Observations from RV Show

[Cumminsfan]

My ORV TT came with 3 Max air fans. The ones in the living and bedroom are remote controlled 2 way fans. The one in the bathroom is a 4 sp out only with a wall control device.
We absolutely love theses fans. We use the one in the bedroom in reverse to draw cooler PNW night air in, in the summer. The one in the living area circulates air really well. It doesn't take much of an open window to draw a good flow of air in.

https://www.allrv.com/maxxair-smoke-...BoC0pQQAvD_BwE

[THEHOFF]

We got our 2019 Highland Ridge OpenRange 3X427BHS for $54995

[redhooker]

Nice rig Hoff!

The Open Ranges have deep discounts down here as well, I have several friends with them (one is full timing) and they were all able to negotiate prices down close to $50k as well. Everyone seems extremely pleased with the value and build, and even in this slower market they seem to be selling at a brisk pace. The only downside seems to be most do not have 6 point hydraulic leveling but that is a minor trade off.

[Grzly03]

mtofell, a piece of advice from one who messed it up before. Check door heights purposefully. By that I mean, don't think back as you are driving away and say "did I hit my head on anything." Stand in all the slides, straighten up your back and see if you are OK. Lean over the cooktop and make sure when you straighten up you don't contact the top corner of the slide. stand in the bedroom door straight up and make sure you have clearance. We made that mistake on a Montana, and had to trade. Also, look at DRVs, best made in our book. A good used 5 or 6 year old is great, and there are a few out there.

[mtofell]

Originally Posted by Grzly03

mtofell, a piece of advice from one who messed it up before. Check door heights purposefully. By that I mean, don't think back as you are driving away and say "did I hit my head on anything." Stand in all the slides, straighten up your back and see if you are OK. Lean over the cooktop and make sure when you straighten up you don't contact the top corner of the slide. stand in the bedroom door straight up and make sure you have clearance. We made that mistake on a Montana, and had to trade. Also, look at DRVs, best made in our book. A good used 5 or 6 year old is great, and there are a few out there.

Yes... Open Range are nice and definitely on my list. I temporarily forgot about them since they weren't at the show. A neighbor RVer recently showed me inside his unit and I was very impressed.

[09 harley]

Montana are cheaper because they are cheaper. Grand Design are more expensive because they are more expensive. If you want a quality unit look at New Horizons or Spacecraft to name two sources. Twice the price of the GD units but they cost more because they cost more. You get what you pay for. The normal RV companies know that the typical customer is not willing to pay for quality so we rarely get it. My brother has the top of the line Champagne edition of one of the major companies and it is a piece of junk. He rarely goes on a trip where either I or the dealer need to make repairs. He is ordering a New Horizons. Go on their website and look at the construction and build quality. Not the substandard units we buy.

[Piros1]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

How was the show? I'm a motorhome person so that's what I look for. Any RV parts venders there? I went last year and was disappointed in what there was.

I have the same problem Mr. D, when I go to the show here in St. Louis as big and populated as the St. Louis, MO area is you would think they would have dealers that stock and move many Class A's but they are few to maybe one that actually stock a decent Class A of any size and nothing to compare to my 2005 Country Coach. As for as parts and accessories go they feed off the budget camper. I am wanting to move up or down however you look at it to a newer model coach with a floor plan more to my liking and there just isn't anything in this part of the country. The dealers that stock a class A mainly stock and sell the lower quality class A pushers or just gassers. I guess there must not be enough interest in this area which is hard for me to believe there isn't a market for it. I had a dealer tell me they don't stock them because they don't sell them and my response was you don't sell them because you don't have them.

Sorry for the response that is maybe off track of the OP's thread but I had to respond. Headed to TX to look at one this week.

[geotexZ71]

Definitely put Grand Design back on your list! No one said it here in this post, but THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL about show pricing. For 5th wheel, your target for actual deal price is about 30% off MSRP. You can do a bit better for units on the lot, and not as good for full body paint.

