RV Consumer Group vs JR Consumer Resources - RV-Dreams Community Forum

alternativeview · RV-Dreams Family Member

RV Consumer Group vs JR Consumer Resources

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

First question to ask yourself, do the people who run those site RV? I know that couple that runs RV Consumer Group doesn't. So why would you pay for information from people who don't RV?

Lots of research, narrow down to a couple of specific manufactures and models, then go to the owners section on iRV2.net and ask what owners like and dislike about the rigs. Best info we got when looking.

Barb

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Barbara gives good advice. Also, when researching specific brands, look online to see if there are separate owner's groups for those brands. See if they have forums available there as well. However, when reading any forum, keep in mind that they will "attract" people that are looking for the solution to a problem, thus, they may give the appearance that the specific brand isn't good quality. When reading issues involving problems, are those problems related to the actual RV or to "components" manufactured by other companies to be used in the RV. For instance, refrigerators, a/c units, hot water heaters are all separate manufacturers from the RV company and any problems with those components shouldn't be used to judge the quality of the overall RV.

Terry

alternativeview · RV-Dreams Family Member

"So why would you pay for information from people who don't RV?"

Barbara, this is a point well taken. We have learned so much from scouring the forums, crawling under rigs at shows, comparing specs, asking questions (inluding of rv'ers at shows, who often have much more insight than the salespeople), etc. Sounds like you recommend just keeping at it, digging deeper, narrowing down the list, and letting our diligence be our guide. Thanks!

alternativeview · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry, I think you're spot on. I appreciate your reminder to separate the complaints and issues of the actual RV and other manufacturers' components. It also seems like unhappy people often vent on forums, whereas happy people are too busy enjoying their rigs and adventures to sing praises, so that tilts the scale, too. We were somewhat surprised at some of the "private" owners' forums, and that's definitely food for thought. And we were additionally surprised at how many sales staff, at shows and at dealerships, did NOT own an RV or even a tent. What the heck?

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Two points: The Gallants who run RV Consumer Group did RV in the past and he sold RVs, which gave him the idea to start the group. I know, a friend bought a trailer from him as a salesman and kept in contact. I also know the Gallants had a bus conversion for a while, but do not know if they had any other RVs and how long they have been RV less. Point 2 is watch what you say on iRV2, especially if you can't understand why no one has mentioned something that you thought was well known about a product. They give all of their moderators a lot of power and any can and some will ban you from the entire site. Some moderators have biases and do not like alternate views, and some work for companies and do not allow any positive messages about their competitors or negatives on their own products. Most moderators are good, but some are not and it does not matter if you are banned. I just let Google find me the messages to read, because if I was banned I could not read those messages.

alternativeview · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill, about the additional info regarding the Gallants, as well as your second point about commenting carefully on the irv2 boards -- thanks for the heads up. Indeed, Google can be a good friend!