Community Forums

suprdave1958 · 07-13-2015, 05:58 AM

Cane, maybe you guys are newbies...but the Cyclone/Road Warrior and the XLR aren't the only side patio models made. Keystone offers side patio models in the Raptor 384 and Fuzion 420. Jayco offers a side patio model in their 4212 and all of them with a residential fridge which XLR doesn't offer. With all that said, every owner you talk to on here will almost always favor whatever brand they own and usually because they haven't owned anything else. Listen the XLR by Forest River is a fine unit, I liked them too and Forest River builds a quality unit. But right now I would look at anything besides anything that Heartland makes. I mentioned above about issues with the Cyclone and Voltage issues. I just say this...shop around...do your homework. Contrary to what you hear on here whether you buy from a dealer in Ohio, or one in Florida...shop around. I live in Texas, and I would go to California or Ohio...or anywhere if I can save $8-$10k...so don't limit yourself to buying locally. Also state taxes vary from state to state and can make huge difference as well. Did you notice I didn't promote what I own...lol I shopped for 2 years before we bought ours, and I wound up getting something totally different from what I first liked and what I was first sold on. So again, contrary to what Taken is telling you...DON'T get in a hurry. Most on here mean well, but again most on here are biased to what they own and know very little about anything else.

taken · 07-13-2015, 06:34 AM

XLR absolutely offers a residential fridge option.

Jackiebeth · 07-13-2015, 12:49 PM

I guess we will know after a couple of trips if we did the right thing, but we bought a Fuzion 371 monster. Once I started putting items in it, I realized it doesn't have as much storage as we thought. But we will see how it works out. Thank you to all the toy hauler owners who offered advice. Our experience taught me it is wise to take a check list with you when you go to look because it is easy to get confused especially if you are looking at lots of units in one day.

Lloyd in S.C. · 07-13-2015, 01:23 PM

I am not familiar with all these units, however I did just sell my 2005 Raptor, we purchased new in August 2005. 38', tripple axle.

We liked this trailer, towed great, never had any structure or major problems, was excellent for boondocking, great storage wate etc,,,, except it was VERY hard on tires. Over the 10 years we owned the unit, we had 4 nasty blowouts. Always rear tires (last in line) and 2 of those resulted in serious damage to the unit. This was despite the fact we ran tire monitors after the first occurence. When the monitor sounds off, it was too late the tire had blown.

We NEVER had tires older than 3 years, 2 of these occured with 2 year old tires. The first occurance was exactly one year after purchase. After the first occurence we upgraded to load range E tires (read, hard to find, and expensive) and seemingly they make no difference.

My conclusion, the tripple axle configuration with todays tires just does not stand up well. Turning tight (difficult to avoid, although I tried) places huge stress on the rear tires. You can see them distort, and they frequently leave black marks.

So unless someone comes up with a tripple axle that can be raised for tight campgraound or other operations,,, I would avoid another tripple axle unit. Which I think eliminates the raptor.

L.

taken · 07-13-2015, 03:00 PM

Jackiebeth, you'll have some growing pains but it will work out. I've reorganized our new rig about 5 times already to maximize storage...

Lloyd, the issue is not the triple axle but rather the cheap ST tires these things come with. I have Goodyear G614's and the have zero distortion on tight turns. A triple axle will always "scrub" but the tires shouldn't lay over like they do with ST's. I also added the MorRyde X-Factor cross braces which really supports the side to side flexing in tight turns.

Lloyd in S.C. · 07-13-2015, 05:18 PM

Taken,,,, I would have to disagree. We went through 5 sets of tires in 10 years, bought as good as we could find, it made no difference.

I no longer have the receipts, but I believe 2 sets were goodyears.

However, most of my towing was in the summer, here in the hot south, which I imagine differed from yours. I would also add on the scales our raptor was within 200lbs on each tire, until we went up in load range and I thought I solved the problem.

I should add, when not being used our coach was undercover. Rarely saw the sun.

L.

taken · 07-13-2015, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd in S.C.

Taken,,,, I would have to disagree. We went through 5 sets of tires in 10 years, bought as good as we could find, it made no difference.

I no longer have the receipts, but I believe 2 sets were goodyears.

However, most of my towing was in the summer, here in the hot south, which I imagine differed from yours. I would also add on the scales our raptor was within 200lbs on each tire, until we went up in load range and I thought I solved the problem.

I should add, when not being used our coach was undercover. Rarely saw the sun.

L.

