Interesting Read

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Might be a bit early to judge Grand Design at the end of the article, but the author nailed the rest.

http://rvdailyreport.com/opinion/rv-death-spiral-manufacturers-in-race-to-the-bottom/

[trailertraveler]

The article's author either does not know anything about trailers/5th wheels or he is being intentionally deceiving with this statement: "Earlier this year, they discovered that although their RV label says the vehicle is rated to hold 18,000 pounds, the three axles on the rig were rated for 5,200 pounds each. So, in reality, their 18,000-pound RV could only safely hold 15,600 pounds."

 

A pin weight of 20-25% would result in 3600-4500# on the pin and 13,500-14,400# on the axles. Maybe not as much cushion as some may want but within the axles ratings. But then he and the owner/original poster of the "facts" put it on the internet so it must be true.

[mptjelgin]

The article's author either does not know anything about trailers/5th wheels or he is being intentionally deceiving with this statement: "Earlier this year, they discovered that although their RV label says the vehicle is rated to hold 18,000 pounds, the three axles on the rig were rated for 5,200 pounds each. So, in reality, their 18,000-pound RV could only safely hold 15,600 pounds."

 

A pin weight of 20-25% would result in 3600-4500# on the pin and 13,500-14,400# on the axles. Maybe not as much cushion as some may want but within the axles ratings. But then he and the owner/original poster of the "facts" put it on the internet so it must be true.

 

This same issue of incorrect understanding of axle ratings vs. GVWR came up in an earlier article discussed here: http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=122531&hl=

 

Distressing to see that they are once again presenting the same inaccurate example. This inaccuracy undermines the rest of the article for me.

[Chris-n-Dennis]

Saw some of the same thing over on Facebook. Coupled with another article I read, I'm beginning to believe the rumor the author does not and has not owned an RV. His information is anecdotal and quite often gleaned by surfing blogs, then cherry picked to meet the theme of the article being written. While I dislike being negative, I have severe heartburn with one sided articles that fail to present the whole story. Worse yet is such bias is coupled with a lack of understanding and the presentation of inaccurate or even purposefully misleading "facts" to bolster the piece.

[Dutch_12078]

Greg Gerber, the author, travels around the country in a Class A. I agree he has an obvious lack of understanding of trailers and axle ratings though.

[StarDreamers.us]

So many folks on this site with a "treasure chest of knowledge" that they share. Thanks!

 

Safe Travels!

[Legendsk]

Might be a bit early to judge Grand Design at the end of the article, but the author nailed the rest.

http://rvdailyreport.com/opinion/rv-death-spiral-manufacturers-in-race-to-the-bottom/

 

It's a mildly interesting article. The fact that the author doesn't seem to know anything about RVs isn't important, because the article actually is about the current business climate, not RVs specifically. If you replace every occurrence of 'RV' in the article with 'pickup', 'refrigerator', 'house', 'shower head', 'TV', etc., it would be equally true. The present economic and political climate is not conducive to hard-working honest business folks, it rewards the quick buck, fly-by-night, sharks. There will have to be some pretty severe cultural changes to address the problem.