Just warranty issues experiences.

[roadglide]

I wont go into details. My dealer has been has taken care of all my warranty issues and still working on some other issues. My experience has been good with Keystone warranty work. Until the Rv industry stop paying there labor by peace work the industry will continue to have quality issues.

[chuckster57]

When you say RV industry stop paying by piece work, do you mean the dealers or the manufacturers?

[roadglide]

When you say RV industry stop paying by piece work, do you mean the dealers or the manufacturers?
I have been reading into the the RV manufacture industry pays there labor by piece work. I guess one trailer at a time. There are some really good U tube videos showing Keystone building there frames and explaining why there technique is better.

[dcg9381]

I'd be surprised if Keystone paid their employees by the "piece" during the manufacturing process, but I'd also stand to be corrected. It wouldn't surprise me if there is a bonus attached with production rates somehow...

It's very common in the repair business to pay the actual mechanic a base rate with a bonus by the "piece" - while charging the consumer a "book rate" on the retail side. This makes sure good mechanics get paid more, but you're right, it also encourages quick (and perhaps sloppy) work....

[chuckster57]

I am currently at a high end motor home factory for training, and can tell you the crew here is paid hourly. I know of another maker that pays hourly with bonus for meeting quotas.

As for the service end, I have worked for both and there advantages to both.

When the comparison with the auto industry comes up I ask how much of the car is built by humans? How much of any given RV is built by humans?

[sw342]

I have been reading into the the RV manufacture industry pays there labor by piece work. I guess one trailer at a time. There are some really good U tube videos showing Keystone building there frames and explaining why there technique is better.

Do you have the link to the video? I was not aware of Keystone building their own frames now. The frame under my hauler is a Lippert. I know Northwood Mfg builds their own frames, as it is not very common in the industry, hence the reason their haulers are really made to go off pavement vs anything Keystone/Thor builds.

[dcg9381]

When the comparison with the auto industry comes up I ask how much of the car is built by humans? How much of any given RV is built by humans?

Auto - very little
RV - quite a bit

Your observation has merit in terms of reducing the defect rate. Take humans out of the equation and things would definitely improve. Or at least be consistent.

What might be appropriate - and might be going on in the background is some analysis of RV defect rate and how much that's costing Keystone. Course I'd expect a company that large to actively be doing and managing that analysis, but often times they're simply looking at margin and not quality.

[roadglide]

Do you have the link to the video? I was not aware of Keystone building their own frames now. The frame under my hauler is a Lippert. I know Northwood Mfg builds their own frames, as it is not very common in the industry, hence the reason their haulers are really made to go off pavement vs anything Keystone/Thor builds. What I should have said is Keystone building side walls form aluminum tubing Lippert builds the frames.

[roadglide]

I wont go into details. My dealer has been has taken care of all my warranty issues and still working on some other issues. My experience has been good with Keystone warranty work. Until the Rv industry stop paying there labor by peace work the industry will continue to have quality issues.
One of the issues was the monitoring system didn't work, the dealer respired some wiring and replaced a cracked tank I didn't know about . I checked the system by running a hose into the bathroom sink yesterday for some reason the tank they replaced ,the gray water valve was leaking water like somebody didn't connect the cable up except it takes more effort to pull the handle, so I call them up for a redo on tank valve next week 75 miles from home.

[roadglide]

The redo on the gray water tank valve was completed that day. the valve is very easy to pull and they gave me a twist on wast valve that I requested for my time.