KZ Sportsmen Sportster 355TH12

[EagleFixer]

Hi All,
Looking for some reviews/experiences with the KZ Sportsmen Sportster 355TH12 and KZ RVs in general. I don't currently have a 5er but the wife and I are looking to upgrade in the near future. I'm asking about the 355TH12 because it's the only one that has pretty much all the bells and whistles that we want and fits well within our trucks weight limits (2014 Ram 2500 with the 6.7L Cummins). Also for what you get, the price is about $15-20K less than most other RV manufacturers. The reason I ask about KZ is because we live in Idaho and would have to purchase the rig in Utah. Warranty issues would be a large concern with not having a KZ dealer in the state.

Thanks in advance,
Ex-Eaglefixer

[2112]

Congrat's on your new TH.

I know I'm a little late to the party but wanted to say my first hard side was a Sportsmen. She served us well for 8 yrs. Sold her looking like new inside and out because we wanted something bigger. Went through a Keystone and now back to KZ. Other than a small slide leak with the current FW KZ's have been trouble free for us.

[spadoctor]

We had an 07 Durango TT and now a 12 Spree LX. Durango had serious delam/roof issue that was repaired no charge by the factory and the Spree trouble free. We looked at a new Spree 334RE...love the floorplan but the QC is terrible compared to our other 2 KZs. The factory rep at the Hershey show seemed like he could care less and our dealer said they are not like they were when Darrel Zook owned the company. We passed on the TT....at 50K it should be perfect not sloppy.

[Y-Guy]

Congrats on the new rig!

[EagleFixer]

Thanks All for the info. We pulled the trigger on the 355TH. Had to drive to Utah to get it but it was worth. The DW and I spent about 3 hours going over every inch of it and it is a well built unit. One of its pros is its size. One of its cons is its size. This thing is huge! But it does have the bells the DW wanted and all the whistles that I want. Unfortunately, we haven't taken possession of it because the dealership is adding a couple of options we wanted. So, that means another 4-hour drive to Utah to pick her up. Although I think the size has ruled out a couple of our usual spots, I can't wait to take her out. Trying to convince the DW on one last outing before winter truly sets in here in Idaho. Thanks again for the info.

[Y-Guy]

Keep in mind that Thor acquired KZ RV back in May 2014. I'm not sure if there will be any differences in quality between the two era's but there might be.

[EagleFixer]

Thanks all. Must be a pretty good company and RV. The few KZ dealers on the western side of the country have very few of these in stock. Either KZ doesn't send very many this way or they sell pretty fast. I called the closest dealership yesterday just to see if they worked with any of the local dealerships. The salesman was trying to make the sale over the phone. Said they'd take even more off the advertised price, which was already about $5k or $6k below MSRP. Please keep the comments coming. Thanks again.

[EagleFixer]

Itried wrote:
Hey OP...we have a '15 355th which is two foot shorter in the garage area compared to the 355th12 that you are looking at. Has been in for two warranty items, a wood chip under the flooring in front of the couch. They were able to fish it out from the slide side. And the ac wouldn't cool. Was a broken wire according to the dealer.
One other thing I changed was the pickup location for the pump pickup from the fresh water tank...it was about two inches up the side of the tank, leaving a fair amount of water in the tank and the pump running dry. Fixed it by plugging the hole in the side of the tank and extending the pickup to tee into the drain...now when the pump runs dry the tank is empty.
No complaints otherwise.

Thanks Itried. The 355 looks like a beautiful unit from what I've seen online. Looks like I'll be going out of state to get one. The local dealerships that sell KZ products won't even talk about ordering one. Sad they'd rather lose a sell than get what a customer wants. RV sales must be a cutthroat business. Maybe if they worked together and networked they could move units more easier than to force customers into only buying what they have in inventory. They easiest car buying experience I ever had was when I was in the military stationed overseas. Went into the dealership, told them what I wanted. They then did a search of dealerships in the states. When none had what I wanted, they ordered it straight from the manufacturer. Car was delivered two weeks after I returned to the states. Maybe if the RV industry was like that, they'd have a lot more happier customers.

[Itried]

Hey OP...we have a '15 355th which is two foot shorter in the garage area compared to the 355th12 that you are looking at. Has been in for two warranty items, a wood chip under the flooring in front of the couch. They were able to fish it out from the slide side. And the ac wouldn't cool. Was a broken wire according to the dealer.
One other thing I changed was the pickup location for the pump pickup from the fresh water tank...it was about two inches up the side of the tank, leaving a fair amount of water in the tank and the pump running dry. Fixed it by plugging the hole in the side of the tank and extending the pickup to tee into the drain...now when the pump runs dry the tank is empty.
No complaints otherwise.

[redhooker]

We have an 07 KZ, great quality build on a Leland frame. Unfortunately they don't build on those frames anymore and last year were bought out by Thor. I hope they are still as good (I know they still offer a 2 year warrantee) but have not seen but a few newer ones.

[tmm2good]

We had a KZ prior to our Keystone. I miss the KZ, it was a great trailer that was built well, no problems with it. KZ did get bought out a few years ago, so I cant speak to the newer ones. We had way more problems with our Keystone (which the dealer took care of) than we ever had with the KZ.