New micro Minnie owners

[DonaldE]

My wife and I purchased a 2021 micro Minnie 1808fbs. Haven’t used it yet. Have been busy enlarging our gate in the alley from 11 feet to 15, it will make it easier to back the trailer into our back yard. It is almost done. About the trailer if I am honest I am a little disappointed in the build quality don’t know if it is a COVID thing or not but I do know poor quality when I see it.

[backtrack15]

Welcome to the forum. Finishing/fixing the build after bringing it home is part of the RV experience. Enjoy the trailer!

[DonaldE]

I have plans to do just that as time and money allow.

[Marine359]

Originally Posted by DonaldE

My wife and I purchased a 2021 micro Minnie 1808fbs. About the trailer if I am honest I am a little disappointed in the build quality don’t know if it is a COVID thing or not but I do know poor quality when I see it.

Welcome and Congrats Donald on your new MM. Lotsa good stuff for MM owners on this forum. Has saved me a lot of time and money.

I dunno if you’ve ever owned a RV before, but I can assure you that there are only two makers of travel trailers with better build quality than Winnebago. One of those costs twice the price, the other about 20% more. That said, I’m sure COVID has had a deleterious effect on build quality. With R.V. demand really strong, and reduced work schedules due to C19, all manufacturers were under pressure to get units out the door. If you want to hear real horror stories, just talk to somebody who has recently bought a lesser brand. Don’t know what you’re using for quality comparison, but RV’s can’t be compared to automotive industry. Lots of discussion on that in the forum.

Happy trails, and reach out if you need help.

[RocknRoll]

Originally Posted by Marine359

That said, I’m sure COVID has had a deleterious effect on build quality. With R.V. demand really strong, and reduced work schedules due to C19, all manufacturers were under pressure to get units out the door.

Agree 100%. Demand plus supply chain issues (truck drivers) are affecting quality and cost in almost every area of manufacturing, including new sticks n' bricks housing.

Be grateful you purchased now, because I'm willing to bet that we're going to see yearly price increases of 10% or more in the near term. The good news is that our TT's are going to hold their value better than usual.

[DonaldE]

Only two of higher quality than a Winnebago? How about, Oliver, Bigfoot, Escape,Nash,Artic Fox ,Little guy have you inspected any of these trailers? Notice that I didn’t include Airstream way over priced and the quality has slipped since Thor industries bought them out. I looked at a 2021a here in Colorado Springs found one from a dealer in Iowa, it was sold but he said he could order me one. Turned out to be a 2021b the difference in quality between those two is mind blowing!!! I would not have bought it if I had been able to look through the b model before I put my deposit down. I have been around rev’s my whole life. My parents have owned 8, from truck and camper, trailer, fifth wheel , gas motor home (it was a Winnebago Brave), diesel pusher, so I am no stranger to rv’s. My grandparents and uncles all owned rv’s. I have helped most of them with various repairs. Yes this is the first one that I have owned, you don’t have to own one to spot poor quality construction. I don’t believe my post compared the Automotive industry to the Rv’s industry. I know the difference between Apples and Oranges. No regulations in the Rv’s industry they do as they please. Lots of regulations in the Auto industry. I think Winnebago my have sold their soul to the Devil. I do intend to correct their short comings as time and money allow.

[backtrack15]

I've been generally pretty happy with the Micro Minnie so far. It's a simple trailer that hits a sweet spot in size for me (shorter, narrower than average while still spacious inside). I particularly like the narrow width, good ground clearance, dual torsion axles, easy winterization, and pressurized plumbing that is entirely above the floor (for most floor plans, piping is accessible without digging into the coroplast from below). Winnebago has been good about providing the drawings and parts I've requested.

You could do better. You could do worse. Honestly, I just didn't see any other viable options at this size and price point that were built significantly better.

[Marine359]

Didn’t mean to offend you Donald. We hear on the forum mostly complaints from new owners who have never owned an RV, and insist on comparing rvs to automobiles. Obviously, you know what you’re talking about. I don’t know when yours was built. Could be you got a rush job. Mine was built in August 2020. I’d rate build quality on mine a solid “B”. And yes, I’ve looked at all the brands you mentioned except Escape (full glass units like Oliver not in same category). Only brands, IMHO better built than WBGO are Airstream and Lance. But my opinion is like....you know, everybody has one.

