Dutchmen 33' 5er

[Mutch]

I looked today at a 33 foot dutchmen fifth wheel. 2000 model 33rk, dual slides, only used about 4 months. $21500. doing a search, dutchmen seem to have a bad rep, but this one looked decent in a walk thru. anyone have any personal experience with a similiar model?



also, i'm looking seriously at the turnover ball GN hitch w/ companion 5er hitch. i like being able to have a clean bed when not towing and easy switch between goose and 5th.



the biggest problem i have seen is with the height over the bed sides - they are 57" but the trailer is only 56". the dealer says he can take care of it (his expense). i told him i wanted at least 6" of clearance (i'll be going off the pavement) - is that enough?



thanks in advance!

Drew

 

[RJOL]

Drew,



Check the Dutchmen out real carefully. My brother owns one, and it is pretty cheaply put together... They cost less for a reason...

 

[Bob Wagner]

run don't walk away

I know several friend that got burnt by Dutchman

 

[Idaho Native]

Dutchmen Good Luck

For what it's worth... we purchased a brand new Dutchmen Travel Trailer (26') in Oct '94. It has been absolutely great! It actually had a frame under it (8") vs the 4-6" on any of the competitors that we looked at. Fit and finish is on par with anything else that we looked at too. The only gripe I have is that the axles need to be a little heavier, as the trailer weighs in at 7000#.



Loren

 

[DLBurns]

Dutchmen

I have a 2000 Dutchmen 26' SSQ-B that I bought new for $12,900.

It was my first trailer and I couldn't pass up the deal. It has been in the shop three times, Twice for the A/C unit and once when the frig went out in the middle of my vacation They are cheaply made and Thor knows it and couldn't care less. I was in contact with them repeatly with my problems and they continually blew me off until I got ahold of the presidents e-mail address. The black water tank is configured so that there is a gap of about 3" between where the toilet dumps to the bottom of the tank, if more than 2 sheets of paper are used I have to take a stick and poke the waste down into the tank Dealer said that was the way it was built nothing could be done about it

I plan on trading this trailer in for a fiver this spring, looked at a 2001 Kit Millenium that was beautiful. The dealer dropped the price from $52K to $30 without batting an eye! ( markup must be huge on these things )

IMO I would steer clear of Dutchmen.

Dave

 

[RustyJC]

Dutchmen

With all due respect and deference to all the happy Dutchmen owners out there, I would suggest you put your hard-earned money elsewhere. JMHO.



Rusty

 

[corprimo]

When we were shopping for our 5er, I read a review by a Dutchman owner. As I recall, it said, "If someone tries to sell you a Dutchman, don't walk away, run like hell!" We're happy with our Cardinal that we bought factory direct through Americanarv.com.

 

[ADSmith]

We have had a 35' 2 bedroom Dutchmen since 1997 and have overall been very pleased with it. The only mechanical failures we have had was a bad hydraulic pump on the slide (replaced under warranty) and a cheap bolt on the slide adjustment (it let the slide get out of adjustment over time) that I eventually ended up fixing myself in a couple of hours. The most serious problem, however, were the construction of the frame, specifically at the front where the main frame and the frame directly above the hitch are tied together. It was tied together with an inadequate amount of metal which allowed too much flex, and the metal siding at the front of the trailer actually popped off due to the flexing. I was able to fix this by welding in a couple of well-placed braces to reduce the flexing. Overall, we have been pleased with our purchase, since we knew we were buying near the bottom of the quality ladder, and the price was certainly right. BTW - we have pulled extensively, probably around 15K miles, most of it between 65-80 MPH , so we have definitely not been easy on it.

 

[Bug Out]

Dutchman/Thor products

I owned a "Wanderer" by thor and had a couple minor problems. . I was one a a few that were lucky.



If you want the low down on trailer and 5ths, go to



Http://www.rvamerica.com



Go to owner reviews and see exacty what owners have had to say. . Not much good about Thor or Dutchman.



Ed



PS: Don't forget that when you buy a used trailer/5th, most of the warranties disappear after the first owner sells it. Make sure if you buy used, the dealer tosses in a "extended warranty for cheap". I paid $650 for a 5 year warranty.



I just went thru it myself having bought a 2001 and discovered all the warranties died after the first owner. Had to buy my own extended warranty.