We wanted 39-foot or less, rear living, BIG shower, tall bedroom with king (I'm 6'-5" and 280#), well thought out storage, and a couple other minor things. Began shopping about 2 years ago and had narrowed to 3 makers, all same floor plan. Best bang for buck for a 2020 Grand Design Solitude and very minor PDI items quickly resolved with dealer and GD. Second trip out, kitchen faucet gave way (cracked cartridge). GD overnighted new faucet to us!

[Ret.LEO]

Don't buy in to the "Grand Scheme" of Grand Design's insulation B.S. R-40 in a RV roof..........no way!!! It would need a roof cavity of ELEVEN INCHES! If they misrepresent something as important what else are they BSing about?
Saw a guy who's reflection froze at 30 degrees. When he pulled off the corroplast all he found was what looked like aluminum foil which he crumbled into a ball.
Montana's , Cougars, Northwood Brand fivers, Jayco Eagles are all safe bets.
Cougars, Montana's, Eagles are warranted for full time living, been 0 to 100degree tested with published results.

I had the Grand Design Rep. tell me at the St Louis Show that their roof insulation is R-40............I told him B.S.........wasn't born yesterday!

[mtofell]

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

Don't buy in to the "Grand Scheme" of Grand Design's insulation B.S. R-40 in a RV roof..........no way!!! It would need a roof cavity of ELEVEN INCHES! If they misrepresent something as important what else are they BSing about?
Saw a guy who's reflection froze at 30 degrees. When he pulled off the corroplast all he found was what looked like aluminum foil which he crumbled into a ball.
Montana's , Cougars, Northwood Brand fivers, Jayco Eagles are all safe bets.
Cougars, Montana's, Eagles are warranted for full time living, been 0 to 100degree tested with published results.

I had the Grand Design Rep. tell me at the St Louis Show that their roof insulation is R-40............I told him B.S.........wasn't born yesterday!

Yeah, the insulation claims are totally ridiculous and I haven't taken the time to get to the bottom of it. They say things like R-40 "equivalent" which likely means an R-9 with 300 sqft so it's "equivalent" to an R-40 at 1300 sqft. Of course, that's not equivalent at all but RV manufacturers seem to have a never ending supply of BS terms and truth-stretching to polish their turds with.

[clifford j]

Discussing full time capability , I wish that a mfgr. would publish a rating that would state @ 32 degrees outside you will consume X numbers of btu's to maintain 70 F degrees. I full time in a 37 foot 5er with 4 slides , when sustained temps are 30F and maintain 70F inside I consume 3 gal. of propane per day. R factor mfgrs claim is indeed a bunch of bs and not something we utilize in the real world .

CLIFFORD

[Cumminsfan]

Most 5th/TT wheel slide floors are nothing more than a 3/4" piece of plywood with a foil resilient barrier under the carpet. Pretty much no RV value what so ever. Couple that with two large slides and the amount of BTU's to keep the RV warm goes way up.

Heating an RV is like heating a house built in the 40's-50's.

[Ret.LEO]

I'm pretty lucky to have a wife who is a sewing genius. For the seats in a dinette she could easily make a pair of fabric seat covers or better yet make a new seat pad and back with fabric and a way much better foam insert that would support and last better.
Her best friend sellls and teaches Husqvarna computerized sewing machines.........between the two of them they could knock out killer upholstering.
Also would be a alternative for those who aren't so lucky to take your seats and backs to a upholstery shop over the winter to have some really long lasting comfortable seat and back cushions made.
For the recliners I would ditch the Thomas Pain stuff and replace with a good pair of LaZboys.

[Paul R. Haller]

As a former home builder, R40 is achievable with ridged foam in a much smaller cavity. That said ridged foam is expensive compared to fiberglass. About 5 times more. I suppose that after framing members are installed and electrical run you could spray foam. That would be lower cost.
In 5th wheel trailers I have owned, I have often removed the fiberglass insulation and replaced it with foam. Most often inside the overhang where the pin box is. It’s usually about 3 inches high but sometimes more depending on frame size I pull out the fiberglass which is R 13 and put in ridged 3 inch foam at R22.