Better RV Brands?

[Shadrach]

When we wanted to upgrade our TT this spring "I" did all the running around and when "I" found a model that "I" thought was built decently and met my wife's criteria for floor plan and such then and only then did I take her to see it. I knew what she liked and didn't like and what were her "must haves". I wanted her to be happy with the unit and I wanted a well built one so there was no point in showing her something that wasn't up to my specs and then have a fight. Obviously she has to trust you. We upgraded from a 1987 Prowler to a 199 Peak Frontier ( both made in Canada eh ! )

Remember "Happy Wife - Happy Life , but be smart about it. Shadrach

 

[Bill Carlyle]

I have never heard of a Peak Frontier. My wife and I have been camping in trailers for over fifty years and have never had a bad one. Anyay I am glad we have our Mobile Suite.



Bill

 

[HBarlow]

I haven't either but have only owned travel trailers since 1972.

I have not owned but have seen lots of bad ones, they are rolling out of some RV factories by the hundreds every year.

 

[Bill Carlyle]

Harvey



We have a 2008 Ram 3500. I don't have any trouble towing out west, Colo. Wyo. or Mont. It is a long way from Fla. but when we go we stay all summer and head back east in late Aug. I note that you have a hitchicker and we have seen a lot of those on the road. They are nice 5th wheels. Didn't go west this year, went last year and hope to go next summer. I am 79 and in good health so I hope we have several more years to travel. Been out west many times and we love it. Do you take your Goldwing when you go.

Bill

 

[HBarlow]

Bill,

I'm 69.

Has your '08 Ram been as troublefree as mine?

 

[Bill Carlyle]

Harvey



I feel like i'm 69 except that I now need viagra.

My 2008 Ram has not given me a bit of trouble but neither did my 2004. The reason I traded was to get the 6 speed and the exhaust brake. I have 49000 on this one and I get 19 1/2 mpg solo on interstate and 11 and 12 towing unless I an bucking a strong wind. I guess it is broken in by now.



Bill

 

[DFark]

I feel like a punk kid amongst you guys. I'm 46 and never owned a camper. We have found a Carriage Carri-lite, a 99 model, and nu-wa has a 95 model in our price range. Both are 4 star rated in rv consumer guide. I have chose to stay away from the Indiana cracker boxes in favor of an older used unit. Both these units are advertised at around $ 10 K and come from good homes. What do you think?



Doug

 

[HBarlow]

I believe both are considered good products but . . .

The Carri-Lite comes from a good company but is built to different standards than the more costly lines. I have a friend who owns about a 2000 Carri-Lite which has been hardly used and is in pristine condition. He has told me more than once it is not an all weather trailer.

On the other hand, all models of HitchHikers are. The HitchHiker II or LS was, until a year or two ago, built in a different plant and used some cheaper materials but was an all weather trailer of 2" blue Dow styrofoam panel wall construction.

HitchHiker has one of the best service departments in the industry at Chanute, KS for aftersale service at very fair prices. It is such a good operation I pull my HitchHiker 500 or 600 miles to Chanute if I want anything done.

I would buy the HH but I admit I am biased.

What year and model HH are you considering?

 

[mhsmith57]

Check out the Heartland Bighorns. They're 2nd from the top of the line 5ers from Heartland. For the most part, nothing but positive feedback from owners on the Heartland forum, much like here with TDR. Remember, rv manufacturers set the "build" criteria for their coaches from the vendors. The Lippert frames seem to be holding up very well in the Bighorns. And customer satisfaction and support from Heartland is one of the best in the industry. Hope this helped.

Mark

 

[DFark]

Harvey, the factory at Chanute has a couple used units in our price range. One is a '95 27 RK UG Hitchhiker II, and the other one is a 98 31 RL HH II. They are both listed on NuWa's website. Should I be concerned looking at something that old? They both had a good home and have been through the shop. I wouldn't even consider another brand that age. I tend to favor the rear kitchen floorplan but trying to keep an open mind about it.

 

[RustyJC]

Check out the Heartland Bighorns. They're 2nd from the top of the line 5ers from Heartland. For the most part, nothing but positive feedback from owners on the Heartland forum, much like here with TDR. Remember, rv manufacturers set the "build" criteria for their coaches from the vendors. The Lippert frames seem to be holding up very well in the Bighorns. And customer satisfaction and support from Heartland is one of the best in the industry. Hope this helped.

Mark

With no disrespect intended, one of our fellow Texas Boomers has been back to the factory at least 3 times with his Bighorn for frame failures along with other problems. Maybe he's in the minority, but to him, his failure rate is 100%.



Rusty

 

[Bill Stockard]

Harvey, the factory at Chanute has a couple used units in our price range. One is a '95 27 RK UG Hitchhiker II, and the other one is a 98 31 RL HH II. They are both listed on NuWa's website. Should I be concerned looking at something that old? They both had a good home and have been through the shop. I wouldn't even consider another brand that age. I tend to favor the rear kitchen floorplan but trying to keep an open mind about it.

We bought a new '97 Hitchhiker II in the late fall of '96 almost identical to that '98 HHII RL they have listed. It was an excellent trailer that we towed thousands of miles and had no trouble with it except for the factory Goodyear tires. After replacing the Goodyear tires with Michelin XPS Radials, we had no more tire problems. Also, our '97 had a Young's Welding frame under it. The '98 probably does too.



If I were to buy another fifth wheel, I wouldn't be afraid to purchase that trailer being it has been through NuWa's service center.



