Alliance Paradigm 295mk or GD Solitude 280RK ?

[grassy]

I agree.. but i do not see things changing soon..

Originally Posted by darrellr

They are because the manufacturers allow them to be. Otherwise, how are they different? If the unit is under warranty, and the shop sells that manufacturer, there should be no issue with the shop getting paid by the manufacturer. The manufacturer should be able to lean on the shop a little to ensure they are taking care of existing owners, and use their agreement to strengthen that. They don't have to be different animals, they just keep getting away with it.

[Mainiacks]

Have owned an 2021 Alliance Paradigm 310RL for a year and so far no issues. Have had several interactions with the manufacturer and was very satisfied with being able to interact with a real person and in a timely fashion. Both times I was wanting to add an up-grade: the next model year has a true medicine cabinet vs a flat mirror and it easy to order, the item matched color well and was easy installation. Also wanted to go from just black out roller shades to dual privacy and black out, Alliance representative gave the exact dimensions for me to order from MDS. Both times I was questioned about my satisfaction with their product.

[grassy]

Good to know. thanks.

Do you put a lot of miles on it ? We average 11k per year..

Originally Posted by Mainiacks

Have owned an 2021 Alliance Paradigm 310RL for a year and so far no issues. Have had several interactions with the manufacturer and was very satisfied with being able to interact with a real person and in a timely fashion. Both times I was wanting to add an up-grade: the next model year has a true medicine cabinet vs a flat mirror and it easy to order, the item matched color well and was easy installation. Also wanted to go from just black out roller shades to dual privacy and black out, Alliance representative gave the exact dimensions for me to order from MDS. Both times I was questioned about my satisfaction with their product.

[timjet]

Originally Posted by darrellr

Now that I reread my posting, I was not clear. I do not have the 390MP any more. We traded that in for a Riverstone. I wish we kept the 390MP. Snip

I'm looking for an upper tier 5ver after selling my American Coach DP. Riverstone and Alliance are on my short list. I'm curious why your not happy with your Riverstone.

[darrellr]

Originally Posted by timjet

I'm looking for an upper tier 5ver after selling my American Coach DP. Riverstone and Alliance are on my short list. I'm curious why your not happy with your Riverstone.

I bought my Riverstone from a dealer in TN in May. We took one trip out in it without issue (3-day weekend). We called to get a service appointment in June because a kitchen slide was stuck in the in position (better than out I guess).

We waited 3 weeks for the appointment. Then called when it was supposed to be done (end of July), and they had not even looked at it. Kind of mad, but whatever, it is what it is. Fast forward to today, I still do not have the trailer back. We have owned it for almost 8 months, spent 3 nights in it, and made the payments, the storage fee (took too long to get indoor storage to let it go, but $285 per month for an empty unit, ouch), and called both the dealer, Riverstone, and Forest River multiple times.

The dealer is a fault due to bad planning on their part, staff turnover, and a lack of professionalism. The manufacturer has never once answered or returned an email or a phone call. I have talked with a phone rep at Forest River, but they suggested I work with the dealership or call Riverstone.

I never received any of that with Alliance. To be fair, I never had to deal with the dealership after delivery. I did have a couple of issues that I worked directly with Alliance on. They respond. They sent me the parts and instructions (I volunteered to do the work, I am fairly fearless with that stuff). All very timely. My experience with Riverstone / Forest River has not been that way.

Thus my misery with my current trailer.

[timjet]

Thanks for that report.

[BirchyBoy]

We’ve owned our Allaince Paradigm 310RL for 18 months. There have been a few small issues but the biggest issue, as is often the case, has been service from the dealer. Their service was affected by Covid like everyone else plus a few turnover issues.

I looked at a Solitude before buying and it was great. We went with the Alliance simply because we liked the styling more. Both brands are probably great. Before you do buy, look at the build quality of each when on the lot. If there are major issues, I’d suggest you move on to the next unit regardless of the brand. We saw quality differences between identical models sitting on the lot and made our choice then.

I would like to love to a toy hauler and Alliance would be my preferred brand based on my experience.

[grassy]

Years ago we bought a new forest river. Dealer was useless. It was the proverbial use it on the weekend, work on it during the week. It didn't get better with age.

When we started looking again, many said look at the arctic wolf..it is just like the arctic fox. No, it is not. even remotely. it screams low end quality. Customer complaints and lack of movement on fr part to fix the 5 major issues has steared us away from their product line..

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

We’ve owned our Allaince Paradigm 310RL for 18 months. There have been a few small issues but the biggest issue, as is often the case, has been service from the dealer. Their service was affected by Covid like everyone else plus a few turnover issues.

I looked at a Solitude before buying and it was great. We went with the Alliance simply because we liked the styling more. Both brands are probably great. Before you do buy, look at the build quality of each when on the lot. If there are major issues, I’d suggest you move on to the next unit regardless of the brand. We saw quality differences between identical models sitting on the lot and made our choice then.

I would like to love to a toy hauler and Alliance would be my preferred brand based on my experience.

[hamm2018]

Originally Posted by grassy

Good to know. thanks.

Do you put a lot of miles on it ? We average 11k per year..

