Better RV Brands?

[druyle]

I am looking to upgrade the camper in the next few months. Currently we have a 1994 30 ft Dutchman pumper pull camper. I find that the camper is just not made very well. Nothing major, just a lot of little stuff that always in need of repair (like drawers, cabinets, foldout beds etc. ) I am thinking of going to a 5th wheel and planning to spend between $8-14K. I was interesting in your opinions as to what are the good manufactures out there and what options you would recommend. I also think a slider would be really nice.



Thanks,

Thad (Ohio)

Buy a NuWa Hitch Hiker. They are a VERY well made 5th wheel trailer.

 

[HBarlow]

I've already said above that I am a biased NuWa HitchHiker owner. They are not the best in the industry but are very good units that represent excellent value for your dollar. Unfortunately, the economic disaster were are currently experiencing took out the best names in the industry.

If you are considering a HH fiver I recommend reviewing their website. NuWa has some very nice used units traded back by loyal owners for newer and/or larger units.

 

[Grizzly]

Thank you DixonL for starting this great threat.



I hope you have found the 5th wheel you want and it's working out good for you.



george

 

[Bill Carlyle]

You can pull up almost all dealers on the enternet and they will show you everything on thier lot. I have done that several times.



Bill Carlyle

2008 white Dodge dooley

Mobile Suite and full timming for 22 years

 

[Shadrach]

Hey George I found another nice TT on the web. It's a 2002 Golden Falcon model 30DBS, and while it is on the long side my wife really likes the floor plan and it will meet our needs for quit a few years. Does your guide show this model? Does it give specs as well? If I could use the guide on my Mac I'd order it, as I love to do research. We all appreciate your help. Shadrach

 

[Grizzly]

Hey George I found another nice TT on the web. It's a 2002 Golden Falcon model 30DBS, and while it is on the long side my wife really likes the floor plan and it will meet our needs for quit a few years. Does your guide show this model? Does it give specs as well? If I could use the guide on my Mac I'd order it, as I love to do research. We all appreciate your help. Shadrach

I didn't find a 2002 model, but I did find a 2000 30DBS Golden Falcon. It's 30' long TT, rated 3 stars and made by Glendale RV. Most other Golden Falcons are rated 2. 5 stars. All were made for Vacationing. It doesn't appear to be a high quality, but maybe it will fit your needs.



Look at the frame, axle and the rest of the running gear manufacture. If you don't see good names there, walk away from it.



Good luck, george

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks George. I found a 2000 30 DBS model also but it's further away from home but has the exact same floor plan. From what I've seen it will suit us just fine. Shadrach

 

[SPucillo]

I almost bought a 3950 Cyclone by Heartland this weekend. After checking around it seems they use Lippert axles and frames. I can change the axles but how do you change out a frame.



Does anyone know what the RV Consumer Group rates the 3950 Cyclone?

 

[Slow Six]

We recently bought a new Mobile Suites which is supposed to be a well built 5th wheel. Drv uses all Lippert frames, suspension and many other Lippert components. This was a major concern for us when we bought this rig but after an lot of reading and checking out various reources I could not find any real problems with Lippert in the DRV units. One observation I have made that the problems with Lippert frames seem to be in lower end trailers. Now is this Lippert's fault or were they building the frames to the manufactuer's specifications to cut costs and weight? I have had several Dexter axles over the years with fairly good results but not with out faults. The axle tubes in Dexter axles are not overly strong and the stock bushings are poor plastic and have all needed upgrading. Also it now seems that most of the Dexter components are from China. For now we are going to enjoy our new fiver and expect there will be very few problems. One has to be able to separate fact from bull**** as it seems that some people who have a problem can blow it into extreme proportions and it spreads like a wild fire. Hopefully like us you can enjoy your new rig a not worry about it.

 

[RustyJC]

Drv uses all Lippert frames, suspension and many other Lippert components.

Hmmmm... . mine has 7000 lb Dexter Nev-R-Lube axles with Mor-Ryde equalizers and "wet" (greaseable) bolts.



I've never heard of any frame problems on the DRV 5th wheels, unlike Heartland and some others. My Mobile Suites uses a 15" box channel frame - 2x6 stacked on 2x6 stacked on 2x3. From the "Construction Features" section of the DRVSuites website:



15" box channel frame provides incredible strength and allows for thermal pack high density wool insulation with a total R29.





Rusty

 

[SPucillo]

Now I am doing a little more research in this area.

2009 Heartland Landmark Frame Complaints #10249878

The more I search the worse it looks for Heartland RV's.

 

[Grizzly]

Congratulations on the purchase of your new Mobile Suites Slow Six. You did well, I'm sure it'll be a great 5er. Enjoy it.



george

 

[AABEN]

YOU only get what you pay for. Cheep is cheep.

 

[DFark]

Overwhelmed

I've never owned a camper, but we have the fever for 5th wheel. What would you recommend for a first timer? We would like to keep it under 14K It's hard for farmers with livestock to take care of to get away, so I'm thinking we would do shorter trips. 2-3 days or so. I would like to get something that we could get our money back out of if we don't like the rv thing. Lots of good info on here, especially Grizzly and Harvey. Thanks for all your comments.

 

[ChrisOlson]

I am looking to upgrade the camper in the next few months. Currently we have a 1994 30 ft Dutchman pumper pull camper. I find that the camper is just not made very well. Nothing major, just a lot of little stuff that always in need of repair (like drawers, cabinets, foldout beds etc. ) I am thinking of going to a 5th wheel and planning to spend between $8-14K. I was interesting in your opinions as to what are the good manufactures out there and what options you would recommend. I also think a slider would be really nice.



