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Old 01-17-2017, 07:23 AM   #1
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Differences in Blue Ridge and Cardinal

Looking at these two FR brands in the Front Living room layout the look nearly identical. Are they the same models just different brand like Sandpiper and Sierra. Only difference I can visually see is the Cardinal has a rear cap and the Blue Ridge does not. Does anyone know of any major differences?
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Old 01-18-2017, 09:42 PM   #2
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this is not a complete answer but here's my thoughts. I really do not know the blue ridge. but we have a front living room cardinal (3825fl) and love it. look at the specs for carrying capacity and gvwr. we're tight in the cardinal. also look at all the extras. ours came prewired for satellite tv and preplumbed for washer and dryer. which leads to an interesting issue. the specs for ours say 80 gallons grey water capacity. it's marginally true. there are actually two 40 gallon grey water tanks. one if for the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower. the other one is for the washer output only. (we don't have a washer). thus we have the big trailer with only a 40 gallon grey water tank. don't know what the blue ridge has but take a look.
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Old 01-19-2017, 05:55 AM   #3
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this is not a complete answer but here's my thoughts. I really do not know the blue ridge. but we have a front living room cardinal (3825fl) and love it. look at the specs for carrying capacity and gvwr. we're tight in the cardinal. also look at all the extras. ours came prewired for satellite tv and preplumbed for washer and dryer. which leads to an interesting issue. the specs for ours say 80 gallons grey water capacity. it's marginally true. there are actually two 40 gallon grey water tanks. one if for the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower. the other one is for the washer output only. (we don't have a washer). thus we have the big trailer with only a 40 gallon grey water tank. don't know what the blue ridge has but take a look.
Thanks for the reply, the 3825 is on my wife's short list, she would have purchased it at the Bamaganza but thankfully there was no sales persons around.

I'll check the grey tanks to see what's going on. On my Sierra the washer shares the main grey and the kitchen has its own tank both are 40 gallons also. Hasn't really been an issue, yet, as we mostly camp in full hook ups.

Overall, do you like your 3825 and any big issues yet?
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Old 01-19-2017, 11:31 AM   #4
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there is a reason we bought the front living room cardinal that most people will not relate to. I am 6'7" tall. we went to a rv show and I spent days crawling into all the 5th wheels on display. the cardinal has a tall ceiling that allows me to stand up erect everywhere from front to back (only exception is the two doors where I have to duck). the front living room allows me to climb the steps with no door at the top like there would be if the bedroom were up front. also, the shower has a tall ceiling with a skylight in it. it was fun talking to the salesman. I told him I would buy the unit if he could guess why I like it. he couldn't! it was funny.


we love the cardinal.


now a few issues:
1. it is long
2. it has limited carrying capacity. we travel pretty light but it is close to the weight limits.
3. we have a king size mattress. there is no room between the side of the mattress and the rear closet. the corner between the mattress and the washer / dryer cabinet in next to nonexistent. you will have to squeeze your leg through it.
4. the king size mattress is only supported by a very thin sheet of plywood that is only supported on the edges. there is no support down the center of the plywood sheet. we were afraid that we would put enough weight on this plywood sheet so that it would break. I build a support out of 2 x 4's and installed it under the center of the plywood sheet. much, much better. take a look into the storage compartment under the bed.
5. I hate the medicine cabinet mirrored door. it is full length across the medicine cabinet. if you want something out of the medicine cabinet you almost have to back up and straddle the toilet to open the medicine cabinet.
6. check this one out for yourself. when you have the slides in you cannot move from the bedroom to the front of the trailer. the slides come in a block any access. also the slides in prohibit you from opening any drawer or cabinet in the kitchen, including the refrigerator doors. this means if you are traveling and want to get something out of the kitchen or refrigerator you must open the slides! this was not obvious when we saw the unit on display with the slides out. thankfully it has two doors so you can get into the rear bedroom and the front via the two doors.
7. the spare tire is mounted on the drivers side in the basement. only problem is you cannot get it out the drivers side access door. to get it out you have unload the pass through basement and move the tire over to the passenger side to get it out. amazing!
8, big issue with the tires. the yellow placard on the trailer is for different tires than the ones actually installed in the trailer. apparently the placard is for the standard tires and out trailer came with upgraded goodyear G614 tires. there were many posts about this. i'm glad I have the upgraded tires. but it caused misinformation when we took delivery as the tech showed me the placard and said to inflate the tire to 80 psi when in fact the G614's really want 105-110 psi for the weight of the trailer.


