Best/worst reviews no help

[Coronacross]

Ok so I have a new side by side - went to off road park and had a blast! So we sold camper and ready to buy new toy hauler. Keep in mind, I must stick with a bumper-pull as my 1 ton has a 6in lift and 37in tires- I need only room for 4 people , however I would like a large hauler, 12ft garage Min,,, I’ve viewed hundreds online and they all “look” amazing- had no clue how nice new campers/haulers are- my old one is an 2004 in great condition but wow !!! My problem is , every brand I look at has a lot of negative reviews , from leaks, things broke, poor quality to poor dealer? Almost purchased a 2021 Cherokee 294rrbl until I read reviews- however every brand I like seems to have bed reviews! Can some of you please help me with a brand and or a model? I honestly don’t have the money to spend on a poor quality unit only to be in the shop. I will however spend good money on a top model. Any help would be much appreciated!

[Dennis58]

Coronacross wrote:
Thank u ALL that replied!!!! Again I learned from this as well. I’m in no hurry to buy , but wow it’s exhausting looking at all the different names made by 1 manufacturer. But again thanks again for all the helpful information

My $0.02, ditch the 6" lift on your 1 ton truck and use it like a truck. I say this because you want a bumper pull TH with a 12' garage, that is a tall order to fill without dragging a very long mass behind your truck.

A bumper pull TH that will fit a SXS and sleep 4 people is going to be at least 28' plus 4' of tongue or 32'. You would be better off with a 32-36' 5th wheel or gooseneck.

But I'm funny like that. 🙂

[Coronacross]

Thank u ALL that replied!!!! Again I learned from this as well. I’m in no hurry to buy , but wow it’s exhausting looking at all the different names made by 1 manufacturer. But again thanks again for all the helpful information

[JAC1982]

We are on our third camper, our first two were Keystone toy haulers, 1 bumper pull Raptor (re-branded next model year as a Carbon), 1 5th wheel Impact. Never had any major issues with either one of them. Worst thing that happened was the front AC died on the Impact, and that was due to a defective AC unit itself from Dometic. Even with our new Montana, other than a couple really small items, it's been fine, and 3 of our 4 trips this year were down bumpy dirt roads. 2 full hookup spots, 2 boondock spots. Weather ranging from below freezing to 90 degrees.

I think as long as you go in knowing there may be a few little things to fix along the way, you'll be fine. I'm in a few Montana Facebook groups and the stuff many people get really worked up about, seems really silly to me. One lady posted a picture of her "defective" glass stove cover because it wouldn't fold up completely out of the way. Turns out it was just folded wrong. It's a moving house that gets bounced around down the road, stuff will happen sometimes. And, as mentioned above by others, it's only the people with the problems who post most of the time.

[Bedlam]

I would suggest looking at the car trailers with living quarters for better quality construction. The components will be the same, but the construction will be better.

[klutchdust]

"Having said that I've read a lot of good things here for Work and Play trailers. Smaller company and quality built, maybe not as fancy though. "

I purchased a 32 foot wells cargo gooseneck back in early 2000. I installed living quarters, 12 feet, and the trailer was very functional and durable.

Sold it and purchased a 2009 Class C as my needs changed, well I just sold the class c.
Looking again for a toy hauler i found a Work and play, 2015. Kind of rare on the west coast but I like the build. They start out with a cargo trailer then add living quarters. It is nose heavy, 1050 on the hitch but my 2500GMC pulls it nicely. My polaris side by side fits v e r y snuggly .

The appliances are all the same in trailers with the same fail rates. My concerns are the structure of the unit. The W n P fits the bill for me. Walking up to an expensive trailer with aluminum siding and pushing the panel in with my fingers is a turn off. As was said, you do not hear how many good reviews are on trailers, only when you have problems.

I have friends that own motor homes worth what a house cost, they too have issues. I drove one from Kansas to Cal, it was fun, like driving a greyhound but it rattled and creaked and sucked fuel like a rocket but again, the wiper flew off, the headlights started dimming, the panel underneath was dragging and it stalled in the middle of the freeway. This on a coach less than 3 years old .

[Y-Guy]

Over the years the Desert Fox line up seems to have held up pretty well from my friends with them. They are built in the Northwest, so I'm not sure about availability in your neck of the woods.

[fx2tom]

nayther wrote:

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
As noted above, I've seen a few issues that pertain to this...

