RVing truck buyers face "Class Wars"

More salvos have been fired in the American Pickup Truck wars. This time, the fight is on between Ford and Ram, and Ford is threatening court action if Ram doesn't back off its advertising statements. At issue: Just what is a Class 3 pickup truck? That's an important question in Ram promoters minds as they claim their Ram 3500 pickup has the greatest towing ability, "in its class."

For RVers, tow capability is big potatoes. As travel trailer and fifth wheel manufacturers lump on more and more "features," those features are like little calories that all add up on a dieter's scale. Ram says its 3500 will tow 30,000 pounds. But Ford fires back that its F-450 Crew Cab (2015 edition) will yank around 31,200 pounds. Here's where what some would say, "the nitpicking begins." Ram claims Ford's unit is really a "Class 4" truck, while the Ram is in the smaller, Class 3 range.

So what are the classes all about? In the pickup truck world, the smallest of pickups scale in the Class 1 range, and run up, topping out in Class 4. The standard for what class a truck falls into as a federal guideline, issued by set by the Federal Highway Administration. Their formula for classes is based on gross vehicle weight rating (GVRW) -- the weight of an unloaded truck (curb weight) plus the maximum allowable payload. The difference between a Class 3 and a Class 4 truck? The Class 3 truck GVRW must not exceed 14,000 pounds. Anything more goes to a higher weight class.

Here's the hot contention: Ford claims a Class 3 rating because the company claims a GVWR of 14,000 pounds. Not so fast, counters Ram. Ford seems to play fast and loose with its calculations. Ford says F-450's curb weight is 8,611 pounds. To say in the Class 3 14,000 pound limit, it would seem that its maximum payload would then be limited to 5,389 pounds. But hocus-pocus, Ford says its payload is actually 5,450 pounds -- pushing the "real" GVWR over the limit by 61 pounds.

But Ford ingeniously gets around the problem by suggesting a customer "could" order an F-450 without several components -- a radio, center console, jack, and spare tire. Hey, Presto! Suddenly the whole thing fits neatly under 14,000 pounds. Ram plays a straight game, not "deducting" various fitments. It seems industry professionals tend to lean on Ram's side. In a story carried by autonews.com, industry observer Dave Sullivan opined, "That is a Class 4 truck under the skin. It has all the equipment of all of their Class 4 trucks. They call it the F-450, not F-350." Sullivan is a product analysis manager for AutoPacific, an automotive marketing research firm. "This has significant hardware changes to Ford's own Class 3 Super Duty. That's what puts it into the next class."

Dickering over words and options is important to these two truck titans. With an average sticker price beyond $50,000, just what truck you next buy can make a big difference on company bottom lines.

RV pre-purchase inspections: One man's experience

Looking at buying a used RV? As you already know, rigs cost a bunch of money, and there are plenty of "hidden problems," that can inflate your purchase price greatly if you find out "afterwards," that you missed something before you handed over your money.

Don't let your heart take you for a ride

Some RVers find it a wise investment to have a potential rig professionally inspected. Even RVers who have plenty of experience in rigs may find it prudent. Why so? Sometimes that little Judas that beats away in our chest can mislead us. We may like the layout, the looks, and the seemingly good price so much that our heart can overwhelm us – and cause us to miss something that might make that "really good deal," a really bad one.

So how do you get an honest appraisal of what's right and wrong with an RV? By all means, hire an independent set of eyes – don't just take the word of the technician at the dealership whose selling the unit. Nevertheless, finding an inspector can be daunting. Here's some of the experience of a Canadian buyer, who wanted an inspection of a motorhome 3,000 miles away from where he lived. He'd already reviewed video and stills sent him by the dealer, but not being able to actually "go and see" the rig himself.

The man dug into the matter and phoned several outfits in the area and got some surprising responses:

Several RV dealership and RV service outfits said they'd "never heard of" a pre-purchase inspection. Some said if he'd put together a list of what he wanted looked at, they could have a tech investigate. How much? Well, that's when things got rather vague.

