Pup delivered in Nov 2014
after 2 shakedown trips in spring 2015:
- Replaced Brake/Turn signals. Found 1 to be out after winter storage. The mounting base was mounted on convex surface leaving gaps between base and lens cover, allowing water and dirt to run through freely. Replaced with waterproof LED set instead of playing with caulk.
- Added Z-bend vinyl strip under the velcro on the slide-out dinette. Torrential rains during second weekend showed water leaking in this area and soaking the dinette sides, running down across floor, etc.
XCountry trip in July 2015: Mid-Atlantic to Waterton, AB to Glacier NP, to Yellowstone NP. 5600 mi +/-. 18 days
(MD-Chicago-Bismark-Great Falls-Waterton(4 nights)-St Mary's MT(4 nights)-Yellowstone(4 nights)-Kennebec SD-Elkhart-MD)
DW and I did this trip last year and liked it enough to re-do with 2 grown kids + 1 Son-in-Law.
Good:
- Almost everything came home with us (except ugly below).
- Running gear performed well, including the much maligned WestLake ST tires (D rated on this trailer). 65psi at mostly 72 mph. (Yes, they ARE rated at 65).
- Reese sc WDH performed well.
- Heated beds are nice!
- Room enough for 5 adults.
Bad:
- The wire used for visual/manual height limit got tangled into canvas and pulled out the bottom screw. REALLY?!
- Condensation on inside Vinyl roof often. Tried a lot of things with ventilation and settled on drying with shammies before closing up for travel when necessary. Not a problem on our previous pup which had fabric lining under vinyl. I've not gotten the PUGs, and of course one should not really have to spend that kind of extra money to make the product (trailer) acceptable. I would re-consider buying again on that basis alone.
- Stove fell out of fold over galley during travel. Very cheap and flimsy clamp system used to hold in place. I will probably fix myself since putting it back to original spec is pointless.
- Sink drain issues when using 3/4 hose. Some relief obtained by re-routing under-sink drain. I will revert to using 1-1/2 PVC drain arrangement from prior pup, which had the same issue.
- under cabinet water line corner keepers fell off.
- Screw(s) fell out of bed-end canvas bow. Was able to re-attach. Will be going around adding loctite where needed.
- Cabinet facing on potty storage cabinet fell off. 1/4 in screws in 3/8 fibre board must not be up to the task. In defense of the over-light attachment, the design is very poor anyway since the hinge is set up such that the 'door' must be lifted straight up at 90 degrees, then folded back under. This is counter-intuitive as most people would tend to pull the front out first to lift.
- Door on the slide out trunk can be opened while locked. The doors are poorly designed, such that they are hinged at the back. Should they pop open at speed, bad things will happen.
- Dropped the permanently attached AC cable back through the access. Was able to fish out with stiff wire. Good thing, since getting it out from inside would have required dis-assembling a cabinet false floor which is one of the most strongly built internal elements in the pup.
- Liberal use of 1/8 laminate to separate cabinet areas. These are mostly glued in place which was a good thing when my DW hand got stuck on one.
- We have a cup of about 6 screws/bolts of indeterminate origin. Could be extras strewn about from build; or may a keystone type item waiting to fail.
- Just Weird. The dinette seats (lift to access storage) have a really nice backboard attached to make sitting comfortable. It also make access very difficult since the presence of the board prevents lifting the seat access beyond about 45 degrees. Intern must have taken a hand a design. This is somewhat like auto engineers making things like spark plugs and oil filters nearly impossible to access.
- Minor water leakage through dealer added AC unit during horizontal monsoon type rain.
Ugly:
- First morning left tongue jack down. Many unimaginative and repetitive bad words from me. My bad, though I did this a couple times with previous pup with no ill effects. Difficult to find an in-stock jack in Eau Claire WI on Sat morning to fit. The BAL jack Orig Equip is very light duty. Perhaps an example of the engineer to minimal spec mindset that seems more prevalent these days, and not just at FR.
Overall, ok. I don't expect the same lifespan from this pup, however, that we've obtained in the past.
Wow Underthedog. Too many issues for a new unit. And I am scared knowing I have the same 2015 model. We also had some issues......
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