Lazy Daze; How good?

[Jayco-noslide]

We have an older Winnebago Class C with 2 slides but I'm intrigued by the Lazy Daze I see in campgrounds. they don't seem to age. From those of you who own them, tell me about the pros, cons etc. Do you miss having no slides?

[geeman53]

We've always liked LD's but no slide option was a deal breaker. We love our bedroom slide.

[Bordercollie]

Lazy Daze has a strong cult of proud owners who generally maintain their LD's well. This, plus better quality of "housebox" workmanship and materials make them attractive to wannabe owners when they are offered for sale used They may sell used for considerably more than volume selling brands. You pay more, up front, when buying LD's new. Some like the "different" styling, some don't.

[John_S_]

I looked at LD closely and decided on a Born Free. I could get it on the Dodge 5500 with a cummins and the generator was an Onan. I ordered mine without slides and the factory is in Iowa not California. I like the outsides but the Ford and the location swayed me to go with Born Free again but on the dodge chassis this time. I hated the Ford e450 in the summer it would get hot at the doghouse.

[JT]

I bought new from the "older very taciturn man" (who has since passed away)14 years and over 100k miles ago; no issues with him or the company philosophy, and very few issues with the Ford E450 or the coach build quality of the Lazy Daze.

I've seen the issues with many other class C brands; most are far newer than my 2003, and most are riddled with multiple, ongoing/unresolved quality problems. They're overweight, poorly designed and engineered, and sloppily constructed with cheap materials.

Lazy Dazes are not perfect, but if there's an issue, the factory stands behind its product and fixes it, unlike a great many other manufacturers and dealers. Lazy Dazes are not for everyone; they don't have slides, the price is the price, and the factory is not "Burger King", i.e., they're "factory direct", not a "custom product" operation. If a customer wants a new LD, s/he will wait for almost a year for delivery; it's a small factory, and it sells within its production capabilities.

Good used LDs do come up for sale, but finding one requires a lot of searching and patience. There are also plenty of old, poorly maintained or outright neglected and abused LDs that come on to the market; don't assume that just because a rig is an LD, that it's a good buy. *Poor maintenance* can turn the highest quality rig into a leaky, beater POC pretty quickly.

If I were to buy a new rig - no plans to; this one is hardly broken in! 😉 - it would, without question, be another LD.

[DaCrema]

We own a used 2007 Mid Bath. I flew from VA to CA to buy it from the second owner then drove it east. I have been camping in cold weather. I close off the cab area with a quilt hanging from the over cab bed (I do the same in summer). The heater has no problem keeping the living area warm in winter. A couple months ago I was in CO and the temperature went down to single digits. It did get cool inside but not cold. We were using the factory electric heater in the AC unit over night. Then in the AM I turned on the propane heater. The interior then warmed up nicely. I was still winterized for the trip until I got to warmer weather. I have noticed no drafts from the windows. The windows fit very snug.
The RV drives well. It tracks well through the corners. I will change out to Koni shocks when the current set goes bad, but that is a Ford issue and not a Lazy Daze issue.
I like the Mid Bath. The layout works well for the wife and I, especially when our grown daughter tags along on a trip. If it were just the two of us I might consider a rear bath but over all I am sold on the 26.5'(27' after 2008) floor plans. The simplicity and large OCCC make touring easy. Also for me, the big windows make the RV feel more spacious than a larger room with small or no windows.
John

[cruising_spud]

We are on our second Lazy Daze. We first had a 23 foot and now have a 27 foot. We bought both motorhomes used. We had a 2003 and now have a 2002. We have never owned any other brand of Class C, so I can't do a compare/contrast of rv brands.

What do I like the best about our Lazy Daze, and certainly see as its biggest pro? The quality of the coach. I am constantly reading posts about low quality, shoddy cabs. Not ours. Now, understand, we do a great job in preventative care with our Lazy Daze, in order to keep it looking and running well, but then again, so do a lot of other people, and they still face issue after issue with their motorhomes. We don't.

We started our travels with a ten year old daughter and a greyhound. The lack of a slide was never an issue with us. Now, again, we never had a slide, so we don't know what we are missing, but we have always felt we have enough room in our coach.

To us, there are no cons, but plenty of pros.

Hope this helps.

[fireflock]

I own a 2003 LD. It has some problems and requires maintenance like any other 14 year old vehicle. I would buy one again (and probably will somewhere down the line).

Two things that, for me, differentiate them from the herd:

(1) a less is more, KISS attitude. Shine and polish sells most RV's but anyone who has owned an RV for a while knows that shine and polish wear off. That overloaded 31' C with 2 slides sure does look spacious when you're sitting in the showroom. A few hundred miles down the road a a trip to the weigh station and you realize that all that space came with a tradeoff.

(2) Too much of the RV industry has a very real quality and workmanship problem. LD does much better than most of the rest. That matters in the long run.

