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Old 12-14-2013, 08:51 PM   #1
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Why a Wildcat when there are so many to choose from?

No reason behind the question other than a little curious as to your thoughts. But, with so many 5th wheels and travel trailers out there, what sold you on your choosing a Wildcat over the others out there.

What did you have before owning your Wildcat choice. What floor plan did you go with in the line up.


Our previous RV was a National RV Pacifica TC40B or some group of initials close to that. We chose the Wildcat due to the bath and a half floor plan. We looked at a bunch of other manufactures but this forum helped quite a bit in our decision. Bang for the Buck it was a good investment.

Now what's your story?
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Old 12-14-2013, 09:36 PM   #2
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Ours is a 2005 Wildcat 29 RLBS before that one we had a 2004 Wildcat 27 RL. I towed the 27 RL with a 1999 Ford F150 which was ok for the flat lands of the east coast. We then up grade to a 2004 Ford F350 the we purchased the 29 RLBS
Wildcat I think is More Bang For the Buck
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Old 12-15-2013, 11:19 AM   #3
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we bought our 2012 wildcat because the wife wanted a bunkhouse that would sleep 6 in their own room and more room in the master for us. I wanted a toyhauler but she did not...I got to pick out the 2011 TT for the large living room she hated making beds so it had to go. we looked at lots of bunkhouses but most had a OK and she did not want that
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Old 12-15-2013, 12:42 PM   #4
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It would be interesting to know the percentages of RVs sold as to the number of Bunk houses, Toy Haulers, and Standard Floor plan.

I know that when we were looking it seemed like the largest number out there were the Bunk House floor plan. And for what ever reason it also seemed that the Bunk house design always offered the deepest discount prices. Now I don't know if there is a larger profit margin on Bunk houses or if there were simply more carry over non current model year trailers being offered.

I know we really liked the bath and a half floor plans and even gave thought to going with a bunk house for that option and then redesign the bunk area for another living space or use. But, with the 353LS we got our 1 1/2 baths in a rear living triple slide floor plan and at almost $30,000 less than the competitions price.
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Old 12-15-2013, 02:40 PM   #5
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We bought our 27bhwb in 2006. It was perfect for our needs and at a price point we could afford. It is interesting how your perspective as well as purchasing power change over time. The Wildcat was an upgrade from our Bantam hybred which suited our needs and price point back 2000. The Wildcat was a great reliable rig and I wouldn't have change that purchase for anything.

However, things changed and today we find our needs and purchase power has changed once again and we just upgraded to a 36ft Columbus.

My philosophy when it comes to RV's is evaluate your needs, do your research, buy and don't look back. You will spend time fixing things and upgrading things regardless of what you buy. So...... Do that and enjoy. If or when your needs or means change..... Well then start again.
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Old 12-15-2013, 04:13 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tofun4me View Post
We bought our 27bhwb in 2006. It was perfect for our needs and at a price point we could afford. It is interesting how your perspective as well as purchasing power change over time. The Wildcat was an upgrade from our Bantam hybred which suited our needs and price point back 2000. The Wildcat was a great reliable rig and I wouldn't have change that purchase for anything.

However, things changed and today we find our needs and purchase power has changed once again and we just upgraded to a 36ft Columbus.

My philosophy when it comes to RV's is evaluate your needs, do your research, buy and don't look back. You will spend time fixing things and upgrading things regardless of what you buy. So...... Do that and enjoy. If or when your needs or means change..... Well then start again.
I agree with you. We got plenty of use out of our past RVs up until the National Pacifica pusher. We had family commitments that prohibited us from using it as much as we would have liked to. So when we sold it with the plans of going back to a 5th wheel I wanted to go more "Bang for Buck" rather than over needed glitz and glamor. We just didn't get enough use out of our investment to justify owning it so I was gun shy to spend a lot of cash.

