being on the Moon. It was eerie, after the events of the day, holing up in a place devoid of human condition and comfort - except there we were, with stove, microwave, refrigerator, and satellite TV, marooned in this moonscape while the world stood in shock wondering what would come next.
The Badlands, and us in more pleasant surroundings (including me, walking our cat on a leash, in an area where coyotes would love to have her as a filling meal:)
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