Nothing else in the MM class with two axles, low weight and 7ft wide with good quality that can be comfortably towed by a mid-size pickup. I’ve had some issues with mine, but overall, I’m pretty happy with it. Hope you get your issues resolved to your satisfaction.
Cheers

[DonaldE]

From the time I ordered my trailer in late November 2020 until I took delivery of my trailer on March 18, 2021 my salesman advised me that there had been 3 price increases. I checked their website today and the price has increased over $3000.00 above what I paid. I think that a lot of new owners will tire of their units and will sell them creating a glut of used trailers on the market driving prices down. That's what people are doing with the animals that they adopted from the shelters now that covid numbers are dwindling, they are taking them back to the shelters. I am happy with my purchase, just a little disappointed in the difference in quality from an early 2021 model (A) to the 2021 (B) model That I bought. Just a final thought if a full glass travel trailer is not in the same class wouldn't that apply to a full aluminum unit such as the Airstream? Quality is Quality irrespective of the material the manufacturer choses to build with. Imho

[RocknRoll]

Originally Posted by DonaldE

From the time I ordered my trailer in late November 2020 until I took delivery of my trailer on March 18, 2021 my salesman advised me that there had been 3 price increases. I checked their website today and the price has increased over $3000.00 above what I paid. I think that a lot of new owners will tire of their units and will sell them creating a glut of used trailers on the market driving prices down.

$3,000 increase? Well, there ya go. A glut is entirely possible. Time will tell.

Originally Posted by DonaldE

I am happy with my purchase, just a little disappointed in the difference in quality from an early 2021 model (A) to the 2021 (B) model That I bought.

Thanks for the clarification.

[FlyingV]

I’m curious as to the problems you’ve seen. I’m taking delivery of a 2021 2100BH soon and It would be great to have an idea of what types of issues to look for. I’ve been in a friend’s and it seemed pretty well done, but because of the market conditions I’m buying this one virtually from dealer 500 miles away so I haven’t physically seen it yet.

[Marine359]

I too bought more than 500 miles away. Considering I brought a cashiers check, paperwork too way too long. Finance always trying to sell you stuff you don’t want. Delivery crew brushed past important things, like where all the valves are. Although I asked ahead of time for de-winterization. Most of it wasn’t done. I drove away way too soon . Big mistake. So, I had to figure out on the way home why low sputtering water pressure, why no hot water, and on and on. My biggest piece of advice is get to the dealership when they open, and spend at least an hour with the delivery person going over everything, tip to tail on your new MM. make him show you that everything works properly before you drive off.

[FlyingV]

Thank you. That is good advice. I once was told that before you buy a boat or RV, you should just sit in it until you get bored, then you start seeing things you don't when you are busy falling in love with it. I appreciate the tip on the valves. I am making a list of things to ask now so I will add that to it. Ain't that the truth about the "Finance Department". More like the last chance to profit from this guy department.

My salesman did tell me about the pre delivery walkthrough and education process. He would not tell me the exact charge for that so I negotiated the price as $x* out the door plus tax, which includes all dealer prep and handling etc no additional charges from the dealer, so I expect my now free delivery process to be rather cursory.

* I put x because I know I paid too much, but in this market if you want one, especially a Micro Minnie, you simply don't have a lot of leverage. I did get them to throw in the WDH and the rear view camera installed. In normal times, I would have said, "No thanks, I'll go some where else", but there was no where else for me to go that had what I wanted. I'm still thrilled about actually finding one that checks all the boxes and I don't have to wait for until some undetermined time into the future. Anything else I should be looking for, common problems, hard to notice items, warning signs of poor quality, etc?

I would think it would be acceptable to plug into power and then test the operation of everything that runs off of that power. What about water functions, sink, shower, outdoor shower hot water, can these be tested with a tank of water or do they not like to do that? Testing the black water tank may be out of the questions, but maybe not, if you just use clean water. Open and close all doors windows hatches slide etc. Use all features, solar, water, electric gas battery powered or not. No way this could take less than a few of hours. Maybe I get my walkthrough and tutorial from them and hit "skip this lesson" a few times and go into a far off corner of the lot and tinker for awhile.

Thanks!

[backtrack15]

Ideally you'd spend about a day on it. Take any lesson they provide, make sure everything works, do your own inspection for build quality issues... then go off to the corner and confirm tire pressures, lug-nut torques are all okay, install your TPMS. I also setup my WDH and sway bar off in the corner.

Make sure to look at all the exterior seals, including the Dicor on the roof. Mine had a couple of spots where it needed more Dicor. Take a look underneath. Confirm the axles are the correct rating. Does it looks well sealed underneath? Is the Coroplast supported well? Anything look like it might fall off or blow away in the wind going down the road? Are the propane tanks and batteries the correct size and properly secured to the trailer? Go ahead and stroke those dump valves (or have them do it). You need to ensure they aren't stuck closed (or open).

There's so much to do on the day that almost everyone misses something.

[FlyingV]

Thank you for that.