These are the primary ratings produced by RV Consumer Group:
All ratings are on a 1 to 100
scale but each one is established by totally different
criteria.
We analyze RV brands and
manufacturers in the following way:
- Consumer surveys.
- By staff evaluations. We visit dealer lots,attend RV shows, and make
unannounced visits to RV factories.
- Consumer complaints. We review the type of complaint against a brand
and compare it to the input received through surveys and staff
evaluations.
Reliability is generated from a database that
consists of input from consumer surveys and staff evaluations. The results
are further broken down so that the end score reflects 1/3 input from the
evaluations and 2/3 from the satisfaction polls. The results from the
satisfaction polls are calculated using equally the summary of averages
from both brand and manufacturer.
An example of reliability
rating:
Brand A, Brand B, and Brand C are manufactured by
Manufacturer Z . From a total of 450 satisfaction polls, the average score
received for Brand A = 70; for Brand B = 75; and for Brand C = 79. Thus,
Manufacturer Z's average satisfaction score from the satisfaction polls is
75.
If the staff has had an
opportunity to evaluate Manufacturer Z's brands by physical inspections,
those scores are entered into the database. For this example Brand A
received an evaluation score of 65, Brand B received 70, and Brand C was
not evaluated.
Results for Brand A:
Brand A consumer satisfaction score = 70; Manufacturer Z's consumer
satisfaction score = 75; RVCG staff evaluation score = 65. The total for
Brand A = 210, which divided by 3 will give Brand A a reliability rating
of 70.
Results for Brand B:
Brand B consumer satisfaction score = 75; Manufacturer Z's consumer
satisfaction score = 75; RVCG staff evaluation score = 70. The total for
Brand B = 220, which divided by 3 will give Brand A a reliability rating
of 73.
Results for Brand C:
Brand C consumer satisfaction score = 79; Manufacturer Z's consumer
satisfaction score = 75; RVCG staff did not evaluate Brand C. The total
for Brand C = 145, which divided by 2 will give Brand C a reliability
rating of 77.
Our database is programmed to
search for duplicates by name, email or other data. We also do a
record-by-record "eye" search to keep the database as clean as possible.
We are firmly convinced that this rating is 95% pure when reflecting
reliability.
Highway
Control is generated with data received from the RV's
manufacturer, often supplemented by information furnished by consumer
users. Because most handling characteristics have been proven to be a
result of good or bad engineering and assembly, it is relatively easy to
show that driver control can be easily lost when the RV is overloaded, out
of balance or, in the case of motor homes, designed with an inadequate
wheelbase for the vehicle's length.
About wheelbase for motor
homes: Because it is easier for motor home manufacturers to build and
sell short-wheelbase motor homes, this is an area of controversy for the
RVCG ratings. Manufacturers know that overloading and being out of balance
are both dangerous situations which are easily reflected by chassis
capacities, total weights, and at-wheel weights. They are aware that their
customers will know if the motor home is severely out-of-balance. There is
no argument here. What they won't acknowledge is something the rest of the
world knows ? a short-wheelbase vehicle is difficult to control when
driving on slippery, gravelly, or wet roads and that they have a
propensity to wander. RVCG uses long-established empirical data to reflect
wheelbase into the Highway Control Rating. There is no guesswork here.
About hitch weights:
One thing that is absolutely clear about highway control when towing a
fifth wheel or trailer coach is that proper hitch weight is critical to
the prevention of an accident. RVCG looks at the optimum hitch weights
that have been established by the RV industry for over 30 years and uses
that data to determine extremes. It has been proven beyond a shadow of a
doubt that too light of a hitch weight has caused more accidents than all
other deficiencies combined and that too heavy of a hitch weight is the
second most common cause of trailer-related accidents. RVCG uses the
manufacturer's own numbers backed up by consumer input to arrive at this
part of the Highway Control Rating.
Weights in general:
Every active RVer knows that it is unsafe for the RV's weight to exceed
the capacity of the chassis. Whether it's a motor home or a travel
trailer, it has been long established that every RV must have enough
payload capacity for the average RVer to load persons, personal
belongings, food, equipment, miscellaneous supplies, water, and fuel while
still having something left over as a safety buffer. We take the
manufacturer's specifications, enter them into the computer, and then
compare them with other data to check for possible discrepancies. After a
good audit and double-check, we allow the computer to calculate the
highway control from all base numbers.
Getting a good Highway Control
Rating is both delicate and complicated. Although we use other factors in
addition to those discussed here, weights and wheelbase are of extreme
importance.
RVCG has full confidence in
the ability of the formulas to arrive at the final number, but we
acknowledge that the manufacturer must provide accurate information for
this system to work. After many years of working with manufacturers, we
know that most manufacturers provide reasonably accurate data. However,
there are those few who appear to have little inclination to give the
consumer complete data even though it is the standard in the industry to
do so. In our rating system we inform the consumer when it appears that a
manufacturer provides incomplete or questionable data.
Value
is computer generated by our own appraisal system of average
depreciation ? which is then compared with data from long-established
appraisal systems that have been providing depreciation and value data to
the industry for over two decades. Our value rating also reflects general
trends in brand and manufacturer quality through consumer input. It is a
rather simple formula that works for keeping the consumer abreast of
important data reflecting investment factors.
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