Sandstorm or Shockwave owners?

AustinBird wrote:
Hey folks,

First post here. Been looking at FW options for awhile and am very interested in the 32' versions of these sister TH units. Many great features, and still a good size to fit into most places I'd want to go. Anyone own one of these FWs or the TT versions that can comment on their experience? Any thoughts around build quality or other advice appreciated.

We looked at the 28-32 ft. Sandstorms, Shockwaves, Eclipse, and Genesis 5th wheel toy haulers. Prices on these units ran from $38k - $48k discounted.

We ended up purchasing a Voltage Triton 2951 (32-33 ft. long) 5th wheel toy hauler for slightly more than $40k. It has a huge, almost residential size shower, 5500 Onan, two a/c units, 7k 8-bolt axles, slideout in the bedroom, very good build quality (they all have issues though), and over 6,000 lbs. of payload capacity. For us it offered the best value by far.

Be careful with slideouts in open cargo areas. They offer extra interior room when they're open. However, they can significantly reduce what you can carry (width-wise) in the cargo area---can't drive with 'em out--lol!

Good luck!

I bought 2013 as a holdover. My brother just bought a new 2017. Mine, I've had to replace the all the vents as they cracked in 2016, weird that they all did and in the same place. I had a small leak because a rubber gasket was a little out of place. Other than that, I've had no issues. My brother had his stereo wired wrong, one window wasn't installed properly, and he has low pressure on the shower when on the pump (city water is fine). His are being fixed under warranty right now.

I've walked through tons of campers and went to an RV show last week. I still like the fit and finish of the Shockwave and I will be upgrading mine to the small fifth wheel in a few years. In the price range, I think these are the nicest. I walked through a $250k motor home and it still has similar fit issues when looking at very particular things like the individual screws.

It also seems like Forest River did a good job with these to keep the weight down. Which is important to me with how I camp.

Thank you so much for the perspective!

I have a 2010 Forest River Shockwave toy hauler (bumper pull) and have been satisfied with it. We purchased brand new off the lot.

I lived in it for 26 months straight during weekdays for work away from home, plus a few other couple month long work trips, plus our family vacations.

In that time we've broken one plastic drawer slider support that needed to be replaced, replaced the weatherstrip along the ramp, and had one brad nail for the interior molding back out.

FR could have spent a little more time aligning the cabinet doors, but the trailer has served us well.