Best Quality RV Manufacturers to Look For

[J D Moore]

Happy Arctic Fox 29. 5T owner here. Purchased 2003, towed about 37K miles to date. Minimal problems. Northwood makes a good product for the price. Check out the forum Northwood RV Owners Association

Jim

 

[Grizzly]

Happy Arctic Fox 29. 5T owner here. Purchased 2003, towed about 37K miles to date. Minimal problems. Northwood makes a good product for the price. Check out the forum Northwood RV Owners Association

Jim

Me too, love my 27-5L Fox 5er.

 

[TRACKERJOHN]

Me Three Arctic Fox 29-5T

 

[David Pendleton]

I just made a search, and went way back, for RV quality and couldn't find anything.

Found it! Issue 53, page 134. Excellent article.

 

[Ramtough]

I can't belive no one has mentioned NUWA's HitchHiker. NuWa Industries, Inc.



A very well built trailer for the price and a new factroy direct sales model that is going to make the HitchHiker one of the best if not the best values on the market. NUWA is the company that invented fifth wheel trailers and for the most part, that's all they have ever built. The NUWA products are one of a very few that do not void the warranty with continuous use. I belive they are the only company that will not void the warranty if any type of hitch is added to the trailer.

 

[steamboatinn]

We have a 2006 Hitchhiker. We are pleased with it. There have been a few minor problems, but NUWA stepped up and fixed them no charge. It is a solid built to last fifth wheel. The factory is located in Chanute KS, about 40 miles east of I35. This works well for us with our annual jaunt from MN to TX and back. Ours is a 37' Central Kitchen Rear Diningroom. It's top notch.

 

[BrianJ]

I can't belive no one has mentioned NUWA's HitchHiker. NuWa Industries, Inc.



I belive they are the only company that will not void the warranty if any type of hitch is added to the trailer.

Not saying they are or are not the same level or class of RV, but you can get the Cardinal by Forest River straight from the factory with a hitch on the back, I know because I was looking closely at them for over a year and almost pulled the trigger on one. From the many RV shows I have been to I believe there are at least a couple others as well.

 

[THoltz]

Excel offers an optional factory receiver hitch, I think it is rated to 5K.

 

[Grizzly]

Excel offers an optional factory receiver hitch, I think it is rated to 5K.

I'm not sure what you mean by, Excel is rated 5K?



Excel is rated 4 stars by RV Consumer Group Guide.



Other 4 star rated 5er and TT are;

Alpenlite

American Star

Arctic Fox

Bigfoot

Carriage

Carri-Lite

Express

Hitchhiker

King of the Road

Kountry Aire

Kountry Star

Nash

Travel Supreme and other brands not as well known.



The only 5 star rated unit is New Horizon.

 

[Buffalo]

I've had two Northwoods Products. An Arctic Fox 19-B &, I purchased a 7 month old '98 Nash 25-S.



The 25-S has been in all the mountainous Western States, & back East to IN. , OH. , MI. , WV. , KY. & Ontario, CAN. , twice. The trips back east were all summer long & I lived in the trailer during those times. Three of my friends have Nash products, also, And we've all had very good luck, with them.



If I had to replace my trailer, I would buy a Nash/Arctic Fox product, again. They are not that expensive but, still provide good, solid quality.



BTW, I replaced a 1977, 25' Airstream with the AF 19-B. My experiences with the Airstream were different than those expressed in this thread. I've had all the inside doors literally fall off from a trip on a paved but, bumpy road. The doors were laying in the center aisle when I went inside the trailer. The "10 cent" hinges Airstream used were pure junk. The odd part was that the hinges on the entrance door were "enormous". If they had used some of the extra metal from the entrance door hinges to reinforce the inside door hinges, they would not have had a problem.



The gray water holding tank was only about 7 gallons. After my first shower, I was standing in water. Couldn't believe it!!! When I contacted an Airstream dealer, they said that trailer was supposed to be used in RV Parks, only!!! Just enough capacity to get you to the RV Park!!!



The top of the entrance door was so low that two of my friends cracked their heads on it causing one guys head to actually bleed. None of those guys were that tall, either. Needless to say, they HATED that trailer!!!! I'm only about 5'6". So, I never cracked my head.



However, the round, tubular shape of the Airstream takes a bit of getting used to. The only place where you have any height is if the center ailse of the trailer. The cabinets near the ceiling have very little storage due to the shape of the trailer. Sorta feels like you are living in a storm drain!!!



Most of the build quality of the Airstream is excellent, though. There is a lot of "over-kill" in this area. The furniture was of very good quality & very comfortable. The tow quality was exceptional, also.



Bottom line is that I would buy another Nash in a heartbeat!!! Much cheaper & much more liveable, in my opinion.



I don't mean to knock the Airstream product but, this has been my experience.



Joe F.

 

[BrianJ]

I'm not sure what you mean by, Excel is rated 5K?

