Phoenix Cruiser quality

We also looked at the PC's when we were looking for a small Alaska rig. One of the consistent things we found was rust on the slideout arms which was visible with the slides out. Also we didn't like the narrow entry into the shower and the small shower. Perhaps that was just the model we looked at.

I will say they seem to have a loyal following, but the PC wasn't the rig for us.

Dale

ernie1, Take a look at the Bigfoot Brand. You will not be able to buy new, but are some really nice used out there. If you find one with the Winter Pkg., You'll get thermal pane windows,motoraide waterheater,auxiliary rear heat, SS wheel simulators. The tanks(all) are inclosed, so if you keep the inside warm...your tanks are warm. Ours (a 30MH26Sl) has a double SS sink in kitchen, a three burner stove, a (real) oven, separate bath/toilet( actually has a rather large tub about 14 or so inches deep), and the bathroom sink is outside the toilet/bath area with some counter space. It's pretty amazing what you can put into 26 feet, plus some of the best quality we've seen in the class c's. On a side note: the previous owners were avid cross-country skiers and winter tested (with water in system) down to -17F and didn't freeze anything. We wanted a quality unit capable of cold weather camping, and think/hope that we found it!

All of the 30MH series are on E450 chassis, as they are heavy, well built units. Structural integrity comes at a price....weight!

You can archive some of the model year brochures on the internet!

When people say the quality of some RV they bought was good, the translation is: it didn't fall completely apart yet. ;)

Mike, There are degrees of quality! All will have issues, but the cheaply built one's will have more issues...sooner! The bottom line is...do lots of research, buy the best you can afford, and then cross your fingers! Some folks are blessed and have good success with lesser quality units...but if you play "Russian Roulette", your odds are better if you start out with only one round in the cylinder!!

Ernie1
Yep thought the same thing reading comments about how great the PC quality etc was/is.

We looked at the same one you are talking about !
Thought the same thing you said , fit, finish and quality was out the door !

When the topic of quality RVs come up, the list always includes Leisure Travel Vans, Born Free, and Coach House. Lazy Daze also gets mentions but they do not have slides. Born Free recently went out of business. Chinooks also have a good reputation but they went out of business in 2006. Another company has started to build Chinooks but only make the van type.

Hi ernie1 and OFDPOS,

You offer some interesting experiences inspecting a particular 2006 Phoenix Cruiser 2551 with 33,000 miles.

We own a 2007 model 2350 (MANY PICTURES HERE) with 40,000 miles. Here are my personal thoughts and experiences.


- Cheep Accordion Door
We have that same privacy curtain which closes off the bedroom from the front half of the motor home. It isn't the quality you would find in a regular house, but we really like it when we need it. I do admit there is a "finesse" required to open and retract it, but once you get the hang of it, it goes smoothly. It is surely useful for privacy when needed, but I most appreciate it when running the furnace overnight because it retains the heat in the bedroom. Since the thermostat is in the bedroom, the furnace runs so much less and we are kept more comfortable. I also appreciate how the curtain stores tightly tucked out of the way. If Phoenix replaced it with something more robust, I think it would be very intrusive in the stowed position.


- Cheap White Plastic Kitchen Sink
We LOVE that sink. It isn't cheap by my standards. It is made of a hard resin with a mat finish that holds up extremely well. 10 years and our sink still looks new. It does stain under certain conditions but bleach takes the stain right out. It is extra deep by RV standards which we love about it. Phoenix recently changed the sink to a semi-oval deep stainless steel sink, but the resin sink is available upon request, as is our counter-sunk stove.

Now...our bathroom sink is cheap plastic, but we are okay with it. It is just a bathroom sink. I did change the cheap plastic generic faucet to something much nicer, a 5 minute job with no tools required. I don't think Phoenix improved upon the bathroom sink, but they upgraded the faucet over the years.


- Wood Not Matching, Poor Quality Wood
That does NOT describe our PC, but I can understand your comment. Corners fit tight, cabinet doors all match, trim matches, no gaps in joints, all the same general finish. My pictures show the cabinet doors a lot darker than the cabinets behind but the slight difference is amplified from the camera flash. The cabinets are made well, but like the trim, is not finished like high end brick-n-mortar kitchen cabinets.

Our 10 year old cabinet framing has a printed finish on the rails and styles over solid wood and plywood. I think the factory may still use the same printed finish on those components because they build much of the cabinets in a corner of the factory and I don't recall seeing a finishing booth. Eliminating the finishing process is how they are able to make on-the-fly changes per customer request as well as a better fit. There is no press or chip board used in the cabinetry or anywhere else with only one exception that I found and that is the bed platform. All interior cabinet doors are pre-finished raised panel solid wood, the same quality you would find at a Home Depot. I don't know what the flat bathroom door with full length mirror is made of but it is heavy. It just might be some kind of press board.

One thing I know is that Phoenix has a very close relationship with their cabinet materials supplier. About 5 years ago I decided to reconfigure my galley base cabinet to 3 large capacity drawers. Phoenix was able to place an order for 3 new drawer fronts and 2 rails, and I received them in good time. They matched the rest of my original drawer and door fronts just fine.


It is unfortunate your one and only PC walk-thru was so disappointing. If you don't feel right about it, move on to other motor home brands. You need to feel right about your purchase.

We encountered the same issues at the Hershey show last year and went with Nexus Viper and are very satisfied with the quality.

ADUS wrote:
We encountered the same issues at the Hershey show last year and went with Nexus Viper and are very satisfied with the quality.

Curious which Viper did you get and how many miles do you have on it now ?