What are the top 5 5th wheel manufacturers?

[09 harley]

Originally Posted by jimcumminsw

None that I know of! It is all subject to the individual’s opinion.

Since most if not all RV manufactures use the same components such as Dometic, Lippert, Suburban components, Carefree of Colorado, Dexter and others. In most cases it is only the assembly of these components along with the wall material and roof. So, as you can see most if not all are the same in some way or other.

Now with that being said you pay for what you get IE: the more expensive trailers may have higher end components and better build quality, than the lower cost units.

In my price point I looked at Cedar Creek, Columbus, Redwood and a few others. Settling on a Cedar Creek unit.

My brother HAD a champagne edition of the Cedar Creek from Forest River. He got rid of it and moved way up to the New Horizons brand. It cost a lot more but it is superior in every way. I used to make 3 or 4 repairs after every trip he took. Haven’t had one issue since he changed. He couldn’t be happier. Also look at Spacecraft. If you really want quality then be prepared to pay for it. Do you want a Rolex or a Timex? Only you can make that choice. Don’t be surprised if you pick a lower quality unit and then experience problems. That is to be expected. Nothing that I have said hasn’t been said thousands of times before on this site.

[joycelweems]

We are going with the ATC toy hauler!!

[freestyle_freddy]

Originally Posted by RETIREMENTHO

Subjective question to be sure. Any data or studies you can base quality on?

I feel somewhat qualified to answer this question as it relates to fifth wheels, as we spent a full, intensive year prior to going fulltime in 2010, looking at over 150 rvs, new & used, in our attempt to find a fifth wheel that we could be reasonably assured would last us 15-20 years. We researched most brands online, went to many dealers, & talked to many rv owners. I also joined many rv blogs, newsletters etc. & read as many reviews as I could find online. We tried to keep our emotions out of our search & rely only on facts & practical features, & find the highest quality fifth wheel we could for our budget of $100,000 in 2010, which would be more like $135K-$150K today.
We ended up ordering a New Horizons 34ft. fifth wheel, built by a small company in Kansas, specifically for full timers. They can customize your rv pretty much any way you want. We've never regretted our decision & are currently planning to get a total of at least 20 years of fulltime travel out of it. They have a good warranty, they stand behind it, & we had very few problems with our new unit. We've taken the rv to every state, many, more than once, & Alaska twice. It's been our only home for over 10 years & we feel totally comfortable in it.

[Captn John]

Over the past 40+ years I’ve pulled about everything. My last 3 have been a Montana. Only 2 minor warranty items on the 3.
No builder makes them all really ready to go. Montana has sold the most annually as many see it as the best bang for the buck and many owners are back when updating

[Steve 716]

Two years ago while at Entegra for year two repairs I toured the high end Jayco 5th wheel factory nearby and was appalled at what I saw. There were, as I recall, 10 of us on the tour and two were Jayco 5th wheel owners. Both were interested in how the end caps were installed as the front of their 5th wheels transferred cold into their coaches. There was equipment and trash on much of the floor, people were literally running around, and it was surprising that we didn't see anyone fall or get injured. We saw end caps face down on the floor with a few pieces of thin wood attached horizontally and rolled insulation was supposed to be installed behind these braces. The vertical space for each piece of insulation was about six feet in length in 3 or 4 rows. We saw builders pickup scrap insulation pieces as short as two feet off of the floor and place them into one or more of the rows without adding more, so you might have an end cap with maybe 6 feet total insulation and another properly insulated. It was random. It is no wonder the owners were complaining. I learned from the tour guide that 11 to 14 fifth wheels per day were to be built with the total assigned each day. The builders were paid a daily rate, not hourly. If someone finished early he or she could leave. If someone wasn't finished then he or she had to stay until done. Other facets of 5th wheel construction similarly appeared to be rushed and time limited. If there were managers overseeing the process they were not evident during this tour.

I don't know if this was an anomaly and I picked the wrong day to visit, if it was standard practice, or if it has since been corrected, at least in part. I am sure that other RV manufacturers have similar build issues and just want to share what I experienced with the IRV2 forum. I did share this with Joyce but I don't know if it went farther.

[HJLowell]

Very Smart [emoji106]

Originally Posted by joycelweems

We are going with the ATC toy hauler!!

