Better RV Brands?

[amsoilman]

I just purchased a 31 FT STELLAR (ECLIPSE) Toy Hauler. It has 3 axles. Does anyone know if this manufacturer is a good one?



thanks in advance,



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Grizzly]

Wayne,



The only Toy Hauler manufactured by Eclipse I found in my RV Consumer Group Guide is an "Atitude", which range from 23' to 36'. For whatever reason, they are not rated.



Is the 31' Toy Hauler you purchased a new unit?



george

 

[amsoilman]

Wayne,



The only Toy Hauler manufactured by Eclipse I found in my RV Consumer Group Guide is an "Atitude", which range from 23' to 36'. For whatever reason, they are not rated.



Is the 31' Toy Hauler you purchased a new unit?



george

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is a 2010 model TL31FLSG TRIPLE AXEL Bumper Pull.

 

[Bill Stockard]

A few upgrades for the SnowBird at the NuWa factory. It's cheaper than a new one.



Newt

From where those workers are, I assume you are adding a second A/C unit and possibly upgrading the electrical system from 30 to 50 amps. An excellent place to have work done on your Nu-Wa product.



Bill

 

[AHarris]

Fleetwood (Coleman) Caravan

In 2003 my wife and I bought the top of the line Coleman Caravan 25' travel trailer. A year after we purchased it, the trailer sat in indoor storage for 4 years while we were living in Germany. It's been kept outdoors the other 3 years of its life and now has about 10K miles on it and probably 40 camping trips of varying lengths between quick overnights to 3 week family vacations. I remember the MSRP of the coach was around $23K and we took it home for $18. 5K.

The good news is the camper is paid off. The bad news is that the floor system is sagging on both sides of the coach causing warp-age of the kitchen counter-tops, slide out dinette, and other cabinetry close to the sides of the camper. As a side note, the slide out master bedroom is supported by just 3 nylon rollers which are starting to flex out on their mounts,

For what other reason (other than cost cutting) would an RV manufacturer make a coach where 12" on either side of the frame is unsupported and dependent on the floor systems to bear the weight of the walls and roof... a floor system that consists of a flimsy sandwich of cheap low density wafer-board and 2 X 2s along with wheel wells that are not properly sealed allowing water to enter when traveling down a rain soaked road. And why on Earth would anyone think that supporting an 800 lb structure (the queen bed) on 3 flimsy nylon rollers in enough to work over the long haul?

Add to that numerous poorly sealed joints which allow water to leak into the camper and poor fitting dinette and slide out joints which leave almost 2" gaps.

It's obvious they used the cheapest crappiest materials available to turn out these Caravans to maximize profit margin at the expense of the consumer.

In the final analysis I have a 7 year old camper (warranty was only 5 years on the structure) that is sagging out of shape and that I have to replace soon at a time where I'm in the process of buying my retirement home.

I will never buy another Fleetwood manufactured product again.

 

[Grizzly]

AHarris,



It's only rated 2 stars on the RV Consumer Group Guide. Any RV manufactured by Fleetwood, Forest River and Keystone are not known for quality. Some are okay for weekend use if you can keep them out of the weather. Some folks are happy with them, but you only get what you pay for.



george

 

[HBarlow]

Very well stated, Grizzly. Those manufacturers turn out lots of light duty RV products and turn a huge profit but they are generally not well made and not as durable as the better brands.

 

[CPH]

Old rig

I still have my original RV. A 1990 Fleetwood Terry Resort 26 5N fiver. Low profile. Aluminum roof, wood frame, no slide(the only bummer). From the day I bought it new, NEVER had to take it back to a dealer. Got hit by some guy in a rental car in 06. easy to fix due to aluminum sides and wood frame. Good rig for a 1/2 ton truck. Sorry guys, not for sale!



cph

 

[kcv67]

What is the differences between nash and Arctic fox?

 

[Grizzly]

What is the differences between nash and Arctic fox?

Money and more foo foo stuff.



Actually the Arctic Fox has Dexter axles and more standard options. Nash has Lippert axles, which are American made, but not considered as good of quality as Dexter. Many options on the Arctic Fox are not available on the Nash. Nash is a great deal for the money and is still a 4 star rated trailer. Both brands have quality made frames from their Northwood factory in La Grande, OR.



Click here for Northwood Mfg.