They do have more than their fair share of quirks, but too much of what the rest of the industry produces is borderline junk.

[PghBob]

Snowman9000: I don't think so. I say this because I have never thought geez, it's drafty in here. Now, someone else might say so, but I can't based on our experience to date. We have been parked in torrential downpours in Florida and did not feel any drafts. Our coldest night so far has been 26 degrees, and we only used a $20 portable electrical heater from Walmart to keep warm. Warmest day so far has been 130 degrees in Las Vegas. Very few rigs can offer the view out of the back like our mid-bath, and we appreciate that quality especially in scenic areas like Alaska.

[Snowman9000]

PghBob, I love the look of airiness with all the windows. But does it make for a drafty cabin on cold nights?

[ernie1]

Back in 2004 my wife and I were thinking of buying a Lazy Daze 24' unit. We had a check in hand and were going to go to Montclair, Ca. and drive home with a new unit. Upon arrival we were introduced to an older very taciturn man who turned out to be the owner. He was very short with us and somewhat impatient because I was asking QUESTIONS about the 24' unit. He wanted us to buy and be done with it. Upon checking out the rv, I noticed a very odd setup that totally turned us both off. The driver's seat, when extended to the rearmost position,opened up a little door that was part of the bathroom wall! So, in other words, as you're driving, your head is partially in the bathroom! Find that hard to believe? They're still selling the same setup today!

When I told the owner I wanted to drive one of the units (not the 24' model) he grudgingly consented but said he'd have to drive it off the lot. So he did and continued to head down the road and after a few miles said "well what do you think?". I said that I needed to drive the rv myself. So he relented and let me drive about 1 1/2 miles and said we could now head back to the plant. I said I'd like to drive the rv on the freeway when he said "no that's enough". So that was the end of my 4 mile test drive.

Back at the plant my wife inquired about interior and exterior colors and thought she liked the silver for the outside. The old fart said "no you don't want that, we don't make that many in that color".

As we were leaving in disgust, I noticed a special that they had on takeoff shocks that fit Ford vans and was thinking about whether they'd fit my Falcon B van I had at home. Old fart said "just as I figured, you're not interested in buying a Lazy Daze are you?"Thoroughly disgusted, we made a bee line for the front door and drove off empty handed all the way back to Sacramento California.

The next day we attended an rv show in Pleasanton, Ca. and bought a new PleasureWay which we still have today.

[PghBob]

As you might expect, opinions will vary. We picked up our 2011 mid-bath in July 2012. We have taken two transcontinental trips with it, drove up to Alaska in 2015, 12 round trips to Florida, and twice (usually) annual camping outings with our regional owners' group. So far, we had the AC thermostat replaced under warranty, and had to replace the converter/charger. No leaks. Handles far better than my late Father in Law's Class A which I drove frequently. The floor plan works for us, no need to crawl over anyone to make a night night run to the BR. Can join the two separate beds in the back to make a huge bed if desired.

The body is mostly all aluminum, no fiberglass to delam. Huge dual pane windows all around which is great in scenic areas. Fit and finish is first rate inside and outside. Full body paint is standard using aircraft grade paint.

We also have a large 2900 pounds of OCCC. We had the rig four corner weighed loaded up for a transcontinental trip, in Wyoming, and still had plenty of available capacity if needed.

They don't use dealers, all new units are direct purchase from the factory. Everyone pays the same price, no gimmicks, no high pressure sales, just up front answers to questions. Currently, there is about a 9 month wait time from time of order to pick up. Used rigs (well maintained) hold their value better than most, and are usually not on the market for long.

So, like I noted, opinions are just that. As you may find from reading reviews in the forums, not everyone likes them. That's OK. For us, ours has been great.

[fourthclassC]

Howdy, there was a time I was going crazy for a Lazy Daze camper. I read so much about them and I was and still am in very much agreement with their philosophy of no slide outs. I finally saw one for sale near me and my son and I flew over to have a look at it. Well the interior was really high quality and the roof looked like it was in great shape (should have been since it is one piece of aluminium) The actual interior layout was a little awkward as it had a mid bath. When I looked underneath, I was not impressed with the quality of the tankage supports and layout and it had a lot of rust as it was still a Ford. Now I have a Winnebago with fiberglass roof and very low rust. I am happier with it then I think I would have been with that Lazy Daze.

[gmctoyman]

I've had 2 Lazy Daze, and now have a Foretravel class A. The workmanship in both of my Lazy Daze, in my opinion, was better than the Foretravel. The area the Foretravel excels in is the fit & finish of the cabinetry.
I would not buy another LD due to the Ford chassis, I hated both. Cab ergonomics suck, rides like a truck, and driving was like herding chickens. That was after adding nearly every enhancement possible, including Alcoa wheels. JMOO.

[campingken]

We don't own one but have good friends who bought a new one in 1992 that they still own and use. Their Lazy Daze looks great and they have never had any major issues with it.