aball555
Colorado
New Member
Joined: 03/30/2008
View Profile
 Offline
|
I am in the market for our first Toy Hauler. My wife really likes the Raptors but i have read about quality issues. I would really like some input on 5th wheel haulers around the 36-40 ft. range. Good or bad input would be great so i do not spend a bunch of money on a bad brand. Thanks in advance.
|
jasonlisan
Colorado
Senior Member
Joined: 07/20/2005
View Profile
|
Haven't had any major issues with ours, just a couple of little things. I feel ours is better built than some of the other manufacturers I've seen, maybe it was built the day after bonuses were handed out. Any toy-hauler out there is going to have little issues, on the Raptor, had to fix the kinked tube to the fresh water tank, fix some water leaks under the kitchen sink and replace the voltage regulator on the generator (not Raptors fault). To me this is just normal stuff when buying a rv and thats why I go thru the rv and fix things and replace things to the way I think they should be.
|
dhamblet
Olympia, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 01/13/2005
View Profile
|
We have a 2005 38' Dutchmen 35SRV. Bought it new in 2004. Have taken it to CA, AZ and MX twice and are now in FL (we live in WA). We have had serious problems with the spring perches breaking off the frame, replaced all 4 and beefed all of them up. I have heard from welders that this problem is common. Aluminum ramp extension was puny and I had to reinforce it to handle the load of a dresser Harley. I am also continually re-attaching interior and exterior trim which comes loose. Original sleeper couch was junk and very uncomfortable so we replaced it with a double leather recliner from Costco. Otherwise we've been happy with the unit. When shopping check the Unloaded VW against the GVW loaded. Factor in the added weight of water, fuel, generator, groceries, and toys. Some of the trailers we originally looked at could barely carry their own weight not to mention added weight of toys.
Some recomendations, these trailers are HEAVY. You'll want a 1T or better to haul it. We have a Dodge diesel with added exhaust brake - highly recommend. Also I replaced the electric trailer brakes with hydraulic disks - also highly recommended. JT Stabilizers will keep this beast from shaking too much when parked.
2005 Dutchmen 35SRV, Pergo floor, 5th Airborne, JT Strong Arm, Kodiak Disk Brakes, Backup camera
2006 Dodge CTD RAM QC 3500 LWB 4WD, Reese 16k, Airlift, Pacbrake, Britebox, 60g aux fuel tank
04 HD Ultra, CanAM 400MAX Quad
Spending my kids inheritance
|
YnotTurbo
Alpharetta Georgia
Senior Member
Joined: 04/20/2006
View Profile
Offline
|
We bought a KZ after a lot of looking. Good quality that looks great. There are a lot of good toy haulers, you just have to look at them all and see for yourself what you like. The one thing we did not want was the TV over the entry door. Hard on the neck. Take a look at the KZ. We really like ours.
Navy Chief
2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Laramie w/6.7 CTD, 6 speed auto, Factory Exhaust Brake.
2007 KZ 41CKS3 Montego Bay Sportster
2006 Kaw KDX 200
2008 Can AM Outlander Max 650
2006 Yam R6
2007 Suz GSXR 600
Golf cart
Real Trucks Don't have Sparkplugs!
|
aball555
Colorado
New Member
Joined: 03/30/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
jasonlisan , Thanks for all the input so far. Which model of Raptor do you have ?
|
|
|
harleybikerg
tx
New Member
Joined: 03/30/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
We love our Rapter 3612 only issue is tires. But the 08 models have heavier axles and no carlisles. BIL liked ours so much they just bought one Friday 3712 triple slide. Would suggest a dually to pull any 36 ft up toyhauler they are HEAVY. We pull ours with Dodge 1ton pulled in mountains of Georgia and Tennessee will no problem.Hope you find one you like.
|
DuneJunkie
Rohnert Park, CA.
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
Just bought a new 38' Fleetwood Gearbox.........haven't had any problems yet. We are extremely impressed with the quaility of the entire unit.
2005 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 CC Duramax/Allison, with 18K SuperGlide Hitch
2008 385 Fleetwood Gearbox
2005 Yamaha YFZ 450
2002 Honda 400ex
|
WhitehouseLV
Formerly Las Vegas, Now Big Sky State - Montana
Senior Member
Joined: 09/10/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
we have a 2006 Raptor 3612. Haven't problems significant to keep us from using it. I'd buy another Raptor if I were in the market or at least consider one. My next TH will have more garage room and w/d hookups.
Traveling Whitehouse
2006 Keystone Raptor 3612DS 
2004 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 CC LB DRW Duramax LLY 4x4 
Reese 20K Hitch
Prodigy Brake Control
2007 Honda Rincon & 2000 Honda Rancher
|
Tim Teresa
gastonia, nc
New Member
Joined: 03/30/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
We looked at the raptor 3612 and the 3600. We really liked the additional room kind of feature but couldn't get two harleys in the smaller garage, I forget which model that was. Very nice layout tho. Before you purchase you have to see a KZ Inferno. We had to order ours so we did it up right. The think I like about the inferno is you can get to the bathroom without going through the master bed. This thing has it's own 30 gallon gas tank for refilling the toys as well as a built in cable lock to loop through the front tires if the Harleys are left outside. The TV's are all on swivels so you can see them from any where. Plus tripple slides make it very roomy on the inside. The dry weight of the inferno startes below 12000 which means you have 6000 lbs of options and cargo to add.
Happy searching
|
jasonlisan
Colorado
Senior Member
Joined: 07/20/2005
View Profile
|
We have the 3612DS (2007) aball555, we absolutely love it and if your serious about the Raptor, PM me, I know a place to buy from that you'll get one heck of a deal. They also sell the Inferno's, the only thing about the Inferno that I didn't like is that it only has room for one battery that I could see and we do a lot of boondocking.
|
|
|
