Forum Discussion

Bluebeard's avatar
Bluebeard
Explorer
Mar 26, 2015

Shopping for used 5er, comparing used Artic Fox and Komfort

My wife and I are in the market for a used 5th wheel. We are not interested in the fancy 40 foot behemoth, we are looking for something no longer than 26 feet. We travel down a lot of dirt roads, and I want to be able to turn around in a limited space if need be. My question is we are comparing a 2002 Arctic Fox 20-5N and a 2004 Komfort 25 FS. Most of our travels will be boondocking and we typically go out in late fall to the mountains, where it is usually pretty cold in the mornings and evenings- with occasional snow. Any plusses or negatives about either? My wife found one of those "pissed consumer" websites that was doing a pretty good job bashing the new arctic foxes, but since this is pretty old stuff, I figured any of the weak stuff would have been replaced by now- although both trailers look to be in pretty good shape.

Also, does anyone know of another used brand of that vintage that has a slide out bedroom along with the living area slide out? We looked at an older Komfort that had it, but it was pretty beat up- I was just wondering if anyone else did that with that small sized trailer.

One of our big issues is interior storage- which is really valuable in the small trailers. If anyone has any suggestions for a smaller 5th that uses its space really well, let me know. We have 2 big dogs so we want to have a lot of floor space for them to lay while we are inside.

Thanks for any input.
  • Donn- what is ST Tire?

    I don't know what the siding is, maybe fiberglass? Not metal like the Komfort. It is a white/rubbery looking surface. How would you determine the frame? Which is better?
  • ST tires on heavier trailers can be a problem. Besides speed ratings at 65MPH they generally have very poor reputations. Delamination is where there a failure of the glue that holds the siding, either fiberglas or frilon to the substraight. It can also cause the siding to seperate from the frame. AF had problems around that time. Is the Fox your looking at wood or aluminum frame?
    If you really like the AF go over and join the afnash club. Great folks with lots of good information to share.
  • Donn- can you elaborate on your response? We are pretty new to this stuff, so I don't understand your comments.
  • Buy the one that is in the best shape...and has been maintained.
    Both Arctic Fox and Komfort...(the year you are looking at) were excellent units..considered top quality at that time.
  • Buggest minus of Foxes is probably the ST tires. I cant remember what year they started using aluminum frames, but it was close around 2002. First couple of years there was some delamination issues. In house frames, built stout for off road.
    Komfort was OK, nothing spectatular. Lippert frame.