5th wheel quality compared to early 2000’s?

[GBuilders]

I haven’t shopped for a new 5th whee in years. I have an 05 Jayco Eagle that I have had since new. Back then Jayco was a good company and Carriage and many others were building good quality trailers.
I have thought about buying a new 5th wheel recently but it seams like most companies are owned by just a few mega manufactures now.
I’m wondering about the quality of the new Jayco trailers and other brands?

What are your thoughts on what is being built today?

[Me_Again]

larry barnhart wrote:
We are going on 17 winters in our2001 35 ft alpenlite and use it 6 months each winter season. Not wanting a newer fifth for any reason.

chevman

Careful, your park may find out your rig is more than 10 years old. Chris

[memtb]

I “shudder” at the thought of “having to” purchase a NEW RV. I’m afraid that it would be “VERY” difficult to match or exceed our old 2004....at least under $200K! 🙂

[larry_barnhart]

We are going on 17 winters in our2001 35 ft alpenlite and use it 6 months each winter season. Not wanting a newer fifth for any reason.

chevman

[4x4ord]

My 08 Citation has a better undercarriage then my 03 Citation had but other than that it is the same mediocre quality. In spite of being mediocre I think Citation built a better 5th wheel than many manufacturers..... maybe that's why they went out of business. A lot of people complain about the junk being manufactured but few are willing to pay for quality so the high end manufacturers have nearly all been shut down. I was hoping to purchase a new Continental Coach in a few years and was very disappointed to hear they shutdown. I think New Horizon makes a fairly decent fiver. Mobile Suite or Luxe might be good enough and better value? Based on my Citation's dry weight of 13k for a length of 36 feet I wouldn't want anything any lighter.

[Njmurvin]

I had a 1994 Terry (Fleetwood) and moved up to a 2011 Arctic Fox. There is no comparison in the quality (AF being far superior regarding frame, insulation, fit, finish, etc.). The "components" (AC, range, fridge, pumps, water heater, etc.) are made by other other companies. So, it's up to which mfr the brand goes with. The better quality comes at a price - besides purchase price. In my case, the trailer is way heavier despite being shorter in length. That said, were I to be shopping for a new 5er today, another AF would be atop the list.

[ChuckV1]

We just bought a 2017 Kz Durango Gold G384FLT this past year, traded in our old 2006 Coachman Chappy DS277, we feel the materials are better an this trailer is far better insulated. We moved up from 33ft long weighting at 12k loaded to 40ft long 14k loaded an the new 5th wheel pulls far better than the old one ...

We have had only minor problems with the trailer now with over 9000 miles on it seems to be still solid ... We will see since we are planing on another long trip across the county this summer an along with some week day camp outs with our Good Sam camping group before hand 🙂

[ScottG]

I think the workmanship itself is about the same but some materials are better. For instance, new rigs are better insulated.

[zsdilaw]

I had a 2015 Jayco HT model and it had more issues than I can recall, mostly insignificant things. I traded it for a 2017 Jayco Eagle and so far the only issue I had I was able to find during PDI (a dimmer switch wired wrong). Hopefully this fifth wheel remains as good as it appears. The fit and finish seems to be much better on the new Eagle than on the HT.

[SidecarFlip]

New quality sucks generally because demand outstrips supply so it's throw them together today....

I'd keep your old one until the market goes the other way and then buy new. Not now.

I'm keeping my 4 year old unit just because of that scenario.... and I have all the issues worked out now.

[2oldman]

Quality posts

[ReneeG]

I don't own a Jayco, but have friends who have older models - 5 years - and they are happy. I'm not sure quality is unique to just one line of manufacturers. We have a friends with Arctic Fox's - Northwood, and one's unit was purchased 5 years ago and they had a lot of quality issues. Another just purchased their's new a few months ago and they have the same quality issues. We purchased our Bighorn new in 2010 (it's a 2011 model) and have had no issues except for a missing screw on a wall sconce and had to have the pull strings on one day/night shade adjusted. Keeping our older unit for sure!