Many Issues with 2019 R-pod 180 - Event Date: 01 Jan 2019 - 14 Mar 2019

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   Good article. From our trip last summer to RV country we learned the following.  The Amish mostly do the woodwork (cabinets, bed etc).  The reason why the day starts so early is that there is no air conditioning in the factories.  They are paid on a unit basis.  They must build a minumum number of RV's (at the plant we visited it was 12).  Then for every unit over that they are paid a bonus (the highest number at our plant was 17!!!).  That is the major reason why there are so many mistakes, they are rushing.  The more they build, the more they make.  Would you want your surgeon paid on the number of heart bypasses they do a day!  In addition, they do not have extra helpers.  So if a person calls in sick there is one less person working the line that day and the remaining workers have to make up the slack.  So for all these reasons it is amazing that RV's do not have more issues.  But again this is industry wide and not an RPOD issue.

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Richand Cindy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 16 Apr 2016 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 328	Calendar Event: Many Issues with 2019 R-pod 180 Posted: 17 Mar 2019 at 8:43pm
	Good article. From our trip last summer to RV country we learned the following. The Amish mostly do the woodwork (cabinets, bed etc). The reason why the day starts so early is that there is no air conditioning in the factories. They are paid on a unit basis. They must build a minumum number of RV's (at the plant we visited it was 12). Then for every unit over that they are paid a bonus (the highest number at our plant was 17!!!). That is the major reason why there are so many mistakes, they are rushing. The more they build, the more they make. Would you want your surgeon paid on the number of heart bypasses they do a day! In addition, they do not have extra helpers. So if a person calls in sick there is one less person working the line that day and the remaining workers have to make up the slack. So for all these reasons it is amazing that RV's do not have more issues. But again this is industry wide and not an RPOD issue.
	OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 17 Mar 2019 at 7:37am
	I thought this article was interesting and might give some insights into the work culture in the northern Indiana RV industry. http://amishamerica.com/3-negatives-for-amish-working-in-the-indiana-rv-industry/
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2586	Posted: 16 Mar 2019 at 6:19pm
	Turning out trailers with inadequate quality control makes little sense to me. If you give your employees adequate time to do it right the first time, you have happier customers and lower costs in the long run. It is much less costly to use care to build something right than to pay a dealer to go back and tear something apart to do it over again. The dealers have to be paid for their warranty work and the more errors are made, the more it eats away at the bottom line for the manufacturer. Would it really be that much more expensive to give the employees 2 or 3 hours of additional assembly time to allow them the ability to avoid mistakes and save 3 or 4 times as much time for repairs at the dealer. I suspect, even thought the dealers don't charge their full shop rate to FR, they are receiving more than the average hourly worker in the factory. Go figure.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

mcarter Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419	Posted: 16 Mar 2019 at 4:46pm
	+1 to SH, I also drilled and bolted my tank supports to frame. The sheet metal screws used at OEM were not adequate, I had loose screws, gaps and missing hardware. No issues once I modified the install.
	Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."

GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2627	Posted: 16 Mar 2019 at 3:58pm
	Never buy an RV that was made on Monday or Friday... or after lunch on Wednesday... or before lunch on Tuesday or Thursday... or any day that ends with a "day".
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Richand Cindy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 16 Apr 2016 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 328	Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 8:40pm
	There really is no such thing as a quality control check for any RV built. When done it leaves the floor. This is unlike cars in which there is a final inspection team and random units are pulled and really tested. A dealer once told me they are the final inspectors and that they are paid to go over all RVs and fix everything BEFORE it leaves the showroom. The same dealer told me of all FR products they sell the RPODS have the most issues to fix. This is the reason who you buy from is critical for purchasing any RV. But the issues are usually straight forward and fixed. Should it be this way? Of course not. But that is the RV business and goes beyond an RPOD issue. Nobody wants to buy the last RPOD made the day before xmas holiday when there is a short staff to begin with but thats life. As was posted earlier it may be better to buy a slightly used RPOD as the whatever will break already did and was fixed. When we sold ours after only a year it was better than new!
	OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel

crw8sr Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 12 Oct 2017 Location: Omaha Nebraska Online Status: Offline Posts: 328	Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 8:33pm
	We haven't had any issues with our 190. (Knock on wood!)
	Chuck & Lyn Izzy, Morkie. RIP Zoe Joy & Gracie, Yorkie 2018 R Pod 190 2019 Traverse In moments of adversity;when life's a total wreck, I think of those worse off than me and really feel like heck.

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6285	Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 5:49pm
	I drilled out one hole in each support and added a stainless steel bolt with washers and lock nut (could have used lock washers and regular nut also) because my supports also had the gap issue. Since doing this, I haven't had to worry about it.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2627	Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 9:43am
	The little gap at one end or the other of that tank support seems to be a common issue. Ours doesn't have the issue, so there must be too much variation in the length of the support, or the the frame, or both.
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

wvanauken Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 13 Mar 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 29	Posted: 15 Mar 2019 at 8:56am
	I suggested to the dealership that a spacer be fabricated and installed between the flange on cross member water tank support and the frame. They did this and it is OK now. This will provide a good mechanical clamping force to complete the bond between frame and the cross-member. If that bond isn't there, then you are relying on those two little self-drilling screws to hold all the weight of the water tank. I would recommend that you have this fix done.