Community Forums

aknavy · 11-12-2016, 09:32 PM

Well, after another two weekends of shopping, we've narrowed down our choices to the following:

1. Heartland Big Country. Nice, good standard features, owners forum.

2. Jayco Northpointe. Tons of standard features, seems nice/solid, good price point.

3. VanLeigh Vilano. Really open layout, good slides, nice cabinetry. Like the decor. Don't like - 10" frame.

Thoughts on the above?

jacknife · 11-12-2016, 09:52 PM

I have a 10 " frame on my trailer . Just see if they have gussets on high stress points like at the axles. If so no problem . I have over 20,000 miles of towing . Weight 14,000 loaded no problems . You can also by crossmembers from moryde to mount to your spring hangers that will stiffen the frame . Easy bolt on.

gnirwin · 11-13-2016, 08:25 PM

I thought the Northpointe has a 10 inch frame too?

Troutkiller · 11-14-2016, 11:36 AM

All of those are on my Top 10 to buy in the next 2-3 months along with the FB plans from Jayco Pinnacle and Open Range

Really liking the extra counter space I get in the bath on those FB models

aknavy · 11-14-2016, 06:19 PM

I could have swore that the Northpoint is on a 12 inch frame - Now I'm going to have to look it up again.

aknavy · 11-14-2016, 06:23 PM

Yep, it's on a 12 inch frame, and comes standard with MOR/Ryde suspension and pin box. They call it a Magnum frame to go along with Magnum Truss....marketing hype, I'm sure, but it is a 12" frame.

Zac808 · 11-14-2016, 06:31 PM

I like the Vilano soft-touch roof. Probably significantly helps with sound absorption as well.

aknavy · 11-14-2016, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacknife

I have a 10 " frame on my trailer . Just see if they have gussets on high stress points like at the axles. If so no problem . I have over 20,000 miles of towing . Weight 14,000 loaded no problems . You can also by crossmembers from moryde to mount to your spring hangers that will stiffen the frame . Easy bolt on.

What kind of trailer do you have? I plan on visiting the factory so I can see how the trailers are built. You should have seen the look on the salesman's face when I asked if I could see the undercarriage! His expression went blank, then confused, then he slowly choked out "You're gonna have to visit the factory to see that..."

I've seen the crossmembers, and they don't look that difficult. Is that the same for the suspension as well?

gnirwin · 11-14-2016, 07:29 PM

We looked at a North Point this past year and it did have a 10" frame. I still have the brochure. Looking on line I see for 2017 the trailer does indeed have a 12" frame. We liked this 5th wheel a lot. Just ended up buying the Alpine which matched more of our wants/needs. The 2 year warranty on the Jayco is great.

aknavy · 11-14-2016, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnirwin

We looked at a North Point this past year and it did have a 10" frame. I still have the brochure. Looking on line I see for 2017 the trailer does indeed have a 12" frame. We liked this 5th wheel a lot. Just ended up buying the Alpine which matched more of our wants/needs. The 2 year warranty on the Jayco is great.

Yeah, I saw the frame change - I can only assume that there were problems with the 10". I know this is a stupid question, cause you bought it, but how do you like the Keystone? I've read so much negative press about them that I haven't really looked at them. Has it had any significant issues? How about dealer/manufacturer support?

