Finding a well-built rig

The advice on identifying the 5er of your dreams that will be matched with the truck of your needs. Again the best built, and higher quality units are Lifestyle Leisure formerly Carriage, Excel, Mobile Suites and then New Horizon. When you look at these units look at the frame construction. They all have very good frames. Look at the interior and the material used and the fit an finish. Yes they all retail for over 100,000 grand but they sell for about 30% or more less on the retail end. If you built one you can get what you want and with New Horizon you start with a blank slate. One of the most expensive and least functional options is the paint. If you can live with a white coach you can save 8-10 grand depending on the brand. If you can go to a major RV show, Hershey Penn. in Sep. and Tampa Fla. in Jan. which is nicer then Hershey you will be able to compare all of the brands side by side. Yes and go to the factories and see how they are built and the material used. Cedar Creek which is what I own and the Montanas, Heartlands and others are all good units. But you need to compare them to the others. Good luck.

Check out Heartland Landmark and Bighorn....more in your price range and good quality and excellent customer service.

Hi, Susan and Chris here again-- continuing our quest for the right rv. Toured the DRV factory and, are you guys right! We were amazed at the quality of material and workmanship.
Reality tells us, however, that we can probably afford a unit about 50% of the price of a Mobile Suites.
Any of you out there have experience with the Sanibel? We know not to expect the quality of DRV, but the 3500 appears to be a good unit. We have learned from you out there not to necessarily trust factory brochures or sales people, so your opinions would be welcome...

Artic Fox has had their share of issues in the past several years. Dealers leaving the fold over quality issues, and concerns over being reimbursed for warranty work. I looked closely at several models, IMHO fit and finish looked sloppy or at least old school,

To address the companies that have no "dealer network" and have or plan to ceased production, you can paint that anyway you want. It's foolish to buy any large ticket item where the firms OOB.

Last but not least, heavier does not mean better. When HitchHiker and others were still utilizing wood framing they touted how much better that made their units. When their focus went to metal, they touted it as a revolutionary idea to the industry. Fact is those firms could not keep up and never could compete with their low volume production capabilities. Loyalty to a brand by owners is one thing, being blind to facts of life is another! Lastly, many people think they will own their units forever. While that's a nice thought, its a hard sell if you need to get rid of your RV because of illness etc. You can talk till your our blue in the face about the quality of your HH, even highly discounted like the NuWa units, still sitting on lots around the country, they are still orphans! Even the new units are not selling at 35-40 percent off MSRP. What effect does that have on older units? Pretty obvious I would bet! Look I don't dislike HitchHiker nor am I happy for the loss of a great American produced trailer. I only wish people were a little less negative about other manufacturers and who buys them. Artic Fox is a great trailer, I personally was not impressed after all the hype I heard about them! Buy what you like and can afford. Take care of the unit and it will provide years of enjoyment!

Owning an Arctic Fox, our next one was going to be another Arctic Fox. That was until I got talked into looking at an Excel. They are probably built better than our AF. The salesman kept saying, but does yours have this, (furnace heated tanks, strong frame, real fiberglass insulation etc.) and we kept saying yes. But then he said, "It sounds like you have a real good one. This brand is guaranteed to -10 degrees." I had to say, OK, lets look. I was very impressed. Now I am leaning towards Excel, but if Arctic Fox comes up with a floor plan we like better before we buy, we will go with another AF.

Edit: The Arctic Fox is heavy for its size. The weight is not from glitz, strength isn't light.

I do not care for the big boys where you are just a #. For the two best rigs out there New horizons, & Excel. Now they are heavy so if you get very long you will need a 450/4500, 550/5500. That said they are the only rigs out there with a frame so strong that you can hang a big bike HD/Wing off the back, Excle up to 33'. Oh yes they both build there frames, a box frames. New Horizons is a step above the rest. The wood work is like no other rig out there, & they will build it like you want it.

