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Old 05-03-2015, 07:55 PM   #1
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2016 Columbus 320rs new purchase review

This luxury fifth wheel is a piece or rubbish and exemplifies the poorest workmanship that is standard with low end goods from China. This is kicking off a full review of this piece of junk rv. If you can't tell I am far from happy.

I am just looking to keep other people from making the same mistake I did. I rather thought every rv I looked at was rather junky even top of the line models. I kinda wish I would have gone Montana instead of the Columbus. Like I said probably the same piece of junk though.
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Old 05-03-2015, 07:58 PM   #2
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I just bought a 2016 320RS and it should arrive this week. What did you not like about yours?
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Old 05-03-2015, 08:33 PM   #3
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Just to get you worried. Fifty five gallons of water in the underbelly. It took me 8 hours to get the door to close but the guy at the dealer said it just was not leveled right. BS. The door just was not installed right. Substantiating photos and commentary to follow.....
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Old 05-04-2015, 01:57 PM   #4
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I wouldn't consider a Columbus or a Montana a luxury rig. Mobile suites Grand Design and Lifestyle are luxury RVs.


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Old 05-04-2015, 08:27 PM   #5
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The most expensive rv I was in was a Landmark and I really saw no difference in it at twice the cost of the Columbus. I talked to a guy who owns an rv repair shop and he said they are all the same just a bit fancier. He has worked on up to say 300 grand models.

Luxury rv or not it is a P.O.S.

I am not even thinking of warranty work as why would I want it back in the same substandard condition? The same bozo that put this thing together is the same bozo that is going to be doing the repair work. No thanks. I got a lot of modding to do to bring this thing up to some sort of standard.

For crying out loud how can you put in a fastener 80 degree off square and leave it like that? In general if you take something off that say was secured with two fasteners there will be 4 hole behind it because they could not line it up right the first time. Piss poor!
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Old 05-09-2015, 08:05 PM   #6
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I don't know what this door latch mechanism is called but the entire assembly was loose and flopping around.



If you can't drill level holes or locate them at least you can not strip them out in the process.


They can't seem to locate stuff right the first time.



I guess I should look at it as getting a lighter rv?





More photos of this junk rv coming.

I bought the rv because I needed it. Your right nothing would make me happy at this point. Why did I buy a p.o.s. rv? They all are POS. I looked at ones that cost twice as much as the Columbus and saw nothing to justify it was any less a pos than the Columbus. I guess my point is is that they are all POS. I don't think you get something better because you pay more and this Columbus was about as much as I could justify paying. If like I said I did not need it I would have looked into the option of just returning the thing.
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Old 05-09-2015, 08:27 PM   #7
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We bought our 2015 Columbus 320 RS and are very happy with it. We had some minor issues that were easily taken care of by Camping World. My wife and I think it is a really great fifth wheel. I'm sure you can find something wrong with anything you buy. We are very happy with our purchase. Good luck with your new Columbus.
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Old 05-10-2015, 06:20 PM   #8
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The brochure from Columbus says that there are two layers of fiberglass insulation in the underbelly. I guess they forgot to put the second layer in mine. I was kinda wondering why there was so much space in there when I opened it up....now I know.



For a few days after I got it home I kept finding these broken fasteners and washers falling off the rv. I can hardly imagine how many I left over the road on the 4 hour trip home.



This is what you don't want your underbelly to look like. Maybe it was not 55 gallons as I said but it was a lot of water.



The funny thing is is that most rv'ers might ever even know about it.

I think the landing legs are too thin. This is barely a slope that it is on. They can't be even 1/8" wall thickness.




I have not even begun to list the stuff wrong with this rv.
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Old 05-12-2015, 08:26 PM   #9
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I thought the electrics of this trailer were pretty poor. I don't understand how they can think laying the wires across angle iron and c channel edges is a good thing. Apparently there are no codes that rvs must follow. To hell with the codes its just plain stupid in my opinion to make it this way.



The silver heat duct hose cannot be more than .001 thickness. How long could that thing possible last before its filled with holes?