gnirwin · 11-15-2016, 10:30 AM

Negative press or negative on these boards. I have a long winded answer for you. For the last 12 years Thor Industries has been the largest RV manufacturer and it is growing. Thor owns 5th wheel mfg's Heartland, Dutchman, KZ, Redwood, Keystone, DRV and recently Jayco ( purchased last July). A company does not make the profits nor does it stay in business if it doesn't mass purchase and standardize constuction techniques. I am 63 years old have spent my entire working career as a Design Engineer for a very large manufacturer. We recently purchased 2 different companies and we are doing just that, bringing them into our way of doing business, forcing them to use out techniques, and adding them to our purchasing pool. That being said I can tell you that all the above companies are using the same components. It's a crap shoot as to which company gets that one refrigerator that doesn't work. The reason Jayco is probably going with a 12 inch frame is that they are now getting the same frame found under the other Thor companies. Before I believe they used a different frame. Now the question of Keystone. I know they have been the largest 5th wheel manufacturer for the past 14 or so years. The Montana line broke new ground many years ago when Keystone came out with a mid level trailer with features found on more expensive rigs. Being the largest means naturally more complaints. I read on here where someone was complaining about their Montana High Country (a cheaper less substantial trailer building off the success of the Montana) not being able to use both A/C's at the same time. well no you cant unless hooked up to 50 AMP. But the title of his post was KEYSTONE iS JUNK or something along those lines and then you had people piling on complaining about their fridge not working, or furnace or whatever after the original warranty ran out. I do know a bunch has to do with the dealer and their rapport with keystone. I studied dealers as much as mfg's and avoided those with less than stellar reviews. We had a fireplace stop working, a slide that needed adjusted and wheels that were losing their clear coat. All replaced after waiting just 2 weeks for parts to come in and the dealer having my coach over night. I did ask the Service manager if Keystones were hard to get warranty work done on and approved. He said the issue is that they are very strict as far as having the right information, from the dealer and will only work on what is their responsibility. he said since they have a good liason there at their dealer they have no issues. he says where it gets touchy is when something other than keystone products break after the keystone warranty (fridge, axles,frame, slides etc.) many of them have a 2 year warranty or more and sometimes these companies drag their feet and keystone many times is in the middle of that as far as complaints go. The dealer I went with gave me a letter before purchasing. It was what can and can not be expected of them the dealer. My dealer does not do any frame repairs but they will recommend a repair shop that does. They also mentioned things like A/C units only designed to cool a coach 20 degrees any thing more depends on shade,extra insulation etc. a few things I've seen people complain about on here my dealer came out before anything signed explaining all this.

gnirwin · 11-15-2016, 10:49 AM

I am sorry AKNAVY, I didn't answer your question completely. We had a bucket list of items we wanted. I retire in 2 years and we want to travel and spend a good amount of time in the winter somewhere warm. having owned 2 prior RV's made it easy to come up with this list. The first big goal was to try to buy a new late season coach. In other words, we saw where trailers were marked down the most after new models hit the market. Our list included the following: 12" frame, Deep kitchen sink, porcelain toilet, King size bed, dual A/C, Full Body Paint, Dual pane windows, Hydraulic leveling, Residential refrigerator, large Shower, upgraded pin Box, Fireplace, apposing living room slides, rated for full time, heated basement and less than 35' long We also had a list of manufacturers we liked after going to RV shows (great ones in Cleveland and Hershey). It was easy to search dealers on line in a 300 mile radius from our home and after reviewing complaints etc. we crossed some off our list. Then I did a search every week or so online and the Alpine showed up with most of the features and a couple added from an approved dealer. Alpine's have the heat pump and it is fantastic. We didn't get the dual pane windows but love the full Body paint. My other campers faded badly, not this time! After 2,000 miles I ca tell you it pulls great and yes, we are very pleased with our purchase.

aknavy · 11-15-2016, 12:06 PM

That's good to hear. Your list sounds pretty close to my list. Perhaps I'll check them out here at the dealer. I know dealer is important, but I don't really plan on spending alot of time at a home base, so it's more important to me to be able to get service, or at least parts anywhere.

Don_T · 11-17-2016, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnirwin

I am sorry AKNAVY, I didn't answer your question completely. We had a bucket list of items we wanted. I retire in 2 years and we want to travel and spend a good amount of time in the winter somewhere warm. having owned 2 prior RV's made it easy to come up with this list. The first big goal was to try to buy a new late season coach. In other words, we saw where trailers were marked down the most after new models hit the market. Our list included the following: 12" frame, Deep kitchen sink, porcelain toilet, King size bed, dual A/C, Full Body Paint, Dual pane windows, Hydraulic leveling, Residential refrigerator, large Shower, upgraded pin Box, Fireplace, apposing living room slides, rated for full time, heated basement and less than 35' long We also had a list of manufacturers we liked after going to RV shows (great ones in Cleveland and Hershey). It was easy to search dealers on line in a 300 mile radius from our home and after reviewing complaints etc. we crossed some off our list. Then I did a search every week or so online and the Alpine showed up with most of the features and a couple added from an approved dealer. Alpine's have the heat pump and it is fantastic. We didn't get the dual pane windows but love the full Body paint. My other campers faded badly, not this time! After 2,000 miles I ca tell you it pulls great and yes, we are very pleased with our purchase.

This is good news to us. We ordered an Alpine 3301GR about a week ago. We ordered it with every option except the full body paint We were looking for many of the same things you were. We hope to live in this one for many years.