full timer rigs?

[forkedhorn]

Help Folks,
Buying a new rig and found these Columbus models. Does anyone know if they will hold up well when we go fulltime? Compared to Montana or maybe Landmark? Need your help before we narrow this decision down in a week or so....

[hawkman541]

We just purchased a new 2013 Landmark San Antonio in March. After months and months of research, we chose Landmark. We had a Cameo Carriage, and finding a suitable newer model was almost impossible. The dealers and private sellers were keeping the prices too high. Since Lifestyle is a re-invented Carriage, they were priced higher than our budget for the options we wanted. We couldn't get a DRV down in price with the options within 15K of the Landmark. The same with the Redwood. We purchased our Landmark with all the options including the double pane windows, fulltimers package, yetti package, and more and 2/5 year warranty. If you put these options of any of the others, their price would be even higher. Yes, some options on the Landmark are standard on some of the others, but not many. So add it up and the better option IMO is the Landmark.

There is a fulltimer in the park with a New Horizon. It's a beautiful unit with 4 huge slides, Whirlpool fridge, Whirlpool separates W/D, and a 60" TV in the back. I think their are 3 or 4 tv's in this thing, but here is the kicker, he is towing it with a Volvo. Hmmmm! Don't think I want to go that way. Unit yes, truck no. Small Freightliner maybe.

We are fulltimers now for 15 months with plans for quite a few more years, and my main concern was build and customer service. If you go on the DRV owners forum, Redwood forum, and the Heartland forum, look and see who is most satisfied. We picked up our unit in Colorado Springs, and are now in Kenai, Alaska. Talk about rough roads on the Alcan near Destruction Bay, but the Landmark came through with minor problems. Called Heartland and ever item was Fedex'd within days. If you read the Heartland Owners forum, you'll see the DIY Mod section, and guys have come up with some very inventive mods to their rigs. You will see the Heartland company rep come on and comment, and they even in-cooperate some of those mods into their units. So take a look a deeper look than just frames and options, look closely at customer service. Good luck

[bobbyterri]

with all this GREAT information from this forum and the research i have been doing for the past 6 months, i'm gonna stick with the rv consumer group ratings for full timing as we will be on the go A LOT, not staying for more than a month at one place. i heard that travelling with the fiver is like a mini-earthquake each time (lol), so i want to get it right regarding the building of it. can't afford the 100k+ new, so used it is and i know we will be happy being able to get all the bells and whistles we want without breaking our retirement fund. afterall, our 2 vehicles are used...we haven't bought new in sometime, and the layton we had back in the 80's was used and we were happy then when we were weekenders. i enjoyed reading the post about the rv consumer group and the manuf ratings...makes sense to me. since i purchased the rv consumer group ratings online if anyone wants to know a rating, give me a shout. thanks ya'll.

[kakampers]

Double post...

[kakampers]

If that was the case how did the Blackwood make their list?? .

[bigmichael]

I think there is a bit of confusion on this thread regarding RV consumer groups rating of FT rigs vs manufacturers that don't void the warranty if FTing. The people who are disputing the RV consumer group rating seem to be doing so based on the fact their warranty allows FT use, or the manufacturer claims 4 season use.

If I understand correctly, RVCG does not do their ratings based on the warranty. They do them based on the rig specs. Thus they assign a "weekend" or "vacation" rating to some, a "snowbird" rating to others, and a "full-time" rating to a few. They explain all of the items that go into their rating, things like frame, axels, other chassis components, actual insulation and where, solid wood cabinetry vs vinyl wrap, sidewall structure and build design, use of particle board, residential carpeting and pad etc. etc.

The RVCG material is expensive, so if one doesn't want to purchase it, it can be found in many or most libraries. Its good as another tool.

I do agree with those who say you can FT in anything. We have been FTing 6 years, and have found FTers in many different kind of set ups. There will be differences in comfort and how well things hold up over the years, but people make it work for them.

But I think its at least wise to consider all of your options, and not underestimate the difference FTing can make in wear on your rig. Anyone who thinks there is not a MAJOR difference in wear and tear when you live in a rig 24/7 vs vacationing, weekending, or even snowbirding, is fooling themselves. And as the OP mentioned, they are considering moving a lot. Again, this is significantly different in use than even a FTer who sits still 5 or 6 months in the south in the winter and 5 or 6 months summering in the north.

[Atom_Ant]

We looked at dozens of RVs, and there isn't a spit worth of difference in the full size 5th wheels with the 12" Lippert Frame and 6 point leveling. The are identical on the Landmark, Bighorn, Montana, Sanibel, Redwood, Avalanche,.....etc. If there were engineering specs used, they copied each other. Even the gussets over the spring hangers are the same.

DRV does us 15" I beam, but it is a heavy dude. Given the additional weight, it's probably no bigger advantage than my 12" when it comes to weight to frame height ratio (which is exactly how they are engineered).

If you are looking at any with Lippert frames, whether it is warranted for full time or not doesn't seem to have anything to do with the design of the frame.

