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05-27-2018, 06:34 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 297
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Want opinions on a few travel trailers...
Ok so, wife and I are looking at a few different model trailers and would like some opinions.
FYSA - we are pulling with a 2015 Chevy 3500HD DRW. There will be my wife and I, a 4 year old, a 6 month old, and 2 dogs (one medium, one small) staying in the trailer. We will be doing mostly weekend trips within a reasonable 4-5 hour drive of Los Angeles, with maybe 1 or 2 longer week long trips in the Southwest Region.
We have established that a bunkhouse is a must and have decided on either:
* Outdoors RV Mountain Series TimberRidge 27BHS
* Forrest River Flagstaff 27BHWS
* Heartland RV Wilderness 3125BH
Our main goals are a well insulated RV even though we wont be camping in subzero weather. My thought is, a " 4 seasons" trailer would maintain a more even temp in the temperate or desert areas we will be camping. We want a trailer that has an accessible bathroom with the slide(s) in. A bonus would be the ability to fit a regular Queen size bed as I am 6'4". We *must* have power on the camp side of the bed as I need to power a CPAP.
One thing we like about the Wilderness is the location of the TV in relation to the main seating and it seems to have a decent amount of storage. Respective salespersons have indicated that the Flagstaff and the Wilderness are "6 sided aluminum", meaning aliuminum studs in sidewalls, front and rear endcaps, floor joists and roof trusses. Also foam board insulation, which I think the Outdoors RV has as well?
So, what say you on the above RVs. Prices are all currently comparable. Should I opt for the 50amp trailer for any of the above (Flagstaff is already 50amp, I would need to order the Wilderness as 50amp, and I still need to walk the Outdoors RV)
Now for links:
Flagstaff
https://bobbywaynesrv.com/inventory/...01069c61cf142/
Wilderness
https://www.allvalleyrvcenter.com/in...ss-3125bh-3225
Outdoors RV
https://www.nielsrv.com/default.asp?...=xnewinventory
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05-27-2018, 06:49 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Palm Coast Florida
Posts: 12,995
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My understanding is Outdoor RV makes the best frame, the best insulation, the thickest material for roof and floors.
The other manufactures are not known for outstanding units.
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05-27-2018, 07:00 PM
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 2,007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavenger
Ok so, wife and I are looking at a few different model trailers and would like some opinions.
FYSA - we are pulling with a 2015 Chevy 3500HD DRW. There will be my wife and I, a 4 year old, a 6 month old, and 2 dogs (one medium, one small) staying in the trailer. We will be doing mostly weekend trips within a reasonable 4-5 hour drive of Los Angeles, with maybe 1 or 2 longer week long trips in the Southwest Region.
We have established that a bunkhouse is a must and have decided on either:
* Outdoors RV Mountain Series TimberRidge 27BHS
* Forrest River Flagstaff 27BHWS
* Heartland RV Wilderness 3125BH
Our main goals are a well insulated RV even though we wont be camping in subzero weather. My thought is, a " 4 seasons" trailer would maintain a more even temp in the temperate or desert areas we will be camping. We want a trailer that has an accessible bathroom with the slide(s) in. A bonus would be the ability to fit a regular Queen size bed as I am 6'4". We *must* have power on the camp side of the bed as I need to power a CPAP.
One thing we like about the Wilderness is the location of the TV in relation to the main seating and it seems to have a decent amount of storage. Respective salespersons have indicated that the Flagstaff and the Wilderness are "6 sided aluminum", meaning aliuminum studs in sidewalls, front and rear endcaps, floor joists and roof trusses. Also foam board insulation, which I think the Outdoors RV has as well?
So, what say you on the above RVs. Prices are all currently comparable. Should I opt for the 50amp trailer for any of the above (Flagstaff is already 50amp, I would need to order the Wilderness as 50amp, and I still need to walk the Outdoors RV)
Now for links:
]
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They all have their +/-
* Outdoors RV Mountain Series TimberRidge 27BHS
* Forrest River Flagstaff 27BHWS
* Heartland RV Wilderness 3125BH
I think when you look at the Outdoors and Heartland you will see the FR isn't in their grade.
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05-27-2018, 07:31 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Forest River Owners Club
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 379
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As a rule of thumb your TT will only be as good as the tech that was working on it that day regardless of the manufacturer's reputation.
I personally don't prefer units with front facing windows. The seals on those are constantly exposed to wind and debris making them a failure point. But that's just been my experience. YMMV.
I have had several Forest River products and while there were always a few minor fixes they were always comfortable and dependable.
That being said, after looking at your three picks I would probably pick the Outdoor. Plenty of space, no front window, not too many slides, and that company does have a good reputation. Just inspect the bejeezes out of it before signing anything and realize that most of the appliances aren't going to be any better than anyone else's so look into a house protection plan.