 

[AHarris]

AHarris,

It's only rated 2 stars on the RV Consumer Group Guide. Any RV manufactured by Fleetwood, Forest River and Keystone are not known for quality. Some are okay for weekend use if you can keep them out of the weather. Some folks are happy with them, but you only get what you pay for.

george

I ended up trading in the Caravan (dealer gave me $6,400) and I bought a 30' 2010 Keystone Hideout at a fire sale price. I've heard both good and bad about Keystone... and you get what you pay for. We are weekend and vacation campers and this unit works great for a family of 4 like us... . so I set an upper limit of $18K for the new camper and this one came in quite a bit under. Really like the camper but had to take it back for warranty work on the black tank valve, a small dent in the side, and the A/C not functioning properly. The dealership (Campers RV in Shreveport Louisiana)--from sale to taking care of the customer after the sale--has earned 5 out of 5 stars with me. The build quality of the camper is about what you'd expect from this range of products by Thor (makers of Keystone, Dutchemen, Springdale, Montana, and many more). I will say that it's built much better than the Coleman (Fleetwood) Caravan using better quality materials, real wood in the cabnets, and a much more robust frame and axles. Floor system has a lifetime warranty.

I'd give the camper 3 1/2-4 stars for build quality. It suits my needs and the dealership is unbeatable. With conventional construction, it should last a while even if I need to repair it down the road. Unlike fiberglass units (which I don't really like--rarely see one more than 5 years old that didn't have at least the early signs of lamination somewhere) this one can be fixed easily if the need arises. I got what I paid for, maybe a little bit more.

 

[HBarlow]

Old fiberglass sided RVs built by quality manufacturers do not delaminate as stated above. I owned a '95 Travel Supreme fifth wheel I purchased used that is now owned by my son-in-law's company. It has no delamination.

I have never seen a Travel Supreme, Teton, Newmar, Alfa, HitchHiker or other quality brand that has delaminated.

 

[JHansen]

I have a '94 Fleetwood Westport 33-5M-believe in the 'States they were marketed as an Avion? It has Filon sides-no delamination at all. Can't speak for all its years, but the PO had it in a seasonal spot for ~ 7 years. I have pulled it all over the place-it's heavy, but IMO fairly well-built. Only real complaints I have are lack of a bedroom slide, and the grey tank drain hangs out under the floor (tanks themselves are tucked up in the basement), and I still don't understand to this day why they painted 2 of the 3 stripes on the body but used tape for the 3rd one . I looked at a pile of used trailers before I bought this one-the deal was decent, and I didn't know if I would like camping so I didn't want to buy a new one). I looked at a Forest River Cardinal, a Jayco Eagle, a couple other Fleetwoods (Terry and Prowler), a few Travelaires (Prestige and Kustom Koach), a Citation Supreme, a Glendale Golden Falcon. All mid-90's to early 2000s. Never got a chance to look at a NuWa in person-they're not real common up here from what I could find. Loved the Citation, but out of my price range. The Jayco was nice. The Travelaires were excellent as well, but again out of my price range. Didn't care for the Cardinal, the Golden Falcon was terrible and I don't like the quality of the lower-end Fleetwoods-cabinetry etc is a far cry from my Westport. My brother has a newer Keystone Hornet-assembly quality is less than stellar to say the least.



I would replace this trailer with another like it without a second thought-although I think I would make the step to a true Avion next time for a few of the extra amenities that are in them. If I was looking for something newer, I'd love to have a look at a Newmar or NuWa, but they're out of my price range now.



Jason

 

[Superglide]

Jason,



Looks like you're close to the only NuWa dealer in Canada. Canadian Leisure RV, 8415 31 St SE, Calgary.

 

[notron46]

opinion

Does anyone have any knowledge on an Open Range 5er or trl. Norton

 

[HBarlow]

The Avion name disappeared in the '90s. The original "real" Avion was an aluminum skinned trailer very similar to the Airstream that was a competitor to the Airstream back in the '50s through the late '80s. I owned an '87 that was an excellent trailer.

The family that owned Avion sold out to Fleetwood around '89 or '90 and Fleetwood built it another year, perhaps two, then dropped the line.

Fleetwood continued using the Avion brand name on large fifth wheels for another three or four years and finally dropped the name around '95.