[Uncle_Grumpy]

I myself would never buy anything new. Cars,trucks,campers etc. Do your research and inspect and check it out closely. We bought a 97 Excel 28/5" for 6500 last year. We are spending 10 months a year in it with two big dogs and are really happy with it. Only repairs were the gears in the fomaront jacks less than $300. We have friends with new Jayco that have spent Way more than that. Excel makes everything in house in a little town in Ks. Including the frame, furniture, oak facing on appliances and cupboards. We have more storage than the big rig next door. We are also winter ready with enclosed belly. Also did the research on trucks and found a 06 Duromax for 14000. Get's 13 towing and 20 at 65.

[JEBar]

DRV, Excel, Lifestyle and New Horizon are all excellent lines of campers .... we spend 6 - 7 months a year in our camper which we could use if we were to ever go full time .... that said, if I was buying a new unit in which to full time, my first choice would be a Jayco Pinnacle with their Eagle Premier being my second choice .... due to Jayco being able to purchase components in bulk and due to their very low corporate overhead, their Pinnacle can be purchased for tens of thousands less than the high dollar brands .... their construction is very good as is their warranty .... they are certified by independent testing from 0 - 100 degrees

Jim

[Acei]

Just out of curiosity, what is your budget? Kinda hard to suggest an RV without knowing the budget range...

[larry_barnhart]

We have half times for 12 years and no problems that were not normal.
chevman

[MTPockets1]

As you are seeing, there are many opinions-I can't speak for any other brand, but do know our Big Horn is warranted for full time and for nearly two years we have been very satisfied. We ordered our unit after touring 4 factories in Northern, IN. Heartland has a great service reputation and the on line owners club is great for any support needed. For full time we had our unit built with the Yeti cold weather package, upgraded tires and axles, dual pane glass and more. Our second year of travel (now on Colorado) and for us this is perfect. Take your time and think through all your needs and order exactly what you want that fits your budget.

[Cummins12V98]

kakampers wrote:
Yep...but that sure isn't worth $30k...

Just when I thought we were getting somewhere.

[kakampers]

Yep...but that difference sure isn't worth $30k...

[Cummins12V98]

kakampers wrote:

Acei wrote:
I've been looking at a full-timing unit for a while as well. In my case, I've only looked into DRV, Excel, Lifestyle and New Horizon mainly because of the advises I received from the forums like this one. Virtually no one argues against them except for the price. One of the most important reason for considering these (despite higher asking price) is because we are expected to move frequently - typical stay will be 2-4 weeks at a time. This will put a lot of stress on the trailer. If we were expected to do 3-6 months stay at a time, these might not be needed. These four units are really built strong with decent frames.

Having said that, I looked at the Landmark on their website. On paper, the spec looks good. The insulation looks pretty good too - even the side walls are R-11 which is better than typical average value of R-7. But I couldn't find any info on their site on how they are built. What kind of frames are they using? Are these guys equivalent (or close to) the 4 I mentioned above?

If you are on a budget, something like Arctic Fox might work out quite well too - they also build their own frames (not as strong, at least in theory compare to the above 4 but still better than most Lippert frames used by almost everyone) and they are 4-season friendly (although I don't get their claims - their insulation is R-7 everywhere!)

The Landmark is built on a 12" I beam frame built by Lippert, BUT it is designed by Heartland engineers and built to THEIR specifications...I would say they are as close to the four you mentioned without being custom builds...plus, fully decked out, they are about $30K less than everything you list except, of course, the fully custom New Horizon...there you are talking closer to $100K less.

I consider Landmark to be in the upper range of what others call mid-level...they provide an excellent option for those of us who are not willing to pay more than necessary for a well equipped, full time rated unit. After very close inspection and research, we just could not find $30K worth of difference to make us choose one of the high-end rated units. Remember, DRV uses a Lippert built frame also which is built to their specs. Although it is a boxed frame instead of I Beam, we put over 80K miles (we moved VERY frequently) on a Heartland designed I beam Lippert frame without any issues...choices are a wonderful thing!

Hey it's a good day, we agree that Lippert builds what the RV Mfg wants!

[Cummins12V98]

Acei wrote:
If you can afford it, then the best new full-timing units currently sold new are DRV, Excel, New Horizon and Lifestyle. Very hard to choose between these....

Don't let people fool you that DRV uses Lipert frames hence they are******- not all Lipert frames are created equal.

Choosing washer/dryer for RVs seem a bit tricky. I'm thinking of 2-in-1 Splendide unit, but I've seen more than few people complain about the dryer producing lots of wrinkles. Some people use portable residential units successfully, but this requires your trailer to be plugged in, unless you have incredibly large bank of batteries.

The fact is Lippert builds what the "average" RV mfg wants...light and cheap.

DRV uses Lippert but they build the frames how DRV wants them. Example DRV specs a tripple boxed 2"x15" frame, very strong compared to the "average" I beam frame that will twist and flex and cause welds to break over time.