Loving my 25pack12

[polishdon]

When I was looking for info on this unit I couldn't find much. Figured I'd toss a thread up with some of my adventures and experience with my Cherokee Wolf Pack 25pack12 toy hauler in case anyone else is considering one.

So far I have not had any issues with the trailer, knock on wood. Everything has worked as it should. Only defect I have found is the trim on the slide out is coming out a little, needs to be stapled in better. And this past weekend I managed to destroy one of the stabilizer jacks due to a huge low spot in the "parking lot" of the ATV park, but that is not a factory issue. Only dumb thing is the couch back rests on the bottom of the happijac system. When you turn the couches into beds, the back rests make a big hump in the middle of the bed. I'm going to try to put foam on the sides to even it, or over the winter remove the back rests and have some of the filling removed and reupholstered.

First day picking it up from the dealer in April.


First time I took it out was for a BBQ competition in Rochester NY over Memorial weekend.


Was great being able to load all of our cookers, tables, chairs and all the other crap we take for a competition, unload and have a prep area and separate bedroom for my BBQ teammates.


Our first official camping trip was to the local Jellystone with my daughter and her friends.


This past weekend we took it to Tall Pines ATV park in Andover NY.
I forgot to take a picture, but we had a 750 Polaris Sportsman pulled right in the garage, and spun a 450 Polaris sideways to fit them in. Took the 2 hour ride to Tall Pines, found a spot in a field and set up camp for the night.

[polishdon]

So after having some more times out with this unit, I figured I'd update this post. Here's a list of the things that it has that I really like, and doesn't seem like they're included with all the Forest River toy hauler models.

1. The bathroom fantastic fan has a switch right next to the light switch. You need to crank the fan cover open, but once it is, you can control the fan by the switch on the wall and the speed by the dial selector on the fan.
2. All of the interior LED lights have push button switches on them. So you can control each light individually. Comes in handy when you want to turn off only the light above the TV, or leave only the light over the shower on in the bathroom as a night light.
3. In the garage there are the ceiling lights, but also lights on each side about half way up the wall. So even when the beds are up, you still have good lighting. And when the beds are downed they act as reading lights for the bottom bunk, or I turn one on as a night light when my daughter sleeps in the top bunk.
4. The black\grey tank clean out connection is NOT under the slide, you have full access whether the slide is open or closed

The only issues I've had so far is the trim on the interior sides of the slide out are coming loose at the top. Nothing you notice right away, but I will have it fixed over the winter.

And I sure wish they had included a bunk ladder. Apparently it needed to be ordered, but the dealer never offered it to me as an option. So I'll pick one up online.

[bluewoo]

Thanks for sharing and enjoy!

[polishdon]

This weekends adventure led me to the Seneca Allegany Casino for a KCBS BBQ competition. Besides the hit and miss torrential rains we had a fun weekend, cooking, drinking and of course gambling. Finished 8th overall out of 28 teams in the contest, taking home 2nd place in chicken!!! Only problem with having this camper is we are too comfortable now. While we were laid back on the couch in the AC, we missed the memo that the time for the awards ceremony had been moved up. So when we got there, they were on the last couple calls of the contest. lol Oh well, we still got our prize.

Garage all packed up for the contest


Casino!

[EricknBrittany]

Thanks for sharing your photos/experiences! Our Pack12 is being built now. We purchased this 'camper unseen'. Ha! Nobody in the NE had one on the lot. Good to know that we made the right choice! Going to see it at the dealer this December and picking it up in the spring.

So you couldn't quite fit two quads in without turning one sideways?

Thanks!

Erick
Cazenovia, NY

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by EricknBrittany

Thanks for sharing your photos/experiences! Our Pack12 is being built now. We purchased this 'camper unseen'. Ha! Nobody in the NE had one on the lot. Good to know that we made the right choice! Going to see it at the dealer this December and picking it up in the spring.

So you couldn't quite fit two quads in without turning one sideways?

Thanks!

