Looking for brand recommendations...a starting point...a very well made four season trailer that will last...forest service gravel road durability.

The wife and I are thinking about trading our Lance Slide-In Camper for a fifth wheel travel trailer, not a toy hauler.

It will be only be the two of us, maybe the grandson in a few years.

There were so few camper manufacturers it was easy to narrow down. But the number of trailer manufacturers has me overwhelmed. A lot of info on rv.net but I just can't get started.

There is an RV show coming up in a few weeks that we will attend, but we would like to have a better idea of the higher quality manufacturers before the show.

Thanks in advance...

 

We narrowed down our search to KZ, Cardinal, and Montana. Love our Montana but there are things I still like about the quality of the KZ and Cardinal.

Best thing to do first is find a floorplan you like, at a price you can afford and ensure it's a weight you can pull.

 

The first thing to look for are framed walls, not vacuum or bonded walls. Look out for a bunch of chip board rather than plywood. Four seasons and full time unit demands good insulation and a good guarantee. Another good idea is decide what you want then try to find a good used one that is just a year or two old - - you can save some significant money. Be sure to look underneath the unit to determine how well the undercarriage is insulated. There are some neat looking units out there, but so many of them are bonded walls and you DO NOT want that.

Some good brands: Carriage, Excel, Newmar, Teton, Travel Supreme. Some of these companies are no longer in business or making fivers, but they made good stuff. Carriage has a great warranty, longer than most and no problem with full timing with them. Extremely creative floor plans.

Bob

 

When is the RV show? Idaho center or fairgrounds?

 

The one in Salt Lake on February 18-21. http://www.greenband.com/ut_rv_show.html

 

Expect 4 season unit to be more expensive than most others. Titanium (out of Canada) is a 4 season trailer, however high price and they just filed for bankruptcy, but still new or used units out there. Arctic Fox (La Grande, OR) is also a 4 season trailer and made to go on gravel roads.

 

x2 for arctic fox. made for use in the cold-well insulated but expensive.

look for storm window options-you'll loose the majority of your heat thru the windows & floor....

 

Also try to stay away from a rear kitchen. There's a lot of bounce in the rear and nothing likes to stay in the cabinets. Look for the Arctic Package for under belly installation.

 

Utundra:
I love to see questions like yours, gives me a chance to brag about my fifth wheeler. We also moved up from a large Artic Fox slide in camper to FW last May. It has been a good change, more room for us and the fur *****. After a great amount of comparing FW at RV shows and talking to owners We bought a pre-owned Montana. It was like new and had all the bells and whistles I had planned to install. We towed over 10K last year before turning south back to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, our winter home. The Montana held up real well through all the ruts and topes (speed bumps) of Mexican roads. Take some time to crawl under a few FW made by the various companies at the RV shows. Compare wheel sizes, suspension and frame work. Check out interior and compare cabinet construction and materials. I think you'll fine that 4 season units built by Keystone to top the list. Another factor to consider is the company still in business. This is important when you need part or customer support even on a pre-owned unit. There are lots of great deals out there right now so be very selective.

Tony

 

If you go with slides which you probably will, there are hydraulic and electric ones. While the hydraulic ones in my opinion are far superior in almost every way they do have one draw back. Hydraulic creep. If you park you RV for the winter the hydraulic slides will partly open leaving an easy entry for mice. Some of the earlier hydraulic slides had travel locks that would prevent that but you don't see them anymore. Cardinal use Hydraulic slides along with a few other manufacturers but most are electric. I've had both and currently have electric, not by choice but the Titanium trailer we wanted only came with electric. The are slow, you can only open one at a time, the motors are prone to failure, and the slides travel different distances in cold weather compared to hot because the is more drag from the seals in the cold compared to hot. The mechanism is more complicated they use a rack and pinion gear which is out in the open on a lot of trailers. Watch your pin weight most trailer manufacturers are off.

 

I have a NuWa trailer, and like it. They are built as well as any other, and have fantastic service after the sale. Even after the warrenty has expired they are still very helpfull.

 

Thanks a bunch fellas. Excellent stuff.

 

My cardinal has been all over the us when it was my fathers. it is a 2003 and has a little fading. It is 4 season package and no issues with it in the winter with the tank heaters. It is well insulated and doesn't use alot of gas with the heater going. Fit and finish is good and has about 20k miles of travel on it and very little has come lose on it and it has been on gravel and lost of 2 lane highways that aren't what you would call smooth. Can't speak to any other but figured i would share my expreience. At the time it was built with one of the better frames on the market for 2003. It tacks great and is very stable.

 

Seconds on the Montana and purchasing used. We bought it 2yrs old and saved almost half the sticker price.

 

Another one you may want to check out is Glacier Bay. They build a 4 season unit that comes with a 5 year warranty. I have been talking to them for a couple of weeks now and they are very responsive and willing to work with us on a couple of changes we want. Their prices are very reasonable because you are buying factory direct. We have a Crossroads product now and have been happy with it but we are looking for something to full time in.