[Midlotexan]

My wife and I looked all summer for a new fifth wheel.
We traveled to Hershey PA RV show from DFW, to see all the brands and 80%of all floor plans at one stop.
After about 12 hours over two days and countless trailers, we came back to KZ Durango Gold. We felt, the 366FBT model, gave the most bang for the buck.
We purchased our trailer from Gibbs RV in Waco, TX.
To date, we have had only a small water leak and a sticky baggage door.
As my father would say, "buy what you like, like what you buy"
Good luck and safe travels

[Rrpilot]

Ditto!

[Rrpilot]

Originally Posted by glennwest

In todays market, glad I have our Teton.

Ditto!

[chucklesg]

I looked seriously at the Van Leigh product Pinecrest. Cancelled the contract and bought a 2008 Hitchhiker! I wanted a quality unit for my last RV, and the HH and Cameo products last and are quality. Plus the HH factory in Kansas, while no longer producing HH, now provides outstanding service as well as offering a few used units.

[Ken Thompson]

Originally Posted by V3600

Trailers are, in general, built by workers who get paid by the piece meaning the faster they build the more money they make. Also, you won't find anyone on the assembly line checking quality. Does that practice lead to a quality product?

When I bought my Voltage in 2014 I wanted to put a serious hurt on the moron who installed the air conditioners. The center a/c had the duct tape rolled up into a ball because he didn't blow out the sawdust first. The cold air went into the ceiling instead of the ducts for distribution. Took me a couple of minutes to fix the issue. Too bad the factory worker was so intent on making a buck that he skipped the part about cleaning out the hole.

Motorhomes are a different story as you can tour the factory and watch your bus getting built.

Sad but true. Quality and craftsmanship is gone

[JDT]

We went to a boat and rv show today. The nicest looking and best feel for a tad bit of quality was a Redwood. The only one we saw that had 17.5 wheels and H rated tires as standard but discs are an option.

[Filthy-Beast]

Originally Posted by ac5501

It really depends on what you're measuring it by.

For what its worth, here's my opinion as I currently see things (pretty sure I've missed a couple). I have no connections to the RV Industry.

Also not including custom builders like Spacecraft, New Horizons, LUXE etc.

Easiest Resale / Brand Recognition:
Grand Design
Keystone
Jayco
Heartland
Forest River

Best Frame - individual Brand:
DRV - Thor
Riverstone - Forrest River
KZ Durango Gold - Thor
Arctic Fox - Northwood
Grand Design - Winnebago

Best Quality:
Northwood - Arctic Fox
Van Leigh - Beacon
Forrest River - Riverstone
KZ - Durango Gold
Grand Design - Solitude

Best Floor Plans/Features/Bling:
Keystone
Heartland
Jayco
Van Leigh
Grand Design

Thanks, this help me narrow my choice down to a Riverstone. At a little over 100k this seemed to be best choice for us. with the Legacy package it was the nicest looking units, great features with floor plans we liked. Now trying decide between the 39FK and 39RKFB.

[revbucco]

Originally Posted by RETIREMENTHO

Subjective question to be sure. Any data or studies you can base quality on?

I’m on two different fifth wheels, and was not impressed with either one. I can tell you which fifth wheel company I will never purchase from again if I were to ever purchase a fifth wheel again--Heartland. Their quality control was pathetic! I bought and purchased this unit brand new. I had problems that came directly from the factory that took me literally a year to get fixed. They had left out parts in my sink faucet which were not discovered until the dealership foreman finally went in removed it in my presents and started swearing saying that no wonder it doesn’t work they had left out one of the bottle parts in the installation process. Just one of numerous issues I had with this thing—Including a window that was installed crooked. The dealership had to remove it and reinstall.

One of the most disappointing things, is when I decided to clean out my vents and in the process found metal strips and clippings and sawdust. It was amazing that I got any kind of circulation in the Vance based on all the crud that I had to dig out of it.

I got rid of the unit when my wife noticed a crack developing right under the area on the side of the unit where it hooks up to your vehicle. As the crack continue to one, I decided to cut my losses!

One last thing that was a huge issue for me, was that every time I would call heartland and try to talk to their warranty people they always put it back on the dealership. It took weeks and months to go through that process.

Bottom line—I will never buy from the heartland corporate company ever again!