Erick
Cazenovia, NY

I also bought mine without ever seeing it in person. Not sure where you got yours from, but LakeShore RV in Muskegon Michigan made it worth my 8 hour ride from Buffalo each way to buy from them. Yes, the garage is 12 feet long, not quite long enough to fit 2 quads end to end.

Cazenovia NY?? I went to school in Morrisville!!

[EricknBrittany]

Originally Posted by polishdon

I also bought mine without ever seeing it in person. Not sure where you got yours from, but LakeShore RV in Muskegon Michigan made it worth my 8 hour ride from Buffalo each way to buy from them. Yes, the garage is 12 feet long, not quite long enough to fit 2 quads end to end.

Cazenovia NY?? I went to school in Morrisville!!

HA! I went to college there! '02-'06 Small world! We got ours from FlaggRV in MA through a friend who works there. 4 hour drive out there, so it wasn't too bad. Would the quads fit side by side? I've got a CanAm which is about 42" wide, and the wife has a sport quad, no wider than mine.

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by EricknBrittany

HA! I went to college there! '02-'06 Small world! We got ours from FlaggRV in MA through a friend who works there. 4 hour drive out there, so it wasn't too bad. Would the quads fit side by side? I've got a CanAm which is about 42" wide, and the wife has a sport quad, no wider than mine.

Small world is right! I'll get you a measurement of the interior width of the garage when I get home.

[EricknBrittany]

Originally Posted by polishdon

Small world is right! I'll get you a measurement of the interior width of the garage when I get home.

Thanks! How was Tall Pines? Found out about that place this past season but didnt get a chance to get out there. We did go to the Knapp Creep Dice run back in September, THAT was a blast!

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by EricknBrittany

Thanks! How was Tall Pines? Found out about that place this past season but didnt get a chance to get out there. We did go to the Knapp Creep Dice run back in September, THAT was a blast!

Tall Pines was very cool. A lot of trails of all various difficulty levels. They even have a moto cross track you can ride the quads on. Tons of places to camp, no hook ups, just find a spot with a fire ring and set up.

[polishdon]

ErickNBrittany, the interior width from wall to wall is 97 5/8 inches. You lose about 3 inches of that where the happic jac bed frames are.

[EricknBrittany]

Thanks!

[eggs1959]

Hi
I am currently looking at a 2017 25/12 from same dealer. What was your experience overall. They definitely have the best pricing of any other dealer for a loaded unit.
Are you happy with way it trailers on road. I will be hauling a full dresser Harley pulling with a Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi. Going to install anti/sway hitch. I am just looking for feedback good or bad on unit.
Not much out there for reviews of this unit.

Thanks

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by eggs1959

Hi
I am currently looking at a 2017 25/12 from same dealer. What was your experience overall. They definitely have the best pricing of any other dealer for a loaded unit.
Are you happy with way it trailers on road. I will be hauling a full dresser Harley pulling with a Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi. Going to install anti/sway hitch. I am just looking for feedback good or bad on unit.
Not much out there for reviews of this unit.

Thanks

Well, my initial experience with the dealer was great. Hands down the best pricing, very nice when I went to pick up the unit, good PDI, even let us stay on their lot for a night to test it out before we brought it all the way home. After that I had a couple minor things that I had sent back to the sales rep, I didn't receive a bunk ladder, emailed her in June and never received a response. Then at the end of the year I found I have a heated couch, but never received the controls. Again I reached out to her, no response. So, I took it to Facebook and posted a negative review on their site, shortly after I received an email from their customer service. I got home yesterday and the bunk ladder had been delivered. I'm still waiting on them to tell me what they're going to do about the couch controls, but this customer service person is a lot more helpful than the sales rep.

It pulls great, it's the first time I've ever pulled anything this long, and I've had no issues so far. I've had it loaded down with all my BBQ and camping gear for a week and also with 2 quads in the back and now it's sitting stored with my jet ski in it. I have the Equal-i-zer hitch, love the set up.

