looking at a new trailer?

skirk55 · 07-22-2012, 07:39 PM

My wife and I are looking at a Forest River 366FL. Can anyone tell us anything about this fifth wheel? We have 2006 Challanger 34' with three slides now. We like the front livingroom. We know nothing about Forest River.

Dave_Monica · 07-22-2012, 07:43 PM

Welcome to the forum!

For clarification, what Forest River brand does the 366FL belong to?

Dave

skirk55 · 07-22-2012, 07:48 PM

Sierra and thank you.

Oakman · 07-22-2012, 07:57 PM

Read the threads in the General Travel Trailer and Fifth Wheel Discussion under the two subforums titled Sierra and Sandpiper, they are one and the same trailer. This will give you an idea of what to look for if you buy one.

Dave_Monica · 07-22-2012, 07:59 PM

Looking at the floorplan on FR's site, the only concern that I see is that it appears to have only one gray tank of 54 gal. Most medium-sized campers on up have 2 gray tanks with total capacity of 70+ gallons. It's not an issue if you always have full hook-ups.

I like the front living room set-up.

Dave

**Terier** · 07-22-2012, 08:01 PM

to the forums! Looks like Oatman gave you a good lead to start with.

Terier

skirk55 · 07-22-2012, 08:45 PM

Thank you everyone for the help.

kirk37r · 07-23-2012, 05:33 PM

While our unit is not the same as the Sierra. I can tell you nothing beats that Front Living Room IMO. We have had our 2013 Cedar Creek 38FL for about 2 monthes now and have spent 18 nights in it. Just love it! The Grandkids have A great place to sleep in the front while we have more room then ever in the bedroom. Just make sure you will be OK with the pin weight, the FL does run heavier.
Now if I could just get my cracked countertop and torn sofa arm replaced, We will be real Happy Campers!!!!

skirk55 · 07-23-2012, 06:55 PM

Our problem is when our kids and the little grand kids are with us. We have always went with a keystone trailer. The forest river livingroom has us looking at them. We know very little about them. I did a search and read bad thongs about forest river! I am not impressed with whatI read. Any information would be a big help.

kirk37r · 07-23-2012, 07:39 PM

You will find problems with all manufacturers. This is our second Cedar Creek 5er. there wer A few things wrong when we did the PDI the naturally we found A couple more the first time out. most have been fixed. the ones that we are waiting on does not stop our using the unit in any way. BUT someone is dragging their feet, The dealer or Cedar Creek. after our next trip if all parts are not ready to be replaced I will be on the phone to the factory. Yes in the case of Cedar Creek if you have to get the factory involved things move quickly.
Again these are not items that stop us from using the fiver.

You just have to do your homework and buy what you want, just dont get caught in the middle of not looking at something because of complaints,
Besides lets face it there are A lot of people that will complain till the end of the earth about the smallest things, They are the ones that set bad raps on manufacturers
Good luck and enjoy whatever you buy

skirk55 · 07-23-2012, 08:18 PM

We purchased a holiday rambler and we has nothing but problems.. we traded it for a low grade keystone. We never had anything go wrong. We traded it for more room. We took our kids camping when they were growing up. They got there houses and had kide and now they still want to go with us camping. How lucky we are.
We looked at Forest River at a local RV show. We are very impressed with the layout.

dustman_stx · 08-30-2012, 11:01 AM

complainers. Just remember, people that have good experiences rarely say anything while those that have problems shout it from the rooftops. Reading about more bad experiences could just mean that a particular brand sells more units. And, as someone having been on the other side of the counter, there will always be those that can find something to complain about no matter what. Keep in mind that pretty much all manufacturers use the same brand appliances- so any problems there will be pretty universal. If you'll use a little common sense and do your own quality control check when getting your camper, you'll likely have few if any issues. The first thing I did when purchasing my camper was to climb up on the roof and reseal any questionable areas- there were a few. Took me 20 minutes and $5 to make sure I didn't have a headache in the future. I have pulled the panels allowing access to the rear of the breaker box, refer, water heater, a/c and heater just to make sure everything appeared in good working order. The case can be made that when spending this much money you shouldn't have to do those things, but the reality is that the workers putting these things together are under pressure to do so quickly to be able to compete. Under those circumstances, I always assume there may be a few things needing attention to meet my standards 100%.

skirk55 · 08-30-2012, 11:54 PM

We are going to the Hershey Rv show to see if we can get a show price.

JayandJill · 08-31-2012, 07:31 AM

We were looking at the FL floorplans before we bought our 5ver. The only problem I saw with them is that they don't have much counter space in the kitchen. If you don't plan to cook, then they're awesome!!

crasher · 08-31-2012, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kirk37r

While our unit is not the same as the Sierra. I can tell you nothing beats that Front Living Room IMO. We have had our 2013 Cedar Creek 38FL for about 2 monthes now and have spent 18 nights in it. Just love it! The Grandkids have A great place to sleep in the front while we have more room then ever in the bedroom. Just make sure you will be OK with the pin weight, the FL does run heavier.
Now if I could just get my cracked countertop and torn sofa arm replaced, We will be real Happy Campers!!!!

That is one thing I found looking into 5vers. I love the front living room layout. Don't understand why it's heavier up front than "regular" layout. Most 5vers have the washer/dryer up over the pin too. With the FL, it's in the back. And all the bathroom hardware and plumbing is pushed to the back too.

skirk55 · 08-31-2012, 08:24 AM

Tuat is something we did not know. We have a 2011 Dodge 2500 that we pull with. I do not want more weight on the pin. Thwnk you.

whj77372 · 08-31-2012, 02:44 PM

While it may seem that show prices would be lower, please be careful. When I went to the Houston RV show last February, there was a dealer that I had been to a number of times during the previous 17 months and had found what I was looking for and their best price was $28,999. I had decided that I would look at the show and if I didn't see anything else, I would pay the price and get it. The dealer had 20 RVs at the show, not the one that I was looking at but other nice ones. I noticed that the prices were $3,000 more then their internet prices had been! I had the paper work for the one that I wanted and told the salesman about the prices being $3,000 more. He took my paperwork and showed it to the Forest River Rep that was there. They came back to me and took $1,000 off the best price that they would give me before the show. I had to give then a deposit right then, which I did and I picked up the RV 5 days after the show.
When I questioned the salesman about the $3,000 increase at the show, he told me that for their space at the show, 4 and 1/2 days, it cost them $20,000 and that was why the price increase!

kirk37r · 08-31-2012, 06:39 PM

We have always found over our years of camping that A RV show is A good place to go kick the tires and have many units to compare in one stop. We have made decisions on purchases at shows but never made A deal at one. YES Someone is going to pay the Dealers floorspace costs. Just not us.

As far as the pin weight goes ours is 2755, But we are 42 ft long and I do believe that at 42 ft A third axle would lower the pinweight, All according to what model you are looking at SKirk55 the pin weights will vary. And yes take into consideration that it will increase with each little thing you add to it. true pin weight will only be known after A trip to the scales.(I hate talking weights) Just stay within safe limits and enjoy what ever you get.

skirk55 · 09-02-2012, 07:54 PM

My wife and I went to a show in Delaware last summer and the rep from Forest River was very good but the salesman was not very good.
We purchased at Hershey before and we were pleased with the trailer and price.
Thank you for the information.
We just got back tonighr from two weeks on the road and 8250 miles. We need more room.

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