2016 Highland Ridge LF319RLS

[DustyR]

Looking to buy. The price is right and unit looks to be in new condition before PDI. Are there any thoughts about this unit, any quirks or should I run away?

[JKJavelin]

There was a bad batch of gearboxes for the slides for 2016 Open Range,but on this unit at least some may have already been replaced. If you want to check, they are located inside the cabin on the wall behind the slide trim above the slide. You'll see the round motor attached to the rectangular gearbox. The gearbox will have a label with the serial number. If it starts with a 15 it's suspect. The first 2 digits are for the year produced (2015). If it has a 17 or 18 it's been replaced with a newer design. Not a deal breaker, but I'd have a spare on hand. About $80. Otherwise, people seem to be happy with their Lights.
JK

[DustyR]

I requested a fantastic fan in the bedroom as I did on the Denali. Hopefully this will help regulate the temp. Thanks for the advice.

[DutchmenSport]

DustyR wrote:
The island ... moveable...two doorways into the bed room ...

When I blew up the floor plan bigger, it does appear to reveal a pocket door between the bedroom and bathroom. That being the case, it's not real concern then. And if that island is movable, well, .... I've got nothing to argue over there. Most islands are anchored down with wires and pipes in them. Of course pictures like this are deceptive sometimes:



One word of caution. I see in your signature you currently have a Denali TT and you are wanting to move to a 5er. We did that a year ago, after a life time of TT's got our first 5er. Ours is a front living room, so the kitchen area is on the lower level and the living room is on the upper level, and there is no wall between them, except for a cabinet about 4 feet tall. Yours will have an enclosed bedroom separated by a bathroom and solid walls between the bed room and the living space on the lower floor.

I point this out, because there is a problem with 5er's that is not so apparent until you start using them. The temperature range between the upper level and the bottom level can be quite different. I've read and heard about this for years, so was thinking with the open space between upper and lower living areas the temperatures would be the same, or at least, not noticeable. Not true.

The upper level is always much colder than the lower level in the winter and always much warmer in the summer than the lower level. Even though the upper level has an electric fire place and the air conditioner is above the upper area, the temperature differences are very, very noticeable. Ours has a ceiling fan, and even that does not circulate the air enough to keep both floors consistent.

Remember, ours is open between both floors. Add a wall, and the differences may be even greater. There have been multiple posts on this subject in the past on these forums, and lots of creative ideas how to stabilize the temperatures between the 2 floors. Still, this is a subject that seems to be 'tabu' in the 5er world!

It's something to think about, nothing worse than going to bed and the bedroom is 10 degrees hotter than the living room area and all the air conditioning pumps to the lower level!

[rwess]

It probably has cable slideouts. Make sure you check all cables and chains for tightness and fraying. Everything, cables, chains and gears should be well lubricated.

[PenMan]

You might want to check out the owner's forum. You can enter as a guest and get the opinions of others who own this trailer.

https://openrangeowners.com/ORforum/

[DustyR]

The island on this one is moveable/on casters and can be moved at will as a work station. It is stored between the kitchen table and the recliner for transport. This model has two doorways into the bed room and the minimum space is a deterrent but not a deal braker. Thank you for your eval.

[DutchmenSport]

No comment on the quality of the camper, I did look at the floor plan for that model. Just looking at the floor plan, I don't like that island being right in the middle of the living area. According to the floor plan, it's exactly in the middle between the kitchen, living room area, side-to-side, and front-to-back. Which means, no matter where you sit, attempt to watch television from any direction, or communicate with someone across the room, you will always have an obstruction in the middle.

Other similar floor plans move the island closer to the kitchen so there is no obstruction in the living room area.

You are also going to find passage between the foot of the bed and the wall at the foot of the bed to be very tight for the person sleeping on the driver-side of the camper, since there is no door way access on that side of the bed. If you switch mattresses, a longer mattress will probably be touching that wall. Then, you've just created a corner bed and the inside person will always be climbing over the outside person every time they want to get up and the other does not.

You choice, but this is my observation.