Well, comparing my old Lance to my new Palomino (I had them sitting side by side for a while), I have to say that doing an apples to apples comparison of the two, the fit and finish in the Palomino..... cabinet fit up, drawer fit, alignment of appliances, plumbing routing and electrical routing was just as good as, maybe a tad better than the Lance and the Palomino builders used no 'plastic moulding' between the counter tops and the walls, like was the norm in my Lance, just a fillet bead of silicone.
I had issues with the Norcold fridge in the Lance (which wasn't Lance's fault) but no issues with the Dometic other than I changed out the noisy extrenal fan for 2 quiet ones. My Lance has a one piece aluminum roof which I prefer but the Palomino goes in the garage during the off season anyway. The Lance didn't.
The outer Filon sheathing on the Palomino is of a much higher quality and much more glossy than the Lance ever was (I wax them). Different suppliers I presume.
External fit up on the Palomino (properly applied sealants and caulk, properly fitted external trim and latches, I give Palomino an 8 and Lance an 8. It's an RV, not a Drexel dining room table.
All the builders are pumping them out willy-nilly to keep up with demand ( something I suspect will level off at some point in the near future), so, putting units together quick, you'll have some issues with build quality, My Palomino was built in the winter so it was a slower time for the factory and consequently, the overall fit and finish is very comparable to the Lance ans in some ways, exceeds the Lance in fit up.
One thing I really like about Palomino and my prime reason for buying one (besides being a PUP and I prefer a PUP for camping off road for the overhead clearance and the lower vertical Cg (very important when negotiating unimproved 2 tracks over hill and dale), is the fact that Palomino is 90 minutes from me and I can deal factory direct for any and all parts that I may need. I just upgraded mine to 2017 specs with the rear door sliding shade and the snazzy valances over the window blinds.. I drive over and get them. No dealer to deal with at all. Nice for me, might not work for you, if you live hundreds of miles away, but, Palomino parts is just a call away and they accept plastic and will ship to you.
Anyway, I'm a happy camper and keeping the unit inside, it will last many years. Owning a PUP makes it fairly easy to store in the garage (8 foot overhead door). I put the unit on a used boat trailer and back it in with my quad, drop the jacks, and it's good all winter.
Additionally, the 2014 and up Reico-Titan electric lift system for the roof is fantastic. Even comes with a remote and all the external hardware (on the camper) is gone. It's all inside (Northstar is now using the same exact RT system on their PUP's). Up and down is a 5 second exercise in pushing the button. Turn on the Fantastic fan, close the door and lower the roof. The fan creates a negative pressure in the camper and sucks the tent in so closing the camper becomes a one person job and, Palomino added height to the side walls and lowered the roof profile so now it's possible to use the camper (get inside to get to the fridge and sit at the table and have a snack without raising the roof and the one piece entry door allows that. The old style 2 piece door, not only leaked, but you had to raise the roof to get inside for anything. Not any more.
A lot of design advancements geared toward convenient use as well as better fit up and better quality cabinets (all hardwood with ball bearing drawer slides)...and the asking price didn't increase either. All good with me.
A hard side don't work well with me. I need a PUP because of where I camp. Offroading with a hardside can be very interesting at time. Been there done that and I prefer the lower vertical CG plus the lower closed profile driving down the road.
Just me I guess.
