Do you own an "Orphan RV".....and does it even matter?

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Lots of RV companies have come and gone "out of business"....

I suppose that the biggest fear is that replacement parts will NOT be available...
This could be solved by the ingenuity of RV shops or enterprising do it yourselfers....

The other "elephant in the room" is HOW does this affect RESALE VALUE???

I would like to think that build quality is MORE IMPORTANT than whether the company is still around... BUT, I'd rather have an RV from a company that's still in business....

Name recognition helps people validate the value of a product... maybe it's not always true...but, in this case "perception is reality".....

What do you think????? Is this true??

[hepcat]

The only thing an RV company can claim as its own is the coachwork. All of the systems are off-the-shelf and are readily replaceable. There are several "orphan" coaches that have not only maintained their value, but have actually increased as the used stocks have become more rare... Chinook comes immediately to mind for that.

There are also some real bargains in quality used "orphaned" coaches if you know what you're looking for. Born Free, at least at the moment, is one of those.

A quality coach will always be a quality coach, and quality coaches (and B-vans of any quality) will always be in demand. Cheap Class C's and A's... not necessarily so much. The problem with older RVs from companies still in business is that they may not stock the parts for it anyway as they change molds and designs, so it might as well be orphaned anyway. Just because the company remains in business doesn't mean that there's support for an older coach.

[BBQ]

.

Roadtrek used to have the mold for every legacy skirt and spoiler it ever created.

Sadly they are all gone now.
If you have a broken skirt, you have to make one yourself.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

Roadtrek used to have the mold for every legacy skirt and spoiler it ever created.

Sadly they are all gone now.
If you have a broken skirt, you have to make one yourself.

Guaranteed if the company is out of business.....

I suppose Roadtrek keeps parts around for a while......10 years??

I don't know... with all the RV suppliers.... maybe it's just business as usual...

[avanti]

I tried to purchase some minor interior parts from Airstream for our old Interstate (when it was about 5 years old). The company was worthless. Maybe some of the others may be more helpful. Dunno.

Once the warranty has expired, I do not believe that it makes much difference whether the upfitter is still in business or not.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by avanti

I tried to purchase some minor interior parts from Airstream for our old Interstate (when it was about 5 years old). The company was worthless. Maybe some of the others may be more helpful. Dunno.

Once the warranty has expired, I do not believe that it makes much difference whether the upfitter is still in business or not.

I needed some replacement parts from Roadtrek....yeah.... they had them...no problem....
My vehicle is a 2012 ....and out of warranty.....

Shame on Airstream.....

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

I needed some replacement parts from Roadtrek....yeah.... they had them...no problem....
My vehicle is a 2012 ....and out of warranty.....

Shame on Airstream.....

That's good to hear. I should know better than to generalize from Thor's business practices.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by avanti

That's good to hear. I should know better than to generalize from Thor's business practices.

OK... that's good to know..

I wasn't aware until I did a Google search and see that Airstream was absobed by Thor in 2001.....

I know someone who recently purchased a Thor Ace 27 foot Class A.., pretty basic Class A.
And cheap...a 2017 for around $70,000..

When I asked some people what they thought about the Thor Ace... they rolled their eyes....
Told me that I'm much better off with my used Roadtrek RS Adventurous....

I don't know... maybe it's all subjective ??

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

I don't know... maybe it's all subjective ??

Nah. Although we loved our 2005 Interstate, its initial build quality was disgraceful. I have seen no evidence that they have improved since then.

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

I needed some replacement parts from Roadtrek..........

What parts did you need for your 2012 Roadtrek?

[hepcat]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

When I asked some people what they thought about the Thor Ace... they rolled their eyes....
Told me that I'm much better off with my used Roadtrek RS Adventurous....

I don't know... maybe it's all subjective ??

It is ENTIRELY subjective. Build quality can be looked at objectively, and you can certainly differentiate quality materials and craftsmanship from cheap materials assembled as quickly as possible... but after that it's all a balance of perception of quality, weighed against cost, ease of use, frequency of use, and any other personal "wants" the buyer may have. I certainly know what MY buying parameters are... and every person has a different formula for balancing those factors.

Some people demand quality, want to spend significant time in their coach and don't care what it costs. Some people want to travel, some people want to winter over in a trailer park spot. Other people just want a coach to camp in a couple of weekends a year but have little to spend, and then there's all the shades of gray in between.

That's why there are coaches built to every price point, and they all sell... eventually.

[parkgt]

Our 2007 GW Legend with 50K miles on it seems to be holding together well. The initial build quality must have been pretty good because I have found few things to repair.

As far as the coach goes I have replaced two or the crank arms on the tip out windows. The rest is doing fine.

On the Mercedes side I had the turbo resonator replaced with a Dorman before picking it up a year ago. I replaced the driver door window regulator lift guide with the metal one from Europe and have another for the passenger side. The lumbar bags in both seats leak and even after replacing the radio and speakers the sound still sucks. New struts, shocks and tires round out the major chassis upgrades.

