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Old 10-27-2015, 08:32 PM   #1
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5th wheel comparisions

I keep hearing that for full-timing Teton and then DRV hold the top 2 positions at the top of the chart..... I guess my question is where do the Newmar,Excel,Carriage,Crossroads,NuWa,Coachmen,and Heartlands RVs fall in the pecking order..... Are they even in the top 10???......... I know everyone has a different opinion of which RVs are the best...With that said, would anyone that will ,give me their opinion of the top 5 or top 10..... going to spend 30k-35k... will be living in RV full time.... not much traveling..... need alot of storage...and a big refrigerator.... a desk for a PC would be nice, but not a must...... Soon -to -be -newbe....... I need as much insight as I can get.....
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Old 10-28-2015, 03:17 AM   #2
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need a little help here folks.......
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Old 10-28-2015, 05:40 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by SteveFortune View Post
I keep hearing that for full-timing Teton and then DRV hold the top 2 positions at the top of the chart..... I guess my question is where do the Newmar,Excel,Carriage,Crossroads,NuWa,Coachmen,and Heartlands RVs fall in the pecking order..... Are they even in the top 10???......... I know everyone has a different opinion of which RVs are the best...With that said, would anyone that will ,give me their opinion of the top 5 or top 10..... going to spend 30k-35k... will be living in RV full time.... not much traveling..... need alot of storage...and a big refrigerator.... a desk for a PC would be nice, but not a must...... Soon -to -be -newbe....... I need as much insight as I can get.....
Welcome. As you can tell, you most likely will not get a reply over night in only seven hours.

But now since most are awake.

If you do reading, you'll see Newmar, Excel, Carriage, NuWa, New Horizons, maybe King of The Road, are in the top as well.

Coachmen and Heartland are not top, but good.

Are you going to buy new or used? Because a few Coachmen's are that price new, but that's about it.
Where will you be living?
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Old 10-28-2015, 08:55 AM   #4
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What about Fork RV's builders of the Continental Coach and than the LUXE 5th wheels models? These are factory direct sales and I would think they might be the top of the line models now.


I would also consider the Trilogy, Cardinal, Columbus and Cedar Creek line of 5th wheels to review.
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Old 10-28-2015, 10:25 AM   #5
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He said he wanted to spend $30-$35 so the Continental Coach, Augusta Luxe, New Horizons are all out of the running. You must do your own research, look at lots of forums, even owner's forums for all those brands you listed. You will get your best info from actual owners. My 2 cents is to buy a good quality used rig, Teton & Drv are heavy, you need a big truck. Newmars may be getting too old, they quit making them several years ago. IF I was going to buy a used one now I would only consider a Teton, Drv, Excel or Nuwa. Compare the frames, insulation and dual pane windows. You can live in anything but you need to be comfortable, insulation and dual pane windows make a big difference.
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Old 10-28-2015, 03:30 PM   #6
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Excel, Carriage, NuWa, Newmar, Teton, DRV/Doubletree, are all great units.
The very top 3 are all custom build, Forks/Continental, Spacecraft, and New Horizon. You can find used units but they are still pricey.
The rest of the 5th wheel manufacturers are pretty much the same. Use the same building standards, methods, frames, etc. Quality of the components is the same across the board, Norcold, Dometic, Suburban, all can be good or bad.
On a used unit, previous owner care and maintenance is key.
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Old 10-28-2015, 09:22 PM   #7
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I know where you can get a 30 ft 2008 Cardinal in excellent condition fully equipped with all you will need pot pans dishes the whole nine yards includinga 5500 Onan Marquis generator. It has one year old michelin rib Lt tires . The folks that owned it were members of our Club and from Austrailia . A sudden illness forced them to go home for good, hence the fully equipped trl.
I have been in it is very nice rear kitchen etc. Pic are available. They are asking $25000 OBO. Trl is located in Northern Ca . Sacremento Area. The gen is worth 4 grand nes and has very few hrs on it.
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Old 10-29-2015, 06:39 AM   #8
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And don't forget the Arctic Fox....many FT'ers use them..

Your job will be to separate the marketing / noise from the reality...
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Old 11-02-2015, 10:51 PM   #9
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I know where you can get a 30 ft 2008 Cardinal in excellent condition fully equipped with all you will need pot pans dishes the whole nine yards includinga 5500 Onan Marquis generator. It has one year old michelin rib Lt tires . The folks that owned it were members of our Club and from Austrailia . A sudden illness forced them to go home for good, hence the fully equipped trl.
I have been in it is very nice rear kitchen etc. Pic are available. They are asking $25000 OBO. Trl is located in Northern Ca . Sacremento Area. The gen is worth 4 grand nes and has very few hrs on it.
Are the Forest River good quality RVs......I can buy a 2012 Cardinal within my budget as well as Crossroads Rushmore and Sevile.... are the well built RVs..such as insulation,frame and overall well sealed..it is either those or the 2007-2010 Carriage or the 2006 Excels and Drv....what would you do if it were you....everyone feel free to chime in.....
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Old 11-03-2015, 03:44 PM   #10
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Are the Forest River good quality RVs......I can buy a 2012 Cardinal within my budget as well as Crossroads Rushmore and Sevile.... are the well built RVs..such as insulation,frame and overall well sealed..it is either those or the 2007-2010 Carriage or the 2006 Excels and Drv....what would you do if it were you....everyone feel free to chime in.....
I would say that for a mid-price RV they are and to me this would include the Cedar Creek line of RV's, Blue Ridge models which are built on the Cardinal line and the Cardinal 5er. I would also look at the Trilogy RV ( made by Forest River) if you can find one used.

I purchased a new 2016 Cedar Creek 34RL for under $55K at the Chicago RV show last Feb. You might be able to but new 5th wheel that is a left over 2015 model on a dealer lot. Look on line you might find one for between $50K and $55K, depending on what you want.
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Old 11-03-2015, 07:02 PM   #11
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Newmar, excellent but no longer made;
Excel, no opinion;
Carriage, I've seen lots of good comments;
Crossroads, no comment;
NuWa, excellent, up there with DRV;
Coachmen, no opinion;
Heartland, I researched recently and concluded they're mid-grade;
And finally, Forest River. You can search for my FR posts if you want an eyeful of complaints. I don't know if Cedar Creeks or Cardinals are any better than my Wildcat.
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Old 11-03-2015, 08:08 PM   #12
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I can fill in the Excel part as we are on our 3rd one. Unfortunately they closed their doors earlier this year. The frames were fully boxed and made in house. They had a 10 below guarantee not to freeze up (as long as you ran the heater, of course) which means the underbelly was heated, not uncommon. We've had our current one for 3 years and virtually no problems. We've dragged it over 20k miles on all kinds of roads and so far so good. Many use them for full timing. I would not be afraid to include one on your short list.
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Old 11-04-2015, 08:34 PM   #13
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We have a 2011 NuWa and really like it. We had narrowed down to Excel, DRV, NuWa, and Arctic Fox. Just happened to luck into the deal on the NuWa at the right time. Went to the former factory in Chanute, Kansas and purchased. Have been very pleased with the unit.

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Old 11-05-2015, 06:03 PM   #14
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One way to help compare apples to apples is to look at the new msrp for the used coaches you are considering. For example, if you are looking at a 2005 Gee Whiz that has an msrp of $100,000 and the 2005 Whoopdedoo that had an msrp of $40,000 you know that they aren't going to be comparable coaches today.

For low-volume coaches this is maybe the only place where NADA is a help.
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