Thanks,

Thad (Ohio)

I Quoted the OP above... . Dixon L what did you decide to do????



Oh and thanks to Grizzly and Hbarlow for all their input and years of combined experience and knowledge on this subject. You guys are amazing.



Chris.

 

[Shadrach]

We bought a replacement TT. It is a 1999 Frontier model T279SL made by Peak manufacturing, a now defunct Canadian brand that was made in North Battleford Saskatchewan. I like Canadian made units as I think they are built for our climate. Sure an Arctic Fox would have been nice but too expensive for me right now. It is a 28' with bunks and a 14' slide. We got it from the original owners who claim they only used it a total of 12 weeks. It has been kept in good condition and was super clean. We picked it up in Calgary, 200 miles away. We did discover a water leak in the slide roof, because someone had use silicone instead of the proper sealant at one time. I have a friend who works for an RV dealer so he fixed it for us. I would consider it a vacationing TT but that is what we use it for. Our 1987 Prowler served us well for 11 years.



This TT has roof air, something we never had before. I like to dry camp and will borrow my brothers Yamaha 2600 genset for now. What size genset do I "really need"? I know a 2400 Yamaha will start the A/C but does it need 30 amps to run smooth? When I plug it into my 15 amp plug at home and start the fan first then side the temp lever down to start the compressor it "hunts" when it runs. I can get a good deal on an Onan 3200 or a Yamaha 3000 but I can't lift them into my truck by myself. I have a canopy on the truck so I don't want to run it mounted in there. I don't like buying cheap offshore models. I thought about mounting a genset on the back bumper later but wasn't sure about how it would affect the "balance" of the unit.



On the old trailer we had dual 6 volts, a solar panel and an inverter but you can't run A/C with that. Personally I don't like the noise of even the quietest RV gensets.



Shadrach

 

[Grizzly]

Thanks Chris, you're too kind.



DFark. I'd consider a Nash by Northwood Mfg, the same makers of Arctic Fox. They are 4 star rated and share many of the same components and frame work as the Arctic Fox. However they do have Lippert axles, which you can change out to Dexter whenever you want. A Nash is much cheaper than a Arctic Fox, but don't have all the glitter and foo foo stuff, which no one needs anyway.



Good luck in whatever you choose.

 

[Wertles]

Shadrach, a 3000 is really nice to run a camper with air conditioning. I have a Honda 3000 and it is very quiet and will run just about everything in the camper. I do leave the hot water heater on gas but everything else will run off the generator. They are expensive but the new 3000 can easily be lifted into a truck by one person. I have a little older model and it's more bulky than heavy so my wife helps me with it. If it was really an issue, I would buy two 2000 units and link them together. Those are really light weight and easy to throw around. Unfortunately they are all pricey. Even though my camper has a built in generator, I'm going to take my Honda with me this weekend to NASCAR. If I don't need to run both AC units, I'm going to run the Honda because it is quieter and uses very little gas. It also hasn't had a good workout this year so I just want to run it before things get a little sticky. The Onan will run everything in the camper but it is a little louder, not much, but I don't want to tick any neighbors off. Usually the 42 800HP unmuffled motors drown out the generators, even the loud ones.

 

[Grizzly]

My Arctic Fox 5er has an on-board 55KW Onan generator. The Lance truck camper before the AF had on-board 34KW generator. Before that I had a 29' HR 5th wheel without a built-in generator. I purchased a 35KW Honda, which was a little too heavy to lift by myself onto the back of my truck. I built a cart on large wheels to the same height as my tailgate. With help I set the generator onto the top of the cart. Before I hitched the 5er, I'd roll the cart with the Honda generator to the open tailgate of my truck and slide the generator into the bed of the truck behind the hitch and to the drivers side. That would clear the hitch pin when hitching the 5er. The generator, without wheels, was the same height as the rails on my 95 Dodge. All the time we were traveling or camping I'd leave the generator in the bed of the Dodge, chained and padlocked.



When we'd get home, I'd roll the cart to the tailgate and slide the generator to the cart and store it in the garage for the next trip. I always kept a small down draft AC cover over the generator securely tied when not being used.

 

[starkmr]

Shadrach, a 3000 is really nice to run a camper with air conditioning. I have a Honda 3000 and it is very quiet and will run just about everything in the camper. I do leave the hot water heater on gas but everything else will run off the generator. They are expensive but the new 3000 can easily be lifted into a truck by one person. I have a little older model and it's more bulky than heavy so my wife helps me with it. If it was really an issue, I would buy two 2000 units and link them together. Those are really light weight and easy to throw around. Unfortunately they are all pricey. Even though my camper has a built in generator, I'm going to take my Honda with me this weekend to NASCAR. If I don't need to run both AC units, I'm going to run the Honda because it is quieter and uses very little gas. It also hasn't had a good workout this year so I just want to run it before things get a little sticky. The Onan will run everything in the camper but it is a little louder, not much, but I don't want to tick any neighbors off. Usually the 42 800HP unmuffled motors drown out the generators, even the loud ones.

I had the Honda 3k for years, but it was 149lbs dry. The ex wasn't even going to be considered for help when I needed to load it! I sold it and bought the Honda 2k and will buy a second one soon with the synchro kit. Make sure you study up on these inverter units, though they are marketed at 2000 watts, that is peak load. Constant load is right around 1600 watts. Quite a difference!