We also owned a '93 HHII 29' rear kitchen that gave excellent service.



Bill

 

[HBarlow]

DFark,

I agree completely with Bill Stockard. It was Bill Stockard's frequent comments about his past experience with HitchHiker fifthwheels and discussions with Bill that lead me to study HitchHikers when I was ready to purchase a new trailer in late '06.

I took in everything Bill told me, studied their product information on line, and visited their factory for a tour.

I have met and talked to several of the engineers, all the NuWa regional sales reps, exchanged emails with many of them, exchanged emails with Mike Mitchell primary owner and CEO of NuWa, and know all of the guys in the service department from RV the service manager, Daryl the shop foreman, to all of the mechanics who work on HitchHikers. They are good people who build and repair good products.

NuWa HitchHiker trailers are not perfect but they are well built and the company and its employees are honest people who will treat you fairly.

Like Bill, I would not be afraid to buy any used HH trailer from NuWa that has been through their service department.

If I were you I would make a trip to Chanute, take the factory tour, several days of tours if you wish, look over the trailer or trailers you are interested in very carefully, and go over to the service department and ask RV or Daryl about that specific trailer. I would expect they would release the name and contact number for the previous owner and let you call him to inquire about the trailer. Many HitchHiker trailers have a repair history at Chanute.

If you buy from them and get to know them you will discover that the folks at NuWa are hardworking Americans with an old-fashioned work ethic and sense of integrity you will appreciate and admire.

 

[DFark]

Does $ 10 k seem reasonable for a Hitchhiker that age? Is Nu-Wa firm on their pricing or all prices negotiable. Just looking at what is available in my area that seems like a fair price.

I'm not familiar with the Heartland brand but will check it out.

Living in Ohio our market is saturated with Indiana built units, most of which I have not been too impressed with but they are very attractive and have nice floorplans but just don't seem to built very solid. I can't believe how lightweight the undercarriage is on some of those units.

Thanks all,

Doug

 

[HBarlow]

Doug,

I assume you are talking about this one: NuWa Industries, Inc.

I would own that trailer without fear. It looks like a good solid value for your dollar. It also looks like a trailer you could use for five years and resell for a good price.

Everything is negotiable to a point if you are a reasonable and skilled negotiator. If you go to Chanute and look it over and have cash in hand, certified bank check, or funds available from your bank or credit union and are ready to buy my guess is NuWa would accept an offer of $10k if you put it on somebody's desk and fold your arms and back away.

They will also allow you to negotiate a new set of tires or other small repair if you determine you want or need it.

My son-in-law owns two older fifthwheels. He uses them as temporary housing for his construction job superintendents working on projects out of town. One is a '95 Travel Supreme 33' fifthwheel I purchased used in FL back in 2003 or 2004. I used it extensively until 2007 when my sil bought it. I used it for my home away from home for three years when I was transporting. One of sil's employees has lived in it permanently since my sil bought if from me in '07. I move it from town to town whenever a job is completed. The second one my sil owns is a 2000 HH II 29' that I found in LaGrange, OR. It is also used as housing by one of his employees when he has two out of town building projects going.

A good fifthwheel has a very long service life. Many of the cheapo Elkhart brands do not! Surface glitz and glitter don't last very long. Good build quality lasts for a long time.

 

[HBarlow]

Doug,

Another comment: That trailer does have a Young's Welding frame under it. We can tell because the frame is white and because it has a factory trailer hitch receiver attached to the rear frame.

Young's Welding is down the street from NuWa in the same industrial compound. They are NuWa's traditional frame builder and build good products. Sometime after 2000, to reduce costs, NuWa tried using Lippert frames under all HH II or HH LS models and under some "three digit" Discover America models. To avoid stirring outrage among a few owners I will say only that NuWa discontinued that practice and now uses Young's frames exclusively again.

 

[DFark]

Thanks Harvey, We are on vacation in 2 weeks so we might be westbound. Glad I could benefit from your experience.

 

[Bill Carlyle]

we had a rear kitchen on one of our 5th wheels and would never buy another one. My wife complained every time we arrived at a campground. Everything bounced around and glasses and dishes needed to be put back in their proper places. I traded a trailer one time that had a leak around the door and the floor had rotted, so I would get on my hands and knees and press on the floor and carpet an smell around these area's and make sure you don't smell any mold.



Bill

 

[Bill Stockard]

we had a rear kitchen on one of our 5th wheels and would never buy another one. My wife complained every time we arrived at a campground. Everything bounced around and glasses and dishes needed to be put back in their proper places.



Bill

Yep, our '93 rear Kitchen HHII did that somewhat too. However, we had a friend with a rear kitchen fifth wheel with a full Mor-Ryde suspension and stuff never moved, not even the water in the dog's bowl.



Bill

 

[Grizzly]

we had a rear kitchen on one of our 5th wheels and would never buy another one. My wife complained every time we arrived at a campground. Everything bounced around and glasses and dishes needed to be put back in their proper places. I traded a trailer one time that had a leak around the door and the floor had rotted, so I would get on my hands and knees and press on the floor and carpet an smell around these area's and make sure you don't smell any mold.



Bill

Bill, our AF has a rear kitchen and we have had no broken dishes yet. In addition we have a rear pantry in which my wife keeps many glass jars. Again, nothing has broke. I do understand that many folks with rear kitchens have had problems with breakage. Must be a difference in the suspension.



I'd like to hear from other Arctic Fox owners with rear kitchens.