Do Brands Matter? (Keystone/Crossroads/Wildwood/Jayco)

[Jarrett]

We have decided that we want a 26-29 foot rear living or rear kitchen model. We're still deciding if we want fiberglass sides or aluminum, but we've found several of these floorplans that are suitable for us at a few different RV dealers.

We've found Keystone/Sprinter (Holiday World), Crossroads Sunset Trail, Cruiser RV MPG (FunTown RV) and Radiance, Forest River Wildwood, Coleman (Camping World) and Jayco Jay Flight models that we like. They are all in the same general price ballpark.

We are hesitant to pull the trigger because we don't know which brand will be more reliable for us over time. Is there any way to know or do you just jump on a brand and hope for the best?

What is your experience?

[Jarrett]

Wow, those are pricey.

[normal_dave]

Sunnybrook is out of business, (see Winnebago buyout above...) appliances are similar across most all brands, most any good rv shop could service it.

Hmmm, here's a Lance dealer in Forth Worth. Expensive, but many say worth it.
Western Campers, Forth Worth.

[Jarrett]

I've never seen or heard of some of these brands. Lance, Sunnybrook. I'm not sure they are available in my area. I don't want to buy a brand that I have to haul several hours for warranty work.

[normal_dave]

Let me encourage you to go in another direction if build quality is a concern. While this model is neither rear living or rear kitchen, it is so well built, that it may win the day. Yes used, but give it a closer look, and then compare construction and features to everything else you've looked at. The construction and features of this trailer will be night and day, from what you are used to, and are looking at today.

Don't let the price fool you either, you'll be smiling at the campground while everyone else is worried about payments for the next 12 years.

Hey, it's not too far from you either!
2012 Sunnybrook Harmony 25CKS

Features of the 2011 are identical to the 2012 model:
2011 Sunnybrook Harmony brochure

Things to note. Real gel coat fiberglass exterior (not Filon), all aluminum superstructure-2" thick, hardwood cabinet faces, pocket jig screw assembly, residential hidden hinges, porcelain toilet, metal plumbing fixtures, ducted A/C, heated, insulated tanks, trail air suspension system with shock absorbers, standard Progressive Dynamics electrical controls, etc.

Here's an old walk through of a 28BHS Harmony that will give you an idea of the quality. Winnebago bought Sunnybrook to start making their line of travel trailers, in the same plant, using similar floorplans, but they left out some of the key quality features in the Harmony. So consider it as getting a Minnie or Minnie Plus with more upgrades than you can't get from Winnebago at a bargain price. You'll save enough to hire a certified RV tech to do a pre-purchase inspection on your behalf.
Harmony 28BHS walk through

How's that for arm-twisting? You'd get the idea I like Sunnybrook Harmony or something...:B

Good Luck!

[Jarrett]

Thanks for the replies so far. This isn't our first trailer, it will be our second. We're coming from a smaller Wildwood (aluminum sided) trailer with no slides and looking at a slightly larger trailer (possibly aluminum or fiberglass sided) with one slide where the couch and dinette are.

We've had great luck with our Wildwood so far. We bought a fairly basic one and everything worked very well with it over the last year. We had a couple of minor cosmetic things we got fixed under warranty and the dealer we got it from turned it around both times inside of two weeks.

Because of that, we're thinking about going with the same dealer and considering the Wildwood rear living model, but also kicking around going to Cruiser RV MPG model with the same floor plan, but it has fiberglass sides, enclosed undercarriage and a few other upgrades.

So we're trying to decide, go with a brand we know or go with a "better" model from a different manufacturer. Both are sold by the same dealer.

We had heard that Jayco is good, but its also about $10,000 more than the equivalent model offered by Wildwood, for example. We don't mind paying a little more for better quality, but is a Jay Flight $10,000 better than the equivalent Wildwood? Hard to know.

[Ron3rd]

USAFBILL wrote:

jarata1 wrote:
id stay away from camper world and go to a smaller dealer

X _ 2

I think they're called Camping World

[ktmrfs]

we found a floorplan we liked, then a dealer we trusted that has a good reputation, then picked from the brands they carried with the floor plan we liked.

So, far, after 30K+ miles on the trailer, 7 years, 3 months camping each year. worked out perfect. for a few problems we had, they pushed on the mfg to cover them on warranty and have been great upgrades we have done.

[Hannibal]

We keep going back to Jayco. It's not perfect but I like the chassis with it's rack and pinion slide mechanism, integrated A frame out front and 2" receiver out back. Inside has been trouble free with the exception of a weeping shower connection after some water pressure spikes at Jetty Park Campground. Easy fix and back in business. For the money, I think Jayco is a good buy.

[Flapper]

Most trailers, especially in the range you are looking at, are built as cheaply and as quickly as possible. Therefore there will be some issues. Most parts are built by third party suppliers - frames, slides, refrigerators, AC's, etc. And there are very few for each part - so all brands tend to have little to choose from as to what they build with. The brands are just assemblers, for the most part. For my Fifth wheel, 4 years ago, I chose Jayco, primarily because of the 2 year warranty. Almost no additional rework needed to be done.
When damage caused me to replace it, I went with Grand Design. There have been a few items for warranty, but the impressive part are the stories from almost all buyers about how they bend over backwards to fix any problems that do crop up. Granted, there shouldn't be problems, but they really stand behind their product.

The very most important is the dealer you buy from. Search Facebook for groups associated with the brands you are looking at, and ask questions about the dealers you are thinking about. Some brands will only authorize work from one of their dealers, others (like Grand Design) will work with almost any repair place, if your original dealer does not make you happy. Interesting that the only dealer Grand Design won't work with is Camping World....

[DiskDoctr]

Are you looking for brand new, financed, lightly used, need a warranty, etc?

Kitchen/living room in front/back are usually much less expensive in the used market- at least when we were looking for our unit.

The downside is some of those are likely to have been full-time or seasonal full timers, which wears them more.

Still others are barely used as people "thought" they wanted to live in them or over bought and changed their minds without much use or time.

If you aren't shopping for mfr warranty, no real downside to used as long as you budget time and money for any repairs and updates.

Hope this helps.

[FrankShore]

Have you looked at Lance (the 2385 for example) Exceptionally well made and durable! A 2 year warranty that Lance honors. But they come at a price!

[NanciL]

Stay away from the Forest river Wildwood!
We bought a new 2017 last year, and they are junk.
I could fill a couple of pages with every thing that either came apart, broke or was shoddy workmanship.

I would never buy another Forest River product as long as I live.

Jack L

[iuki]

Definitely go with a dealer that is nearby, in case repairs need to be done. We had a Crossword Sunset Trails that leaked near the front door and bed. We used it 3 times and the bumper-to-bumper extended warranty for 3 years went out of business 2 months after we purchased it from an RV Dealer in Indiana. When we called the dealership he told us he was just a third party. Guess what? In the fine print on the back page stated that the dealership is only offering the warranty for a warranty company and is not responsible to fulfill any warranty promises. We totally repaired all the water damage and sold it. That was 3 years ago. Only now are we looking to RV again.

[mattmountz94]

For me brand means nothing. I prefer not to look up the reviews as many people normally only complain about something and don't write a review about something they truly like, myself included. I like to look at materials used and features that I like. I love the floor plans of Cyclone toy haulers but the outdated interiors drive me crazy. So I look at other brands and so forth. A good dealer within a reasonable distance is good as well.