The Wildcat looks like it will be a great fit for what we need to get back on the RV road to recovery.
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Old 12-15-2013, 04:24 PM   #7
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I agree with you. We got plenty of use out of our past RVs up until the National Pacifica pusher. We had family commitments that prohibited us from using it as much as we would have liked to. So when we sold it with the plans of going back to a 5th wheel I wanted to go more "Bang for Buck" rather than over needed glitz and glamor. We just didn't get enough use out of our investment to justify owning it so I was gun shy to spend a lot of cash. The Wildcat looks like it will be a great fit for what we need to get back on the RV road to recovery.
Yep, evaluating your needs is the key but sometimes outside forces alter plans. I almost pulled the trigger on a 06 Monaco Knight pusher. At the last minute we changed course, decided to stay with a 5th wheel and put the pusher decision off for another 6 or 7 years until we are closer to retirement. Oh how I did enjoy the test drives in that pusher though :-).

We loved our Wildcat. I am sure it would serve you well.
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Old 01-30-2014, 07:45 PM   #8
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I love hearing what made our customers first look at Wildcat... or what brought them back to us.
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Old 01-30-2014, 07:54 PM   #9
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For us it was the 312 floorplan which made good use of space in a 34' trailer. Weight-wise I could have gone a bit heavier. The only other real contender we looked at in this size/weight range had 1.5 baths but the kitchen arrangement wasn't idea (no drawers within reach of the main counter, you had to walk around by the exit door, all electrical plugs were in the bottoms of the upper cabinets which meant dangling cords), and the bunkhouse had no windows at all. It was claustrophobic.
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Old 01-30-2014, 07:57 PM   #10
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For us it was the 312 floorplan which made good use of space in a 34' trailer. Weight-wise I could have gone a bit heavier. The only other real contender we looked at in this size/weight range had 1.5 baths but the kitchen arrangement wasn't idea (no drawers within reach of the main counter, you had to walk around by the exit door, all electrical plugs were in the bottoms of the upper cabinets which meant dangling cords), and the bunkhouse had no windows at all. It was claustrophobic.
We hear this discussion a lot on this floor plan. It's a good "balance" of features, price, allocation of space, and size/weight. Bunk house floor plans can cause a lot of compromises in your camping style (no countertops, cramped sleeping areas/kitchen/bathroom, too long, etc.) -- this one does a bit less than most!
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Old 01-30-2014, 08:08 PM   #11
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We are on our second Wildcat. Loved our first 28RKBS. Had a great floorplan for us, never had any issues with it. We now own a 327CK. Only used it one season so far, and like the first one, no big problems. Kind of strange though, the older we get, and the fewer kids travel with us, the bigger the RV gets. Want to publicly thank Chris for his help getting some extras installed on an existing rig in a timely manner.

John
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Old 01-30-2014, 08:12 PM   #12
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We are on our second Wildcat. Loved our first 28RKBS. Had a great floorplan for us, never had any issues with it. We now own a 327CK. Only used it one season so far, and like the first one, no big problems. Kind of strange though, the older we get, and the fewer kids travel with us, the bigger the RV gets. Want to publicly thank Chris for his help getting some extras installed on an existing rig in a timely manner.

John
We're always very proud to have customers choose our product twice (or more). It's been one of the keys to Wildcat's success over time -- we have a much higher frequency of 2nd and 3rd time owners than the industry average!
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Old 01-30-2014, 08:51 PM   #13
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Our first 5th wheel was a 2006 Wildcat 24RL. purchased 2005-04-13
My wife and I look fr about 6 months, at the time the 2750 Jazz was our pick.
We had looked at the Cougars, these were almost identical to the wildcats back then.
Anyway we were about a day away from purchasing the Jazz, one thing bothered me. What kind of wood did they use in the basement?
OSB! see ya!
I looked all over the Wildcat and I did not see any OSB anywhere, unless it was in-between the walls somewhere but I didn't see any, that was the major selling feature.
The quality in our trailer was remarkable, very happy with it.
We traded the Wildcat last year. We had been looking during the previous 2 years. For some reason or other all we could stomach, LOL to look at was Wildcats.
Well as I mentioned we traded the Wildcat, the Wildcat Sterling 32RL (I think it was the 32RL) Well...................that didn't happen.
We bought the next best thing, 2013 Crusader 32RTL, by Prime Time, same thing.

Now if only the Sun would come back to this side of the equator all would be good again.

Oh ya, did I mention quality.

