Forest River vs Dutchman products

mpierce wrote:
I had a Forest River All American Sport. I now have a Voltage 3600. The Voltage is a better put together trailer. Not great, but better. I have not had any problems with it. Taking it for its first long trip, from ND to TX, and stay a month or so. That will shake out any problems!

Where in Texas are you going?

I had a Forest River All American Sport. I now have a Voltage 3600. The Voltage is a better put together trailer. Not great, but better. I have not had any problems with it. Taking it for its first long trip, from ND to TX, and stay a month or so. That will shake out any problems!

johndeerefarmer wrote:
Which company makes the best product? Quality of materials and workmanship?

I've been very happy with my KZ. Two yr warranty. Mine is a 27TH, has a front bedroom, generator, happy jack bed in back behind the couches, pull down screen for leaving ramp down, full bath, and a stove plus microwave. Tows great too.

Good luck with your purchase.

Mike_LA wrote:
I've owned a Dutchmen, two FRs and now a Jayco. I've done maintenance on many brands. To me, they're all the some. Even the high-end motor-coaches have problems. If you know what to look for prior to purchasing, you'll know which one to walk away from. Think of them as all being made by the same manufacturer.

To add, FR has performed repairs on units as much as a year out of warranty, and given a year warranty on those repairs. I have experienced this first hand,

JDF, good luck on your search,

Thanks, I have about decided on a XLR Nitro 24FQS or Hyperlite 24HFS.
Looking online looks like about $5000 difference between the two so I will have to compare the specs more closely. The Nitro is 6" wider but don't know how much that makes the cost go up. Now I have to see if I can find these models somewhere close and go take a look at them

I've owned a Dutchmen, two FRs and now a Jayco. I've done maintenance on many brands. To me, they're all the some. Even the high-end motor-coaches have problems. If you know what to look for prior to purchasing, you'll know which one to walk away from. Think of them as all being made by the same manufacturer.

To add, FR has performed repairs on units as much as a year out of warranty, and given a year warranty on those repairs. I have experienced this first hand,

JDF, good luck on your search,

Thanks.

Here's a link to a web site where owners rank their own RVs in a standard list of criteria. IN general terms though Dutchman is listed under it's company name of "Dutchman" but Forest River products are ranked by their individual manufactured names (Rockwood, Flagstaff, Etc.) Usually the various manufacturer names rank fairly close to the same however.
Good luck / Skip

http://www.rv-coach.com/RV/manufacturers/survey/rate_your_rv_results.html

mwebber78 wrote:
I can't speak specifically to the TH market from FR or Dutchmen other then saying I've chatted with a few Voltage owners at wits end with slide issues and slide leaks, also ramp door issues. I'm not impressed with the use of the Lippert worm rail slides on super slides, the system has had issues in Dutchmen, Jayco, FR, and others.

Best of luck.

From what I have seen all makes have issues with slides. Seems there are 2 kinds of owners with slides. Those that have had leaks and those that will.

My first TH, and probably my last, will not have slides.

The thing I see with ramp doors are that they are either build way to heavy or way to light. Build them too heavy and the springs and hinges self destruct. Too light and they bend and warp. Seems to me that it is important to determine what you max toy weight will likely be (I know, we upgrade out toys too) and find a unit with a door that will handle that weight but not go too much over it.

JDF maybe we will meet up there. Looks like I may not get there till Sunday the 13th though. Maybe late on Saturday.

I can't speak specifically to the TH market from FR or Dutchmen other then saying I've chatted with a few Voltage owners at wits end with slide issues and slide leaks, also ramp door issues. I'm not impressed with the use of the Lippert worm rail slides on super slides, the system has had issues in Dutchmen, Jayco, FR, and others.

Best of luck.

1Shot2 wrote:
Greetings ladies and gentlemen. My first post here but have been lurking for several weeks now and there is lots of helpful information on here. Reason I am posting here is that I seem to be in the same boat as Johndeerfarmer. That is, looking for my first toy hauler. I have been researching this for several months now and still have not made up my mind what to buy.

As for JDF's original question as to build quality, so far in my experience that is hard to say. I have learned that most manufacturers use many of the same components. How well they are put together is what makes the difference.

I'll touch real quick on what I have learned from this forum, talking to owners and going to the dealers (3 states now) and looking at the smaller toy haulers myself.

Forrest River, like stated above, makes many different toy haulers. In the price range and size I am looking at are the Wolf Pack, Grey Wolfe and Work and play. I have pretty much ruled all of these out. Wolf Pack and Grey Wolfe are basically travel trailers converted to TH's. They have wood studs in the walls and roof and the entry door is in the garage area. Not that big of a deal but if you have it full of toys it could be hard to get to the front without unloading. The Work and Play models are the first I looked at when I started this quest. I learned, on here I think, that they are not insulated and are hard to keep warm when the temp really drops, a concern of mine since this will be used a lot during deer season. I can also imagine that they are harder to keep cool in the summer months here in Texas.
After learning this I started looking for listed R values in the floor, walls and roof of the RV.

I then ran across the Dutchman Rubicon, particularly the 2100. I liked the lay out as it has a separate front bedroom, with a door, not just a curtain, lots of storage and insulation. They also make an identical one in the Razorback. Build quality and the 2 I have looked at seems comparable to all the others. May not be but I am still looking. This model seems to be the best "bang for the buck".

I am interested in seeing an Axxess by VRV before I buy.

I also kind of like the Keystone Energy, particularly the 236LFSWE but it is a little bigger than I want but it seems to be a well build unit.

Going to and RV show in Ft Worth in a couple of weeks and may find something I like even better.

Thanks for the input. I will be at the Ft. Worth show too. I will be wearing a John Deere cap. :)