Forest River Surveyor vs The Field

Sounds like F-R has moved the Surveyor beyond the Flagstaff/Rockwood lines in the ten years since I was last looking at them. Forest River is a huge RV company and plays over a wide range of the field, entry level to upper midrange price categories.

Sales guy is over-touting a bit, the construction does not involve building a metal cage, rather laminated panels with aluminum perimeter frames are assembled to make a box. Usually metal screws are used, walls screwed to the top or sides of the floor, roof structure screwed to the top of the walls. Laminated sidewall panels have great rigidity and torsional strength compared to stick-built construction, but overall it is about how the box is assembled.

There is nothing special about what the salesman describes, as it pretty much works as a description for everybody else's laminated wall travel trailers. Crowned roofs are not pretty much universal, heating pads a low cost option. Not everybody uses a laminated floor, however, that construction is more common in motorhomes than in towables.

Most manufacturers build at several different cost levels, to different price points. You can find Jayco TTs less expensive and just as expensive as the Surveyor, and you can find Forest River model lines (Salem, Flagstaff, Rockwood) built lighter and to lower price points. Similarly from other mass market manufacturers like K-Z, Dutchmen, Keystone.

Step away from the mass market, look at TTs like Bigfoot or Airstream, then you are looking at something completely different, that some of us think might be worth paying for.

You have to decide whether you are shopping for low price, higher quality, light weight, etc. There are compromises necessary among these goals.

I felt the same way when we shopped. Surveyor seemed the highest level of quality that I was willing to spend for. Clear differences between it and entry level, but the price didn't jump to the upper tier.

After one year and 60 nights or so in ours, I can say that we are satisfied with our choice, if not impressed. No issues, big or small.

I've done enough mods to have seen in many of the walls, floors and ceiling. Everything I've seen on the inside is as advertised. Note, the roof has fiberglass batting insulation. Also note that the aluminum frame is around every cutout. You can see it all early in the morning when the outside of the trailer is sweating from a cold overnight A/C. Some don't have that.

I'm a big guy (300 pounds), and the floor flexes more than I like. But I think most TT would with my wait.

If they want 27K for it, you can probably get it for under 20.
I just bought a new Forest river 36 footer, and paid 23 K for it after bickering back and forth. It was listed up in the 30's.

jack L

I think Surveyor use to have torsion axles similar to Airstream. Quick search says that they now use conventional leaf spring suspension. Bummer. That was a huge selling point for some. They had low center of gravity and many of the great handling features that Airstream had.

I agree that the build quality seems above average when I went to the RV show a few weeks ago.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Come down and take the factory tour in Dallas. It might answer some of your questions.

Appreciate all the feedback... I was curious how they stacked up price wise and quality wise against a tracer, or jayco etc, but it sounds like they're fairly comparable in all categories. Now I just need to find a local dealer.