First, the negatives make more noise - no one comes on posting positive comments because their rig ISN'T leaking. You have to take the number of negatives in the context of how many silent and content owners are out there. The number of those negatives that can be traced back to faulty maintenance is also a tremendous unknown!

Second, as people had said, the pre-inspection is essential. Make sure the dealer knows, well in advance, that you expect to spend hours scouring the rig and that no money will change hands until you've completed the inspection. There WILL be things that need to be remedied, and you should make sure that is all done to your expectation.

Finally, I would not encourage anyone to buy an RV, particularly a trailer, if they weren't at least reasonably handy. Owning a trailer comes with issues - that can't be avoided. Some are from the factory, others are because they are little more than a fancy looking garden shed flying down the highway at 65 mph. In 8 years of ownership, I've had our Rockwood in the shop twice - once to replace the tires and the other time to replace a sagging axle. Everything else I've simply managed myself. Plan to spend some time, each year, fixing the little things, and that will go a long way in your enjoyment overall!

Well said. The build quality degradation from my 2007 toy hauler to my 2019 fifth wheel is exponential. I blame the mega mfrs. like Forest River and Thor, they bought up all the smaller, more quality focused companies and they're all cookie cutters coming off just a few assembly lines.

Having said that I've read a lot of good things here for Work and Play trailers. Smaller company and quality built, maybe not as fancy though.

Work and Play is Forest River

[Dirtclods]

Your doing the right thing ask do your own research. I've joined an off road group and it's great to get that kind of information your looking for through my group. Good luck!

[nayther]

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
As noted above, I've seen a few issues that pertain to this...

First, the negatives make more noise - no one comes on posting positive comments because their rig ISN'T leaking. You have to take the number of negatives in the context of how many silent and content owners are out there. The number of those negatives that can be traced back to faulty maintenance is also a tremendous unknown!

Second, as people had said, the pre-inspection is essential. Make sure the dealer knows, well in advance, that you expect to spend hours scouring the rig and that no money will change hands until you've completed the inspection. There WILL be things that need to be remedied, and you should make sure that is all done to your expectation.

Finally, I would not encourage anyone to buy an RV, particularly a trailer, if they weren't at least reasonably handy. Owning a trailer comes with issues - that can't be avoided. Some are from the factory, others are because they are little more than a fancy looking garden shed flying down the highway at 65 mph. In 8 years of ownership, I've had our Rockwood in the shop twice - once to replace the tires and the other time to replace a sagging axle. Everything else I've simply managed myself. Plan to spend some time, each year, fixing the little things, and that will go a long way in your enjoyment overall!

Well said. The build quality degradation from my 2007 toy hauler to my 2019 fifth wheel is exponential. I blame the mega mfrs. like Forest River and Thor, they bought up all the smaller, more quality focused companies and they're all cookie cutters coming off just a few assembly lines.

Having said that I've read a lot of good things here for Work and Play trailers. Smaller company and quality built, maybe not as fancy though.

[Mickeyfan0805]

As noted above, I've seen a few issues that pertain to this...

First, the negatives make more noise - no one comes on posting positive comments because their rig ISN'T leaking. You have to take the number of negatives in the context of how many silent and content owners are out there. The number of those negatives that can be traced back to faulty maintenance is also a tremendous unknown!

Second, as people had said, the pre-inspection is essential. Make sure the dealer knows, well in advance, that you expect to spend hours scouring the rig and that no money will change hands until you've completed the inspection. There WILL be things that need to be remedied, and you should make sure that is all done to your expectation.

Finally, I would not encourage anyone to buy an RV, particularly a trailer, if they weren't at least reasonably handy. Owning a trailer comes with issues - that can't be avoided. Some are from the factory, others are because they are little more than a fancy looking garden shed flying down the highway at 65 mph. In 8 years of ownership, I've had our Rockwood in the shop twice - once to replace the tires and the other time to replace a sagging axle. Everything else I've simply managed myself. Plan to spend some time, each year, fixing the little things, and that will go a long way in your enjoyment overall!

[Megadesertdiese]

they all are made of sticks and staples on a fast assembly line. Buyer beware from cheap entry level to high end. Inspect carefully and use everything before taking delivery.

[Edd505]

This is kind of like Ford or Chevy debate, you find loves and haters what ever you look at, truths some where in the middle. Reading the forums I do I tend to find a lot more people post when they have issues than without.
JMHO

[jdc1]

They don't build them for off-roading. That is the problem. They are built like a regular tow trailer.....

[azdryheat]

Buy a used toy hauler, one that has the bugs worked out of it.