[MatekCopatek]

Your grandparents' complaining isn't entirely pointless - sure, you can get a quality product from local merchants, but the price is disproportionately higher.

The thing they're actually missing is a mass-produced product that brings the cost down because of scale but at the same time is still designed with quality in mind. It's not that the best available knives got worse, the average $50 ones did.

It works for buildings too - whatever is the currently popular architectural style is typically what's is easiest to get. If everyone is getting pretty buildings, we can all get them without having to spend (much) more money.

[systems_glitch]

In both cases, there is often a lack of genuine quality/value over the cheaper options anymore, too. Many higher priced tools and architectural options are now the cheap stuff with a better grade of finish and a higher price tag.

[CrimsonCape]

I built a campervan in between jobs and I take pride in bragging about the quality of my build design, especially because I installed much higher quality materials and systems for around 1/3 the cost of a manufactured RV.

For example, all rough wood framing is solid wood, all cabinetry is built from solid baltic birch plywood (zero OSB, zero MDF), stainless steel fasteners throughout, multiple layers of rigid insulation for through-winter occupancy, all cushions made with 1000d cordura, plumbed with PEX with Flair-it fittings, propane heat system, solar,etc.

My van is much lighter than RVs as a result, I don't need tandem wheels as most van RV builds do.

The most luxury of luxuriest RVs can't duplicate that. The overhead of hired labor and the coalescing of "we just do it this way" thinking among the RV trade results in a poor typical product.

[systems_glitch]

Sounds like an awesome build! It's amazing how flimsy most of them are, even the ones you pay top dollar for. A friend and his wife were doing some major renovations to their house and bought a "luxury" 5th wheel camper to park onsite and live in during the renovation. At some point their heater failed and in the course of pulling it out and fixing it, we were totally blown away by the cheese grade construction of the thing! I'd always thought it was a "cheap campers" thing, but everything was particle board and plastic, except the road frame.