Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-05-2020, 10:03 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Opelousas, LA
Posts: 168
Palomino River Ranch 390RL

I know they are a sub. to Forest River but figured I'd ask questions about it. I haven't seen any comments about the one mentioned in the title to this thread. From what I've seen, is it is revolutionary new design. I would think that it would be a hot topic in threads. The only thing I saw about it that set me back was that it comes with a 2 ton HVAC ( 24000 BTU ). Our Hathaway 38DBRK has 3 15,000 btu roof A/C's ( 45,000 BTU ) and it takes all that here in the south to keep it cool. Other than that, it looks like it should be a nice 5'r
__________________
2020 Cedar Creek 38DBRK 5'r
2020 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 4X4
jimla is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-05-2020, 03:46 PM   #2
Site Team
 
bikendan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
Posts: 33,556
This is a brand new line for Palomino. I doubt if anyone here has one.
But it looks to be a challenger for the luxury 5th wheel market.
__________________
Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
bikendan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-06-2020, 06:14 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 5,401
I was able to see one at the factory last month, yes it is a neat and different idea, my feeling will be the public will either love it or hate it. I did see some things that I liked and of course some I did not, offered suggestions on making some changes and explained they were from a users view point so of course their response was they would have to check with the engineer to see if they were possible. I am sure you will hear a lot more about them when they finally start hitting the dealers lots.
__________________
2017 River Stone Legacy 38mb
2001 Kenworth T2000
2016 Smart for Two on deck
dblr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-07-2020, 10:13 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
B and B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 10,833
Send a message via AIM to B and B
My Dealer has ordered some. I have not seen it yet, will soon.

My Takeaway

-HVAC at rear of trailer pushing through a rather small duct all the way to the front. I would say unless it is a high pressure system the bedroom will be hot.

-Note two ceiling fans to overcome poor HVAC performance

-No Body paint to start, major down fall, listed as option but to launch we should see one

-lots of storage doors, no trays that roll out

-Big NO 18,000 lbs on 7,000 lb axles means 4,2000 on pin once you get a washer and dryer

-Only G tires loaded to limits, need H on this trailer

-No mention of upgraded brakes to larger size.

-Only 1 night stand

-Bedroom over all is not impressive

-No dresser drawers, taken up by fireplace and TV

-right recliner can not see TV when reclined, counter in the way

-Excellent choice for Solar with all the rood space, no solar prep or even a chase to get cables to the lower bay.

-No Fiberglass rear camp

Interesting concept.
Far from Luxury.
I see this parked somewhere as a summer home
B and B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2021, 03:14 PM   #5
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 73
just bought one

I agree with most of the negatives, ( I will find out soon enough ) but correction it comes with 8k axles ( it list 7k but says mandatory upgrade to 8k ) and as for rear AC pushing through the ducts to the front bedroom, ( and we will see ) their logic is 1) it's on the bottom so it won't need to fight a heated roof vent to cool down first to get cool air to you. 2) AC vents are said to be thicker than roof-mounted systems ( not sure if this is true ) Also I live in southern Arizona so I will see how it does in warm weather soon enough ( LOL ) but I am in the mid-west until summer. And tounge weight won't be too bad ( for me ) as I have a 43 ft 5th wheel toy hauler right now with 3400 lbs thought weight.
Also I heard the RV industry is running out of end cap fiber glass ?? seen a video on this because of the boom in sales.
chadjones99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-14-2021, 08:41 AM   #6
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: American by birth; Southern by the grace of God!
Posts: 21
River Ranch: how much truck needed?

I think I saw in some of the dealer or mfg boilerplate that the new River Ranch can be pulled by a 3/4 ton truck. I have a 2000 F250 super 4 WD long bed 7.3 diesel. listed as 20k total weight. Any feedback if my 110k miles mule will handle this pull?

Thanks for the help. I will use the RR as a cabin while visiting grown children and in-laws. Limited tow miles each y
PRay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-15-2021, 10:18 AM   #7
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 73
F250 ?

