Finding a well-built rig

Artemus Gordon wrote:
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!

Artemus, WHY don't you just come out of the closet and say "If it isn't a Montana, it isn't a RV?" I looked at Montana's this spring that were WELL south of $100,000, and there was absolutely NO WAY in HE!! I would EVER spend THAT kind of money on such a shoddy build piece of junk! The new Montana's are a REAL disappointment!

And PLEASE get off your high horse on Hitchhikers! You have NEVER owned one, none less probably NEVER been in one!

I bought a 4 year old Mobile Suites and took care of the well known bedroom slide and Kodiak brake caliper issues. I have a had the inverter go out and replaced the roof plumbing vents from being broken off. Misc adjustments on slides and tighten misc screws.

Bottom line the construction and materials used are in general of a higher quality with the MS than the want to be full time units.

I paid much less for a 4 year old MS than the similar size want to be units new at that time and now are worth around what I payed for mine and the newer one will be worth much less in a few years. After 1.5 years I can still get what I payed for mine.

To each their own!

Richfaa...very well put...couldn't agree more!!

No matter what brand it will be a work in progress. Good luck on your choice. Rving is a lot of fun and good folks to visit with.
chevman

When we purchased our first and second truck and 5th wheel we had in both cases purchased the biggest truck we could afford and we could only afford to buy a 5th wheel in a certain price range. What we could afford determined what we purchased both truck and RV. We would have liked to purchase a higher end 5th wheel at a higher quality level but could not afford to do that. We were also limited by what the truck could pull. IMO after touring most of the factories in Indiana all of the brand 5th wheel in our price range were pretty much the same in quality so we purchased the one that had the floor plan we liked and within our budget. We find in reading the forums of all brands including the so called high $$ high quality brands they all seem to have similar problems.

Don't know about most folks but what we purchased was determined by what we could reasonably afford. We did the best we could and have now purchased two Montana's. Problems with both of them yes. Our fix it list on our new 2013 Montana big sky is now up to 16 items the least being improperly labeled cable inputs and the worst being the strut on one of our compartment doors being improperly installed and pulling out of the door. We have seen that same strut problem on new Mobil suites. We are now 7 years and @ 70K+ miles on the road as long timers. We see and camp with all brands all price ranges and we share the same problems. This brand BS is just that.... BS. Buy what you can afford and the floor plan that meets your needs. And when you see a post on a forum that says "we have a XXXXX 5th wheel and have NEVER had a problem" Do not believe it.

beetle1 wrote:
I might add an older, used M.S. will be much cheaper and still better than many others new!!

We bought our 07.5 36 SB3 in 9 of 2011. We paid around 50K and probably could still get that today. At the same time if someone would have bought one of the Want to be high end RV's for 70K or so it would be worth the same or less than ours and will depreciate rapidly from now on where the high end unit will slowly loose value.

So yes you can own a truly high end unit by buying a lightly used MS!

susseandchris wrote:
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...

We toured the DRV factory on a Tuesday in early July of 2008 after touring the Carriage factory the day before. We promptly went to our next location and within 2 mos had custom ordered our 2nd Suite with all the features our 2006 36TK3 Elite Suite didn't have. They had upgraded some of the features in 2009, more in 2010, additional ones in 2011. But in 2009 models, they didn't have the exact floor plan we wanted. So we asked if they could change the peninsula kitchen into an extended Island. They could do it at very little cost and it made us very happy.

Since then, we've added even more features that make it even more comfortable. We've wintered in the north and spent summers in the south. So we know that Suites are livable all 4-seasons.

I might add an older, used M.S. will be much cheaper and still better than many others new!!

I have a 10 year old Mobile Suite 36' #15 built in 2003 and it has been kept indoors when not in use, still looks new and has had few problems. They are even better in later years. Have seen friends come and go with others in close price range and they sort of fell apart in many ways. Can't speak for others in category, but you should be well satisfied with M.S.

We just picked up our 2nd Northwood Arctic Fox, a 29 5T which is ~31 feet long, about 4' longer than our old one. Even though it is small by full timer standards, it would easily fill the bill and tows as well as the small one. Northwood builds their own frames and they are legendary for strength. I would at least look at them, a lot of value for the price. Ours was in the mid $40K range, including double pane windows, 5.5KW genset, central vac, king bed and lots of little amenities. Check out their forum at:
http://www.afnash.com/forum.php

Good luck!