Community Forums

TucsonAZ · 05-16-2019, 01:05 AM

I'm just wondering what brands from the late 90s/early 2000s were the best built. I've been having a REALLY hard time with what to travel in this year as my plans have done a lot of changing but in the end I hate leaks, I hate rubber roofs, I hate bumper pull, I hate fake wood interiors and just want something nice and simple but also good quality (I'm a highly functional person).

I have about $15k to work with here and was planning on a class a but a tow vehicle and 5er makes more sense for my long term plans.

So if you were looking in the 20 year old (+/- 5 years) range and wanted the highest quality you could get what would you look for? Is there anything that's aluminum or fiberglass on the roof? Anything with real wood interiors?

I really like the Safari Treks but don't feel they're a great value.

raineman · 05-16-2019, 10:13 AM

No suggestions, but that is not a lot of money to work with. If you buy a 20 year old rig, your budget for repairs and upkeep may not be worth the effort. Good luck.

keymastr · 05-16-2019, 10:13 AM

At that age it is more a matter of how well cared for it is rather than initial build quality. Anything that was junky is already showing the stress and wear. My suggestion is to look at trailers no older than 10 years and don't limit yourself to no slides. If maintained properly there is no problem with slides or rubber roofs. They all have penetrations and seams that need regular maintenance so metal or fibreglass also can leak and can be much more expensive to repair.

As for brands, Arctic Fox and older Open Range come to mind. Nuwa are supposed to be well built as well but no experience with them.

TucsonAZ · 05-16-2019, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raineman

No suggestions, but that is not a lot of money to work with. If you buy a 20 year old rig, your budget for repairs and upkeep may not be worth the effort. Good luck.

That is A TON of money to work with! 40% of Americans couldn't cover a $400 unexpected expense and 60% couldn't cover a $1,000 unexpected expense. I think it's amazing that you're in a place in life that $7,500 isn't a lot of money but for most people it certainly is.

I'm firmly in the camp that there's something that fits any and every budget. In this case you can certainly get a nice F-250 or F-350 for $7,500 and I can't imagine there were no quality 5th wheels built that wouldn't serve somebody well in that same price range.

In fact in just looking at sold listing on eBay there are a fair number of nice units selling in that range.

consolenut · 05-16-2019, 04:58 PM

id look at mid late 90's Artic fox or carriage. ive seen them for 6500-7500 on CL even one slide on some.

AtomicRT · 05-16-2019, 05:54 PM

Carriage, Nuwa Hitchhiker, Newmar, Alumascape by Holiday Rambler, Excel by Peterson, Americana, Alpenlite are a few of the higher-quality rigs. It will be tough to find one without slides even in the 90s.

TucsonAZ · 05-16-2019, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicRT

Carriage, Nuwa Hitchhiker, Newmar, Alumascape by Holiday Rambler, Excel by Peterson, Americana, Alpenlite are a few of the higher-quality rigs. It will be tough to find one without slides even in the 90s.

Thank you, those are some good looking units, this one seems nice:

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/r...882128600.html

And if he dripped the price some this is nice as well:

https://tucson.craigslist.org/rvs/d/...876812613.html

Not sure how fair either price is on them. Seems high on a fifth wheel but I'm not up on the market.

AtomicRT · 05-17-2019, 05:29 AM

That's high on the Alpenlite - almost anything prior to about 2003 should be under $10K. But as mentioned, it's all about condition. I looked at so many units when we were searching that looked fantastic in the photos and were frightpigs in real life. There are really clean, lightly-used, one-owner trailers out there, but it takes patience and persistence to find them.

AtomicRT · 05-17-2019, 05:47 AM

Looks like a nice one here but on the wrong side of the country for you.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/200...KS3-5007204847

Rolfsted · 05-17-2019, 07:32 AM

I just found a 2003 Carriage Cameo F35ks3 for $7500.00. One owner Lady got it in her divorce. Beautiful condition. Her friend works at a boat dealership that has a RV repair shop so he went over it so I knew everything was OK. Of course the decals are toast but hey....I can replace them for $200.00. We sold our 1994 Gulfstream Tourmaster 32 ft 5th wheel for $2000.00. So a newer nicer camper for $5500.00 out of pocket.

okcnewbie · 05-17-2019, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TucsonAZ

That is A TON of money to work with! 40% of Americans couldn't cover a $400 unexpected expense and 60% couldn't cover a $1,000 unexpected expense. I think it's amazing that you're in a place in life that $7,500 isn't a lot of money but for most people it certainly is. .....

You're taking these comments out of context. It's not a lot of money for someone looking to buy an RV. You'll soon be upset and onto your third thread if you take well intentioned comments so personally. RV'ing in general is a want not a need. Only you can really know if it's in your realistic budget or not.
Good luck.

tuffr2 · 05-17-2019, 11:19 AM

I was just looking at new 5th wheels today just to check them out. MSRP was over 100k on a lot of them. I know I could buy them for 75k.

But saying that, 7.5k is not a lot of money.

I am thinking anything decent from 2000 will be more than $7,500. You can buy a trashed 5th wheel that needs a lot of work and $600 - $800 just in tires.

Look at old Carriage, NuWa, Excel, Double Tree, Holiday Rambler.

Good luck

TucsonAZ · 05-17-2019, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okcnewbie

You're taking these comments out of context. It's not a lot of money for someone looking to buy an RV. You'll soon be upset and onto your third thread if you take well intentioned comments so personally. RV'ing in general is a want not a need. Only you can really know if it's in your realistic budget or not.
Good luck.

I'm not taking them personally, I just don't understand the point of not keeping a thread on topic. I didn't post asking what was "a lot" to spend on a 5th wheel because that's subjective and not only that but regional. I would guess to 75% of Americans $7,500 is a lot and to some $750,000 isn't a lot. Point being it's subjective and I've come across some pretty nice fifth wheels for $1,500 so it's possible. Like to me $250k is a lot to spend on a house here but that will also buy you 80% of the houses in Tucson. For somebody in NY, CA, Seattle and so on that wouldn't be enough to buy a vacant lot.

So in the end, I guess I was just hoping for what a few people did, give me the information and let me look and learn on my own. Somebody will be right and I'm really not attached to who.