Looking at Sierra Destination 402

[Phanes]

Hi my wife and I are looking into seasonal camping with the kids. We have found a great site with 50amp, water, and sewer. The sites are big most are 40 by 60 so no issues getting a 40 footer in there.

We are thinking of getting the forest river sierra destination 402qb. We have 3 young children age -2 months to 7 years old so we wanted a bunk house.

Unfortunately when I go onto the web all I see is negative things about FR referring to them as cheap entry level trailers. I realize that people tend to talk about negative more than positive. So I was hoping to hear from FR owners their experiences and from any Sierra Destination owners on their experiences both good and bad.

Also is a 40k trailer really only an entry level trailer?

Thanks

[Gzrglide]

Not familiar with the Destination trailers, but I have had Jayco, Keystone, and now a Sierra 371 REBH. When I decided to get the mid bunk house 5th wheel, I shopped Keystone Sprinter line, and Jayco's mid bunkhouse as well as many others. For the price, I couldn't pass up the Sierra given what its fit and finish looked like compared to the Jayco's price, as for fit and finish as well as the amenities we wanted, the sprinter didn't even come close and its price was just as high as the Sierra. So for what its worth, my opinion is if you are happy with the fit, finish, amenities, and price of the trailer, then you can't go wrong. Hopefully someone on here will have a destination line to give you their impressions and pleasure/displeasure with the units.

[Phanes]

Here is a link to the trailer. Destination trailer

We walked through many of the higher end FR and were very happy with the fit and finish. I looked past all the glitz and focused more on that. We have told our dealer we would want to do a full PDI to include seeing all the water work, the AC turned on, the heater turned on. I would be plugging something into every socket to make sure they all work. Opening and closing every door, windows, and cabinet. He told me before they let anything leave the lot a technician does all of that with you and typically takes about two hours.


Also all the appliances are home grade none of them are built into a wall. The refer is a free standing side by side with bottom drawer freezer by whirlpool. The over the hood microwave and outside kitchen microwave are whirlpool as well. So my only concern would be the built in items like furnace and AC. Even those can be replaced just not as easily.

[bikendan]

You know that Sierra makes conventional TTs and 5th wheels.
Maybe those comments were about those instead of their destination trailers.

[Mike ONeill]

We have a flagstaff 2013 super lite TT and a 2016 Columbus 381FL 5th wheelboth by Forestrriver and have been pleased with both, both had a few build issues which our dealers and FR made right, just small issues. Would buy FR again

[fredcrowley]

We bought a FR Sierra Model 376BHOK 5th wheel new in early 2014. 43’ long, 16,000# GVWR. We are full-timers (me, my wife, her twin sister, and 2 Golden Retrievers), and have put about 35,000 miles on the rig traveling all over N. America. We really like the rig, and all the major appliances have worked fine. The rig is plenty roomy for our crew, and we love all the windows, especially in the living area (7 windows about 2’ x 5’). We had the dealer make a few simple mods to the bunkhouse such that it is a more comfortable adult bedroom. The only major problems we have had with the rig were tires (Manufacturer problem), and low/high voltages (102v to 130v) in a few parks (see comments below), that were not the manufacturer's fault.

A few suggestions based on our experiences.

Tires: Get rid of the OEM rims (16") and tires on the Sierra asap (Westlakes – aka “China Bombs") and install 17.5” rims. We are now running Goodyear G114 215/75R17.5 14 ply, Load Range H, with a 4800# capacity each (USA made). We went this route after experiencing 2 blowouts with the Westlakes (China made), and then with replacement 235/80R16 Goodyear Marathons (China made) load range E. The 16” tires are right on the edge of their load capacity, and in my opinion are just not strong/tough enough for the weight of the Sierra. When the tires have a blow-out, there is invariably other damage; fender skirting, aluminum side skirting, brake hub wiring, slide wiring, and in our case, hydraulic plumbing damage to the landing gear).

Suspension: I would strongly suggest replacing the OEM suspension with a MORryde SRE4000 suspension system. THE OEM suspension on the Sierra is pretty marginal in my opinion. The spring shackle/hanger bolts are “dry bolts”, the OEM bushings are just cheap nylon (on a 16,000# rig!), and the hangers/equalizers are pretty flimsy. The MORryde system uses “wet bolts” (greasable), substantially heftier hangers, allow a greater range of motion, and includes an additional stabilizer bar that mounts cross ways between the two equalizer hangers. We have found that the highways are surprisingly rough when hauling a heavy rig (especially concrete surfaces and bridge expansion joints). Also, we had the dealer install a TrailAir air/shock cushion hitch system with a GVW 21,000#. Rough roads don’t rattle our teeth anywhere near as bad as a conventional hitch pin system does.

Electrical: Buy a good surge protector. While most parks have reliable electrical supply/pedestals, there are a few that don’t. A faulty wiring supply can cause real expensive problems with your rig’s electricals. I speak from experience, having replaced microwaves, the outdoor 120v fridge, the 120v part of the interior fridge, and the fireplace, twice!. Fortunately the ACs were turned off. Not the fault of the rig or FR. We also use (when required), a Hughes Autoformer voltage booster. Low voltage (eg: about 104v and lower causes havoc with 120v motors (fridges, ACs, microwaves, fireplace, etc.). Also invest in a voltmeter, even a 120v plug-in meter - about $10, is a simple way to keep track of what voltage is being supplied to the rig.


Air Conditioning: Depends upon where you are in the country, but we had a 3rd AC installed in the bunk house -very straight foward. The rig came with one in the living area, and one in the master bedroom. However if you are anywhere in the southwest, or where the outside starts to go above 85 degrees, that bunk house gets mighty warm. The AC ceiling duct work is pretty marginal in feeding coolish air to the bunk house.

Lastly: Learn how to fix as much as you can on the rig yourself. Talk to folks in whatever RV park you are in. Invariably you will find someone who has experience fixing one thing or another. Also, it can get a bit pricey, and very time-consuming to rely on a dealer to fix things. Most of the better RV parks have a list of mobile RV repair guys that they can recommend for those things you can’t handle yourself. They are generally less expensive, and when you make an appointment they show up! We even had a mobile RV awning guy make a fit-to-order awning over our living room slide (big windows in the Sierra), for a cost comparable to that of purchasing an off the shelf system from a dealer and having them install it. Of course the dealer said they could not source the awning we needed!

With these mods, our Sierra has become pretty darn reliable. Of course I have made numerous smaller mods to customize and beef up various parts of the interior.

Bottom line: We find the rig real comfortable, and reliable, and our plans are to hold on to it for quite a while. It is big and heavy tho’.


Y’all take care, eh?
Fred

[Phanes]

Fred thanks for the advice. When you say surge protector do you mean something that goes between the hookup and the trailer?


I am pretty handy I own several investment properties and do all the work myself. So I can fix leaks and such. However a bad slide or blown furnace would be outside my wheelhouse.

If so do you recommend a particular brand?

Thanks

[fredcrowley]

Yep. A surge protector plugs into the park's power pedestal. Your shore power cable from your rig then plugs into the surge protector. Opinion is split between one offered by Progressive and one offered by Surge Guard. This forum has all sorts of commentary on both. We use Surge Guard ourselves.

[swannie]

I see that you would be seasonal camping so I would suggest getting a hard wired surge protection rather than a plugged in one. That way no one would tempted to "borrow" it.

[swannie]

I like the Progressive Ind unit because of there warranty.

[Phanes]

Thanks for the suggestions