New Member - Page 2

RomanyLife · 08-09-2015, 10:06 PM

Well said Ford Truck Guy. I have been using this forum for a very long time and I do not think there has been a lot of inaccuracies presented. Definitely some exaggerations here and there but overall I think the information is of use and I know that we have prevented some pretty catastrophic problems by reading this forum and learning of weakness that our unit did in fact have. We just fixed them before they broke. We are okay with that and we accept that but it is the truth. There are tons of threads about known issues that owners have found workarounds for or fixed on their own before they became a warranty claim. That does not mean that they are inaccurate or that a warranty claim would not be warranted. It means that owners took things into their own hands and prevented a problem before it became worse. We are extremely grateful to those who have shared their problems so that we could learn from them and prevent them from happening to us. There have been many I am NOT going to lie. No, I am not exaggerating! But overall we are happy. Had we not learned of some of these problems and we went ahead and had the failures that eventually do occur then we would definitely not be happy! There is always some poor soul who is the first one to have something happen to him. Thank goodness, many of them came on this forum and shared their experience and it helped everybody else. It is a very nice trailer, but it is still an rv.

atom ant · 08-09-2015, 10:10 PM

GVWR is the sum of GAWR (or tire if that is the limiting factor), and expected pin weight. As Ford Truck Guy says, I would go for the 8K axles and the 17.5" tire/wheel option if it were me. I have the 8K axles and G-614 tires and I have a GVWR of 17,500.

The 7Ks will carry the trailer, but it can be real easy to overload it because the cargo capacity is limited. You should see a yellow sticker on the left side, on the screen door, and a few other places that tell you your maximum cargo weight. Another way to tell is there should be a handwritten dry weight sticker inside the trailer cupboard somewhere, and you subtract that from the 16,500 to get your actual cargo capacity.

With 8K axles and 17.5" H-series tires - GVWR should be at 18,500??? I am guessing, as I have not seen the stickers on the new rigs with all those options.

Also - disk brakes man! they are wonderful. I suspect that lot rig doesn't have them?

Another thing to consider......Take it as is with the 7K and retrofit it with 8K Mor-Ryde suspensi0on with disk brakes and H-series tires as soon as it rolls out of warranty ~6K I believe. There are others here that have done that.

Shane Wood · 08-09-2015, 10:11 PM

I have had my trailer now for 11 months in it fulltime. I have ha d a few issues with it but these same issues can be found on other brands. Redwood has replaced everything I have asked of them. I would definitely buy another Redwood

RomanyLife · 08-09-2015, 10:20 PM

I have noticed a pattern of some of the heaviest complaint on the forum often come from people who have purchased their first high dollar rv. Many of them have very high expectations about what should and should not happen with it. I would guess that many of them even expect it to be nearly perfect. This is just not going to happen. It doesn't happen at any price point in the RV industry even million dollar coaches. Since you have had other fifth wheels this will not be new to you and you should not have a problem. Between using good common sense and getting a heads up on this forum from other owners we have been able to avert nearly all problems on their own with little trouble. It's a great trailer

**Dave&Ginny** · 08-10-2015, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BubbaLove1

Hey all. We are Bubba and Kelly. We currently live in a 2013 Landmark San Antonia. 37 days until we pick up our 2016 39MB with the butler pantry. We are very excited. We started full timing in August 2014. We spent 7 months working in Maryland and are now in Atlanta. Just outside Denver, CO is our home base, but we don't see much of that. We make homebrewed beer in our 5'er and have a great time living in this lifestyle. After we finish our commitment here we plan on taking a year off to just roam around a see new things. I am enjoying reading through the forums to find out other opinions on different things. Thanks for letting s be a part of the group.

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy your new MB and it brings you years of happiness

Alwaysawehr · 08-10-2015, 02:09 AM

Bubba and Kelly. One quick question... Did you upgrade your axles to 8,000 lb or stay with the stock 7,000 lb axles? After conversation today it sounds like something for us to consider. Appreciate your comments.

RomanyLife · 08-10-2015, 02:48 AM

Alwaysawehr;
Here is your answer in this thread:
http://www.redwoodowners.com/forums/...html#post52028
Keep in mind that full tanks add a significant amount of weight!

RomanyLife · 08-10-2015, 03:43 AM

Ok, this should give you some perspective (assuming you are trying to decide if you need to upgrade your suspension or not)
THIS is the sticker off of my screen door:
2015-08-09 18.32.30.jpg
As you can see, if I just fill my freshwater tank (assuming the other THREE tanks are empty) I have only a little over 1,000 pounds of "stuff" to load into the trailer. I can tell you that this is not very much "stuff". The contents of my fridge and pantry ALONE likely take up a good chunk of this to say nothing of my clothing and bathroom stuff. FORGET the "basement storage area"

DH's tools, lawn chairs, cleaning supplies, dishes, pots and pans, you get the idea. If you are planning on being fulltime, upgraded weight capacity is a MUST in our opinion. We didn't do it and we deeply regret it.

