Looks like a new manufactuer of 5th wheels will be starting up in January. Alliance RV is completing a new factory and says they will be producing luxury fifth wheels. Most of the upper management seems to be coming from Heartland and then manufacturing from Grand Design. The Brady's were with Heartland before they got bought out. Looking forward to seeing what they come out with. Supposedly going to be at some shows in January, hopefully with some show units as there calendar does have models listed per event.On edit, I found an interview from August.

My money is on nothing will change. Same Lippert chassis, same Dexter axles, same mediocre house build. Unless they want to charge another fifty to a hundred grand to build in some quality.

Here is an article from dealer show that tells a little about the build. Looks like it will be in the range around the Riverstone, Landmark, etc.

And then in two years they will sell out. Dan

I agree. Another pretty paint job and nice updated appliance package. No builder cares about the frame or underpinnings anymore. Throw full body paint on it and it high end now. LOL Only an old guy like me cares about whats underneath and behind the walls. I have attended the Tampa Super Show for years and next month will be the first year I am not going. I finally got tired of going hoping to see something new and a stand-out. It hasn't happened in a few years now. DRV is the only one out there with a unique frame but its Lippert made and there are owners who have had pin-box/chin problems, etc. Now Vanleigh in the "high-end" market with the Beacon. There is not one thing about it that makes it anymore high end over any other brand but the high-end looking paint job. Lippert through and through, disc brakes optional (maybe), 2 inch thick walls like everyone else, etc.I don't expect anything special. I will be pleasantly surprised if its anything different especially with the team having come from GD and Heartland.Its a shame companies, especially a new one, has to chat-up how good their customer service is or is going to be. Wouldn't it be something if they could talk about the initial quality right off the line like auto makers do? Its great that they will take care of all the problems after delivery but how about just delivering quality from the get go? I will be looking forward to seeing what they do different. Sorry now I'm not going to the Tamps show. Hopefully someone will go and update this thread with their findings.

Here is an article that includes some of their build standards. Somewhat encouraging, however, a laminated wall instead of hung wall construction. They are already skimping on the brakes and lack of slide toppers. If you want to be high end, be high end. Riverstone already looks better. https://rvbusiness.com/startup-alliance-rv-details-business-plan-to-dealers/

New 5th Wheel Manufacturer | Good Sam Community

JTrac
Explorer
Jan 20, 2020
pcm1959 wrote:
justme wrote:
So far many RV's like Hartland products are glitz and glammor with inadequate engineering incorporated for travel and endurance. It is difficult to "polish a turd". I fully support entreprenureship if it enhances things that would contribute to a better and improved product. I will sit back and evaluate this new company as they progress. I really hope they come up with a product that moves the RV industry forward. BTY many management folks in the RV industry have been quoted in the past that the reason that past RV manufacturers go out of business was because they put too much quality into the product that diminished the profitability. They felt the public wanted inexpensive rather than quality.

I totally agree. We have seen it before. Theres nothing special about their engineering, frame, or otherwise. Just another cookie cutter like all the others. Since the demise of NuWa, Carriage/Lifestyle, Excel they are all built the same. That goes for Vanleigh, too. Throw a beautiful pint job on it and it's the icing on the cake for the typical American buyer.

We thought when we bought our Excel 8 years ago that we would maybe do one more, which would have been our 4th Excel. That didn't work out so well. We look but just can't find anything that matches the feel of quality ours has. Most just look flimsy. We don't want anything super heavy or priced like a New Horizon. Excel was kind of in the high middle but not many of those left. I hope this new company builds a good reputation but have my doubts. They do look good though.

We considered an Artic Fox but they do not offer a residential fridge. If they ever do they will be on our list but I'd probably have to drive 800 miles just to see one.
ford_truck_guy
Nomad
Jan 20, 2020
I just read a little into " their story"

Unfortunately I do not think they will do much to improve the industry as BOTH the brothers are "BEAN COUNTERS" by trade..

Now I have nothing against bean counters, but when they are the owners, that makes for a rough ride in my eyes..

Coley Brady -"Prior to Heartland, Coley graduated from the University of Notre Dame and worked as a CPA for KPMG (Chicago office) and Crowe (South Bend office)."