Yes, but I'm sure your tires were Goodyear Marathon ST tires. AKA China bombs. Goodyear G614's are steel carcase commercial trailer tires. They go for about $325 a piece. If you had them, you would not be posting what you did... They have an outstanding record and on the RARE chance they fail, Goodyear not only replaces the tire but pays to repair any damage to your RV. They don't have this policy for their ST Marathon bombs...

suprdave1958 · 07-13-2015, 05:36 PM

Rodney, at the time 5 mos. ago a residential fridge was not available...and they didn't offer one...I talked to the factory rep in Indiana. However Forest River is now offering it in 1...just 1 model now and its' not the 401 or the 380 (the 2 models we were interested in) He did say they were "planning" on offering a residential fridge in 2016-2017 models. I don't mean a single top and bottom door fridge with ice trays...I'm referring to a Samsung or Whirlpool "French door" side by side with bottom freezer and built-in icemaker with water dispenser in the door, just like your home fridge....that's a residential fridge. As I mentioned the Forest River XLR is a very good quality TH. I just think people on here are asking questions, but most of the is going to be a biased answer to whatever they own...they know very little, if anything about any other manufacturer. I'm sure you did your homework...good for you. But the XLR had drawbacks too...just like most of them.

suprdave1958 · 07-13-2015, 05:42 PM

Lloyd...most of the time it's not the tires at all, it's something as simple as axle alignment...no matter how good or expensive your tires are. I've had many trailers (not just toyhaulers), triple axle and double axle and both did the same thing...and 95% of the time the axles were out of line. Sometimes just slightly and sometimes worse. It will make tires wear more on the top half vs the bottom half. It would make the front wear more than the back, and vice versa. The tire wear is magnified more....with more weight on the axles...and as Rodney said...get good tires too.

taken · 07-13-2015, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suprdave1958

Rodney, at the time 5 mos. ago a residential fridge was not available...and they didn't offer one...I talked to the factory rep in Indiana. However Forest River is now offering it in 1...just 1 model now and its' not the 401 or the 380 (the 2 models we were interested in) He did say they were "planning" on offering a residential fridge in 2016-2017 models. I don't mean a single top and bottom door fridge with ice trays...I'm referring to a Samsung or Whirlpool "French door" side by side with bottom freezer and built-in icemaker with water dispenser in the door, just like your home fridge....that's a residential fridge. As I mentioned the Forest River XLR is a very good quality TH. I just think people on here are asking questions, but most of the is going to be a biased answer to whatever they own...they know very little, if anything about any other manufacturer. I'm sure you did your homework...good for you. But the XLR had drawbacks too...just like most of them.

Absolutely. Every brand has it's drawbacks. I researched every brand and can quote you most standards and options for all of them. I'm a research freak. Speaking of refer's, did you know Raptor comes with a Polar Max 18 cubic foot two way fridge? Very cool! However, the XLR Thunderbolt does have the residential 120V Whirlpool fridge option available on most their floorplans now including the 420 side patio floor plan....

Lloyd in S.C. · 07-13-2015, 07:35 PM

My tire were not worn, my axles were not out of alignment,,,, and I must confess I didn't pay $1,900 for a set of 6 tires. I

I don't recomend tri-axles. The configuration is problematic. I would go with a twin axle 16" wheel setup.

L.

taken · 07-14-2015, 05:21 AM

The configuration is in no way problematic. Both the manufacturer who built your trailer and you were both too cheap to buy proper tires. End of story...

Scottybdivin · 07-14-2015, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd in S.C.

My tire were not worn, my axles were not out of alignment,,,, and I must confess I didn't pay $1,900 for a set of 6 tires. I

I don't recomend tri-axles. The configuration is problematic. I would go with a twin axle 16" wheel setup.

L.

Twin axle setups can not handle the 20-21K of the newer bigger TH's. I ran Michellin XPS Ribs, another full steel encasement commercial LT for 17K troublefree miles. The difference between commercial LTs and regular LTs or STs is night and day. You just have to put the right tires on them. The best option is 17.5" tires and wheels. The

cb1000rider · 07-14-2015, 02:01 PM

The best option probably is 17.5" tires and wheels, but there are reasonably expensive ($140/each) steel cased 16" tires that you can buy.

If you're at 80% of rated tire capacity and your tires were made in China and not steel cased, replace them... That should be the rule.

Nothing wrong with 3-axle trailers, but they need to be setup right and have the correct wheels/tires on 'em.