Grassy, on our 2018 Road Warrior, since October 2017 we have almost 34,000 miles on it. First 2 years, we did not travel very much, since we were still working. June 2019, we went full time and have put probably 31,000 miles on it.

[grassy]

That is good to hear . thanks !

Originally Posted by hamm2018

Grassy, on our 2018 Road Warrior, since October 2017 we have almost 34,000 miles on it. First 2 years, we did not travel very much, since we were still working. June 2019, we went full time and have put probably 31,000 miles on it.

[Jerry Burks]

We bought our Alliance 310RL two years ago and put some 23,000 miles on it, living in it for a total of 7 months. So far quite happy with (almost) anything. Our dealer (Bish's in Cheyenne) took care of a bunch of initial warranty niggles, usually during the day while we are wandering in town and on short notice.

We did have a major problem with a slide during a long trip but were lucky to find an RV shop in OK City who checked it out same day we arrived. That was pure luck, other shops we called had weeks of wait time. The shop communicated with Alliance, Alliance called LCI, and they approved the repair (re-mounting the hydraulic cylinder) right away, so we left with a working slide after 5 hours without paying a dime. Miracles do happen occasionally...

One thing that does not work is both ceiling fans. We had one repaired on warranty (took 6 weeks to get the parts due to Covid backlog). Now both don't work, automatic cover does not open, but we don't bother anymore. I can crank the bathroom fan open by hand and leave the one in the kitchen just shut. I guess these fans are just crap.

[grassy]

What slightly concerns is we are parked beside an alliance that has had so many major issues that they are returning it.. only thought is that it was built during covid.

We have owned our af for 10 years or so..65k miles.. the number of issues we have had we can count on one hand with fingers left..this rig is tuff.

I suspect we will never experience this again..

Originally Posted by Jerry Burks

We bought our Alliance 310RL two years ago and put some 23,000 miles on it, living in it for a total of 7 months. So far quite happy with (almost) anything. Our dealer (Bish's in Cheyenne) took care of a bunch of initial warranty niggles, usually during the day while we are wandering in town and on short notice.

We did have a major problem with a slide during a long trip but were lucky to find an RV shop in OK City who checked it out same day we arrived. That was pure luck, other shops we called had weeks of wait time. The shop communicated with Alliance, Alliance called LCI, and they approved the repair (re-mounting the hydraulic cylinder) right away, so we left with a working slide after 5 hours without paying a dime. Miracles do happen occasionally...

One thing that does not work is both ceiling fans. We had one repaired on warranty (took 6 weeks to get the parts due to Covid backlog). Now both don't work, automatic cover does not open, but we don't bother anymore. I can crank the bathroom fan open by hand and leave the one in the kitchen just shut. I guess these fans are just crap.

[Marine359]

Does it really matter?
If you did pay substantially more for your rv than you could have paid from another dealer with the idea that it would be easier to get warranty service, you may get a big surprise. At the dealer you bought from, there could be a two month or longer wait for a warranty service appointment. There are a lot of quality rv repair shops that have a wait shorter than that, and they can file for most warranty claims. So what good did all that extra money you paid do for you. Something to think about while you’ve been denied the use of your rig while waiting for warranty service. If you can fix most anything yourself, you come out way ahead by buying from a dealer that has a price that can save you several thousand dollars. The only failure that would have caused me to take my rig in for warranty was something the manufacturer responded was not covered by their warranty. I insisted it definitely should be covered under structural warranty, but they refused. So, it was a big repair project for me, took 12 hours, but I got it done. The manufacturer agreed to pay for parts.

[OldBaldFat]

It really doesn't matter very much which brand you get. The dealer is maybe more important, because they do the service work.

I like a particular dealer in Texas because they have a "if you bought it here, it goes to the front of the line" police for repairs or general maintenance.

I've even been able to schedule daytime in early in the morning, out before COB work with them.

Now, delays in looking at rigs. RVs are really a small production run comparted to automobiles. The manufacturers do not have regional parts depots. And so many RV parts have to come from a component manufacturer. Someone mentioned a slide issue. It could be a wiring issue by the factory, an electrical component in the control board, or a mechanical issue with the actual slide mechanism. Three different manufacturers involved.

Another issue is repair places want the rig on their lot before they order parts. Most have been burned ordering parts, and the rig owner deciding to go to someone else to do the work. The manufacturers won't take the parts back from the dealer in such cases.

Re: Number of GD rigs vs number of Alliance rigs.

GD started as a small manufacturer in 2012. In 2016, the company was sold to Winnebago Industries. My opinion is that GD needed additional resources to make their 5ers a true national brand. Winnebago has those resources.

Alliance is a small manufacturer founded in 2019. They don't have the capacity at this time to build the number of rigs that GD does each year.

Looking at aerial images, it looks like GD has five or six rig construction buildings, and a few hundred rigs on their property awaiting transport to dealers.

Alliance has only two buildings, maybe three and a couple dozen rigs on the lot.

Both are 15 miles apart in Elkhart County, IN, and draw from the same labor pool of RV builders that work in the area. It is home to Forest River, Thor and most other big RV companies. I'm sure a lot of employees have worked for both at different times, and other companies.