Now that I saw a New Horizons, will anything else do?

[travelrider73]

I went to the Tampa RV show today and was blown away by the build quality, fit and finish of the New Horizons. I just can't say enough about how incredible this 5th wheel is. If I were in the market for an A-Class motorhome because I thought the 5ers were lower quality, New Horizons would have me thinking twice. New Horizons is an amazing piece of engineering and fine craftsmanship, but with an average new price in the $180k+ range, I just can't afford a new New Horizons. Sigh. So, I'm looking for suggestions to appease my champagne taste and beer budget.

Others I saw at the show that got my attention:

- DRV
- Dynamax Trilogy - who are these folks? Never heard of them before today.
- Redwood (Lippert, but interestingly they say it has a 3000lb towing capacity???!!! Custom spec frame?)
- Lifestyle
- Landmark by Heartland
- Spacecraft

The following units I did not see at show but I'm still interested in researching these and seeing some units in person somewhere:
- Carriage
- Excel
- Newmar Kountry Air

Any thoughts on any of these choices, any I have missed that I should look at, or if anyone has a nice used New Horizons for sale (around $100k), I'd love to hear from you. (Sorry, Jack, I wish I could afford your used one at $150k but that's still over my budget unless some really good fortune lands on me in the very near future).

Thanks!

[shadoow]

wife and i have also been looking at similar trailers. We like what we see in the Lifestyle line: fit/finish, quality of build and parts, price point, weight. Others we've thought about:

DRV - we didn't look at these seriously cause they were heavier and more expensive than others on our 'short list'.

Excel - very nice trailers and within our price point, but on the higher side and heavier than we would like. Also, they come equipped with sealed bearings which we don't want.

Landmark - within our price point and weight considerations, but fit/finish wasn't as good as others above. Also, they are on Lippert frames and use Lippert components which we would prefer not to have, although by itself wouldn't have been a show stopper.

[travelrider73]

ckwizard777 wrote:
I would not worry at all about the Lippert frames on the DRV, One look at the double stacked 15" tall rectangular tubing and it's obvious that it's not your typical Lippert frame so it's one stiff foundation.
Also the DRV has no lamination anywhere and thats a hands down win for me as a Mobile Suites is in my near future.
Cheers

What do you mean "no lamination"?

[hone_eagle]

sorry screwed that up ,try again

continental coach

[hone_eagle]

travelrider73 wrote:

kakampers wrote:

Continental Coach, IMHO, is head and shoulders above a NH....

And pricing? I have not seen a Continental Coach 5er. I wonder if they are at the Tampa show somewhere... Have to check the map.

AUWing wrote:
We loved the DRV product but the $100k plus price tag wouldn't fit the budget. Once we stepped away from the 8 1/2 foot wide units to the 8 foot wides, we saw a 25% price drop and things began to make sense. There are a few leftover 2013 DRV Traditions units out there that can be yours for under $70 if the floorplan meets your needs

I guess my only concern with DRV is the scary stuff I've been reading about Lippert frames. Maybe I start with DRV (or similar), use it for a couple of years and save up for an upgrade!



continental coach

What 8 foot wide models did you look at / choose from? I didn't even notice that the width of the unit created a price difference, but it makes sense. It's only 6 inches, which may or may not feel like a lot of difference depending on the rest of the layout, I suppose.

[ckwizard777]

I would not worry at all about the Lippert frames on the DRV, One look at the double stacked 15" tall rectangular tubing and it's obvious that it's not your typical Lippert frame so it's one stiff foundation.
Also the DRV has no lamination anywhere and thats a hands down win for me as a Mobile Suites is in my near future.
Cheers

[AUWing]

travelrider73 wrote:

What 8 foot wide models did you look at / choose from? I didn't even notice that the width of the unit created a price difference, but it makes sense. It's only 6 inches, which may or may not feel like a lot of difference depending on the rest of the layout, I suppose.