Lack of info was why I started this thread, I couldn't find anything when I bought it either. So ask away!! All in all I love the trailer, it's my first RV so I don't have much to compare it to, but considering I bought it without ever seeing one in person, we've been very happy with it.

[eggs1959]

Originally Posted by polishdon

Well, my initial experience with the dealer was great. Hands down the best pricing, very nice when I went to pick up the unit, good PDI, even let us stay on their lot for a night to test it out before we brought it all the way home. After that I had a couple minor things that I had sent back to the sales rep, I didn't receive a bunk ladder, emailed her in June and never received a response. Then at the end of the year I found I have a heated couch, but never received the controls. Again I reached out to her, no response. So, I took it to Facebook and posted a negative review on their site, shortly after I received an email from their customer service. I got home yesterday and the bunk ladder had been delivered. I'm still waiting on them to tell me what they're going to do about the couch controls, but this customer service person is a lot more helpful than the sales rep.

It pulls great, it's the first time I've ever pulled anything this long, and I've had no issues so far. I've had it loaded down with all my BBQ and camping gear for a week and also with 2 quads in the back and now it's sitting stored with my jet ski in it. I have the Equal-i-zer hitch, love the set up.

Lack of info was why I started this thread, I couldn't find anything when I bought it either. So ask away!! All in all I love the trailer, it's my first RV so I don't have much to compare it to, but considering I bought it without ever seeing one in person, we've been very happy with it.

polishdon,
Thanks for the feedback. This is our first RV purchase and this seems like a perfect entry level unit to start with. Salesperson I am dealing with is great providing requested information with no pressure to purchase. They are hands down the lowest priced out of any dealers.

How durable do the tie down rings seem under stress when you loaded your quads. I am looking to drive down to pick it up to eliminate the delivery cost. They offered me a pad to set up on to rest before the 12-13 hour ride back to CT. They even said they would re-winterize the unit if needed (if I used water lines toilet etc).

Forest River has some negative reviews regarding some of their units. There is always going to be some unhappy customers when you sell as many units as they do. Looked at this unit at a dealer here in New England and think it is a nice unit.

Going to a big RV show in Boston this weekend. Unless I see anything close to this deal I think I will be purchasing from Lakeshore.

Thanks again for response.
Happy camping.

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by eggs1959

polishdon,
Thanks for the feedback. This is our first RV purchase and this seems like a perfect entry level unit to start with. Salesperson I am dealing with is great providing requested information with no pressure to purchase. They are hands down the lowest priced out of any dealers.

How durable do the tie down rings seem under stress when you loaded your quads. I am looking to drive down to pick it up to eliminate the delivery cost. They offered me a pad to set up on to rest before the 12-13 hour ride back to CT. They even said they would re-winterize the unit if needed (if I used water lines toilet etc).

Forest River has some negative reviews regarding some of their units. There is always going to be some unhappy customers when you sell as many units as they do. Looked at this unit at a dealer here in New England and think it is a nice unit.

Going to a big RV show in Boston this weekend. Unless I see anything close to this deal I think I will be purchasing from Lakeshore.

Thanks again for response.
Happy camping.

It's a beauty for "entry level".

I worked with April at LakeShore, she was great, until I left the lot.

One thing I wish they had told me when I picked up and stayed over there last April, was to open the windows and run the furnace for a while to burn everything off. I wasn't given this helpful piece of info, so when the wife and i got ready to crash and turned on the heat, the smoke alarm kept going off. Being a complete noobie and not knowing if it was smoke or carbon monoxide setting it off, so we slept with no heat. Of course this is after I told my wife to only bring a couple blankets because "we'll have a furnace". Woke up the next morning, could see our breath in the camper, wife was not a happy camper, it gets cold in Muskegon. lol

I didn't even tie the quads down, we had to turn one sideways to get them both in, set the parking brakes and went. I have my jet ski strapped down heavily and the tie downs are solid. If you look at my other thread about adding the winch to my garage, you'll see I found that under the tie downs are floor "joists" and those long screws go into it.

