Owners experiences sought

[bacil]

So,

my research is slowly approaching its final stages and i am now torn between 3 trailers.

Ultimately we have decided to spend little more on the trailer than our original budget while towing vehicle will stay 2015 3500HD. Now i need your help, i am looking for any real life comments about the following units.

1. NORTHWOOD ARCTIC FOX ARCTIC SILVER FOX 27-5L
2. KEYSTONE RV AVALANCHE 300RE
3. OPEN RANGE 3X 3X309RLS

These are the three units and layouts we chose for our FT traveling, we plan to travel all around northern america including AK, BC, Yukon terriotires etc. hence we are looking and good insulation, decent furnace. Also we would boondock whenever we can so tank capacities are important to us as well us battery and solar capability.

Can someone please share some real life experiences with these units ?

[blueglide]

bacil wrote:

TXiceman wrote:
Justme and bacil, we have been full time now for 5 years and do fine with a Splindide 2100XC combo unit. It is not hard to learn to use the unit to use it to its best advantage. I would not want separate units due to the weight and extra space.

Ken

Thanks, problem is that there is no space for W/D in the AF at least not by design.

Full timing currently in AF 32-5m. Our rig is setup for washer/dryer but we choose to use laundromat. Arctic Fox rigs are heavy to begin with and we didn't want to add more weight for what we deemed to be marginal benefit. Honestly, among all the adventures and experiences we have had....not having a washer dryer in our rig has never been a significant inconvenience at all.

[bacil]

TXiceman wrote:
Justme and bacil, we have been full time now for 5 years and do fine with a Splindide 2100XC combo unit. It is not hard to learn to use the unit to use it to its best advantage. I would not want separate units due to the weight and extra space.

Ken

Thanks, problem is that there is no space for W/D in the AF at least not by design.

[TXiceman]

Justme and bacil, we have been full time now for 5 years and do fine with a Splindide 2100XC combo unit. It is not hard to learn to use the unit to use it ti its best advantage. I would not want separate units due to the weight and extra space.

Ken

[bacil]

justme wrote:
Artic Fox does appear to be a decent trailer that is engineered for real travel. However, it does not allow for separate washer and dryer that important for extend stay or full time folks.

Yup, that's one of our concerns too. So far we are thinking using launderettes as we use them now in marinas.

[justme]

Artic Fox does appear to be a decent trailer that is engineered for real travel. However, it does not allow for separate washer and dryer that important for extend stay or full time folks.

[goducks10]

Being a Northwood owner and reader of the Northwoods Owners Forum what I've found out is that NW in general builds a heavier more solid trailer than most in the same class. They're pretty basic in their functions. Grand Design uses a more complicated city/fresh water setup with multiple valves that can get tricky to use when certain tasks are needed. NW uses a simple fresh water gravity fill port located on the outside of the trailer. Simple dump valves. Superior roof framing with a continuous 5" of insulation. Not 5" in the center tapering to near zero at the outer edges.
NW is not with out problems though. Owners report a shower leak in many 27-5L showers. Easy fix and most know about it before purchase. Others report some sloppy quality issues like stripped screws, and such. But what you won't see very often like you do in most Elkhart brands is things like slides that don't open or close right, furnaces that don't work properly form a design standpoint. One brand I've read about has the furnace located in a hutch base behind a cabinet door. Owners complain of excessive heat in the hitch.
NW builds a simple no frills RV that is IMO more user friendly and geared more towards the dry camping aspect. ORV follows the same mold and IMO does it a little better with nicer amenities, better floor plans and nicer looking interiors. NW uses the KISS ideology. Less to go wrong and when you don't have to take your trailer in for repairs you're happier.
Grand Design knew all to well when the company was formed that it's impossible to build a trouble free RV. So instead of reinventing the trailer they decided to offer better customer service. That way buyers will be happy when they are getting it repaired. That seems to be working as GD has grown into the 3rd largest MFG IIRC. Kudos to them. But I'll take simplicity over gadgetry.
In the end though many buyers own brands from all MFG's and many have zero problems in their usage. You do hardly ever hear about really disgruntled NW-ORV owners.

[Cummins12V98]

Arctic Fox would be a Buick and the other two would be an entry level Chevy.

[bacil]

Can one of you AF owners tell me what generator ready is in reality, does that mean i have LP and power connection in compartment that is ventilated, is the exhaust there ?

[dieseltruckdriv]

Our Fox is 18 years old, and we are looking to upgrade to a, well, 27-5L. The new one has the same floor plan, but makes changes that make it more user friendly for us. We keep looking at other brands, but always go back to Arctic Fox for our favored pick.
A very big reason we want to stay with this size trailer, is we go to Wind Cave National Park in the fall, and many of the sites are closed, but one we pick can be backed in to with our 27-5L and not hang out into the road. Looking at the site you wouldn't think a fifth wheel would fit in it, but we do and chuckle about it every time we are there. This looks like a prime tent or TC size site, but if I back in so the rear tires are against the curb, the hitch is about 8" from the road, so we are legal!
It couldn't be done with a larger rig, and we like the size. We have had many discussions about full timing in a smaller 5er when we aren't getting along, which isn't common for us but does happen, but that site always settles the discussion for us.

[ChuckV1]

If i may add one more,

We have a Kz G384FLT, their Durango Gold line is made for full time living an is priced in the mid price range but has the high range options included at no extra price.

Kz dozen't have the bing an glitter of others but has better functionality in the right place's. The Gold line has great insulation, dual pane windows available (not I like such), lots of special add-ons that are standard ...

Check them out at https://www.kz-rv.com/products/durango-gold-fifth-wheels/

Safe Travels

[TxGearhead]

I would omit the Keystone and add a Grand Design Solitude.

[bacil]

OK i am sold Aritc Fox it is we will go for that one .... now all the other important things like configuration and equipment... any recommendation (batteries/geny/solar) that sort of stuff ?

[TXiceman]

Arctic Fox is several steps above the other two.

Ken

[ppine]

I owned a Nash and really miss it. It was an older one with stick and tin, but warm and sturdy. I sold it because it was heavy. Aluminum frame models of AF are lighter. I would go with the Fox.

Their sister company Outdoors RV is really good too. They have 2 inch sidewalls and thermopane windows.

[IdaD]

bacil wrote:

IdaD wrote:
I'd go AF all the way out of those three.

Why ? What is the main reason for you ?

My folks have had a Nash for 20 years and it's been great. Much better built than our run of the mill fifth wheel. Solid chassis and nicely finished inside. They're made not too far from where we live over in northeast Oregon.