we've had the normal amount of things coming loose and failing (cabinet pulls, molding pieces, a/c freeze sensor, lp gas regulator) but these are generic components that could or could not fail on any coach. but over all we really like it and we spent 8 months in it while taking a trip throughout the west coast. we've got it in storage right now but as soon as the weather warms up and I can de-winterize it we be using it again.
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Old 01-19-2017, 02:54 PM   #5
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Blue Ridge/Cardinal

We toured the factory Elkhart IN, which is very nice to do before purchasing, and they told us the major differences were floor thickness, energy management system, and fixtures & décor and options. We had already bought the Blue Ridge and after the tour we were happy we did. The extra thickness of the floor adds to the weight which concerned me and the energy management system seemed like extra bells and whistles that were unnecessary. The difference in fixtures and décor did not matter to us. I was concerned about the GWR. Buying the Blue Ridge meant we were able to pull a larger fifth wheel than if we bought the Cardinal. Our floor feels fine and our trailer had the automatic hydraulic jack system option we were looking for. They're made in the same plant on the same assembly line. The factory tour reassured us that we made the right choice.
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Old 01-19-2017, 03:40 PM   #6
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Blue Ridge

We have a 2014 3125RL and enjoy it. Have had a few problems and hope we have fixed all and not worry. The 6 point hydraulic level up had to have all the hoses replaces because they started to separate. The outer slide seals leaked during a rain storm and caused water damage on the inside. Blue Ridge rep repaired the six seals but could not do anything for the water damage (out of warranty). One slide has marked the floor, we have to use rubber bands on all the doors because they open when travelling and you will tear them off if you don't check before opening slide. This is not my first 5er but the one with the most problems. I am already looking at getting another and it will be Blue Ridge.
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Old 01-19-2017, 04:05 PM   #7
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We have a 2014 3125RL and enjoy it. Have had a few problems and hope we have fixed all and not worry. The 6 point hydraulic level up had to have all the hoses replaces because they started to separate. The outer slide seals leaked during a rain storm and caused water damage on the inside. Blue Ridge rep repaired the six seals but could not do anything for the water damage (out of warranty). One slide has marked the floor, we have to use rubber bands on all the doors because they open when travelling and you will tear them off if you don't check before opening slide. This is not my first 5er but the one with the most problems. I am already looking at getting another and it will be Blue Ridge.
Thinking if I was living with those problems I'd be willing to chance another model.
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Old 01-19-2017, 04:30 PM   #8
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Blue Ridge

I hear ya. But what sold me was the service support that I received from Blue Ridge. I have been looking at a lot of RV forums and I have yet to find an RV without problems now look at customer service, not many say they received excellent customer service from the mfg. We all have problems but it is how the mfg. responds.
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Old 01-19-2017, 04:42 PM   #9
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I hear ya. But what sold me was the service support that I received from Blue Ridge. I have been looking at a lot of RV forums and I have yet to find an RV without problems now look at customer service, not many say they received excellent customer service from the mfg. We all have problems but it is how the mfg. responds.
I generally upgrade every couple years. My current 5er had only 2 minor problems. Atwood sent a mobile tech for the furnace and 1 minor part required replaced by the builder. Sadly, there is not a floor plan for 2017 in that model. So now I'm not certain what we will do: another model, another builder, wait for 2018 units, or just keep what we have as we are happy with it.
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Old 01-19-2017, 06:24 PM   #10
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Awesome information thanks everyone. Wife wants to look at Grand Design Solitude when head to Birmingham in a couple of weeks.
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Old 01-20-2017, 02:43 AM   #11
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3030rs.2015...Rear Living...excellent

Wow, that was quite a list of negative statements on the one above. I have to say, we do not have cramped quarters while the 3 slides are closed at all. We're 37 ft aaprox., can totally use the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, theater recliners, tv etc while closed. So we can stop, have lunch, shower, whatever if need be. Refrig opens, stove and sinks accessible. Layed out real nice. Huge shower with domed skylight. Huge closet, dresser, shelves. Prepped for generator, solar, and washer/dryer. Two A/C, massive LED lights, dining, lights all over...even ambiance lights. We love the angled 40"tv in living and of course the 32 in bedroom.
Funny, saw at show and so many people in it, I didn't think we liked, but at dealer...it is wonderfully layed out. Yes, king bed was a must...and the dog made us by our sweet Cardinal.
We all choose for ourselves of course. I would have a class A to pull the boat, too 😊
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