CrappyRV
The blog

Long-form. No fluff.

Deep-dives on the buying process, manufacturer issues, maintenance reality, warranty fights, and the lifestyle. Written by a family that's lived it — one Coachmen Pursuit, one Alliance fifth wheel with 135 documented year-one defects, and a whole lot of opinions.

Buyer's Guide Industry & Background Maintenance & Repair Lifestyle Warranty & Advocacy Gear & Practical
Category A  ·  10 posts

Buyer's Guide

The questions to ask, the inspections to run, the traps to avoid. Read these before you sign anything.

Buyer's Guide

10 Questions to Ask Before You Sign on an RV

The questions dealers don't bring up. The ones that would have saved us months of warranty fights.

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Inspection

The 30-Minute Pre-Purchase Inspection Anyone Can Do

You don't need a certified RV inspector to catch most red flags. Here's the walk-through.

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Buyer's Guide

12 RV Dealer Red Flags That Should Make You Walk Away

Specific sales tactics, paperwork gotchas, and prep-fee plays. If you see these, leave.

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Financing

RV Financing Traps to Avoid Before You Sign Loan Docs

20-year loans, payment-shopping vs price-shopping, GAP, prepayment penalties. The math, worked.

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Buyer's Guide

New vs Used RV: Honest Math From a Family Who's Done Both

Depreciation, year-one defect realities, warranty value. What we'd do differently.

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Warranty

Extended RV Warranties: What They Actually Cover (and Don't)

Exclusionary vs inclusionary. Who underwrites. How claims get denied. When they're worth it.

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Buyer's Guide

When to Actually Buy an RV (Hint: It's Not Spring)

Seasonal inventory cycles, dealer year-end pressure, model-year-changeover discounts.

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Inspection

The Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) Walkthrough You're Owed

What a real PDI looks like. What the dealer skips. How to demand a proper one.

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Buyer's Guide

RV Trade-Ins: How Dealers Calculate (and How You Push Back)

Wholesale vs retail valuations, the trade-in tax savings trick, when to sell private.

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Research

How to Research an RV Brand: A 5-Step Method

Holding companies. NHTSA recalls. Owner groups. Used-market tells. The exact diligence we'd run today.

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Category B  ·  8 posts

Industry & Background

Who owns what, how the industry works, why things look the way they do. Public information, plainly explained.

Industry

Who Actually Owns Your RV Brand?

A map of the holding companies. Most "independent" RV brands aren't. Here's who owns what.

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Industry

Why RV Quality Feels Different in 2026 vs 2010

The pandemic boom, consolidation, supply chain, labor. What changed and what it means for buyers.

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Industry

The "Independent Manufacturer" Label: What It Means, What It Doesn't

A brand can be sold to a holding company and keep its name. Here's what that does to quality.

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Build Quality

Build Quality 101: How RVs Are Actually Manufactured

Production line, takt times, common shortcuts, why this affects what you experience as an owner.

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Warranty

The Warranty Gap: Why Component Warranties Beat Manufacturer Warranties

Your fridge, AC, water heater, slides — the component warranties are often the longer, stronger ones.

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Industry

How RV Production Schedules Affect What You Receive

Friday units, Monday units, end-of-quarter rushes. How to ask when your unit was built — and why it matters.

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Buying

RV Trade Shows: What They Tell You (and What They Don't)

Show units are hand-built. Same-day deposits are pressure. Here's how to use shows productively.

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Used Market

What 2-Year-Old Resale Reveals About RV Build Quality

Depreciation patterns, listing language, common defect mentions. A free research method anyone can use.

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Category C  ·  10 posts

Maintenance & Repair

The boring stuff that saves you tens of thousands of dollars. Evergreen how-tos from a family that learned the hard way.

Maintenance

Annual RV Maintenance Checklist (Print-and-Stick Edition)

Month-by-month plus annual deep-clean. The print-and-stick version we wish we'd had in 2017.

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Maintenance

RV Roof Care: The Most Expensive Thing You'll Forget

EPDM vs TPO vs fiberglass. Sealants, schedules, why roof leaks bankrupt RVs.

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Safety

RV Tire Safety: Why Age Matters More Than Tread

DOT date codes, the 5-7 year rule, why "looks new" tires fail at highway speed.

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Maintenance

De-Winterizing RV Water Systems Without Wrecking Your Pipes

Flush, sanitize, pressure-test. The order matters. Here's what to do, in order.

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Maintenance

Slide-Out Maintenance: A Guide That Doesn't Pretend It's Easy

Hydraulic, Schwintek, through-frame. Lube, seals, when to stop and call a tech.

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Power

RV Battery Systems: Lead-Acid, AGM, and Lithium Decoded

Chemistry. Lifespan. Cost-per-cycle math. When lithium is worth it, when it isn't.

