Looking at a DRV...

[MrSeas]

Time to upgrade the 5er. I know DRV has been sold to Thor. Anyone have any dealings with this new match up?

Good or bad? Heard some rumblings that "customization" and DRV may be a thing of the past. All comments are welcome especially "lessons learned!

Thanks,

[SuiteSuccess]

Talked to someone in the loop at the ECR and as for now Thor is going to stay somewhat "hands off" with DRV so manufacturing should stay the same until the bean counters figure out they can mess with it and make some more money. Give them a year then we will see.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

From what I understand, as we are interested in a DRV as well, is that they will customize to a point, and they have a time line as well. 2 weeks after placing the order is all they are allowing for changes. You have to use an existing in production floor plan- no pulling a plan from 2006, and the changes have to be reasonable, move some outlets, add some lights, add or delete appliances, add "Elite" touches to a Mobile Suite are all good. Deleting or adding cabinets gets iffy depending on where they are basing on the wall structure behind them. We recently toured a handful of them and some of the "stupid" mistakes being made and allowed thru the line are head scratchers... as in "Really- you really thought that was ok to leave in this price point of a unit"

That's where having a good dealer is worth while

[orca]

Hello all, as a long time lurker but a new poster let me say i'm happy to be here. On the subject of DRV, i traded my '05 Bounder DP on a '15 Fullhouse about 4 wks ago and the bloom is certainly off the rose! I understood that there would be some small items that would need attention but i was taken aback with three major items that need to be addressed. One is the motorized step that refuses to retract fully,another is that every thing i read about their Mor-ryde suspension states that the bearings are oil-bath. Well the last time i pulled it to practice my backing i found one of the hubcap centers had fallen off and revealed a grease fitting where clear plastic window of the oil bath should have been. Of course at the end of DRV's web site they state that they have the right to change any options with no notice and i guess they did just that. The last (i hope) issue is as a toyhauler the tie-downs in the garage are VERY important in order to keep the precious cargo safe! Most of the other toyhauler mfgs advertise the capacity of their tie-downs but DRV oddly does not and i found out the hard way. It turns out that they are just screwed to the plywood floor instead of bolted to the frame or steel crossmember. Where are their engineers?

Please don't think this is meant to be a nasty rant against DRV because it is a fabulous 5er inside and out, and pulls and handles like a dream. Just be aware that like any other mfgs regardless of the price they will have "issues" but the DRV warrante people are great to work with and will let you take it to the dealer or shop of your choice.

Dave

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

My understanding about the oil bath bearings is that they were leaking to an extent that DRV was having complaints not only about the mess the slinging oil made, but also with bearings running hot, so they went to the regular repackable as standard, and Neverlube as an option.

[Drift]

We purchased a new DRV in May and are currently on the first operational trip. We pulled it home 800 miles prior to this trip so the unit probably has 2500-3000 miles on it now counting delivery to the dealer. We were with Alie and Jim till today so they have already heard of my issues but they are numerous and still mounting in number, some small, some no so small. Today's problem, the big door side slide. I had a conference call with DRV service today and now they want me to bring it back to the factory. That means disrupting our first trip and traveling 2000 miles RT in the wrong direction. Not a good ownership experience thus far. As Jim said, you look at some of the problems and think, really!!! Who is doing the engineering and QA at DRV these days? Sad because they have a good product. Frankly, our choices in the industry are limited, In my opinion, Northern Indiana has not been good for consumers, to much focus on building high number of cheap units and dumping the problems into the dealer network who can't handle the volume. I'm confident we'll get the problems resolved but what a hassle.

[kerry]

We purchased a 2015 DRV Mobile Suites 43' Dallas in March. We too have MANY issues, more than you would normally expect from a new unit. A very long list of problems, most just because of QC. It seems like it was just build it and get it out the door. My dealer has been great fixing things, spent 2 weeks at his lot at delivery. I have fixed several issues myself. Spent 3 days at DRV getting things fixed plus time at a paint shop. Things are still breaking, I'm still fixing, hopefully it will end soon. We just went full time in Jan and would like to start enjoying things instead of fixing things. I've worked in the RV business over 34 years and have seen the good, bad and ugly. No RV is perfect, but our previous unit was a 2010 Cameo and had no problems except for replacing a slide motor and gear set. I expressed my opinion at DRV about their engineering and QC. I will say DRV has been good about fixing things and supplying parts. My reason for purchasing my unit was because of their history of being a good unit, but it seems that is not todays product. I like my floor plan and things I had changed. I'd gladly discuss any issues with anyone if they're interested.

 

MY interest now is to explore an HDT and maybe move into a Continental Coach by Forks RV. A really nice high quality unit, but heavier than my Dallas. We'll see as things go.

[Jack Mayer]

Kerry, you might also consider a New Horizons. Both the Forks and the NH are high end, fully custom units, as you know. Contact me directly if you like, if you have any questions on the New Horizons or what you could do with/in one.

[PSD_Tweaker]

Kerry, I guess some units are worse out the door than others, yours seemed to be real bad.

You should look at a HDT, it doesn't have to be real expensive, just well maintained, and sized to fit your needs.

All those times we talked about it this winter, and I still say the same thing, $40,000.00 is more than enough to get you what you need in a HDT.

 

I hope your Dallas starts cutting you some slack soon.

 

Rick

[kerry]

Hi Rick, how are you doing. I'm in WV getting ready to head for Top Sail Hill State Park in Santa Rosa Fl. Will be working there for a month or two then back to Rainbow. Hope things are well your way. Well the Dallas has been quiet lately, but it hasn't been on the road, lol. Thinking more and more about an HDT. Anything running around up your way. Think I'd like a 630, non smoker, something like yours.Keep me posted. Hope to see you at Rainbow. If you would find someone wanting to trade for the Ram would be good. It does pull the Dallas really well, but if I'd go for a Continental I'll need something for the pin weight. Good to hear form you.

[PSD_Tweaker]

Kerry, all is well up here in the mountains of Quebec.

Projects are numerous, so I'm busy as I can be....life is good.

 

There are NO turn-key HDT trucks I know of around, in fact there never are, and looking for a specific truck always takes a bit of time.

Whenever you're ready, you just say so....THEN the hunt begins.

Good trucks are always in demand, no matter what year / model.

Finding one puts you in with lots of other buyers looking for the same thing, a solid, clean, well-maintained unit with lowest acceptable mileage, and few flaws.

It is very rare that such a truck would be sitting around for any length of time.

The money talks, and right now your US dollars have near record buying power up here in Canada.

 

Good to hear the Dallas is close to being free of "birth defects".

You must love the heat if your already heading back to Fla.

 

Rick

[travelinbob]

We bought our 06 Elite Suites new in July of 07 and had a few problems at first which were dealt with promptly and correctly by Doubletree.

Our home will be 10 years old soon and still looks "almost" as good as the day we bought it. If we would have bought SOB it would have

probably been traded in twice already.

We are replacing things as needed, just replaced the check valve for the black tank flush located in wall behind shower...no big deal if you

are handy at fixing things. We are happy with our purchase.