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Old 04-03-2014, 07:18 AM   #14
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337FB

The 337FB layout seems to work well for our needs. A bunk house model with longer bunks. we're a tall family and every other bunk we've seen is just around 6'. my daughter is already 6'1" so those won't cut it. we're eyeing up a 2013 337FB with 84" bunks; just need to get those pesky taxes worked out.

Oh, I would like to see longer bunks as an option/standard feature for more models. It seems to me that people are getting taller not shorter over time!
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Old 04-03-2014, 04:52 PM   #15
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The 337FB layout seems to work well for our needs. A bunk house model with longer bunks. we're a tall family and every other bunk we've seen is just around 6'. my daughter is already 6'1" so those won't cut it. we're eyeing up a 2013 337FB with 84" bunks; just need to get those pesky taxes worked out.

Oh, I would like to see longer bunks as an option/standard feature for more models. It seems to me that people are getting taller not shorter over time!
We frequently hear that our larger bunks are the reason many families choose this model. Frankly, that's the reason we built it this way (we called it FB for front bedroom instead of BH for bunk house), since many customers told us that most bunk houses didn't "fit" their family's size.
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Old 04-03-2014, 04:55 PM   #16
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My wife and I looked for 2 years and the 2011 Wildcat Sterling had great features and the best bang for the buck. We get lots of people wanting to have a look and we are happy to accommodate them. Our 32RL is bright inside and easy to live in when it is raining outside.

I have a F550 for a TV so pulling something bigger is not an issue. This may change as we are pre-grand kids. I will look at Wildcats or Primetimes for a next buy.
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Old 04-05-2014, 09:58 AM   #17
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We were looking for a very nice bunkhouse with an outside kitchen at an affordable price. The 312 BXH OK fit the bill!! Another item that was very important to me, which I could not find in any others was the double nightstands in the master bedroom. Very happy with what we have at this point. Finally the quality of the unit is on the upper end, corian counter tops recessed hinges on the cabinets, and the slam latch storage doors are one thing that I really like after having it. We previously owned a gulfstream brand fifth wheel and Forest River is far much better than it.
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Old 04-06-2014, 03:15 PM   #18
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As to the Rv's we've owned? Well, let's see. We started RV'ing (camping) in 1970 in a Jayco pop-up. Four kids and a dog and our kids still talk above those trips. Since that time we've owned 3 diesel pushers-a(1) Gulfstream, (1) Monaco Dynasty, and finally, an Allegro Bus. Mixed in with those MH's, we had a teardrop trailer we pulled behind our street rod, a motorcycle pop-up and currently, a Sprinter based ERA, a Class B MH made by Winnebago and our 13' Scamp fully self contained "egg"travel trailer.
We just bought a Wildcat T24RG (28') travel trailer that we'll be picking up soon. Why did we buy a Wildcat? It really isn't just one thing, it's all about Forest River reputation as well as my son's trouble free experience with his Rockwood 21' trailer over the past 3 years. This coupled with the general quality of construction and interior finish, high R value of the walls, floor, and ceiling. We also wanted the enclosed underbelly with heated tanks, the 1 piece floor, the amenities and extra's included at the price point we wanted. The cargo carrying capacity is much higher than any of the competing brands and the dealer we purchased from (Canopy Country RV) in Ellensburg, Wa is topnotch. Other units had the same floor plan, however, they fell short in either amities, quality, construction, or much higher price for their comparable travel trailer.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!!
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Old 05-10-2014, 03:50 PM   #19
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I chose my Wildcat because

1. It was the only one at the dealer that was not freezing cold both times i went to look at campers, given that it was march/april and both cold and chucking down rain. I felt it said something about the way it was made
2. She has 2 slides on opposite sides and when the salesman opened them out I fell in loce with the space and clever use of room vs
storage
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Old 05-10-2014, 04:57 PM   #20
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1. It was the only one at the dealer that was not freezing cold both times i went to look at campers, given that it was march/april and both cold and chucking down rain. I felt it said something about the way it was made
2. She has 2 slides on opposite sides and when the salesman opened them out I fell in loce with the space and clever use of room vs
storage
I understand, this Texas went to MI to look at ours, and it turned out to be well worth the trip.

Congratulations on your choice, care to share any photos?
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