Ryan Brady -"has 9 years of experience in the RV industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Upon graduation Ryan worked at Prairie Capital, a Chicago based private equity firm"

The bottom line will be more important that quality is what I read... Prove me wrong bros..
smarty
Explorer II
Jan 20, 2020
Would not purchase a rig from them until they were in business for several years.
We purchased a Tesla from Evergreen a few years back and they went out of business and thus we lost our warranty.
Although we have been super happy with the rig and have had no issues it could have been a disaster for us.
justme
Explorer
Jan 20, 2020
pcm1959 wrote:
justme wrote:
So far many RV's like Hartland products are glitz and glammor with inadequate engineering incorporated for travel and endurance. It is difficult to "polish a turd". I fully support entreprenureship if it enhances things that would contribute to a better and improved product. I will sit back and evaluate this new company as they progress. I really hope they come up with a product that moves the RV industry forward. BTY many management folks in the RV industry have been quoted in the past that the reason that past RV manufacturers go out of business was because they put too much quality into the product that diminished the profitability. They felt the public wanted inexpensive rather than quality.

I totally agree. We have seen it before. Theres nothing special about their engineering, frame, or otherwise. Just another cookie cutter like all the others. Since the demise of NuWa, Carriage/Lifestyle, Excel they are all built the same. That goes for Vanleigh, too. Throw a beautiful pint job on it and it's the icing on the cake for the typical American buyer.

Most people put emphasis on the truck suspension and seem to ignore the trailer suspension. I look at my F350 suspension rated at 11500 lbs GVW and compare it to my 5th wheel suspension rated at 14000 lbs (2X7000) with a GVW of 16000 and wonder why trailer is much flimsier than the truck. Evidently the trailer engineers use a different method to spec their suspension, springs and brakes than the auto industry.
pcm1959
Explorer
Jan 20, 2020
justme wrote:
So far many RV's like Hartland products are glitz and glammor with inadequate engineering incorporated for travel and endurance. It is difficult to "polish a turd". I fully support entreprenureship if it enhances things that would contribute to a better and improved product. I will sit back and evaluate this new company as they progress. I really hope they come up with a product that moves the RV industry forward. BTY many management folks in the RV industry have been quoted in the past that the reason that past RV manufacturers go out of business was because they put too much quality into the product that diminished the profitability. They felt the public wanted inexpensive rather than quality.

I totally agree. We have seen it before. Theres nothing special about their engineering, frame, or otherwise. Just another cookie cutter like all the others. Since the demise of NuWa, Carriage/Lifestyle, Excel they are all built the same. That goes for Vanleigh, too. Throw a beautiful pint job on it and it's the icing on the cake for the typical American buyer.
justme
Explorer
Jan 20, 2020
So far many RV's like Hartland products are glitz and glammor with inadequate engineering incorporated for travel and endurance. It is difficult to "polish a turd". I fully support entreprenureship if it enhances things that would contribute to a better and improved product. I will sit back and evaluate this new company as they progress. I really hope they come up with a product that moves the RV industry forward. BTY many management folks in the RV industry have been quoted in the past that the reason that past RV manufacturers go out of business was because they put too much quality into the product that diminished the profitability. They felt the public wanted inexpensive rather than quality.
Winged_One
Explorer
Jan 19, 2020
We looked at the Riverstone 39FKTH. Nice until I looked at the outside dumps. Who wants to crawl under an extended slideout to pull a dump valve. Really Riverstone?? Who are your buyers? High end and you can't put a valve handle in reach without crawling under the trailer?
philh
Explorer II
Dec 27, 2019
AirSupport wrote:
I still like the Riverstone. Although the one we love is 43’ long, I just wish they made the floor plan at under 40’. Oh well, looks like I’m getting the 43’-er. ;)

Which one?

Looking forward to your review. Riverstone is on our short list
dblr
Explorer
Dec 27, 2019
AirSupport wrote:
I still like the Riverstone. Although the one we love is 43’ long, I just wish they made the floor plan at under 40’. Oh well, looks like I’m getting the 43’-er. ;)

Which model? Ours is just under 43' and we have yet run into a issue with size.
joelc
Explorer III
Dec 27, 2019
I don't know much about them, but Artic Fox is supposed to be a good brand. We looked at them one time, and the only reason we did not purchase is we did not like the floor plans back then. Give them a look.