I was skeptical too after reading all the negative reviews, but realized each manufacturer has their issues, unless you're spending huge money, all of these things are slapped together in a day. That being said, I have had very minor issues with mine, so I would gladly recommend one to someone else. Only thing I'm worried about is the cheap tires that come on it, so I will probably replace them in the spring.

[eggs1959]

Originally Posted by polishdon

It's a beauty for "entry level".

I worked with April at LakeShore, she was great, until I left the lot.

One thing I wish they had told me when I picked up and stayed over there last April, was to open the windows and run the furnace for a while to burn everything off. I wasn't given this helpful piece of info, so when the wife and i got ready to crash and turned on the heat, the smoke alarm kept going off. Being a complete noobie and not knowing if it was smoke or carbon monoxide setting it off, so we slept with no heat. Of course this is after I told my wife to only bring a couple blankets because "we'll have a furnace". Woke up the next morning, could see our breath in the camper, wife was not a happy camper, it gets cold in Muskegon. lol

I didn't even tie the quads down, we had to turn one sideways to get them both in, set the parking brakes and went. I have my jet ski strapped down heavily and the tie downs are solid. If you look at my other thread about adding the winch to my garage, you'll see I found that under the tie downs are floor "joists" and those long screws go into it.

I was skeptical too after reading all the negative reviews, but realized each manufacturer has their issues, unless you're spending huge money, all of these things are slapped together in a day. That being said, I have had very minor issues with mine, so I would gladly recommend one to someone else. Only thing I'm worried about is the cheap tires that come on it, so I will probably replace them in the spring.

Thanks for the advice. wife would be pissed if we got there in February and couldn't use the heat.

I am dealing with Tom nice guy but I know his job is to sell RVs.
Found out that they have a sister store All Season RV that sells a completely different line of toy haulers.

Did you happen to know what the over swing on the rear is when turning. I have a tight spot on the side of my garage where I want to store it. Just wondering how much distance I would need to be away from garage so the rear end wouldn't hit when making a hard left to pull out.

I did hear a lot of Toy hauler owners swap out for better ply/weight rated tires, as the factory ones are always on low end of quality.

Have you purchased a RV specific gps unit or a surge protector. If so what brands did you go with.

Again thanks for your input.

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by eggs1959

Thanks for the advice. wife would be pissed if we got there in February and couldn't use the heat.

I am dealing with Tom nice guy but I know his job is to sell RVs.
Found out that they have a sister store All Season RV that sells a completely different line of toy haulers.

Did you happen to know what the over swing on the rear is when turning. I have a tight spot on the side of my garage where I want to store it. Just wondering how much distance I would need to be away from garage so the rear end wouldn't hit when making a hard left to pull out.

I did hear a lot of Toy hauler owners swap out for better ply/weight rated tires, as the factory ones are always on low end of quality.

Have you purchased a RV specific gps unit or a surge protector. If so what brands did you go with.

Again thanks for your input.

I'm not exactly sure what the swing would be, I know it feels like a lot when you make a tight turn. But at one of the BBQ comps I had to make a real hard sharp right turn with a vendors trailer on my left side, thought for sure the swing of the ass end would hit it, but it didn't.

Yeah the Castlerock tires that come on it seem to be good, but I've seen enough examples on this site of them blowing apart that I'm not going to risk it.

I just use my phone for GPS and haven't bought a surge protector. Also, instead of the $4,000+ built in generator option, I bought a nice Champion 3100 watt inverter generator for around $800. With the fridge running on gas, that little generator will power a couple lights, the tv and my 15K A/C unit. And in the off season it's in my garage in case I need it at the house.

[polishdon]

Still loving this trailer. Haven't had any major problems. Had to have the water heater control board replaced, but it was covered under warranty and I only paid $20 for the repair man to come right to my house and fix it. I've Been getting some good use out of it again this year:
BBQ contest in Jamestown NY


Riding quads in Allegheny national forest PA


BBQ comp in Old Forge NY


And yesterday "Big Bertha" got a full cleaning