Looking into purchasing our first 5th wheel. We like the Keystone Avalanche 321RS. Anyone own a Keystone product and are you happy with it? Who makes the best quality 5th wheel? In the $50 to 60K range. Thanks for your advice.

The Keystone Avalanche is NOT in the same quality classification as your Tiffin. Look at a lightly used Mobile or Elite suites.

Cummins12V98 wrote:The Keystone Avalanche is NOT in the same quality classification as your Tiffin. Look at a lightly used Mobile or Elite suites. WOW, very nice 5th wheels. Way more than I want to spend on one but very nice. Thanks for your post.

Keystone is not very high on the list for quality, nor is Forest River or Thor. Rather than new entry level RVs, look at used higher end RVs. You will be much better off.You need to look past the glitz and bling and look at the construction or bones of the RV. Look for cabinets of REAL wood, not plastic covered particle board. Wood that is screwed together and not just stapled. Better tires and heavier frames and brakes. Do not look at anything advertised as "Lite" or Ultra Lite".Ken

TXiceman wrote:Keystone is not very high on the list for quality, nor is Forest River or Thor. Rather than new entry level RVs, look at used higher end RVs. You will be much better off.You need to look past the glitz and bling and look at the construction or bones of the RV. Look for cabinets of REAL wood, not plastic covered particle board. Wood that is screwed together and not just stapled. Better tires and heavier frames and brakes. Do not look at anything advertised as "Lite" or Ultra Lite".KenThanks, we have just begun to look so I will keep those things in mind when looking. The Keystone Avalanche that we are looking at does have real wood cabinets andl heavy duty load range G trailer tires. Plus it has a one piece shower surround which I’ve read is good. It’s not a cheap looking unit at least what I’ve seen so far. I will have to check the construction better the next time we go looking. I guess my biggest concern would be slide reliability, I don’t want any leaks. Most other issues I can repair myself. We have a 2015 Tiffin Allegro that we purchased new and although it’s a good quality RV it’s not trouble free. I have repaired “several “ things on it myself. I think that’s just the price you pay for owning an RV. When it’s bouncing down the road something is bound to go wrong. Your house isn’t trouble free so why would your RV be? Along as we don’t have major structural issues and no leaks I can deal with other issues.

There is nothing wrong with the Avalanche ,it is a nice Mid-level 5er by Keystone I have owned 3 Keystone Montana's with very little issues just buy from a good Dealer and do a good LONG P.D.I and Enjoy there will always be things that come up with these rolling houses that break and hopefully like me you can just take care of them yourself if you are a little handy

Keystone Avalanche or Best quality 5th wheel | Good Sam Community

texaswoodworker
Explorer
May 07, 2024
we purchased a keystone avalanche 312 RS and it is a 2021. We paid 50kvfrom an individual. We honestly love this floorplan. It is perfect for a couple. More than two would be a crowd. But if you are a couple traveling, I don’t think there is a better solution for your money. I recommend changing the back to retires immediately as I have heard horror horror stories about blowouts. By the best they offer
Trixie47
Explorer
Jul 13, 2019
By now you have probably made your choice...I would just like to say we bought our Keystone Avalanch back in 2012. Have taken it to Alaska and Nova Scotia and around several states from Florida and have not had any problems except for tires with it.....they are well built as far as I am concerned....each to his own !!
Itching2go
Explorer II
Feb 20, 2019
Having owned a Cedar Creek, a Jayco Designer, and currently a Grand Design Solitude, I’d echo those recommending a lightly used, one or two year-old higher end rig over a new mid quality fiver. Definitely more bang for your buck, and also something less likely to fall apart after a few top years of use. While it’s sometimes difficult to tell the difference in build quality, you have the benefit of being able to drop over to the Elkhart, Indiana area for a few factory tours seeing as you’re from central Illinois. IMHO, the Grand Design Solitude tour is a good one to do first as a benchmark. Good luck and happy hunting!
garyp4951
Explorer III
Feb 18, 2019
I missed it if you stated what your tow truck will be, but I would also add Cedar Creek to the list.
TxGearhead
Explorer II
Feb 18, 2019
X100 on looking at a used higher quality 5th. Start with a DRV, or GD Solitude, or maybe Montana Legacy, or...
Rwake901
Explorer
Feb 18, 2019
4bearhug wrote:
TXiceman wrote:
6 ply tires are not heavy duty. They are load range C and cheap. Look at 10 ply tires, load range E. We run 14 ply on our trailer.

If you are going to spend $50 K or so on a trailer, please u=look at 3 to 5 year old higher end units.

Ken

X2

They are load range G heavy duty trailer tires.
4bearhug
Explorer
Feb 18, 2019
TXiceman wrote:
6 ply tires are not heavy duty. They are load range C and cheap. Look at 10 ply tires, load range E. We run 14 ply on our trailer.

If you are going to spend $50 K or so on a trailer, please u=look at 3 to 5 year old higher end units.

Ken

X2
TXiceman
Explorer II
Feb 18, 2019
6 ply tires are not heavy duty. They are load range C and cheap. Look at 10 ply tires, load range E. We run 14 ply on our trailer.

If you are going to spend $50 K or so on a trailer, please u=look at 3 to 5 year old higher end units.

Ken
Joyce_in_NY
Explorer
Feb 17, 2019
We bought an Avalanche last April. Right off the bat we had problems with the hydraulic system, which was repaired under warranty. We headed south with it on Dec. 11th, and have been living in it ever since. While not quite the quality of the Montana High Country we had previously, it is very livable. As far as travel, we are over 1800 miles from home and have had almost no problems. The closet rod in the bedroom fell down -- it was only attached through thin veneer. Of course, we had clothes hanging to last us a variety of seasons as we are away from home for five months. We really love the hydraulic leveling system because it makes setup a breeze. (Took a little while to figure it out though!) The living room TV is larger than any of the TVs at our homel and is very clear. We have a king-sized bed at home and are happy to have one in our RV as well. We usually swap out our mattress, but this one is surprisingly comfortable! We also love not having carpet in most of the living room, but wish there was even less carpet! With pets, it's hard to keep floors clean.
ORbiker
Explorer
Feb 17, 2019
We love our Grand Design too. We went to many years of RV shows, looking and comparing different 5'er and motor homes. When we saw our first GD, we were shocked to see all the things we didn't like in the other RV's fixed in the Grand Design's.
A pocket door going into the bathroom solved the problem of going to the bathroom from the bedroom without needing to go down 2 steps to get into the door of the bathroom.
The finished product looks much better then all we looked at.
Also; GD is going above and beyond ( if ) there there is something wrong.