KZ Brand - Your Opinion Requested

I had a 2005 durango. terrible quality. propane leak.tv fell out of fixture/ electric jack blew fuses until mfg said to yse larger fuse, micro wave went dead, drawers fell open due to plastic latches,quick flush valve malfuctiones and saoked back of trailer,. probably others but i don't remember. this all happened in the first 6 months. traded it before the year was out. good luck.

Trying to bite my tongue...

We own a post-Thor TT and used to own a pre-Thor TT, same model. The post-Thor has had more build quality problems and 2 1/2 years later are still showing up. Could have just been the day of the week they were built or a full moon, dunno. One thing I have noticed is that it is much harder to get hold of people at KZ post-Thor. We have an incorrect GVWR assigned to our TT and I have tried and tried with KZ to get it corrected but no luck.

I don't know if all KZ models are the same but the Spree line has a frame made from 3-pieces of mild steel welded together, unlike the majority of most frames out there, unless they've recently changed. It's very flexible and can cause issues. The photo shows a separated weld in the aluminum framing of the superstructure due to excessive flexing.

One good thing about any of the Northwood line of trailers is that they use an in-house built frame that is off-road certified. A couple of manufacturers are using a BAL frame. KZ switched to the BAL Ultra-frame in early 2014 on the Connect series but could not get a commitment for enough quantity and went back to the Lippert frame. Jayco and Lance use the BAL frame, and maybe some others do. Lippert is known for frame problems - see the current thread here for a new Cruiser owner with a frame problem (and other issues).

All TTs have many components in common like fridges, AC units, stoves, doors, converter, etc., etc. and can have the same issues in any brand. Frames can be an issue but it's typically the design and build quality of the overall unit that causes problems. Unless you've owned a TT for a few years, are perhaps a contractor or engineer or an experienced RV tech, it may be hard to decide what to look for in a better built TT. On a showroom floor they can all look so similar.

Besides the TT itself, dealers can be a problem too. Many are inept and difficult to deal with and few are good. Choose your dealer wisely. Few manufacturers are independents anymore. Sadly Jayco was recently bought out by Thor. Supposedly Thor doesn't meddle much with existing operations but I'm not so sure.

'Nuf said. If we were to buy a new TT again, I'd want to look at a Northwoods product like Outdoors RV. They're not too far away that we couldn't do a factory tour which would be helpful to me.

We've spent a lot of nights and put a fair bit of road miles on our KZ. Overall, the fit and finish was good...durability has been good....factory support pretty good.

We only had one issue that we went back to the dealer to get fixed.....black tank wouldn't dump (easily)when new. Dealer fixed it under warranty.

I did have a leak that has messed up the floor. I will be tearing up and replacing it this fall / winter. I thought that I had done a good job of roof maintenance.

Overall, we've had a positive experience with KZ.

Huck

I should add, I have about 45,000 miles on mine. I'm very transient in my travels, never in the same spot more than a few days at a time.

I am very happy with our 2015 KZ. I owned two new Jayco's before this current trailer and the quality is the same or better then the Jayco's. I have not had any problems that could be attributed to KZ. Actually the only problems I have had were with a loose connection on an outdoor kitchen sink that I had to tighten and a set screw that had come loose on the antenna crank handle. We have put about 10,000 miles on ours. We bought ours from a KZ dealer that has sold them for many years and I think they do a good job of going over them and finding any problems before they let them off of their lot.

My KZ Spree turned out to be, by far, the worst purchase decision of my life. I have welded or replaced everything below floor level and repaired much of what is above.

We are on our second KZ Durango. We had good customer service and the things that needed fixing were taken care of. We've spent 2 winters living in it in Florida and driven to Arizona and back with no problems. However, they did deliver it with a faulty refrigerator door, a battery cover that didn't fit, and the awning arm was bent, the shower door leaked as well. I think they rushed the unit out since it was 2 months past delivery date. We took our trip with these problems since all were functioning and had these things repaired and replaced when we returned. (Travel plans could not be delayed) We replaced flimsy plastic fittings in the sliding drawers ourselves. So, in retrospect, it's a middle of the road unit, we would another buy another KZ, but would not be brand loyal in our choice.

Our 2007 KZ Jag 5th wheel served us very well for an entry level rv. Other than delamination starting at eight years of age, we had very little and minor problems.

I consider KZ to be a "middle of the road" manufacturer. I was generally happy with our 2008 Spree 289KS. It did develop a wide variety of problems after 6-7 years. When it got to the point where I was spending as much time fixing it as using it, it was time to sell.
One of the things I look at when trailer shopping is the drawer slides. KZ went cheap on our Spree. The drawer slides were hung with plastic fittings, some of which cracked after being bounced on the road.
I would be willing to buy a KZ again. I would also be willing to switch brands for the right floor plan. My advice would be that if you like the floor plan and can get a good deal, go for it.

newman fulltimer wrote:
Company been around 40 plus years enough said

That doesn't say anything. Many auto builders have been around much longer and still build ****. (I won't mention any names ;) ) KZ has also been bought out recently so quality can be much different.