First hand Palomino/Forest River TC opinions?

Now is a good time to be looking. Prices drop as it gets colder, you might find an awesome deal. The downside is that you waste a lot of warranty time with your TC sitting in the driveway all winter.

The heat damaged plastic (door face on fridge warped and other small bits distorted from summer 90's heat) and electrical problems cooled me off quickly.

I actually thought the Adventurer was going to be my camper. The workmanship was top of the line. It was equal to Arctic Fox in quality. The Arctic Fox is 4 inches taller over the bed with their new rounded nose so I can sit up without hitting my head and I am just over 6'2", that was a nice bonus.

What separated the choices was the dealer. The local Adventurer dealer was shady and when they started piling on options and fees the price of the camper skyrocketed, then they tried to hard sell me. I bought the AF865 with a gen set and a/c for less than the 86FB without them. More camper for a lot less money and I pulled the trigger.

As far as I can tell, weights on almost any camper are not particularly honest. The sizing and set-up on your truck are also important and most dealers will gladly overload you. Something to consider.

Good luck.

lonegunman wrote:
I went looking for a TC this summer.......

I'm glad I'm not looking at Palomino at this point. Your post would have been a real bummer! What would concern me, if there is poor workmanship blatantly out in the open, what's hidden that can't be seen?????

Hey I get it! We went new due to not a large used inventory and the used prices insanely high...but this wasn't our first TC and we knew what we wanted as well. Even if you take a "bath" with a few grand....not a bad loss for an rv..

I went looking for a TC this summer. I decided to pull the trigger after a few years of delay. My first choice was a Palomino 6601, price and availability were two solid considerations. It would have gotten me into a TC with almost no payment.

Problems I noted right of the bat; The blinds were cut to short to actually cover the windows, the bathroom door was so out of alignment it would not latch, heat had damaged the fridge and any plastic surface in the camper and generally cheap construction with generally shoddy workmanship throughout.

While walking the dealer lot, I saw a guy off loading a new looking Palomino camper and stopped him. He had chronic electrical problems and was trading his 7 month old camper for a new camper, same make and model. His kept blowing the entire electrical panel when he used the jacks, refer or lights for any reason.

I liked the layout, bed and weight for my truck. An HS-8801 was the other choice I was really interested in. I went thru every brand available locally that fit the bill. The Lance dealer would not conjure a price if you held a torch on him, the Adventurer was great, but the dealer a total scumbag, the Eagle Cap looked nice but was heavy. I ended up with an Arctic Fox for 50% more money and 50% more weight on my rear axle. I happily drove two hours to a dealer in the middle of the state who had the camper I wanted for the price I wanted to pay. Driving to the dealer who makes the price is a great idea.

I just got back from seven days in the woods, living in my camper and hunting mule deer. It was awesome, comfortable and warm on cold nights in the hills. I got up a few miles of washboard road and down with my deer and all my gear in good working order and the best part about a TC, I do not have to let it dry out for a month before packing it up for the season.

Vinsil wrote:
Just saying, I know your not exactly in TC country so maybe your dealers are farther away....however, 11k for a few year old model doesn't sound too bad..jump!

Admittedly, I have a tendency to over think things too much. This may sound silly, but here is why I'm hesitant: The same year 80GS sold recently on Ebay locally for $8.6K. I missed it. It had been on Craigslist for $9K the entire summer and didn't sell. Ive seen others listed over $10K and they just sit and sit. Low retail NADA is around $11K FWIW.

Several people have told me I really won't know what I want in a TC until I own one. If I buy it for $11K which the market seems to indicate is high and decide I want a bigger unit, I'm either going to list it for $10K and sit on it for a long time or I'm going to list it low enough to sell it and take a bath on it.

But, it's in very nice clean condition and it's not like this model pops up for sale locally every couple of days. And I really need it before April...... So I'm probably going to give the buyer the $11K he wants. He initially was asking $13K.

Your points regarding the new Palomino camper point out an old adage: "They don't make 'em like they used to". My '95 is remarkably "OCD-annoyance free"....LOL! Because the cooktop being 3/4" off "squared" would drive me batty, too.....

I had dealers from the entire state involved. I was willing to drive 16 hours round trip if it saved me $2000 or more. Just saying, I know your not exactly in TC country so maybe your dealers are farther away....however, 11k for a few year old model doesn't sound too bad..jump!

Mike008 wrote:

Vinsil wrote:
Go with mutliple dealers...I had four giving me quotes when the most local "couldn't do any better", then price matched the lowest bidder when it came down to it. Ended up at about 5k off msrp.

Unfortunately there are only 2 "local" dealers. And I just wasn't 100% sold on it.

Old Days wrote:
You should look at the Lance 825, it is a great TC for 2 people. We really love ours.:B

I looked at the 825, I liked it. It sells for a little more then I want to spend on a TC I plan to only use a few times a year. And the ceiling height is a little low for me.

I found a clean 2011 Adventurer 80GS. The seller came down to $11K. I think I'd be happier at $10K, but I may pull the trigger.

Do it...our Adventurer was great. We had it for 10 yrs..no troubles. DW still misses that camper...

Vinsil wrote:
Go with mutliple dealers...I had four giving me quotes when the most local "couldn't do any better", then price matched the lowest bidder when it came down to it. Ended up at about 5k off msrp.

Unfortunately there are only 2 "local" dealers. And I just wasn't 100% sold on it.

Old Days wrote:
You should look at the Lance 825, it is a great TC for 2 people. We really love ours.:B

I looked at the 825, I liked it. It sells for a little more then I want to spend on a TC I plan to only use a few times a year. And the ceiling height is a little low for me.

I found a clean 2011 Adventurer 80GS. The seller came down to $11K. I think I'd be happier at $10K, but I may pull the trigger.

You should look at the Lance 825, it is a great TC for 2 people. We really love ours.:B