Quote:
Originally Posted by MN_Outdoors
After a closer look, we are not impressed with the build quality. I can't see this trailer holding up very well.
Too bad, because we like the layout.
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We have a Palomini 142CK that we bought this past spring and have about 2500 miles on it. Overall it's build quality is similar to other trailers in it's size and price range that we looked at. I'll even go so far as to say the general materials and appliances are the same as you find in higher end units. Like most Forest River brands I have found Palomino to be responsive once you can get a hold of them. They were also prompt on sending me the engineering drawings for the roof so I could see where the antenna mount points are.
We have had the typical plumbing issues that you see from the smallest TT's to the largest MH's. All were easily resolved by me in a short time. One issue needed longer hoses and Palomino had them to me in two days. We have also run across stripped screws but again this is common in the industry and they are easily fixed.
One of the two biggest issues we've had were the refrigerator fan being very noisy and incorrectly installed. Neither were a Palomino caused problem. The fan comes from Dometic in their fan kits and the other was caused by the dealer not installing the fan correctly. I replaced the fan myself with a quieter one like many others here have on higher end units than mine. The other big issue was poorly cut holes where the waste lines enter the holding tank. This I had repaired by a local dealer under warranty and they did a great job actually lowering the tanks, patching the holes and undercoating the work. They also did some warranty work on the Dicor while they had the trailer that should have been done by the dealer we bought from before PDI.
The one design issue is the wall mounted AC unit. It's location and air deflector style do not allow the air to circulate throughout the trailer and only directs it towards the door. I have resolved this by adding a small fan that blows the air towards the front. The AC is also under powered for really hot weather or full summer sun (not atypical for RV's). I was not aware at the time but a larger roof mounted AC is an option and should do better than the wall mount. It would also provide for an additional cabinet over the kitchen and we all know how there is no such thing as "Too many cabinets". On the plus side is I can easily run the trailer on a 15 amp circuit as long as I don't run the AC and microwave at the same time.
Other than those most of our issues were with work our original dealer performed such as incorrect battery box installation, the fridge fan, propane tank holder had stripped screws, etc. While it is only a one time visit finding a good local dealer resolved most of our issues.
All in all for a first trailer I think it is ok and really helps us in determining what we would like in a TT 5 to 10 years down the road.