__________________
2009 Ford F150 FX4 5.4L, 3.73 Axles
2018 Prime Time Tracer 215Air
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05-27-2018, 08:26 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 1,283
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I would go with the OutdoorsRV. I am glad to see that you have enough truck to handle the trailer. I was looking at the smaller Creekside units without a slide and ended up with the Arctic Fox 22G. It is just my wife and I and we wanted something short and simple.
The TimberRidge 27BHS looks like a nice floor plan for a family. I like that there isn't anything complicated in the slide, just a dinette and sofa. The dual 40 gallon fresh tanks are nice. The 2nd door into the bathroom would be useful when traveling with the slide in.
When we went trailer shopping we could really tell the difference on units with double pane thermal windows. Those units were very comfortable inside on a sunny day. The single pane units got hot just from the solar gain through the windows.
__________________
Jeff--
Arctic Fox 22G w/1440 watts solar/GMC2500HD Double Cab with Leer Cap w/740 watts solar
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05-27-2018, 10:48 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Thor Owners Club iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 267
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Of those? The ORV. Just like any company, though, inspect the shart of it.
__________________
2018 Venture Rv Sonic Lite 167VMS
2008 F150 with only 50k miles!!!!
2 Chihuahua's - yeah, were those people at the campground
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05-28-2018, 06:35 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 304
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I can only speak of what we have, and it's a Heartland product. We don't have the Wilderness, we have a North Trail, Calibur Edition. So far we've had VERY good luck with it. There was only 2 things that needed fixing and we were out on the road and they were so minor my husband fixed it with no problem. We've been full timing a year in it and everything still works perfect.
Several of our friends who have had quite a few RVs through out the years steered us away from any Forest River products. Another piece of advice they gave us was to have your kitchen NOT be on a slide out. The thinking behind that was that if you use your slide lots of times, as in full timing, the constant sliding in and out of all of those wires and gas lines in the kitchen appliances gives it more opportunity for something to go wrong. Kind of made sense to us, whether there is any merit to that we have no idea.
__________________
2017 Heartland North Trail Calibur Edition
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05-28-2018, 06:47 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Thor Owners Club Pond Piggies Club Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: NE. Ohio USA
Posts: 5,972
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ORV Timber Ridge for: Standard thermal pane windows, Optional MorRyde 3000 suspension with robust shackle hangers, 1" thick baggage doors, insulated for "0" degree camping (can only help in the desert SW. summers). very neat constructions detail compared to Indiana built units. Large 80 gallon fresh water tank.
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05-29-2018, 05:43 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 275
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I own a FR product now and I think it's roughly in the same quality category as my parents Heartland that they owned until they sold it last year. Never seen an ORV in person, but everything I've read about them is that they're a big step above both FR and HL.
__________________
2019 Silverado 2500 HD 4x4 6.6L Duramax CC SB
2016 Palomino Solaire 267BHSE
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05-29-2018, 11:42 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 297
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Everyone, thank you all for your comments. My wife and I will be in the neighborhood of the ORV dealer this weekend (near her parents house) and will take a look at the unit linked in my original post. Sounds like we will be placing the ORV and Heartland (until I can walk through the ORV) tied for #1, with the Flagstaff at #2. One thing I forgot the mention in the first post, was I like that the Heartland heater vents are in the walls and not in the floor. Less likelihood of debris falling down into the vents, nor would we worry about stepping on them with barefeet.
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05-29-2018, 02:23 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Central Valley, California
Posts: 1,743
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tuffr2
My understanding is Outdoor RV makes the best frame, the best insulation, the thickest material for roof and floors.
The other manufactures are not known for outstanding units.
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After much searching just recently I agree 100% with tuffr2 on the Outdoor RV...… The only reason we did not buy one is because they were to heavy for our truck (2017 Silverado 4x4 z71 with 3.08 gearing)…..
We bought a Lance and are very happy with it.....
__________________
2020 F-150 4x4 3.5 Super Crew Cab
2024 Starcraft 189RG
God Bless Us All
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05-29-2018, 04:58 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 297
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeB
After much searching just recently I agree 100% with tuffr2 on the Outdoor RV...… The only reason we did not buy one is because they were to heavy for our truck (2017 Silverado 4x4 z71 with 3.08 gearing)…..
We bought a Lance and are very happy with it.....
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Lances are made right around the corner, and I did go look at them. But the Bunk model leaves a lot to be desired in regards to space for my family.
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06-11-2018, 10:10 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 285
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My neighbor has a 2017 Forest River 27 (not sure if the model#), but it has one design issue that drives him nuts. The fuse panel is covered when the main slide is in and naturally, it blows the slide fuse occasionally when closing. He has to crawl under and manually crank out the slide to gain access to the fuses. The same fuse controls the levelers, so this becomes a real PITA when he is trying to leave. The slide also blocks the refer,but I've learned that is not unusual. It is a very nice trailer,other than the fuse panel location.
__________________
Steve & Cheryl Walsh
2006 National Sea Breeze 1350
Orange Park, FL
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