1st Trip in Crusader results

[Houstonkid]

Some of you may remember my story I posted a few weeks ago (we upgraded from Lacrosse to Crusader 315 RST) http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...der-64364.html

We took a shakedown trip a couple of weeks ago to a CG near our house. While I understand I am running a huge risk of jinxing myself I must proclaim we had zero issues, ZERO. Our Lacrosse had 1 minor issue after delivery that was an easy fix. So far I can do nothing but praise Primetime on their craftsmanship.

The desire to upgrade was all mine, my wife was fine with the Lacrosse. After staying a weekend in the Crusader she absolutely loves it. It is a great layout for us (late 30's, no kids)

The only cons I can list about the trailer are the lack of nightstands next to the bed and the Norcold fridge.

The fridge seems to be a downgrade from most of the other trailers. Our Lacrosse had the large double door Dometic that had the multiple control options and thermometer. The downgrade in size is not a problem. We never used up all of the space in the large fridge, it was huge. But the Norcold has 1 button, on or off and that is it as far as I can tell. We boondock 5-6 weekends in a row during deer season and I prefer to run the fridge on gas all weekend when the AC is needed (October/Early November) The only way to force the fridge to gas is to unplug it in the outside panel. I was surprised that Primetime went that route when everything else in the RV is of decent quality. Oh well, definitely not a deal breaker.

We are anxiously awaiting our next trip on Memorial day weekend. We are headed about 4 hours west to the Texas Hill Country for a getaway. Hopefully our great luck continues!

[Planostu]

Houston, nice to hear your shakedown netted such a success. Mine ended up with a laundry list! I thought the fridge issue was just me. We had a Dometic in our Sydney that worked much better. Got back yesterday from two weeks in Destin. That dang fridge could not handle it like our Dometic could. During our shakedown trip to the hill country a few months ago, I quickly learned I would need the interior fridge fan upgrade. Glad I did this or you cannot keep anything that needs to stay below 50 degrees in the bottom part of fridge in summer temps. This was quick to install. You will have to run a wire down the drain tube to connect to 12v power at base of fridge as our fridge power at the light shuts off when door is closed. http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOMETIC-NORC...item3ce58e3ed8

Also, if you have not stayed there, we enjoyed High Point resort in Medina (spotless park) Good live music nearby in Bandera.


2015 Crusader 294RLT, 2014 2500 Ram

[kohai]

Originally Posted by Houstonkid

Some of you may remember my story I posted a few weeks ago (we upgraded from Lacrosse to Crusader 315 RST) http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...der-64364.html

We took a shakedown trip a couple of weeks ago to a CG near our house. While I understand I am running a huge risk of jinxing myself I must proclaim we had zero issues, ZERO. Our Lacrosse had 1 minor issue after delivery that was an easy fix. So far I can do nothing but praise Primetime on their craftsmanship.

The desire to upgrade was all mine, my wife was fine with the Lacrosse. After staying a weekend in the Crusader she absolutely loves it. It is a great layout for us (late 30's, no kids)

The only cons I can list about the trailer are the lack of nightstands next to the bed and the Norcold fridge.

The fridge seems to be a downgrade from most of the other trailers. Our Lacrosse had the large double door Dometic that had the multiple control options and thermometer. The downgrade in size is not a problem. We never used up all of the space in the large fridge, it was huge. But the Norcold has 1 button, on or off and that is it as far as I can tell. We boondock 5-6 weekends in a row during deer season and I prefer to run the fridge on gas all weekend when the AC is needed (October/Early November) The only way to force the fridge to gas is to unplug it in the outside panel. I was surprised that Primetime went that route when everything else in the RV is of decent quality. Oh well, definitely not a deal breaker.

We are anxiously awaiting our next trip on Memorial day weekend. We are headed about 4 hours west to the Texas Hill Country for a getaway. Hopefully our great luck continues!

When I did my walk through with my crusader, the RV tech doing the walk through grumbled about the inability to control the power source for the fridge -- you can't select gas or power yourself without manually overriding it from outside the trailer. For an industry that has been around this long with manufacturers that have been around this long, I'm surprised by the weird decisions they make sometimes.

[Planostu]

I will say that last week when my inverter died, the little light on the front started blinking in intervals of 4 every few seconds. That was my clue that morning that something was wrong. It means insufficient 12volt power... That was the first indication I had an inverter failure.


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[Houstonkid]

Originally Posted by Planostu

Houston, nice to hear your shakedown netted such a success. Mine ended up with a laundry list! I thought the fridge issue was just me. We had a Dometic in our Sydney that worked much better. Got back yesterday from two weeks in Destin. That dang fridge could not handle it like our Dometic could. During our shakedown trip to the hill country a few months ago, I quickly learned I would need the interior fridge fan upgrade. Glad I did this or you cannot keep anything that needs to stay below 50 degrees in the bottom part of fridge in summer temps. This was quick to install. You will have to run a wire down the drain tube to connect to 12v power at base of fridge as our fridge power at the light shuts off when door is closed. Dometic Norcold Refrigerator Fan for RV 12 Volt | eBay

Also, if you have not stayed there, we enjoyed High Point resort in Medina (spotless park) Good live music nearby in Bandera.


2015 Crusader 294RLT, 2014 2500 Ram

I will keep an eye on fridge temps, it seemed to function fine on our trip. Nobody got sick!

Funny, that is where we are staying. We had reservations last year but had to cancel so this will be our first time. We plan to make a quick trip to Fredericksburg, my wife needs to stock up on her Grape Creek wine. And then lunch at Alamo Springs Cafe, one of the best burgers in Texas. Not sure if we will make Bandera this time around.

Originally Posted by kohai

When I did my walk through with my crusader, the RV tech doing the walk through grumbled about the inability to control the power source for the fridge -- you can't select gas or power yourself without manually overriding it from outside the trailer. For an industry that has been around this long with manufacturers that have been around this long, I'm surprised by the weird decisions they make sometimes.

I would have easily paid for an upgrade had it been an option! Oh well, we will make due.