Prime Time Crusader

Had a 290RL and traded it after having the aluminum Z brackets that are mounted on the slideouts replaced under warranty. I believe they are part of the Schwintek (?) slideout operating system. Give me the old reliable hydraulic system.

We purchased a 2013 Prime time Crusader 355BHQ a year ago May. On the positive side, the unit tows very nicely using a Silverado 2500HD Duramax. It is an excellent floor plan for those who camp with kids and a crowd, We also love the outdoor kitchen. On the negative side, there seems to be quite a few quality issues that are not major but very annoying:

1. In the outdoor kitchen, there is a refrigerator. The refrigerator was secured to the wall with 4 brackets which were screwed into the very thin particle board. Needless to say, these pulled out immediately.
2. The outdoor drawer does not have any locking mechanism so it opens while traveling.
3. The referrer was placed directly on the wood without any kind of protection so it wearing away the wood.
4. Some of the outdoor seals are coming loose since they were only secured with 1 or 2 screws.
5. The water mixing value was set incorrectly so hot water was luke warm (fixed under warranty).
6. It seems that the sewer drain needs trailer movement to get it completely emptied. The result is when you open the cap, sewer water splashes on the ground. I added a valve to stop the splashing.
7. The microwave was secured with 4 screws through the metal/plastic trim. The trim started bulging and upon further investigation, the microwave was not sitting on any kind of support and only held in place with those 4 screws.
8. The drawer in the back bedroom can come loose which makes putting the slide out problematic since you have to extend the slide to get in the door to push the drawer back in.
9. The TV was wired to the sound bar with start video cables instead of using a nice HDMI cable. Additionally, the cabling was done incorrectly so that cable did not go through the sound bar,
10. Two tires failed (belts peeling off) after only 1 year of use. Not sure if this is normal or due to the inexpensive tires.
11. You will need a 90 degree fitting on the water connection as well as use a light weight coil hose so that you don't pull on the fitting. Otherwise it will leak. I put in the 90 degree fitting along with a quick disconnect fitting which works fine.
12. Back latter screws pulled loose within the ladder itself.

All of these are easy fixes, just a bit annoying.

flyingfarmer wrote:
No Lyle, I'm not.Never got involved with them.

I'm a "lifer" in IFF. You should check us out. Never hurts to have an excuse to fly somewhere. :-)

Lyle

No Lyle, I'm not.Never got involved with them.

flyingfarmer wrote:
Anyone have any experiences or comments on the Prime Time Crusader?
Thanks

Don't know much about Prime Time, other than what I've read here, but I've got to ask if you're an IFF member. :-)

Lyle

Back side of that switch is exposed. Mine quit twice but reaching up behind the skirt and wiggling it would cause it to work again. I am going to water proof mine.

Bought the 2012 290RLT Crusader in June of 2012. Very few problems. The worst problem slideout switch sticking and rear leveling jack switch broke. Dealer change out. A little over 5000k between June and October. Texas, Louisiana, Miss. Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Tenn. Heading out west this summer.

We looked at the 325 RES and determined there weren't nearly enough electrical outlets. This is a personal choice maybe not applying to your situation.

There is a Forest River-Prime Time forum. Not a lot of activity and I assume it is because Prime Time is relatively new. The posters there have had few issues. The Mod. is "RV Guy". I believe he has ties to Forest River and he actively monitors the site and has helped the few posters who have had issues.

I have had a lot of problems with mine form the beginning,slides not coming out or going in, every sink leaked, broken front landing legs, wrong bulbs in the sockets and literally the entire black tank dropping out. TV antenna not hooked up (couldn't the cable was too short) These are the ones I can think off the top of my head. Craftsmanship?? seriously they are all built the same going down the assembly line, there is no craftsmanship and these are built the same junky way