kohai wrote:
I have a Crusader. If I were buying again, I'd be looking at Arctic Fox.
Read the forum here for common problems.
The dreaded fading cap has been going on for years and they don't seem to have fully addressed it. Underside wearing on the slides. I probably had a dozen problems when I took delivery of mine.
Northwood had the same fading issues with their Fox Mountain brown caps and their Arctic Fox darker grey caps. The fading cap issue is industry wide. Every MFG that used the few MFG's that made the caps all had issues. I've seen Heartland, Keystone. Northwood, Forest River, Outdoor Rv, Jayco brands all with faded caps.
It's how the MFG backs up the issue thats important. Northwood only comes with a 1 year warranty. Jayco and FR at least give or offer a 2 year warranty. Many of those owners got the caps painted while in the 2 year warranty period. Most fading happened outside the 1 year period. Numerous NW owners are still unhappy.
One has to take the overall sum of parts and construction into consideration when looking to purchase. I for one am still Pi$$ed that my brown cap faded. But when looking at most other brands in the mid price range I don't see too many that offer the same build.
A fade cap is really just cosmetic and does not affect the RV's ability to perform. I will add that most all MFG's have switched to lighter colored gel coated front caps unless they're painted.
