RV News Responds
Mr. Hutflesz,
Thank you for reading and responding to the "FEMA" article.
On the surface, I think it would be easy to agree with you, but it is more complicated than it first appears.
First of all, while these FEMA units look like RVs, they are not because they were designed for temporary living quarters by families after Katrina. FEMA's specifications did not have to meet the same industry imposed standards nor federal and state standards for RVs. Simply put, these units were not designed for recreational use at campgrounds -- for example, they may not have holding tanks.
Another problem is that these units, if sold to the general public, will be wrought with maintenance and repair issues, and then who is going to service them. They are basically orphans. Local dealers will be reluctant to service them because they didn't sell them originally. And then if there are major problems who pays for the repairs. Chances are they won't come with manufacturer warranties.
And as far as benefitting from FEMA's original purchase, it was RV manufacturers who might have benefitted, not RV dealers. But if FEMA unloads thousands of these units into the market, it will hurt RV dealers' profit potential by taking these buyers out of the market. And to add insult to injury, the dealer will be expected fix the problems with a smile -- not likely.
So if one wants to pick one up, have it towed to a wilderness lot and parked there to be visited on holiday weekends or short vacations, then it might make sense to let the public buy one; however, if one intends to take the family across country on vacation trips, tailgating parts at the football stadium and weekend getaways, then they would be better served to buy one designed for that purpose from an authorized RV dealer.
The Federal government made a lot of mistakes during Katrina for incompetent management and planning and these surplus pseudo RVs are a prime example, and now if they "dump" these units on an unsuspecting public who assume they are getting "RVs," they only compound their mismanagement. I think the RV industry would suffer much worse PR from thousands of unhappy buyers of these units than by opposing the sale of these units directly to consumers.
I back RVDA's decision and support the efforts of RV dealers who want to make these units safe for travel so American families can learn to appreciate the RV lifestyle, the way it's intended.
Don Magary,
Publisher
RV News
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