I was curious if you fifth wheel actually measured less then 30 feet pin to back bumper of fiver. Mine measures 29' 8" and yours looks much longer than mine in the picture. Not an issue, just curious as I found when I was running around measuring that some were exactly what the manufacturer listed and some were a good bit more than the stated length.

Steve

 

The Crusader is right around 30 ft. It is a 26 RLD which seems to mean 26 foot behind the truck 4 feet over truck. It has a 8000 dry weight and 10000 pound gross weight. I wish it had about 2 more foot in the back behind the slide. What 5th wheel do you have? I think my camper is still in production.

 

Here you go....
Flagstaff Super Lite Travel Trailers / Fifth Wheels by Forest River RV

 

How are the newer Forest River units? Those fifth wheels look nice and accomadating at least for maybe two people. They are also very light these days does that mean they skimp on quality or is it well made structural wise and all?

Times have changed so I know they can use different materials.

 

Short fivers from any manufacturer are not I would call "good quality" in terms of construction including my own. By way of clarity, I do not mean they can not be enjoyed. What I mean is the basic box is no more than average and may be subject to more problems than higher end fivers. For example, water damage and delamination are more probable, in my experience. You will also find basic box construction may be less impressive, etc. I wanted to clarify my comment as I do not want to sound insulting. It is simply the case there are real differences.

The demand of short fivers of any brand is really impressive. We just sold the shorter of our two fifth wheels yesterday. After putting it on Craigslist for one day, the first folks who came to see it paid cash for it after I asked them to sleep on it overnight. In the mean time, we have four folks offering us more than we were asking if we would sell it to them instead and we sold it for $500 over book retail. Crazy world.

Steve

 

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

If the surprise to make your day includes roofs that can no longer be walked on, wall joist 24"-30" apart, and press board floors, along with more plastic and vinyl wraps, you will be impressed.

Sight down the side of some of the ultra lites and see how flat the wall is on the exterior. Just lots of corner cutting everywhere.

Just my two cents,

Steve

 

My 2011 has been flawless.

 

Being flawless and build quality are not always correlated. In my experience, build quality is based on materials and manufacturing. You have to get lucky at any level, but there are some flaws that, when they occur, you see them far more often in less expensive models.

For example, slide seal installation and type vary greatly based on cost, single wiper versus double, etc. and leakers are more common in less expensive models, although they can occur across models. Wall construction that is not entirely straight is more common in less expensive models. There simply is no upside to having a roof you can't walk on or a floor that is press board rather than 5/8" OSB when it comes to longevity.

As you know, I am consistently negative about construction quality in the RV industry and even more so on my blog. I simply see too many things that should never be and I see them more in ultra-lite models. In that regards I admit to a clear bias against the new light weight models.

Steve

 

I haven't installed the Correct Track yet, but ordered it and should have it in a couple of days. I read over the installation instructions and watched the video. Did you do anything that was not in the instructions you found to be helpful?

Thanks,

Steve

 

Just followed directions. Make sure you sort the bolts. Check my picture and how the bolt length should look. I had to swap a couple of bolts to get things right. You will like the kit and the two inch lift.

 

Well I didn't mean to turn this into a debate, value your experience and expertise Steve. It does appear that your knowledgeable about RVs and been around them for quite sometime.

It's a shame companies are still cutting corners but it comes down to costs for them to make them what we feel is affordable but really we are you putting the money back into there grimy hands.

Most people will have the RV serviced at a shop and pay out the *** to do so and might only keep the unit four to five years then sell it. Perhaps buy another one and so forth. People like us who buy one use it for much longer than above years and end up finding all the cut corners on them and fixing them right.

 

I know mines not 30' or less but even for a 16 year old unit I was pleasantly surprised Nada guides values mine at $10,500 and I got it for $6500. Sure I had some issues might still have more but I believe itd a quality rig.

 

I didn't mean to debate either. This whole quality thing is a real hot button issue for me because I feel like so many people just get trashed and it pees me off majorly. I really like RVing, but some of the stuff I see is simply inexcusable. If folks are told and still want to buy something, it is on them, but when they get blind sided, it just really frosts me.

Steve

 

Agreed 100% with above....it makes me mad watching folks get screwed on vehicles and maintenance of them as well. Since I do all my own mechanical work I save so much and well I enjoy doing it so I learn a lot.

I hate it when my friends or family come to me and say yes I got this done over the weekend it was $250 when the parts maybe cost $50. Sure it's labor etc but it drives me insane. Wishing more and more people would do research and attempt to not be scared to work on their cars. They will find out how much money they can save.

Then you just have those who have money and no time so they say so they don't care about pissing away their money.