Brands to look at

[bigbirdtx]

It has been a while since I have been on the forum. I am looking to upgrade from the Nomad bumper pull, basic starter bunkhouse model to a good, used 5th wheel. with front living preferred. It has been a while since I have paid attention to the RV market. What are the troubled brands to stay away from, in your opinion, and the brands which are reliable and relatively trouble free? Thanks in advance.

[Jeff]

I have a couple friends - and a nephew - who own Grand Design travel trailers. All have been very satisfied with them... and even when a problem has occurred... the service and response from the OEM has been admirable.

[JEBar]

brand isn't as strong of a concern when looking at preowned units .... most will already have the bugs worked out .... more important is the design .... how well do its features link up with how will you be using it .... sadly, some are junk, most are OK but require plenty of maintenance .... some are solidly built and require much less ... I find it can be helpful to speak with the previous owner

[bigbirdtx]

Jim,
That's the strongest reason I want a used unit; hopefully someone else has already dealt with the headaches. The second, of course, is to let the first owner experience the immediate depreciation as it drives off the lot. The other issue I am finding is companies are lengthening units until they are so long they are a pain in the rear to navigate, and store, or they are making them really heavy, to the point that I'm worried my F350 SRW may not be able to tow them happily. Definitely going to have to go do some hands on shopping.

Jeff, thanks. I have not heard of Grand Design. It looks like they make a nice RV. They are heavy with all the slides.

[wingnut60]

Been camphosting for last five years in CO SP--many different brands come thru and owners speak of problems. Just had an GD Imagine that owner said had problems, did not specify what. That said, lots of them come thru and don't say anything. Lots of Montanas around. Might look for an Arctic Fox, but they are few and mostly in western US. Any one you find you like, look up the owner's forum and see what is being said about problems/no problems. Good luck, research, research and double-check any unit you find an interest in. A paid inspection by a certified inspector may save you $$ and give you something to bargain about.

[Photomac]

The only advice I could share is that if you are thinking of purchasing a recently new trailer built during covid; that might not be a good idea.

I've heard horror stories about the quality and problems.

Something pre-covid might be a bit older but might be better built.

At least that's what I've heard

[bigbirdtx]

Likely visiting a dealer to look at 3 models of Keystone Cougar this weekend. 29rks, 29rli, and 290rls. I have thrown in the towel on front living models because I don't want the extra length, and these models provide the open floorplan feel. Finding used models of these is not much of a savings, so I guess I will eat some depreciation. Also, I will know how much monkeying with upgrades and fixes there have been since I will be the chief monkey. We will see what a hands-on visit produces.