Community Forums

herzer15 · 09-22-2010, 03:24 PM

We are looking at the Laredo 305tg and was wondering if anyone has had any problems. We are changing course to a truck- fifth wheel combo from a class A Winnebago. Any other tips of things to look for or think of are welcome. Thank you.

xc-mark · 09-24-2010, 03:00 PM

with any trailer look close at the axel rating and unladen weights of the trailer , make sure the tires and axels have 3000+ lbs of margins for your gear and cloths. Many trails are made so you can only carry 1400 more weight the the dry weight of the trailer ! They give the owners nothing but head aches with tire failers ! My Dad has a Laredo 30'+ 5th that is a 2008 , the axles are 6000lb rated 6 lug wheels with 15" tire that we did a upgrade to 16" tires and wheels in the first summer . It end up costing him just over $1200 so if you have the option to order a trailer to your specs DO IT . Over all quality of the larado is fair at best he has a few spots where they did fiberglass repair in the factory that we found fail this spring and fix it correctly. Over all I would say its acceptable but not well made. My 2001 holiday Rambler fit and finish looks the same as it did in 2001 but built with better products . Fit and Finish is ok but I havnt had any areas fall apart or crack like what happend on the outside of my dads Larado. At first I though the frame cracked on his but it end up being the guys on the production line putting on the outside skin made a bad cut and cut back to much right where the bedroom is up front where it changes elevaton from low to high in the area where the pin box is. We ended up putting a diamond plate front panel where the verticle wall is up by the pin box and front storage area is. THe factory had a gental curved fiberglass panel over a square aluminum frame. we found 1/4" ply wood with bondo and painted white to match the gellcoat fiberglass skin as a patch. Keep in mind this is a 2008 left over trailer he purchased in the spring of 2009 for over $30K from a dealer new.

herzer15 · 10-08-2010, 05:17 PM

Thank you for your response. We will look at the craftsmanship in better detail. We are also looking at a few Jayco and Cougar models.

Goldwingtiny · 10-13-2010, 04:56 AM

Just know that the Cougar is also made by Keystone and it is very simular to the Laredo. I have a Cougar tt and while it is a very nice "Middle Of The Line" trailer, it will probably be the last Keystone/Thor product that I buy.

wingnut60 · 10-14-2010, 08:35 AM

I would place Jayco somewhat higher than Keystone in quality in similar cost trailers...
Joe

herzer15 · 10-14-2010, 09:56 PM

What are the reasons you would not purchase another keystone product? My wife and I are going to the RV show next weekend and are going be looking at all of our options. We are looking for a model with bunk beds that is around 32 to 34 feet. Most of the companies I have read about do not have any local dealers within three hours of driving. Would you recommend any other bands?

We are looking at two different Jayco models and hope to see them at the Rv Show.

Goldwingtiny · 10-15-2010, 05:02 AM

I'm sure you're aware that you can get a bad trailer regardless of manufacture, right? I want to say that first because I don't want people to think that I'm trying to flame their favorite brand because that is not my intent. We bought an '09 Cougar 29RLS because of the floor plan and price. Since our purchase, I've come to notice some thing's in a trailer that I don't like. Example's, I don't like the way the interior wall's give when you push on them. I don't like the way the main entry door will bind if you put too much pressure on the rear stabilizer jack. I don't like all the noise from outside the trailer that you hear while being inside. I don't like the fact that Keystone denied my claim to fix my roof that is now "bubbling" along the edge's the entire length of the trailer on both sides.
I think that most of the things that I don't like about my trailer would be eliminated had I spent more money, you know.... "You get what you pay for!!!" I've seen, heard or read about more than a few cases of delamination on Keystones, too, mostly Outbacks. These are just a few of the reason's that we probably won't get the Montana that both my wife and I fell in love with.
As far as our next trailer.... Excell, Jayco, Carriage, Double Tree, not sure. Hope this helps.