Salem hemisphere fifth wheel

[Jayne]

Looking at the Salem hemisphere. It has everything we've been looking for and at a decent price. Anyone have experience with this model. Pros And Cons? First time buyers. Also thinking of driving to Indiana for the best deal. Rvcouchnation?
Thank you.

[tkgraves]

I have a 2016, 286rl Hemisphere, we like it a lot, has held up pretty well so far, main issue was cracked bathtub, and hairline cracks on side of front cover, both repaired by factory at annual rally, other issues were water leak over dining room slide out, found small hole in roof material, about 1/2 inch long, over Tibet/brad, simply sealed it, awning pulled loose from side of rv, pulled self tapping screws thru fiberglass, possibly my fault from over tight closing with electric awning motor, one slide out was way unlevel with floor when all way open, I had to grind and cut wood floor edge where net edge of slide out to give enough clearance to align correctly, when a/c over living room runs, it runs water all over rear window, making looking out window not as nice as could be, bathroom door was install backwards, when opened door u were standing at top edge of stairs, making it dangerous to go in/out. Master bed is very hard, ceiling fan blade broke, bathroom faucet handle broke off.tires were China made, and very flimsy sidewalks, replaced with Maxxis E weight rating. When I ordered it I bought only one air cond, big mistake, bedroom was over 90 deg, in Nashville tenn, had to have a rear air cond installed, eleven hundred dollars. Few other very minor things but that’s the worst of it.

[runner48]

Originally Posted by Jayne

Looking at the Salem hemisphere. It has everything we've been looking for and at a decent price. Anyone have experience with this model. Pros And Cons? First time buyers. Also thinking of driving to Indiana for the best deal. Rvcouchnation?

Thank you.

Jayne,

I purchased a 2017 368RLBHK, it will be a year in April of this year, 1st time buyer,

Cons: Furnace does not heat sufficiently
Bathroom to small
2-windows leaked when it rained
The front cap gets very hot during the summer, it probably was not insulated sufficiently at the factory
I also had the awning come apart from the top, not to much

Pros: Roomy for myself and my wife, ours has a king size bed, rear living area is not cramped
Easy to park, so far no issues with the slide outs

Ensure that you have a tool box, you will need to keep screws and other upkeep throughout the rig. Overall for the price we paid I am satisfied, I have not had to take it to the dealer.

Lastly, ensure that you ask a lot of questions during the PDI and ensure everything is in working order....they try to rush you out...

Good Luck and Safe Travels

[Mark S.]

We bought our first camper from RV Nation. No issues with them. We just bought a Salem Hemisphere 286rl from Camping World and not very pleased with service from them. Just be sure to check everything out to be sure it works before you sign papers. A lesson I just learned. I’m in Arkansas and RV nation was faster to send me repair parts than the local dealer has fixing the shorted out wires to speakers. Been a month!! Good luck

[SteveandAnne]

Originally Posted by vibe268rks

We bought our first camper from RV Nation. No issues with them. We just bought a Salem Hemisphere 286rl from Camping World and not very pleased with service from them. Just be sure to check everything out to be sure it works before you sign papers. A lesson I just learned. I’m in Arkansas and RV nation was faster to send me repair parts than the local dealer has fixing the shorted out wires to speakers. Been a month!! Good luck

I know this is a few months old, but I wanted to chime in about the speaker wires:
We bought our 286RL 5r brand new last May, and I noticed the distortion in the speakers during our walkthrough.
I asked them to fix it, as the speaker should not be distorted at 20db’s.
Turns out, the speaker wires were bundled together so tightly, that they were causing an issue. Once the dealer separated the wires, the problem went away.

Hope that helps anyone who reads this in the future.

[Mark S.]

Thanks for the info. I found the wires shorted from factory where they made the connections in the storage area . Sounds great now .

[Kimber45]

I have a 2017 Heritage Glen which rolls of the same line and is basically the same thing. Other then a few minor things that were quickly fixed I have been very happy. I would use the internet for price matching locally and not drive more then a few hours. Should be able to get the same deal closer to home.