Concerned new Fifth wheel owners

[gregtx]

my spare is still the original tire. can't remember, but i'll look tomorrow and let u know. they have a american name, but i googled the name and found out they were made in china, with tons of people with new tire blowouts with the brand. when i say new tire blowouts, i mean blowout or total tread seperation with less than 10k miles and tread looking new. blowouts on rvs can be a nitemare. fender and body damage. undercarriage damage, insulation etc. not to mention causing a wreck or a dangerous road.

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Hooknroll

We purchased a new 2015 Franklin last September and the dealer offered to store it for us over winter(very nice offer). We are so anxious to pick it up next month. In the mean time we have been researching lots of things that "newbies" need to learn and know. In that process I have come across so much negativity about CrossRoads, their warranty, products, service, poor workmanship etc, etc, that I am wondering if we totally screwed up in our "out of the shute" first RV purchase. Does anyone have good things to say about the company, their service and (closer to home) the beautiful front bedroom Franklin?

Welcome aboard, and congrats on the new Rushmore.
If you read forums long enough you will hear good, bad, and ugly stories till the cows come home.
Very few good ones and a lot of the others.
You will just have to sort out the oats from the chaff.
The only advise I would offer, is to consider replacing your tires with some decent LT tires. The oem tires from China are notorious for blowing. Usually causing a lot of damage.

[43tutor]

As others before me mentioned most people do not take the time to mention how happy they are with their RV but if there is a problem you will certainly find information online.

We just purchased our first 5th wheel about a month ago (2012 Cruiser Patriot) and I too was wondering about the quality from Crossroads before we bought it. We spent many months looking at many different brands and found a lot of negativity online about all RV brands. I searched for a neutral source of information trying to get a more accurate picture of the RV manufacturing landscape from a customer point of view. There are a few sources on the internet and I selected to purchase an RV purchasing guide that is supposed to be neutral about the brands. In the overall scheme of things I figured purchasing this guide would be worth it based on the amount of money it takes to buy an RV these days. By the way, according the purchasing guideline, 2014-2015 Crossroads 5th wheels tied for 3rd place in overall quality and customer satisfaction.

Travel Trailer and 5th Wheel Comparison Guide by Randall Eaton was the guide that I purchased.

[Hooknroll]

If memory serves me correct, I think my tires are Goodyear. The dealer did tell me that lots of RV's have tires made in China. I have run Coopers the last 150K on my last truck with no problems so if the tires turn out to be imports I will probably switch them out.

[Lloyd]

http://www.crossroadsowners.com/foru...oon-12601.html

You probably won't find to many Rushmore's in this thread, but you will find a few good Cruisers.

http://www.crossroadsowners.com/foru...ser-10309.html

[Hooknroll]

43tutor, thank you for sharing that information. Great idea to hunt down that buyers guide.

[2slick]

Our Rushmore is our third RV. As someone said previously, quality is an issue through the whole industry. But, we still have ours going on five years.

As for tires, unless you have the Goodyear G614, I would sure think about tires. The early Marathon tires were China made and problematic. The new ones don't rate much better. I would go with a g rated tire. Pretty sure you have 7000 lb axles, and while LT tires are good, they won't meet the weight requirements.

Good luck with the new Rushmore!


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[fhenn]

Note, That Goodyear is now selling ST tires made in this country. They say they have re engineered the system of construction for the better. I will be getting these in June, even though I have had these Carlise only a year

[fredtx]

We like our Z1 alot, and after a year of heavy use, no major problems. We totally agree with moore_rvers. Happy Trails

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[Hooknroll]

Thanks for the comment congrats on the Z1!

[gregtx]

Have posted a lot of negative stuff about our rv, and it's all true and many other problems never talked about. Having said that, we looked forward to rving for yrs and in 2011 jumped in with our 27' RLX. Despite the many problems, we have gotten tons of use and enjoyed our rv. I don't think Crossroads is any better or worse than most manuf. I'm sure they all have problems, some lemons etc. Part of the problem is poor quality of dometic, and other add ons.

[lmpres]

We purchased a new 2015 Cruiser and have had two major issues with it along with some more on the minor side. You did bring up the backing from Cruiser so I am just throwing in my two cents. There is little to no backing from them. I had a tire snap off all 6 lug nuts and fly through the side of our unit. Crossroads had a recall for the same issue for the units one year newer when this happened. They didn't want to cover it and I had to fight with them for them to finally do it.
But then the worst "Non support" issue has come up. I reported 1 year and 3 months after I bought the trailer that I had separations on my sides on 2 of the seams. After much searching it was determined that Cruiser had not put wood in the channels of the trailer where the chassis connects to the coach. This caused major damage to the trailer. My dealer is behind me, Lippert has stated this is Cruisers fault. But Cruiser has said I am 3 months out of the 1 year warrantee.

Just so you know what you may be up against.

[sleepyT]

Hook
I have to agree with Mark5W, most posts on this forum is to find information about one thing or another...Most of the time it is for how to deal with something that is not working correctly...I for one have had nothing but good experiences with Crossroads when it came to problems I have had with my camper...

