Comparing Customer Service and Quality

[Laurak2007]

We are currently shopping for a 5th wheel toy hauler...upgrading our Heartland TT before the upcoming college football tailgating season. Like most couples I'm the "shopper" while my husband is the "this one works, let's get it" type. This means I need to do as much research as possible to narrow the choices down ahead of time. After reading a lot of the threads, I've learned a lot. However I have just a few stones left unturned.

I initially found options with Heartland Edge and Road Warrior, Keystone Raptor, Jayco Seismic and Seismic Wave, Grand Design Momentum, and Forest River XLR Nitro. After reading some of the threads, I have learned that Heartland and Keystone's customer service are not the greatest compared to Grand Design, but I haven't read much about Forest River and Jayco. Can anyone fill me in on your experiences with their customer service?

Next question would be, who's going to give me the best bang for my buck? We are looking for 1 1/2 bath models with a rear party deck and sliding glass door for the garage. My husband would really like a side deck, but I'm worried about the weight and length of models including that feature.

[Lantley]

The PDI is your only defense. A slow thorough PDI is the most effective way to hopefully have a decent RV experience.
Unfortunately most do not conduct a thorough PDI and suffer the consequences down the road when they eventually discover issues that could have been caught during the PDI. Most do not understand the importance and necessity of the PDI
You next line of defense is the dealer. Is the dealer competent? Are they on your side once money has exchanged hands? Will the dealer stand behind your warranty claim and go to bat for your or will they hang you out to dry?
A 2 year warranty is always better than a 1 year.
Lastly how good is the factory support.
It's reassuring to know the factory will take a unit back and make it right. However if your unit needs to go back for repairs you are already well into a RV'ing nightmare.
Most importantly the RV industry is somewhat shady and unscrupulous with lots of little secrets. They are not as above board as the auto industry. Most consumers do not initially realise how treacherous the RV industry is until it's too late.
By the 2nd purchase the consumer has wised up and is up for the challenge

[Y-Guy]

Laurak2007 wrote:
Someone mentioned having a good PDI form. Can I get a copy of that?

I used the ones here. Just bring along a 5 gallon gas can to add to the fuel tank so you can test the generator (under load) and pump fuel back into the can so you can test the fuel pump.

[Laurak2007]

Someone mentioned having a good PDI form. Can I get a copy of that?

[NC_Hauler]

I have the 4112..We love it, nickel dime issues all addressed and fixed by the dealer, I'd say warranty work response lies with the dealer more so than the manufacturer..Our Jayco dealer has been great....This unit will be out retirement full time unit...Works for us.

I looked at and like the GD, but would have had to travel further for the GD and also read several negative post on it, BUT, it was still high on our list...ended up with Jayco because we got a better deal and...it dealer is only 20 miles from our home.

Jim

[tinner12002]

My personal opinion would be to shy away from the Jayco as they use the swin-tec system on all their slides, read and heard of a lot of dependability issues with that system. Make sure to check the specs on the units your looking at, the Forest river has 1000lbs more carrying capacity, plus holding tanks and pin weight and GVWR are different.

[Hookem2004]

LauraK.....you need to shop around. I got a $16K price difference on the same model but different dealer.

[Laurak2007]

After looking today, we have narrowed it down to three very similar options.
1) Jayco Seismic 4212
2) Forest River Vengeance Touring Edition 40D12
3) Keystone Fuzion Chrome 420

They all have the side deck, are practically the same size, and though their msrp is varied, the end pricing was very close. It's all coming down to little details and the dealers. All three are at different dealers, two at small mom & pop dealers and one at Holiday World. some people love small local dealers for the personalized service while other prefer the big stores for their "network". It's so tough to know the right decision.

As a side note: We did get to check out the Grand Designs today. They are so nice. We really liked the 350M, but when they started running the numbers, we realized that we could get one of these bigger trailers for almost the same price. 😕

[Laurak2007]

RE_Todd wrote:
Why are you buying a ToyHauler for tail gateing? Not a real choice in my opinion. Buying a lot of unused capability at a premium price!!

I know it sounds weird, but it really does work out the best. Where we are, tailgating often occurs in 100* temps. Having snacks and food sitting outside doesn't last very long, but putting it inside and having people walk in and out of your trailer means it never really cools down. It's even worse when a kiddo needs to take a nap and the door keeps opening. The garage is the perfect place to keep the food and guests. People can come in and out as much as they want. The garage will stay cool enough for the food while the living space stays nice and cold...ready for bedtime once the game is over. As a bonus, kids can nap in peace during the game in the living room. Another plus...toy haulers come standard with a generator (a must for tailgating). Yes, I know they can be added into a normal fifth wheel, but toy haulers have the additional gas tank...it just simplifies things when you are parked in a parking lot for 48 hours. Speaking of simplifying, dare I mention the fact that I can throw all of our tables, chairs, coolers, kiddie pool (I told you...it gets HOT), bikes, etc. into the garage without having to play Tetris in a pass-thru storage compartment.

Lastly, this did consider our lives outside tailgating. We have two teenagers (well 3 if you count the friend that practically lives with us) and a 4 year old. Bunkhouses work for smaller kiddos, but my 15 year step daughter is almost 6' tall. Having the two "full" beds in the garage are much more comfortable to them than a twin (or worse, rv-size) bunk.

Just to make sure we weren't crazy, we looked at a few normal fifth wheels today. I'll admit, they were really nice. However, the price didn't really make up for the amenities we have with the garage.

[RE_Todd]

Why are you buying a ToyHauler for tail gateing? Not a real choice in my opinion. Buying a lot of unused capability at a premium price!!

[JTLICH]

Have fun looking!! The jayco side patio was our 2nd choice. The Grand design has dual slides in the living area. Jayco & Momentum were parked close to each other at rv show & I kept going back & forth but that 3rd slide in living room made a huge difference. Both are nice units. I think you would be happy either way. GOOD LUCK!!!

[Laurak2007]

Thank you for all of the great input!! We are headed to look at the Grand Designs today. Our favorite dealer has a Jayco Seismic and a Keystone Raptor that we liked, but we can't pick one over the other. We're hoping that there will be a grand design that calls out as "the one". 🙂

[Hookem2004]

That 399TH is nice with the side patio. Too bad where we camp it's not wide enough for us to open up and use. I'm pretty sure we are going with a Momentum as well. Just need to figure out the floor plan still. Wife and I keep switching back and forth.

[JTLICH]

Exactly the same situation here. I'm the shopper & husband (actually would be happy with a pop up) Husband & son dirt bike so we really needed the toy hauler. I shopped FOREVER! Couldn't make up my mind so I bought a 35" bumper pull bunkhouse travel trailer to use for a year and really see if we wanted to spend the bucks for something larger. I looked at all the brands you listed over and over again. What really helped was going to a large rv show (I went to Tampa supershow in January) You can really see a difference in quality by seeing everything back to back. I ended up getting the Grand Design Momentum 399th side patio. It was more than I wanted to spend but I had heard that the customer service was great. I'ts absolutely beautiful inside. Very modern, open and spacious. We have had it a little over a month and couldn't be happier.
BTW...Husband had no idea what I ended up buying until we went to go pick it up:))) He was a bit shocked!

[Hookem2004]

Talked to a dealer that was carrying both Grand Design and Heartland models. He said he will not be carrying Heartland anymore after his last trailer is sold. He said he will just be carrying Grand Design because the customer service department is much better. States that it has taken him months sometimes to get parts for a Heartland product and it's driving him crazy versus the Grand Design product.