Gulf Stream BT Cruiser

[Vicap]

* BUYER BEWARE!!!!

After owning the 2024 5245 BTouring Cruiser for 35 days, and having just 2745 miles on it I traded it in for a different RV from a different Brand. I lost almost $20,000 in the trade and it was so worth it!

The BTouring unit I bought has a full wall slide and didn't come with levelers. When the slide was fully extended the chassis listed severely toward the slide side. I wrote Gulf Stream and their response was the unit wasn't spec'd for levelers, so end of story.

It got to a point (after about 2 weeks of ownership) where I didn't extend the slide at all except at night when it went out about 6" so I could sleep on the 60" width of the bed. I'm short but not that short!

As I was on my way back to the dealer I spent the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot. I checked the locks before I did the 6" slide extend & went to sleep. I woke to a cold breeze...the door had popped open in the middle of the night! That was at least the 4th time the door had popped in the night due to what I believe is the twisted frame.

At the dealership I asked the finance person what would happen to the obviously defective RV. "It'll go right back on the lot". Apparently there are no morals in the RV industry. I turned it in on a Thursday morning and checked the dealership web site daily hoping I was wrong....alas I was correct. The following Sunday it was being advertised used and in "Flawless Condition". I assume they just fixed the fallen sink & the GFI, & drove it to the display lot.

Repeat: BUYER BEWARE!!!

[wildtoad]

Sorry for your experience. The dealer must have ordered it without the levelers. Fairly sure they are available. Pricey though. You didn't notice then lean when inspecting it?

[WDSmith]

I am looking into the BT5210 & BT5230 as my first RV.
Would they be more reliable (my BT Dealer is 3hrs away)?
How sre warranty isses covered if no dealer near by?
Thanks

[wildtoad]

Originally Posted by WDSmith

I am looking into the BT5210 & BT5230 as my first RV.
Would they be more reliable (my BT Dealer is 3hrs away)?
How sre warranty isses covered if no dealer near by?
Thanks

Here's my 2 cents. The Ford chassis part of my 5255 is good, except for the need to enhance the suspension. Sumo springs front and rear, and a better steering damper. You may or may not need to do this based on the units you are looking at. But overall it runs great, can get a bit noisy when going up a steep incline.

So far, everything in mine works as advertised, getting used to the on demand water heater took a while. Whomever assembled mine decided all water connections need not be tight, but easy fix.

My dealer is also three hours away at the beach. Fortunately, they are just across the road from a state park so when we need something done we go to the beach for a few days. So far the warranty type stuff has be a mess between but has not stopped us from using the mh.