If you do not have to hang your bike off the back I would look at HitchHiker & Arctic Fox. Now with HH I would look at
http://www.kansasrvcenter.com/rvs/nuwa/fifth-wheels.aspx.
The HH frame is better than most & made by Young Welding about a mile south of there plant. I have been in all three of the above plants. If it was up to me I would own a 33' Excel but wife fell in love with a 2010 HH 363. I have owned 2 HH & one Excel. We have been on the road full time for 10 years. Back when my folks were full time on the road they had a HH & Excel.

Archic Fox is cheaper & lighter than the other three, & I do not know a lot about them, as they are made in the NW. But they are a lot like a subaru you hardly ever here any thing bad about them.

I am hearing some good things about redwood but have not checked them out. Carraige made some good rigs, & there is DRV . I would take a nice used high end rig over a cheap new rig.

susseandchris wrote:
Just wanna thank all of you who contributed to this discussion, and gave Susan and I a lot to think about! We have contacted dealers for several of the makes that forum members suggested are 'top of the line'. We'll be looking carefully at these. DRV looks amazing!
A couple of you suggested that the Montana is a well-known, reliable trailer. Just wondering what the Snowbirds and Fulltimers out there think of that line. We have seen many of their models, and we appreciate the floorplans and details. Opinions welcome!
Chris

Some people like Montanas- we wouldn't full time in one. When buying our new 5th wheel we looked at Excel, HitchHiker, Carriage and Mobile Suite. Had the Mobile Suite built for us. Would have loved to look at New Horizons, but it was out of our budget range.

Kenc_AL wrote:
Yes New horizons, Excel, Mobile suites aqre all high end full time units.

Montanna, Alpine, Big Horn, Jayco's Pinnacle etc are all high end consumer grade units. And yes, many RV'ers live in them full time but no way do they have the overall quality build of the above units.

Whatever you buy, make sure you have enough truck to handle. Also, research your axles and tires versus your trailer weight to ensure you have an adequate cushion weight. Overloaded trucks and trailer axles lead to on the road issues that are not plesant to deal with!

"Consumer Grade", now there is a good way of describing what the "commoners"
Must own! My,my how full of our selves some people can get! Oh and some people "Actually" live in them ! I got news for you, it's like telling someone who bought a perfect for their needs "Fleetwood" class "A" and saying " you should have bought a Prevost, or better yet a Newell, not one of those cheap units! It be trouble I tell you!!!

Buy what you like, and what you can afford. Frankly I own several cars that cost more than any of those new "high end" RVs mentioned above. Buying a Montana was a choice for my wife and I, not a statement of status! Funny I can't imagine pulling up next to person driving a New Caddy and say, why you buy that car! Wow you need a "Arnarge" if you need a decent car, that cheap Caddy just won't hold up! :R

We have been fulltime for 1 1/2 years in a 2011 Carriage Cameo. Love the trailer. We have spent the last 2 winters in AZ/CA. We have had some cold snowy weather in the spring after getting back to Canada & in the fall before heading south. The trailer handled the weather well. As long as we kept the furnace on - no problems with water lines.
Whatever you get, we HIGHLY recommend dual pane windows.
Being from Canada, you might also want to check out Triple E Topaz. Triple E isn't currently building 5th wheels (only motorhomes) but they are a very well built trailer if you can find one that suits you.
Arctic Fox is also a good option. We have 2 friends that have AF & they are very happy with them.

texanrvr wrote:
We are full timers in a Heartland Landmark. It is probably the best trailer that we've ever had. They are now rated as full time units and have a 2/5 year warranty. Not to mention outstanding customer service from Heartland.

We use the Heartland Owners forum extensively for suggestions and help from other owners and the forum is monitored by the factory, so it's not unusual for a brand manager to reply.

Good luck with your choice.

X2...We also love our new Landmark. We've owned quite a few RV's and this too is the best by far...have had no problems, other than a bad Sony TV and two bad MCD shades...all have been replaced, and we are loving our fulltime home!