Here's one we stumbled across as we narrow our spring 2014 upgrade options. 2013 Lifestyle LS371l

[Luke_Porter]

travelrider73 wrote:

Luke Porter wrote:
The New Horizons costs $70K more than a comparable DRV Elite Suites. That's 60%. I didn't see much more "value" than the DRV

I wonder if it's the things you CAN'T see that really make up the difference. The in house built frame that they didn't even flinch at my question when I asked if I could tow a jeep behind it or hang a big Harley off the back, the triple axles, the laminate walls, the insulated floors in the slides, the 100% fiberglass exterior... Their frame combined with triple axles gave the show unit at the Tampa RV show a carrying capacity of well over 4000 lbs. All those little things add up to huge price differences. Do we all need all of that quality? Probably not. Would I pay for all those things if money were not an issue? Absolutely.

And what do you have to say about the patch job I mentioned? The part you didn't quote?

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

We fulltime in a Carrige Carri-Lite 36 XTRM5. It has been a very good fulltime unit for us. Carriage had very good frames and slide units. It is my understanding Lifestye has contuined with the Carriage frame and as stated improved on the slides which we have had very little problems with. I would look closely at Lifestye if I was in the market for a new 5er. I would not be looking to purchase a 5er of a company that is no longer in business.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

[travelrider73]

Luke Porter wrote:
The New Horizons costs $70K more than a comparable DRV Elite Suites. That's 60%. I didn't see much more "value" than the DRV

I wonder if it's the things you CAN'T see that really make up the difference. The in house built frame that they didn't even flinch at my question when I asked if I could tow a jeep behind it or hang a big Harley off the back, the triple axles, the laminate walls, the insulated floors in the slides, the 100% fiberglass exterior... Their frame combined with triple axles gave the show unit at the Tampa RV show a carrying capacity of well over 4000 lbs. All those little things add up to huge price differences. Do we all need all of that quality? Probably not. Would I pay for all those things if money were not an issue? Absolutely.

[travelrider73]

kakampers wrote:

Continental Coach, IMHO, is head and shoulders above a NH....

And pricing? I have not seen a Continental Coach 5er. I wonder if they are at the Tampa show somewhere... Have to check the map.

AUWing wrote:
We loved the DRV product but the $100k plus price tag wouldn't fit the budget. Once we stepped away from the 8 1/2 foot wide units to the 8 foot wides, we saw a 25% price drop and things began to make sense. There are a few leftover 2013 DRV Traditions units out there that can be yours for under $70 if the floorplan meets your needs

I guess my only concern with DRV is the scary stuff I've been reading about Lippert frames. Maybe I start with DRV (or similar), use it for a couple of years and save up for an upgrade!

What 8 foot wide models did you look at / choose from? I didn't even notice that the width of the unit created a price difference, but it makes sense. It's only 6 inches, which may or may not feel like a lot of difference depending on the rest of the layout, I suppose.

[AUWing]

We loved the DRV product but the $100k plus price tag wouldn't fit the budget. Once we stepped away from the 8 1/2 foot wide units to the 8 foot wides, we saw a 25% price drop and things began to make sense. There are a few leftover 2013 DRV Traditions units out there that can be yours for under $70 if the floorplan meets your needs

[Luke_Porter]

I did the New Horizons factory tour this summer.

On one unit, they cut a baggage door hole in the wrong place. So, they "repaired" it. Should have seen what that looked like before it was painted. How would you like your sidewall to have a piece of cut fiberglass surrounded by filler?

The New Horizons costs $70K more than a comparable DRV Elite Suites. That's 60%. I didn't see much more "value" than the DRV

[hone_eagle]

kakampers wrote:

hone eagle wrote:


comparable to NH

Dynamax are a offshoot of the motorhome builders - Dynamax ,build super C's I think

Continental Coach, IMHO, is head and shoulders above a NH....

That is saying a bunch,on another site somebody bought one and found the price very reasonable seems they put out a very high loaded price on the web site but you can negotiate a price within the range of a NH.

[kakampers]

hone eagle wrote:


comparable to NH

Dynamax are a offshoot of the motorhome builders - Dynamax ,build super C's I think

Continental Coach, IMHO, is head and shoulders above a NH....

[Rob_Fla]

RvingMike wrote:
Evergreen RV hired the Carriage exc.s and they now build the Lifestyle RVs and others. Great company.

Evergreen also improved some of the weak areas in the old Carriage design, like the some of the slide mechanisms are better / stronger now.