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Maintenance

RV Sealing and Caulking: The 6-Month Inspection That Saves $10K

Every exterior penetration. Inspection cadence. Product selection. The exact playbook.

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Power

RV Generator Care: The Routine That Actually Extends Life

Onan and Cummins basics. Monthly exercise. Oil. Carb. Why generators that sit fail.

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Maintenance

RV AC Maintenance: Why Your Air Conditioner Dies in Year Three

Coil cleaning. Filter swaps. Gasket seal. Why most RV ACs die from neglect, not age.

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Appliances

RV Refrigerator Failures: What Goes Wrong and What You Can Do

Absorption vs 12V compressor. Cooling unit failures. Leveling matters. Repair vs replace.

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Category D  ·  8 posts

Lifestyle

Real RV family life. Not Instagram. The hard parts, the great parts, and what we wish we'd known.

Family

Full-Time RV With Kids: An Honest Look

The decision. The transition. The first six months. The parts no one puts on Instagram.

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Remote Work

Working Remotely From an RV: Connectivity, Power, and Sanity

Cellular setup, Starlink, time zones, video-call wardrobe. The whole reality.

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Lifestyle

RV Cooking: Real-Family Meals in a Real Galley

Galley constraints. Meal prep. Outside-cooking gear. It doesn't have to be hot dogs.

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Family

RV Homeschool: Practical School While Traveling

Roadschool reality. Curriculum, residency, day-rhythm, national parks as a unit.

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Lifestyle

RV With Pets: What We Wish We'd Known

Hot-RV safety, vet records on the road, microchip basics, pet-friendly parks.

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Boondocking

Boondocking 101: A Beginner's Honest Primer

Where to go. Water, power, tank management. First-time mistakes. Leave No Trace.

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Lifestyle

Campground Etiquette: The Unwritten Rules

The 10-foot rule. Generator hours. Quiet hours. Picking up after yourself.

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Travel

RV Travel Days: Realistic Distance and Setup Routines

The 3-3-3 rule. Pre-departure checklist. Why "make it before dark" exists.

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Category E  ·  6 posts

Warranty & Advocacy

Surviving warranty claims, documenting defects, knowing your rights. Educational, not legal advice — consult an attorney for your state.

Warranty

How to Survive an RV Warranty Claim Without Losing Your Mind

The script. The paper trail. The escalation path. From a family that's done this dozens of times.

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Documentation

How to Build a Defect Log That Makes Manufacturers Take You Seriously

Date. Photo. Description. Who notified. The exact structure we used to track 135 issues.

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Legal

State Lemon Laws and RVs: A Layperson's Map

Lemon law varies wildly by state. Here's the general lay of the land. (Not legal advice.)

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Warranty

Escalating an RV Warranty Issue: The Order That Works

Service writer. Manager. GM. Manufacturer. BBB. AG. Attorney. Skipping steps backfires.

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Inspection

Hiring an RV Inspector: When It's Worth It, What It Costs

NRVIA certification. Cost ranges. Level 1 vs Level 2. When it pays for itself.

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Disputes

Resolving Disputes With RV Dealerships: A De-Escalation Playbook

The conversation. The written follow-up. When social media helps and when it backfires.

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Category F  ·  8 posts

Gear & Practical

Practical setups for towing, power, connectivity, and safety. Category-level guidance, not affiliate spam.

Towing

Tow Vehicle Math: Real Capacities vs Manufacturer Specs

GVWR, GCWR, payload, tongue weight. The math that keeps you out of a ditch.

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Towing

Weight Distribution Hitches: How to Pick One Without Getting Sold

WD basics. Sway control. Spring bar ratings. Why $200 setups often work fine.

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Connectivity

RV Internet: Cellular, Satellite, and Wi-Fi Realities

Cellular routers. Starlink. Boosters. Failover. What actually works for remote work.

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Power

RV Solar: A Sizing Guide for Real Power Needs

Watt-hour budgeting. Solar input vs storage vs inverter. The math, not the marketing.

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Power

RV Surge Protectors and EMS: The $300 That Saves Your RV

Surge protector vs EMS. Open ground, reverse polarity, low voltage. The best $300 you'll spend.

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Safety

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems for RVs: Worth It?

How TPMS works. Internal vs external. Why RV tire failure is high-consequence.

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Setup

RV Leveling Systems: Auto vs Manual, Cost vs Benefit

Chocks vs auto-leveling. Hydraulic vs electric. Failure modes. When to spec each.

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Toolkit

RV Owner's Toolkit: The Minimum Real Kit Every Owner Should Carry

The starter kit. The fixer kit. The "I might actually fix this" kit. Three tiers, no fluff.

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