flipflop, I read your post about half an hour after you wrote it, and decided to not comment, as I knew others would. But,
The floor of the TM is 3" of frame and styrofoam sandwiched together. The bottom layer is aluminum, not fiberglass. It would make no sense to just blow insulation under a thin wood floor sitting on top of the chassis.
The cabinets (at least in my 2012 and 2014 model-years) have a thin plastic veneer on them. They need to be light. I have seen some models with all-wood cabinets, and I would rather have them. I don't know how screws fare in the lightweight wood, but I don't want to go any cheaper with the cabinets and have more screws pulling out.
The TM engineers tried to keep the trailers as light as possible, so they could be towed with smaller vehicles (properly equipped). Going cheaper may make them heavier, which would not be good.
I disagree about making them cheaper to sell more units. If the factory can overcome its various problems, they could produce about 1,500 per year, and sell every one (they have done it in the past). With 18,000 travel trailers sold each month, TMs are a drop in the bucket. And, as mecicon says, it is a niche product. Not everyone likes the design and mechanics of a TM.
Airstreams are not cheap, and they are all over the place. Not everyone can afford a particular product. That does not mean that the manufacturer of the product should cheapen it, just so more people can purchase it. If I want something I cannot afford, I can either get another job, get an education that will allow me to look for a better job, or accept that I am not financially suited for that product. It's not about the manufacturer cheapening their product so I can afford it.
I would rather see a few improvements in quality and longevity, even if it adds $500 to the price. Certainly don't want a lower-quality TrailManor!
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