Shit we've broken
A reminder that all campers are crappy… After going to the 2025 RV show, we started getting the itch. We typically get a different camper or truck every other year. We’ve had our current Jayco for 2 years (a record). Just a look back at the different brands we’ve had and all of the things that have busted on them. Some were our fault, mostly the fault of crappy build quality. Our favorite campers from the RV show were the new Brinkley 5th wheels.
We’ll start with the absolute worst offender, because fuck you, MPG. After that, it’s easiest to go by ‘incident’.
MPG - a complete and total loss. The frame snapped/sheared while driving on the highway. The camper wasn’t even out of warranty. Insurance declared this a total loss. A couple came up to us at the gas station and said our camper looked like it had a lean. It sure did! We had to pay $1,300 to get this towed back to our house because our Premier RV AAA coverage couldn’t find a flat bed big enough to transport it back to our house within 24 hours. They then refused to reimburse us because the service ‘wasn’t covered’. So fuck AAA, too. I could not get in touch with MPG. I submit service and contact requests and never heard back. Our whole neighborhood heard the tow truck at 3 AM when it made it to Arvada from Glenwood Springs. Because of the flat bed angle, the back of the camper hit the street before the wheels could even get off. So not only did the frame snap, but the tow truck delivery smashed the rear end and completely bent the hitch when it slid off.
Crested Butte - I may or may not have taken us up an off-roading trail thinking it would level off. It didn’t. Honestly, how’s a girl to know. We ripped our stabilizer arms off and nearly ripped the stairs off. Whoops. Fortunately, our roof had been destroyed earlier in the month and consisted of 30% duct tape, because we smoked some narrow trees on the way up that wouldn’t have been quite destructive. We had to go into town on the way out to buy a shovel to try to fill in chunks of the road (spoiler, it didn’t work as well as I imagined). Look how happy Pickles was about the situation though.
Lake City - We had a Keystone Outback for a time (the one above) and funny enough, I was a brand ambassador for Keystone that year. The brakes they use are garbage. Our brakes locked on and were smoking. After trying to fix them (to no avail), we would pull over and squirt them with water. This really did jack shit. So, Jonathan disabled them. Fortunately, we didn’t need them with the exhaust brake on the truck. Not only were the brakes trash, but the brakes locking up also destroyed the tires.
Moab #1 - We’ve ruined many things in or on the way to/from Moab. Our roof got destroyed while staying at the KOA during a mysterious wind storm. No one else’s camper got touched. I have no idea what happened.
Some other stuff that has broken amongst our campers:
Our microwave wasn’t screwed in and fell out driving
Hail storm totaled the first camper we had
Furnace quit working in the Outback (SEVERAL TIMES)
Smashed windows (note to all - if you take a friend camping, make sure they know to lock their freaking windows before you leave
Smashed the tailgate on both sides from the stabilizer jack
Bent axle or maybe a bent frame that wears tires at an alarming rate (we even replaced the axle and it’s TBD on whether this is still happening).
Slide motors on the way out (note to all - cable driven slides suck… why Keystone, why…)
Broken truck axle, flat tires
Bad wiring… in more than one camper
Lights fell out of the ceiling while driving (nice, Keystone)