Well, the RV is under 20K , I would say you should be fine, you might have issues if you going to be going up against some heavy grades, but flat land should be no issue. worse case you can add some airbags to your rig.
chadjones99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2021, 08:58 AM   #8
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 23
As far as the A/C there is no issue at all with pushing the air. The fan used for the 2-ton is powerful and you can actually feel the air moving throughout the rig. The fans actually help for circulation when the A/C isn't running or when you are on propane heat. Granted we have not experienced 100 deg yet but from what we have experienced (85 deg) I believe it will work very well. She tows easy and stable but I have a F450 with 22in wheels with spacers LOL! The front cap on our rig is full paint but wish we had the full body paint. They could have put in a couple pullouts in the basement but I am glad they did not. I want to add them where I need them and that will take some time to figure out. I completely agree with the brake issue. I believe the entire industry should stop messing around and add disks to all trailers 12K or over. The bedroom issue is an exercise in compromises. I like having the fireplace and televator and we are working on ideas to utilize the overhead cabinets and lower closet area with drawers to make it work. I also will have to hang a small shelf and run power to the forward side of the bed. I'm not sure why they though not having a shelf and power there is ok. The tankless water heater works great once your turn it down to the temp you need. The basement does warm up even when its in the 20s outside but we will see how that works at 0 deg. The double pane windows are worth the upgrade cost. Once we get moved in full-time I will be able to report on more stuff.
__________________
Dave & Sue
2014 F-450 Lariat Platinum, 6.7L Power Stroke
2021 Columbus River Ranch 390RL
MissileMech is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2021, 02:31 PM   #9
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 73
missile mech at COS

Funny looking at your profile I just drove through COS on my way from Westcliffe to Fulton, Mo. I go through COS a lot. I would love to talk to you about your RR. I have a 21 RR and have questions about mine/issues I have had.
Chad ( PM I is you wanna exchange emails )
chadjones99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-17-2021, 05:16 PM   #10
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 73
well not great in hot summers

Well in Missouri its 95 here and the AC system in this River Ranch isn't cutting the mustard in the middle of the day. I believe it may have frozen up ( coils ) .
I am cycling it off at this point so if it is iced over it can start to thaw out.
It's 90 in the RV and I have been bumping it up to allow it to cycle off
not too happy with the AC system in these units. Anyone else with a river ranch has theirs in hot weather yet?
I first noticed the AC vents were not blowing as hard and it was getting warmer around 1 pm I normally have it set to 80 deg and it was 83, I've been bumping up all day now we are at 90 inside RV, and its 5 pm
chadjones99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-17-2021, 11:15 PM   #11
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 23
We had 96+ deg and 50% humidity the last couple of days. I put the fan on low so it runs all the time. The compressor cycles on and off to maintain temps. The screen shades are down for windows that get direct sun. 75 is where we set it and it was able to maintain throughout.

Possible differences in our situations are you have higher humidity and we have double pane windows.

I hope this info helps.

Dave
__________________
Dave & Sue
2014 F-450 Lariat Platinum, 6.7L Power Stroke
2021 Columbus River Ranch 390RL
MissileMech is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2021, 03:48 PM   #12
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 2
River Ranch AC issues