 

[notron46]

super helpful

To Barlow and Griz, you guys are great, all the info you pass on is very helpful to all of us. my wife and i have been fulltiming for 12 years and have been to Alaska for the summers of 05 and 09, wish we knew you had a campground Mr. B, we would have stopped by. i always say your never to old to learn, and you guys have proven me right. thanks again. Norton

 

[Grizzly]

Personally I wouldn't buy any RV that has less than a 3 star rating and preferably 3. 5 or 4 star rating. I see some folks posting about how great their 5th wheel or TT are and I know they don't have a good rating, but I'm not saying anything unless someone ask. I have the RV Consumer Group and am very willing to share the information with anyone that asks. You can also get that information from any RV dealer. All dealers subscribe to the RVCG as it is an RV dealers bible. Kind of like an NADA blue book is to a car dealer Some dealers may not be willing to share the RV information with you because the RV you are interested in may not be rated very high. On the other hand, if the RV you're interested is rated high, then they are more than willing to share the information with you.



In addition to the ratings, thoroughly inspect the trailer. With a flashlight, look inside cabinets and inside storage compartments. Look for shoddy workmanship. Crawl under the trailer. Crawl on the roof. Take a broacher home and study it from cover to cover. Compare it to other broachers. Compare the trailer to the high end, high dollar units. Also remember, just because it's a high end, high dollar unit doesn't mean it's a well constructed trailer. For instance, I'd take a Nash, low end, low dollar unit, but with a four star rating over a Montana, a high end trailer, but not well constructed nor rated. A Montana just has much more foo foo stuff than a Nash. Don't be fooled by how plush the trailer is. Put your hard earned money in a well built and well insulated RV. Finally, if the trailer you buy comes with Chinese ST tires (most do), get rid of them and get good American made LT tires.



I hope this helps, george.

 

[RustyJC]

Our Doubletree Mobile Suites 36RE3 celebrates its 6th anniversary with us this month - we took delivery of it in August 2004 just as the 2005 models were about to arrive. As has been mentioned before, because of a legal dispute with the Doubletree hotel folks, the manufacturer has changed its name to DRVSuites and continues to produce Select Suites, Mobile Suites and Elite Suites 5th wheels. For those who might not know, Doubletree started off in circa 2003 as a separate, upmarket division of Sunnybrook but was spun off/bought out and went independent. The very early Mobile Suites rigs were labeled "Doubletree RV by Sunnybrook", but that disappeared pretty quickly - our 2004 doesn't carry that label.



After 6 years of ownership, we're quite satisfied with our Mobile Suites. It has proven to be durable, quiet and comfortable under extreme conditions - a tribute to its construction and insulation package. Prior to a trip this July from Houston to the Grand Canyon that we knew would be made in 100+ degree temperatures, we upgraded to 17. 5" aluminum wheels with load range J Michelin XTA tires, having been through the problems others have had with the OEM 16" load range G Goodyear G614s (the 17. 5" wheels and tires are optional or standard, depending on the model, on today's units - I'd urge any prospective buyer to make sure their unit is so equipped. ) The Michelins were absolutely trouble-free, as were the XPS Ribs I used on our previous 5th wheel, and even under these high ambient temperature conditions I could easily place my hand on the tread after pulling off the Interstate.



Prior to this 5th wheel, we owned 3 Jaycos (a 1979 Cardinal pop-up, a 1996 Designer 3030RKSS 5th wheel and a 2000 Designer XL 3610RLTS 5th wheel), the latter 2 purchased new. All of the Jaycos provided good, reliable service and good value-for-money at their price point.



Although our 2002 dually with 4. 10 gears and some mild towing mods pulls our Mobile Suites easily, because my wife won't tow with the 6-speed manual, we're moving to a 2011 dually that, equipped with the 68RFE and 4. 10 gears, has the GCWR and GVWR we need for this RV - the new truck is scheduled for delivery next month. We have no intention of replacing the RV anytime soon.



Rusty

 

[HBarlow]

To Barlow and Griz, you guys are great, all the info you pass on is very helpful to all of us. my wife and i have been fulltiming for 12 years and have been to Alaska for the summers of 05 and 09, wish we knew you had a campground Mr. B, we would have stopped by. i always say your never to old to learn, and you guys have proven me right. thanks again. Norton

Notron,

Thanks for the kind words. Grizzly and I make a lot of members angry when we post the truth about some RV brands which happen to be their choices. We're not trying to tell anyone not to buy whatever they choose, we just attempt to lay out the facts and let everyone decide for himself.