He had more success with "mobile RV service" companies who were willing to go out to the dealer's lot and look over the rig (most of the other outfits wanted the rig brought to them). That seemed intriguing, trouble is, the "have tools will travel" guys were only interested in inspecting the coach and it's functions, not the underlying chassis, and power train.

So why not hire the RV guys to inspect the coach, then get an automotive shop to inspect the rest of the rig? Good thought, trouble is, few shops wanted any part of it, and those that did would only proceed if the rig was brought to them. Once again, that might have worked for him, had he been in the area of the dealership, and not trying to do the inspections by "remote control," if you will.

After a lot of digging, the buyer finally located an inspection service on the Internet, rvsurvey.com. While the outfit didn't have an inspector in the immediate area of the dealer, one of their "affiliates," was close enough that the price worked out, even when mileage charges were taken into account. While the hired inspector couldn't do a lot of in-depth chassis and drive-train evaluation, at least he was willing to take the coach out for a test drive and gave what help he could. Better than nothing.

Still, be prepared to pay good money for such an inspection. For the situation above, the inspection ran $400 plus mileage. That's a lot of scratch, but if you're plunking down tens of thousands of dollars on a used rig, it's a small price – particularly if a "problem rig" is sniffed out before signing on the dotted line.

Winnebago rolls out welcome mat on factory tours

Thinking about plopping down your money on one of America's most popular brands – Winnebago? Perhaps you need a little more convincing. Or maybe you're not in the market for a new rig, but you're just interested in how one of these rigs is put together. If your travels take you over Iowa way, Winnebago says, "Come on down!"

The big RV manufacturer has about 10,000 guests drop in every year to visit their Forest City plant to take a free factory tour. Founded in 1958, “Winnebago” became a household word when the company became the first recreation vehicle manufacturer to build motorhomes in an automotive-style assembly line system. Winnebago builds its Winnebago, Itasca, and Winnebago Touring Coach motorhome brands in one of the most technologically advanced RV manufacturing facilities in existence today.

The tour starts at the Winnebago Visitors’ Center with a 20-minute video that offers a preview of the manufacturing process.  After the video, the tour bus, manufactured by Winnebago Industries, departs for a drive-through tour of the grounds.  Tour goers are also able to do walk-in tours of three buildings: the chassis weld facility, where the raw chassis is prepared to become a home on wheels with the front cab and basement storage added; the Stitchcraft facility that builds quality chairs, window valances, sofas and other innovative furniture pieces that are only found in our motorhomes; and our main production area named Big Bertha.

Equivalent in size to eight football fields, Big Bertha features three production lines.  Visitors will see the magnitude of this building thanks to mezzanines that provide a bird’s eye view.

Before or after the tour, visitors can also visit the Winnebago Museum which is located in the upper level of the Visitors’ Center.  The museum chronicles the Company’s 56-year history, as well as the design and construction of the Company’s motorhomes.

During the spring and summer months, the Visitors’ Center also features some of the latest models of the company’s Winnebago, Itasca, and Winnebago Touring Coach motorhomes, as well as Winnebago Towables, right off the assembly lines.

Visitors can also see one of the first motorhomes built by Winnebago Industries, the classic 1967 Winnebago D22, as well as a 1959 trailer. The Visitors’ Center is also home to WIT Club, the company’s product owners club and Winnebago Outdoor Store, which offers a variety of Winnebago branded apparel, gifts, and wearables.

Tours of Winnebago are free, and all ages are welcome.  Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.  The Visitors’ Center is accessible to those with disabilities; however the factory tour does include three staircases.

Tours, which last approximately two hours, are offered twice daily at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday from April through October, and at 1 p.m. in November.  If your group is larger than six, reservations are recommended.

For more information, call 641-585-6936, visit http://www.winnebagoind.com/company/visit-us/ or e-mail info@winnebagoind.com.

Source: Winnebago press release and rvtravel.com