Carriage by Cameo 5ers

[JW651949]

I am considering a Carriage by Cameo 5er. This particular one is a 2002, has 3 slides, and 32 ft long. I know nothing about them, but they look like an upscale model. Does anyone have any information about problems or where they stand in the best model list? Thanks, John

[Mile_High]

lillyputz wrote:

Allworth wrote:
We started out with a 99 Cameo. Bullet proof. We loved it, but it was small.

By the way, it is Cameo by Carriage. Carriage RV was the manufacturer. Now the same executives run Lifestyle.

I do not believe for a second, that the same executives, engineers and production line workers that work for and built Carriage are working for lifestyle as I was lead to believe, when I spoke to upper management, many, many times with my concerns about workmanship and quality control inspections during the build process prier to ordered my lifestyle as I explained to them, about my night mirror of owning a redwood.

Typical salesmanship BS, starting at the top. I have owned this defective lifestyle for 19 months. it has been in the shop or waiting for repairs, approx. 14 months. It's in the shop now. 300 miles away as per lifestyle,as no one, I'm aware of or lifestyle will deal with lifestyle for warranty work.

If anyone has questions or concerns, PM me with your phone # as it would be a very very long email to explain all the problems and repairs that have been done or attempted with this defective lifestyle, which includes it being at the lifestyle repairs center for 13 weeks.

I'm starting to see a common denominator here 🙂

[Traveler_II]

Our Cameo was built near the end of when Carriage was in business. We travel 5-9 months a year and move around lots—from 7-9,000 miles a year. It has been a great fiver with few problems. We did upgrade the suspension, added disk brakes and use a air hitch. We really watch our weight and loaded for travel we’re at 12,300 pounds. That with gray and black tanks empty, and the water tank ¼ full, but loaded for travel. From what I see in our travel I see lot’s of what I believe are rigs that are over loaded, but that’s just me.

I’ve looked at the new Lifestyle and like what I see, saw a new Cameo from Thor and it’s sure not anything like the old Cameo.

[8ntw8tn]

We have an '06 35 ft. Cameo that was new in '08 after sitting on the dealer's lot for two years. We tow it to the Texas Hill Country each fall and live in it for six months. It's holding up to the six month full time living very well. We owned an '02 Cameo for about three years before trading for this one; that positive experience led to the purchase of the current RV. Hope this helps.

[TXiceman]

Bodie217 wrote:

jw of 4 corners wrote:
As a Cameo owner I can tell you that quality is there and will last. Mine is a 2008 and other than a little carpet wear that is really negligible everything is same as new. I haven't found anything worth moving up to. Lifestyle is the new version of the old Carriage line.

Carriage execs went to Lifestyle (Evergreen RV) and Carriage and Cameo lines are now made by Crossroads RV.

All that Thor-Cross Roads bought was the Carriage and Cameo names. From the one new Cameo I saw, it was pretty, but at heart it is constructed like a Cross Roads. It has the cheaper small channel frame. You put lip stick on a pig and you still have a pig.

Ken

[pcm1959]

We had a 2011 Carriage Cameo. A shorty unit - the 31ksls. Awesome rig. Everyone who entered it commented on the look and feel of the build. We traded it for a new 2014 Lifestyle LS36FW that we ordered to our specs. It is every bit as good as our Cameo was and we have not had any issues.

[Bodie217]

jw of 4 corners wrote:
As a Cameo owner I can tell you that quality is there and will last. Mine is a 2008 and other than a little carpet wear that is really negligible everything is same as new. I haven't found anything worth moving up to. Lifestyle is the new version of the old Carriage line.

Carriage execs went to Lifestyle (Evergreen RV) and Carriage and Cameo lines are now made by Crossroads RV.

[Bodie217]

The rights to the Carriage brand were purchased by Crossroads RV and are now back on the market, they do look very nice but only time will tell how they hold up.

I am not surprised to hear that the execs from Carriage/Cameo went to Lifestyle; I am surprised to hear of the issues some are having with Lifestyle, as I have seen them as a very high-end brand. Can someone elaborate on what issues they have had with their Lifestyle RV?

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

We had a Carriage 5er great trailer well built. The company is out of business now so you purchasing and orphen if that doesn't bother you.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

[lillyputz]

Allworth wrote:
We started out with a 99 Cameo. Bullet proof. We loved it, but it was small.

By the way, it is Cameo by Carriage. Carriage RV was the manufacturer. Now the same executives run Lifestyle.

I do not believe for a second, that the same executives, engineers and production line workers that work for and built Carriage are working for lifestyle as I was lead to believe, when I spoke to upper management, many, many times with my concerns about workmanship and quality control inspections during the build process prier to ordered my lifestyle as I explained to them, about my night mirror of owning a redwood.

Typical salesmanship BS, starting at the top. I have owned this defective lifestyle for 19 months. it has been in the shop or waiting for repairs, approx. 14 months. It's in the shop now. 300 miles away as per lifestyle,as no one, I'm aware of or lifestyle will deal with lifestyle for warranty work.

If anyone has questions or concerns, PM me with your phone # as it would be a very very long email to explain all the problems and repairs that have been done or attempted with this defective lifestyle, which includes it being at the lifestyle repairs center for 13 weeks.

[rskeans]

I have the lifestyle 36FW, successor to the Cameo. It has the optional 8000 lb axles, disk brakes, residential fridge, and weighs a ton. The GVWR is 19,110 lb. I've had no problems attributed to lifestyle. But did have a water pump quit, and the disk brakes hydrolic pump malfunctioned. She pulls easily and stops on a dime. There is lots of experience on the Carriage/Lifestyle forum mentioned above. But, you should have a dually if you get a longer unit.

[TXiceman]

Cameos tend to be heavy, so make sure you have enough truck to handle the trailer and the pin weight. They are well built and went out of business at the end of 2011.

We had a 2008, 36', 3 slide and a 2012 (a few were built and titled as 2012 before shut down), 38', 3 slide. The 2008 had slide motor issues and the 2012 had a problem with the frame shifting on the left front corner. The frame was fixed by Kansas RV Center (former NuWa plant).

The 2012 was prettier than the 2008, but overall quality was not as good as the 2008.

If you find a good clean one that has been well cared for, it will serve you well.

Ken

[romore]

They were a high end brand, well made and priced accordingly which unfortunately led to the manufacturer's demise. I see one not far from here with a for sale sign, have to go look at it when the household cfo isn't with me.

[kennethwooster]

I'm in a 2011 Cameo about the same length that you are looking at. I suspect I weight close to 13000 laded for a 3 month trip to Colorado. It is an excellent RV. My only gripe wish we had bought one about 4 ft. longer.

[Allworth]

We started out with a 99 Cameo. Bullet proof. We loved it, but it was small.

By the way, it is Cameo by Carriage. Carriage RV was the manufacturer. Now the same executives run Lifestyle.