Crossroads Zinger 18' vs Forest River Cherokee Wolf Pup 16

[jimx200]

Hoping for some feedback on trailer quality between these two. I'm a Class C guy, but helping out my sister who is 1,800 miles away and a first time trailer soon to be owner. One thing I noticed is the Zinger has the a/c unit in the wall vs the Cherokee on roof. Preference? Weight of the 16' is 3012 vs 18' at 3362. She has a 1/2 pickup so good there. Comments on either appreciated.

[colliehauler]

Fisherman wrote:

colliehauler wrote:
No way would I ever purchase a camper with a window A/C, very poor design to make them work. Other then that I would get the floor plan that works best.

I would avoid anything with a foam core floor as well.

Well with a statement like that, I guess all the window A/C's in stick and brick houses are a poor design too, eh? I find mine works like it's supposed to, no leaks and roof rattles.

No that's what window A/C were designed for. A window A/C is recessed into a camper so it can't get proper air flow on the exhaust coil. On a home the window A/C draws air in from the sides to pull through the exhaust coils. This is why a window A/C does not work well in trailers. Add in the condensation which is another issue on window A/C's in RV'S. The only reason rv manufacturers use window A/C's is they can be purchased for $100. VS $600 or $700 for a roof A/C.

If your happy with yours good for you.

[Fisherman]

colliehauler wrote:
No way would I ever purchase a camper with a window A/C, very poor design to make them work. Other then that I would get the floor plan that works best.

I would avoid anything with a foam core floor as well.

Well with a statement like that, I guess all the window A/C's in stick and brick houses are a poor design too, eh? I find mine works like it's supposed to, no leaks and roof rattles.

[colliehauler]

No way would I ever purchase a camper with a window A/C, very poor design to make them work. Other then that I would get the floor plan that works best.

I would avoid anything with a foam core floor as well.

[zkruske]

We picked up a Zinger Lite 18bh about three months ago. Family of four plus a dog, kids are 9 and 6. I had to pull apart the bunk half wall as the top bunk was only screwed into the paneling and not any real structure. My son climbed up and was using the wall as a handle when it pulled away from the bed. I added some blocking, made sure the bed frame was attached to the "stud" in the wall, and built a ladder for future use.

We have a rooftop AC unit and it is quite a bit louder than a wall mounted AC unit, but having the fan in the middle of the camper helps move a bunch of air.

We looked at several models in the same size and foot print and ended up with the Zinger because the fridge and freezer are massive compared to other units. It'll probably hold a week's work of food and ample room for any weekend trip.

These are entry level campers and have a different feel than higher end units.

[GDS-3950BH]

Crossroads is a division of Keystone RV which is a Thor brand.
Cherokee is a Forest River brand. Between Thor and Forest River they own a solid 80+% of market share and have done so for years.

Both start out on a Lippert frame and are built from the same materials, using the same means and methods. No discernable difference in quality between any of them. Mass produced and slapped together at lightspeed by bottom of the barrel pieceworkers. Anyone telling you otherwise is full of it.

She might get a little better service and support from Forest River over Thor if it's needed, or she might not.

I'd look at the unit itself individually with a fine tooth comb. They build the same model/floorplan in production runs, sometimes as many as 25 per day on a line. All 25 will have different levels of build quality and different defects and/or amount of defects. There is little QA or QC, nor no special inspections as touted on websites and brochures. All of that BS is simply eye candy.

[Lwiddis]

I'm not a fan of single axle trailers. If she goes forward with either, dump the factory tires and buy the best in LR D.

[ZINGERLITE]

i have the Zinger 18bh. we like it alot. easy to tow with a half ton. I think the extra space would be worth it. I modified some of the storage space and had to go through a bit of trial and error as far as finding homes for items but over all it has been a great camper.

The only issue i had was the A/C was leaking inside the camper early on. You'd wake up with a wet pillow. After taking it to the dealer to have them repair it i fixed it myself. The window style A/C unit has a drip pan underneath it and it is tilted to the outside of the camper. I just made sure the water would flow down hill and out the side. used some tyvek tape to seal the joints and its good to go.

The advantage to the wall mount A/C is if it goes i can replace it at walmart for $100. plus i think the salesman said something about it not being on the roof made it easier for people who store it in garages. Not really concerned about that.

Overall its been a good camper.