We have a River Ranch that we bought Memorial Day Weekend. We are full time in the RV. When the temps are 80-90 degrees, the AC works great. At 100, the AC only cools the RV about 8 degrees below the outside temp. We had to put a portable AC in the bedroom because we couldn't keep the temp below 95. Have spoken with Columbus several times and it appears to be a common issue, though not on all trailers. I am told they are working on a solution, but they don't know anything yet. Temps have dropped for the last 2 weeks, so we are not currently having issues. We are waiting on the temps to go back up so we can continue to troubleshoot. The local dealership was absolutely no help because they don't know how to work on AC units. We love the RV, but are very unhappy with the AC.
KRichardson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2021, 02:41 PM   #13
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 13
We also have A/C issues. Lots of people on Facebook too having a/c issues. It's a huge problem Forest River is having. They need to get it figured out.
P.O. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2021, 02:48 PM   #14
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 2
We actually started pulling down the Styrofoam that is on the ductwork. We found that none of the ductwork is sealed. We found half inch gaps in the ducting, bent ductwork with a 2 inch gap, etc. We started sealing it as best we could, but the top of the ductwork (against the floor) still leaks air really bad. No way to fix that without pulling all of the ductwork. We are waiting on a response from Columbus about it.
KRichardson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2021, 04:09 PM   #15
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Posts: 1
Bought our RR on Valentines Day. Snowmagedon came that night here in North Texas and we lost power for 5 days......power back on and we had busted pipes flood the house. Long story but we finally finished the rebuild and are finally able to take out the RR for the first time. We took it 20 miles north of the house to give it a shakedown. Everything worked as planned except the AC.......was not cooling at all. We had to sleep at home every night while trying to figure it out. My guess is a bad AC unit. We finally gave up yesterday while trying to nap....temp outside was 90....temp inside 82!!! It is really disappointing to spend that kind of money on a luxury 5th wheel and can't even use it. I will say the water heater, fridge/ice maker. stove, etc all performed great. I am taking mine in to service as soon as I hear back from them tomorrow. BTW, I am pulling it with 2020 GMC 2500 AT4 with turbo diesel....pulls it very easy.
aggiekcc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2021, 06:50 PM   #16
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 13
River Ranch A/C units

I believe Forest River has a big big issue with the River Ranch 5th wheel. I’m reading tons of complaints on the A/C unit. We’re not the only ones. Facebook has lots of complaints and the River Ranch. Their engineers better get it figured out, and they definitely need to do a recall. These are expensive RV’s.
P.O. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2021, 07:08 PM   #17
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 13
Any word

Quote:
Originally Posted by KRichardson View Post
We have a River Ranch that we bought Memorial Day Weekend. We are full time in the RV. When the temps are 80-90 degrees, the AC works great. At 100, the AC only cools the RV about 8 degrees below the outside temp. We had to put a portable AC in the bedroom because we couldn't keep the temp below 95. Have spoken with Columbus several times and it appears to be a common issue, though not on all trailers. I am told they are working on a solution, but they don't know anything yet. Temps have dropped for the last 2 weeks, so we are not currently having issues. We are waiting on the temps to go back up so we can continue to troubleshoot. The local dealership was absolutely no help because they don't know how to work on AC units. We love the RV, but are very unhappy with the AC.
Any word from Forest River on the A/C issue ? I found a lot of air coming out of our duct work and the styrofoam on the duct. I had to buy some aluminum tape and do some sealing. Our A/C really does have issues though. One of the compressors had a poor brazing job on it, and it leaked the Fremont out of it. Had a heat and air company come out and trouble shoot it. After trouble shooting it for several hours they pulled it out of the RV and found poor workmanship on a brazed fitting. We have turned in paperwork and have spoken with Forest River, Coleman, and our dealer, and Forest River is shipping us a new A/C unit. Still not sure this is going to fix the problem. 24000BTU A/C unit I don't think it's going to cut it. Hardly any air would hardly come out of the ducts.
P.O. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2021, 08:09 PM   #18
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Posts: 2
50 Amp Service?

Maybe a dumb question, but are any of you plugged into 50 amp service? It's a 2 stage system. Only one stage of the system will run if you're plugged into 30 amp service.
nghtrn99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-14-2021, 10:23 PM   #19
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 23
I'm fortunately not experiencing an issue with the a/c. We have had upper 90s from time to time and never got above mid 70s in the RV. I have very good airflow so maybe there is something wrong with your ductwork restricting flow.
__________________
Dave & Sue
2014 F-450 Lariat Platinum, 6.7L Power Stroke
2021 Columbus River Ranch 390RL
MissileMech is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-15-2021, 06:07 AM   #20
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 13
A/c unit

Yes we are plugged into a 50 amp. We really do have an issue with our a/c unit. One of the compressors leaked its Freon out. It had a poor brazed fitting. They are supposed to be shipping us a new unit for the a/c company to put in. I’m hopeful that this will fix problem but I’m not sure it will. Guess will see. In the 90’s you will be ok…….wait till you hit 100 degrees,…..it may only cool trailer into the 80’s.
P.O. is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
palomino

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:09 AM.