He is talking about the hitch weight rating...

 

[AABEN]

First look to see who is still making them !! Some has gone billy up ! So check to see who is still around!!!

 

[TMRoper1669]

There are a lot of good trailers out there I was and RV Tech where we sold many brands but our main brand was Excel, they are very nice trailers although the are somewhat expensive, I bought a Canyon Trail By Gulfstream and really like it for the money there's my vote.

 

[MSicotte]

I would definetly recommend anything by Northwoos Mfg, ie Arctic Fox, Desert Fox, or Nash. They are still in business and expanding, their product is first rate and can handle any weather or terrain you could dish at it. I've had mine for 4 years and only a couple of minor issues that were easily repaired. Exceptional build quality, lots of great features, and great dealer / factory support when required. my 02

 

[B.G. Smith]

The hitch on the rear of the trailer. bg

 

[JimLarsen]

Grizzly- I have been thinking of buying the 27 5L Artic Fox. So give me your best recommendation. So far it has impressed me a lot. Thanks in advance for your reply Jim Larsen

 

[Loren]

Everyone has his own prejudices regarding brands, and mine are similar to Joe's (Buffalo). I don't care much for Airstreams either.



Ours is a 34-foot, Limited model -- the top of the line. We have had LOTS of trouble with it.



I admit that we bought our unit used, and it may have been abused by the first owner, but even so it doesn't come close to meeting the reputation that Airstream enjoys.



Here is a partial list of repairs we have had made on our Airstream since we bought it in Summer 2004:

• Repaired a fresh water plumbing leak in the water line under the floor.
  
  
  
• Repaired numerous drawer guides. (Note: It seems that Airstream, like many other RV manufacturers uses the cheapest drawer hardware available. )
  
  
  
• Replaced the kitchen faucet. The original leaked.
  
  
  
• Repaired the under-floor water leak again. This repair was covered under warranty for the first repair.
  
  
  
• Replaced several outer skin panels at the front of the trailer where the aluminum had torn away from its lower attachment to the floor. This repair cost over $2500.
  
  
  
• Rebuilt holding tank dump valves. The valves were so sticky that I was afraid I would bend the rod trying to close them.
  
  
  
• Replaced the drawer slides for the under-couch drawer. Again, the factory hardware was cheap and not up to the job.
  
  
  
• Repaired wiring inside the trailer's circuit breaker panel. When the trailer was built a screw was driven over a wire. Eventually the insulation wore through and caused a ground fault that would trip the GFCI at the trailer park. As you might imagine, it took a long time to track down this problem.
  
  
  
• Repaired loose sheet metal under the trailer. The underbody covering was coming loose, allowing insulation to blow out.
  
  
  
• Rebuilt the shelf support for one storage cabinet. The floor of this cabinet was mounted on two small pieces of wood that were merely stapled to the thin cabinet sides. I had to rebuild the support entirely to create something that would carry some weight.
  
  
  
• Rebuilt the water heater bypass system with new metal valves instead of the cheap plastic ones originally installed. The plastic valves were sticky and would not close properly.
  
  
  
• Replaced the toilet flush water valve. It was leaking.
  
  
  
• Installed a patch to cover the foot-long crack that developed in the outer skin over the entry door.
  
  
  
• Repaired the roof-to-sidewall seam along the 10-12 feet where the rivets had failed. There was a gap along that seam that would allow water to enter.
  
  
  
• Replaced the ignition circuit board for the furnace. This may have failed because there was a gap from the furnace (outside the trailer) to the inside closet. This gap allowed a metal-tipped umbrella to slide down and contact the circuit board, possibly shorting it out.
  

We gave up a very nice Holiday Rambler when we bought the Airstream. That was a mistake. Even though the Holiday Rambler was older, it was a better trailer. I would have bought a newer Holiday Rambler, but I couldn't find one without a slideout.



Airstream trailers enjoy a mystique that, in my opinion, they don't deserve. I'm glad for that, though. One day I'll be selling this one.

 

[THoltz]

quote "I'm not sure what you mean by, Excel is rated 5K?"



I meant the receiver hitch is rated at 5K.

 

[Ramtough]

I'm not sure what you mean by, Excel is rated 5K?



The only 5 star rated unit is New Horizon.

Where do you find these ratings? Who is responsible for them? This is good information. My understanding was that most of the publications and ratings services in the RV industry were owned by the industry.

 

[DieselLady]

I used to be a hugh Holiday Rambler fan, until monoco bought them out and I bought my 02 Presidential. Tin Can on wheels. Hardly any insulation, spent 180 days in the shop the first year. Was built with cheap products and the finish work was terrible. They left splinters hanging in the storage compartment where the had to cut in the flooring above. Absolute junk, compared to our 98 Alumilite.

Traded it in on a used Newmar Mountain Aire and will never go back. Newmar is top quality in every thing they do. Even a nice used one if you can find one will give you years of use and enjoyment.

Good luck.