Too Many Choices?

[Leo_Smith]

The Keystone, Jayco, and Winnebago websites do a good job of differentiating between their their entry level, mid level, and upper level fifth wheels. I look at the Forest River website and see 21 different brands of fifth wheels. What are the differences with Forest River's fifth wheel choices? 21 brands from one manufacturer seems a bit excessive. Is this like the old days at GM where the same car would be badged as a Chevy, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac with minor differences in trim and finish?

[NWKomfort350]

Well I've been happy with my keystone and the camping world I bought it from.

We actually liked camping world so much we almost went with another keystone just to buy there.
We ended up with an Open Range Roamer. The deciding factor was length of 5er.

[topjimmy]

rehless,Again we are talking about FR,you said Keystone Sucks you know Keystone is Owned by THOR Right????? not FR get it straight will ya??? and Complain about Keystone Or THOR on another post and move on

[jerseyjim]

You still have it? If it's that bad....get rid of it, take and cut your losses and enjoy the Holiday Inn!

No biggie......

[rehless]

Slim,
You're taking it for granted that I haven't. Maybe you should have this lemon.

[jerseyjim]

REHLESS: maybe it's time for you to do the hotel/motel thing?

[tragusa3]

I've been impressed with our Forest River, and their service. FWIW, you can buy the second year of warranty on some of their lines for an additional $100. Your dealer won't tell you.

[mtofell1]

Any and all RV manufacturers turn out good and bad units. The big 3 I always consider to be Jayco, FR, and Keystone and all 3 seem to have about the same number of problems. You'll always get the one yahoo with a bad unit who loves to tell his story. RVs are a roll of the dice.

My last unit was a Salem (FR) and it way okay. I had a few problems fixed under warranty and then everything was mostly okay. I went with a Keystone now because of the floor plan, price and availability.

As for the number of brands within FR, yeah there are a lot. It mainly just makes it hard to look at models on the website. Without a doubt the floor plan you find that you like is only made on the opposite side of the country from where you are.

[topjimmy]

I thought we were talking about Forest River?? but Anyway that's B.S. too ,I have owned 3 Keystone Montana's with only minor flaws that I fixed myself and all three have never been back to Tacoma Rv for Waranty work,Sometimes people just get a Lemon no matter what brand ya buy,BUT I will agree Camping World SUCKS

rehless wrote:
Simply put, Keystone sucks, Camping World sucks.

[rehless]

Simply put, Keystone sucks, Camping World sucks.

[dcg9381]

NC Hauler wrote:
Jayco's warranty is a 2 yr warranty...they don't charge for that.

They do charge for it. It's built into the price. They just don't list it as a line item. You're right though that at least one manufacturer offers a 1-year extension (you pay for it). Some manufacturers don't offer any warranty beyond 12 months. 12-months is surprisingly short when many simple repairs can take 30-60 days to complete.

It's the same as your buyers agent (Realtor) saying that he/she works for free for you. They don't work for free, you're paying their fees when you buy the house. You just don't see it as a line item.

[allimax]

My first was a Sunline. Built well and never a problem. Last 2 are Keystone products. The Cougar and now the Montana have served me well (knock on wood). That said, the next one I buy may be FR. I really like the Cardinals and Cedar Creeks. Then there are the newer Grand Designs. Heartland and Jayco too. My point is, I'm not going to waste a lot of time trying to figure out which one is built better. I'm going to go with the floor plan I like and take the plunge. All the manufacturers make bad ones sometimes. I'm of the belief that they're all pretty much the same.

[wvcampers]

Our 08 Cardinal has been a great camper from day one. We average 60 nights a year in it and it has held up good. The 60 nights are not in one spot, so it has been up and down the road too. I have had to do the normal maintenance to keep it looking and operating like it is supposed to. I previously owned 2 of the ones with the famous 2 year warranty, both were leakers, won't do that again. Owned a Montana, it was a real good camper. With that said, when I buy again it will be Forest River.

[tko9900]

Leo - you hit it on the head. Within a brand there is no real quality difference between entry/mid/upper end within the same brand. Generally they mostly come down the same line and use the same construction techniques. What you're paying for (within a brand) is typically trim level. Base model versus fully loaded - they call that "quality" - but it's not, it's trim level.

As dcg9381 says, absolutely the way it is.

[NC_Hauler]

Jaycee's warranty is a 2 yr warranty...they don't charge for that.