Here is the main 220 volt power cable laying on some angle iron. No way a hole could ever get rubbed into that thing.

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Old 05-12-2015, 08:34 PM   #10
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Two layers of insulation?! Where? My 2015 Columbus 320rs review camper did not have but one layer.



Good God almighty! I stepped into the space under the fold out (it looks like a little storage area) bed and almost fell out through out the bottom of the camper! I need to investigate this further in the daylight. I bet I would have had I put my full weight down but splintering wood sounds and my Koala like reflexes save the day.

I wonder why the brochure does not show wires all over the places like my photos do?
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Old 05-14-2015, 07:35 PM   #11
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Paying out the awning today I heard something fall off the camper. This is what I found on the ground. Took me only a few minutes to find where it came from. I guess that is positive.



Overheard at the Columbus engineer meeting. "Hey guys lets take these tv's and install them in our campers the exact way the manufacturer tells you not to install them. Ready! Break!"








The storage area under the bed that flips up was all screwed up and twisted and looking like a cats arse.



The pictures look a lot nicer than it is.



This is what I believe is the start of the fix for it.

They only missed the center of this board by 1.5 inches all the way across! Crapsmanship I tell you.

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Old 05-14-2015, 07:48 PM   #12
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I found some better pictures I took earlier of the bed.





The main TV is nearly half and inch out of square.





This is how some bozo crushed the plastic base by over tightening the fastener without a spacer.

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Old 05-14-2015, 08:06 PM   #13
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I had honestly forgotten if they had run the wires over the insulation or under it. It probably would not have made much of a difference but the insulation would have helped a bit to keep the full weight of the wires off the sharp edges. I found photos that in fact show the insulation on top of the wires. Now add all the water that the insulation soaked up and there was a lot of weight bearing down on these wires.



Here you can see the dump valve cables routed under the water tanks. I am not sure what tank this is but that is irrelevant.



The c channel you see in the above picture is screwed in across the frame left to right. the channel has 4 screw holes in each side but only has 1 screw on each side. I believe that they were mounted upside down as it makes no sense to me to have the weight of these full tanks bearing on the small surface area that the open end of the c makes up. It is also good practice that these cables will be pinched under the load of the water.

Another example of no excuse wiring. I have never see this on a manufactured product before.


This sealant fell of pretty easily and why would anyone expect it not to? I believe the hose is the low water point. Notice the utility knife slash triangle cut for the round tube because it is just too hard to punch a round hole in corrugated plastic.

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Old 05-15-2015, 11:40 AM   #14
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Wow, my dealer described a pre-delivery inspection as ' A rebuild and redo the whole unit'.
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Old 05-16-2015, 06:26 PM   #15
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This rv has me at this laugh stage and there seems to be no end in site.

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Old 05-16-2015, 06:31 PM   #16
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Why they would put the heat pads so they are pinched between the weight of the water and a cross member is beyond me. They could have just rotated it 90 degree and you could thank Jesus for another miracle. Three tanks are like this but the fresh water nearest cross member was too far away.



I only think it fair to invite Palimino to this thread. Do you think anyone from there will show up?
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Old 05-16-2015, 06:39 PM   #17
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This clock had the nerve to say made in USA on it. Wtf time does it say?



Just throw it together. Who cares what it looks like. This velcro on the back of the clock. If you can't take pride in your work GTFO.


Not even a battery cover?
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Old 05-16-2015, 06:41 PM   #18
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This is the quality you get.





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Old 05-16-2015, 06:53 PM   #19
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Now this is a safety issue. It is hard to tell in the image but look at how far they have the "hangers" (Sorry excuse for a hanger) overtightened and pinched together.



Here you can see that fact causing rubbing.


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Old 05-16-2015, 06:57 PM   #20
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I don't know if this is what filled the belly with water as I never had water to the camper yet but they have this hose clamp to the fresh water tank breather. It works so good they put two on but it still leaks. How damn dumb are you is all I can think to ask Palimino.

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