It seems most Sprinters are used by couples and probably older couples that don't have kids banging thing around. This I think this helps things stay working compared to rigs that are subjected to children.

Being an orphan crossed my mind when contemplating the purchase; but we wanted an 2006 chassis for the simplicity and figured that old of a coach would not get much support from the factory whether orphan or not.

I expect this orphan to hold together for quite a few more years.

[booster]

In many cases, it really isn't any worse than having an non orphan from a company that won't take care of the warranty and parts issues.


It took us less than 3 weeks to find out we might have well gotten an orphan when we got our new, but on the lot a while, 07 Chevy Roadtrek. Coach batteries were trashed from no maintenance at the dealer, it appeared, but they held enough charge to show us the walkaround so we didn't catch it then. Dealer said it was a Roadtrek warranty issue, Roadtrek said it was an Exide warranty issue, Exide said that Roadtrek put the batteries in the van over a year earlier and that is when the warranty started and then expired. So, we got the "privilege" of buying two brand new coach batteries only 3 weeks after taking delivery of a brand new class B. Could an orphan be worse?

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by markopolo

What parts did you need for your 2012 Roadtrek?

OK... glad you asked because it's a teaching lesson for people...

We were just about to leave for a trip... the hose cracked and I could see this was bad timing.... however, my neighbor said...I used to work at an RV shop and I can fix this...

He said I can't find the original hose but I'll "fix it" for less than the RV shop will charge...
Unfortunately, he got some replacement hose and fittings from the local hardware store and it didn't work out well....

It was really a Rube Goldberg solution... worked with a lot of challenges..... I was able to take the trip... but the hose was SO DIFFICULT to use...I had to get it changed AGAIN....

The RV shop I took my rig to said...how did you "manage" to use this thing...YES it was that challenging to get the hose in and out of the channel.....

In the process...my neighbor destroyed all the original equipment underneath the vehicle and it ALL had to be replaced....

Here's the lesson I learned...

TAKE your vehicle to a qualified professional.... The money I thought I was saving was no savings at all... paid $500 to the neighbor...and another $1100 to the RV shop....

I will NEVER do that again...ever.....

Fortunately, Roadtrek had all the original equipment...

The RS Adventurous has a great dump hose and macerator...the hose sits in a channel tube and is "NORMALLY" easy to pull out and replace.....the hose was brittle and just cracked from weathering... that's all...

Dumping the black and gray water on my rig is easier than a lot of other RV'S...I see a lot of people who have to take out a hose... bayonet mount it on the rig...use a gravity dump and hope they are in a position to do this.... I can dump even on an incline... although I try to avoid this...
The hose is permanently attached..comes in and out like a snake..

If my neighbor had obtained the "correct sized" hose... maybe it would have not been so disastrous....to be fair...he was under a time issue and so was I....

I just wouldn't do it again...

Have your RV serviced by a professional...and enjoy your rig more...it pays to have it done right the first time.....time is money....

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by avanti

I tried to purchase some minor interior parts from Airstream for our old Interstate (when it was about 5 years old). The company was worthless. Maybe some of the others may be more helpful. Dunno.

Once the warranty has expired, I do not believe that it makes much difference whether the upfitter is still in business or not.

I can still get Airstream unique parts for my 2013 Interstate. Just checked with a dealer on a cover for the LP Fill Panel. Airstream only sells parts through dealers. Available likely depends on parts still being used in production.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

I can still get Airstream unique parts for my 2013 Interstate. Just checked with a dealer on a cover for the LP Fill Panel. Airstream only sells parts through dealers. Available likely depends on parts still being used in production.

Yes, they do have a very good parts-numbering scheme and one can sometimes get the bill of materials for a given coach--I will give them that. You are also correct that the dealer can get current parts. But as far as I can tell, they make little effort to stock legacy parts. I needed some very ordinary internal trim bits (because one of my many hidden leaks rotted the originals before I discovered it). It was only a few years old, but the parts were no longer current. Nobody cared. I learned that you can do amazing plywood relamination with epoxy.

[rvnut777]

Orphan Rvs can be good but manuals can be hard to find. Had trouble finding a manual for my Sunland RV because they went out of business but finally found one on a site called "motorhomemmanuals.com". Might be worth looking at?

[mumkin]

For curiosity I looked to see what they had for late, great, Great West Vans. They have one manual, and it is for a rare model Class C on a Chevy that may represent 2% of the rigs they built over the years. There was a prototype and maybe a handful were sold. The other 98% were Class B's built on Dodge, Ford, or Sprinter. No manuals on those...

[jrobe]

I was given a fairly thick manual with my new Class B but it really has very little value. The specific owner's manuals for each appliance (refrigerator, furnace, water heater, inverter, etc.) are all more important and can usually be found online. The first thing I did when we got our RV was to map out all of the water lines, electrical lines, etc. so I could fully understand how everything works. I basically made my own manual so I could learn the use and maintenance of all the systems. For example, I now have a specific a step by step flow sheet for winterization that I made for myself. I don't even bother to carry the original manual anymore.