Cardinal 5ers

[ACZL]

Was thumbing thru FR's 5er section page and the Cardinal 3456 RL somehow caught my attention. Appears to be pretty much same floorplan as the Cedar Creek 34RL, but cannot explain why it caught me eye. What's everyone's take on the Cardinal line? I see it has laminated walls like most 5ers VS hung, Compared to Cedar Creek?

[MPI_Mallard]

We have a CC Daydreamer but know several people with Cardinals that totally loved them and like any other manufacturer there are some bugs in new trailers but like mentioned before a GREAT many times Cedar Creek's division's after-the-sale customer service is the best I've seen in the industry and that to me is what really matters!

Red Green: If life gives you lemons, throw 'em into a quart of vodka.

[ACZL]

Owned a CC Silverback for 12 years and it served us very well. The on-going debate between CC and Cardinal as to who is #1 has been around for awhile. Winner has been CC each time. Now of course some will argue much like Ford-GM and Ram. While we had the CC, anytime we had an issue or question, CC responded in a fairly quick manner. HOWEVER it seemed like in the past couple of years tho, the response hasn't been so great (IMO). When it came time for us to mull over a new unit, we liked many features in the Silverback line VS the Creek line. BUT there were some that were deal killers and factory just didn't seem to care. Factory rep I met at a couple shows, well he didn't impress me very much and I had him a few times for he had no clue whatsoever what CC did in the past. We would have liked to stayed w/ the CC line, but we found many more features and likes in our Big Country that CC just doesn't offer. Not saying CC is bad, but just not at this time for us.

[Parrothead_Mike]

I owned a 2001 Cardinal and finally traded it in 2015 for a Cedar Creek Silverback. The Cardinal was a great little unit (only 28' long). They don't make them that short anymore unfortunately.

They are both by Forest River, but thus far with any parts or service issues Cedar Creek is superior. I had some difficulty contacting people at Cardinal, although when I finally did they got the parts to me. CC customer service people have responded quicker and their people have gone above & beyond. I accidently left my bedroom slide out window open and lost it somewhere along the highway. And while it was within the first year of purchasing it they gave me a new one at no cost. It wasn't a factory flaw that caused the window problem, it was mine, but they gave me a new one still in the package. I only live about 50 miles from the factory and offered to drive down to pick it up.

When looking to trade my Cardinal I did not get a good look at the new Cardinals other than the ones I saw at the Tampa RV show. At the time I thought they were a little expensive. But then again, all new RVs seem expensive. I got a great deal on my trade to the Cedar Creek and have been very happy with it. Some minor issues with the small LED dome lights, but again, CC has given me replacements for free.

[Splashers3]

I currently own a 2009 CC Silverback, we are looking to replace, although it is better than new thanks to the folks at CC...and it didn't cost us a cent!!

We have looked at several new Cardinals, and several new CCs - both are nice and I would call it a tie...so the tie breaker for us is the treatment we received at the CC factory by Denise Davis and her crew. I also note that.. I see way more CC at c/gs than I do Cardinals - and we are on the lookout for both.

There is NO way the Cardinal factory can beat the folks at CC, IMO...
Our next 5ver will be a upgraded Cedar Creek....although a TV upgrade will be required first.

[Flintstones]

We had a 2007 Cedar Creek and currently own a 2011 Cardinal. We were happy with both units, had no major issues with either.

Presently if you look at both Cedar Creek and Cardinal side by side, their features, hardware, cabinetry, and overall quality, I believe the Cardinal is a notch above.

Cardinal has solid wood cabinetry INCLUDING rails and stiles, not sure about Cedar Creek. You can also order upgraded axles and disc brakes with the Cardinal, not available from Cedar Creek. With Cardinal, there is excellent factory support for the Cardinal RV Club, a very strong and committed group of loyal Cardinal owners.

I believe at Forest River, Cardinal is above Cedar Creek.

[rjshiflet]

Yesterday we were picking up our 2017 Cardinal from our dealer after some minor repairs and one of the repairmen was absolutely amazed by the Lippert OneControl and my ability to control everything from my iPad.

It's a shame they don't do more training for both sales people and repair folks.

[brirene]

ford truck guy wrote:
I just wanted to see how honest they were... 🙂

Although honesty may not have had much to do with it. In my experience, salespeople often don't know all that much about their products, even less about those they don't carry. Maybe not dishonesty, but ignorance.

[filrupmark]

jsum wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:
When we were looking to buy our new rig 2 years ago we looked at both the Cedar Creek , and the Cardinal . .

The Cedar Creek sales person told us they were a level above the Cardinal , , and the Cardinal sales person told us they were a level above the Cedar Creeks.. go figure !

It will come down to your personal preference

You know how to tell when the sales person is lying......don't you?

If they are talking they are lying.

[Me_Again]

We had a 2005 (Bought in June 2004) for 12 years. Loved it despite the frame issue that had to be fixed.

We would have bought another except that the 3250 was the only one with light enough pin weight to tow with our 3500 SRW. The rest are all pin heavy like the Montana's. With the 3250 you can not get to the refer with the slides in.

And we felt the Bighorn we bought was built better. Cedar Creeks Western looking wood trim turned me off.

Chris

[Joyce_in_NY]

We had tons of issues with our Cardinal -- we traded it when we had a serious delamination problem.

[ford_truck_guy]

jsum wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:
When we were looking to buy our new rig 2 years ago we looked at both the Cedar Creek , and the Cardinal . .

The Cedar Creek sales person told us they were a level above the Cardinal , , and the Cardinal sales person told us they were a level above the Cedar Creeks.. go figure !

It will come down to your personal preference

You know how to tell when the sales person is lying......don't you?

yup.... their lips were moving... and I already knew the answer , I just wanted to see how honest they were... 🙂

[jsum]

ford truck guy wrote:
When we were looking to buy our new rig 2 years ago we looked at both the Cedar Creek , and the Cardinal . .

The Cedar Creek sales person told us they were a level above the Cardinal , , and the Cardinal sales person told us they were a level above the Cedar Creeks.. go figure !

It will come down to your personal preference

You know how to tell when the sales person is lying......don't you?

[ford_truck_guy]

When we were looking to buy our new rig 2 years ago we looked at both the Cedar Creek , and the Cardinal . .

The Cedar Creek sales person told us they were a level above the Cardinal , , and the Cardinal sales person told us they were a level above the Cedar Creeks.. go figure !

It will come down to your personal preference

[BB_TX]

We really liked the Cardinal when we were shopping and it was down to that or one other brand. Finally settled on the other. Very nice looking units, but for some reason, I don't often see a Cardinal in the RV parks we visit. Regional maybe??