One thing that was good for the owners was the factory rally in Indiana but that has been cancelled this year...You could take your camper there and they would fix problems with it...

Good luck and welcome to the forum...

[lstevenson1470]

We love our 2008 Crossroads Cruiser. We are looking for a replacement, and if we could find OUR 5th wheel Cruiser in a new model, we would buy it! The quality has been super. Still haven't seen anything we like better than what we have.

[stormseeker]

Comparable RV's compete on price and eye dazzle. Builders are forced into this because that's what sells. Nobody says, "I want the heaviest, most expensive unit you have. I don't care what it looks like." So they have to juggle design for weight, sturdiness and appeal, demand speed from a bunch of workers of varying skill and motivation levels, and find the best deal on parts that they can. What comes out is a hybrid structure with all the frailties of a car and a house built by all low bidders, that is expected to bounce down the road for (hopefully) years.

That being said, most of them are marvels of usability and longevity, other than tires. Out of the tens of thousands sold you see a few hundred complaints, and many of these are just looking for "fix it" advice. And as we all know, one "Aw shucks," kills 1,000 "Attaboys" in people's minds. Of course, as with anything, there are occasional lemons. A good and thorough walk-through before purchase is your best defense. A good dealer is your friend, a bad dealer is your worst nightmare. We are very satisfied with our unit and fortunately haven't needed a dealer as there don't seem to be any really good ones nearby.

Finally, check out your tires carefully when you pick up your unit. You need to understand the speed and weight limits on them because they are almost certainly marginal. Keep them aired up, watch them closely and when possible upgrade them at least a letter grade and hopefully better quality. Search "5th wheel tire failure" for more info. If you stay within the tires' minimal parameters you should be fine but they do require TLC.

Welcome to the Great Adventure! Enjoy your new toy. Just be prepared to go through a learning curve to make it even better.

[travelin texans]

If you are not somewhat handy with minor to medium repairs, have basic knowledge of electric/propane systems, have basic tools, then you're dealer will have your rv for the biggest part of the 1st year. Not trying to discourage anyone from purchasing a rv, but just stating the facts based on my own experiences owning rvs for close to 40 years.
Regardless of price, brand, manufacturer, or again price ALL rvs WILL have problems, some very minor & some could be major, that's the rv industry. Those guys at factory work on piece work, they have a quota to meet of number of units completed out the door & don't give a rat's a## what shape they go out the door in.
As mentioned above, when buying pick the dealer with the best service center as well as price, most will make greats deals at purchase, but can't/won't change a light bulb in less than 6 weeks to 6 months. The thing to remember when going in for service dealers famous last words are "waiting on authorization" or "waiting on parts", when you hear that it means "we'll get to it whenever we feel like it", so always call the manufacturer to check if they've ever called for "authorization" & "parts".
Sorry for the rant, but I don't think I've expressed anything that's not true & hope some of it helps new rv buyers!
Hope everyone enjoys the rv lifestyle as much as we have & have safe travels!

[stormseeker]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

If you are not somewhat handy with minor to medium repairs, have basic knowledge of electric/propane systems, have basic tools, then you're dealer will have your rv for the biggest part of the 1st year. Not trying to discourage anyone from purchasing a rv, but just stating the facts based on my own experiences owning rvs for close to 40 years.
Regardless of price, brand, manufacturer, or again price ALL rvs WILL have problems, some very minor & some could be major, that's the rv industry. Those guys at factory work on piece work, they have a quota to meet of number of units completed out the door & don't give a rat's a## what shape they go out the door in.
As mentioned above, when buying pick the dealer with the best service center as well as price, most will make greats deals at purchase, but can't/won't change a light bulb in less than 6 weeks to 6 months. The thing to remember when going in for service dealers famous last words are "waiting on authorization" or "waiting on parts", when you hear that it means "we'll get to it whenever we feel like it", so always call the manufacturer to check if they've ever called for "authorization" & "parts".
Sorry for the rant, but I don't think I've expressed anything that's not true & hope some of it helps new rv buyers!
Hope everyone enjoys the rv lifestyle as much as we have & have safe travels!

Amen! There will be "items" and RV warranty repair is apparently like automobile work. It doesn't pay as well as non-warranty, so neither the dealership or individual repairman has much interest in doing it, and none whatsoever if there's any full pay work. The best bet is to do it yourself or find an honest mobile repair guy. Fortunately, most of it is not rocket science.

[dannygarrow]

I have a 2013 Rushmore { 5th wheel }we love it we bought it second hand but found that the fireplace didn't have remote control how can i get one for this fireplace it is a model TVFP02 ( Any one have any ideas.

[Ramn4ver]

Originally Posted by dannygarrow

I have a 2013 Rushmore { 5th wheel }we love it we bought it second hand but found that the fireplace didn't have remote control how can i get one for this fireplace it is a model TVFP02 ( Any one have any ideas.

Give this a try. I got a spare fan motor from them for my 13 Rushmore

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[Ramn4ver]

Originally Posted by Ramn4ver

Give this a try. I got a spare fan motor from them for my 13 Rushmore

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25.00....shipped

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