I hope this helps you. It is a lovely, HEAVY trailer.

travelin' texans · 08-10-2015, 05:37 AM

We have lived in ours for 33 months now traveled in excess of 30k miles with 7k axles & drum brakes & only 3 suspension related issues, #1 axles out of alignment, #2 brakes contaminated with grease, #3 replaced shackles & wet bolts. RW covered #1, RW reimbursed me for parts on #2, #3 was paid for/installed by me as preventive maintenance (it definitely needed it). If you are ordering yours get the 8k axles with disc brakes or as mentioned go directly to Mor Ryde for the IS. Would I buy another RW, hell yea, will it be trouble free, hell no. If you aren't somewhat handy DO NOT buy an rv!! If you are looking for an affordable 5er without a Lippert frame, good luck!

Piper Guy's Gal · 08-10-2015, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

We have lived in ours for 33 months now traveled in excess of 30k miles with 7k axles & drum brakes & only 3 suspension related issues, #1 axles out of alignment, #2 brakes contaminated with grease, #3 replaced shackles & wet bolts. RW covered #1, RW reimbursed me for parts on #2, #3 was paid for/installed by me as preventive maintenance (it definitely needed it). If you are ordering yours get the 8k axles with disc brakes or as mentioned go directly to Mor Ryde for the IS. Would I buy another RW, hell yea, will it be trouble free, hell no. If you aren't somewhat handy DO NOT buy an rv!! If you are looking for an affordable 5er without a Lippert frame, good luck!

So very true, Danny - on all points.

Missed seeing you guys at the rally.

Titan Guy · 08-10-2015, 02:34 PM

I am in favor of 8k axles just not at the $3k upgrade price Redwood wants. The Mor/Ryde IS is $3k. I have a new 38GK with 7k axles. When I have a problem, I will deal with it then.

ChristianM · 08-10-2015, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BubbaLove1

Hey all. We are Bubba and Kelly. We currently live in a 2013 Landmark San Antonia. 37 days until we pick up our 2016 39MB with the butler pantry. We are very excited. We started full timing in August 2014. We spent 7 months working in Maryland and are now in Atlanta. Just outside Denver, CO is our home base, but we don't see much of that. We make homebrewed beer in our 5'er and have a great time living in this lifestyle. After we finish our commitment here we plan on taking a year off to just roam around a see new things. I am enjoying reading through the forums to find out other opinions on different things. Thanks for letting s be a part of the group.

Welcome to the Redwood family, Bubba and Kelly! On behalf of Redwood, we are so glad you are 37 days away from starting a really fun chapter of your travelling life!
That being said, should you need any assistance...don't hesitate to let me know!

ChristianM · 08-10-2015, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alwaysawehr

Tomorrow we are heading to look at a new Redwood 39MB15. We have looked at many brochures and we have spent a little time here on the owners forum, a little confused. There are always complaints and many times you don't hear from those who are very satisfied.
We are considering going full time in a year or so and want to purchase the right unit this time. This will be our third fiver and hope to own this one for many years.
I thank those of you who will reply in advance.

Hi Guys!
On behalf of Redwood- welcome to the forum! You will have access to so much information, in regards to purchasing your Redwood and its upkeep after the fact. Redwood in no way claims to have a perfect product, but know that we are working to place quality, customer satisfaction and care at the highest priority. I hope the information you find on this forum proves to be helpful as you work to make a decision.

If you have any retail-related questions, please feel free to contact me at any time :-) I'd be happy to help!

Again, Welcome!

travelin' texans · 08-10-2015, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piper Guy's Gal

So very true, Danny - on all points.

Missed seeing you guys at the rally.

Thanks Tracy, We would've liked to have been there but we're clear across the country, sounds like it was a great time.

WarrenR · 08-17-2015, 07:55 AM

If you don't want problems with an RV, don't buy an RV. It's home ownership with wheels which means it has more chance to have problems. We help folks buy and sell real estate and even 300k homes seem to have issues that occur just after the one year builder warranty wears out. They just have issues. Hopefully the problems are minor and never impact cooling, heating, or basic living function.

rob_fla · 08-17-2015, 01:13 PM

We have been traveling and living fulltime in our Redwood a little over a year now.
We have had a few initial problems but nothing that has prevented us from enjoying our "Home on Wheels"
After working through our initial problems (some Redwood, some Vendor / Supplier) we have been trouble free for many months now and have been enjoying life every day.
The Redwood product is a good value at its price point, there are more expensive units and less expensive units on the market, for us our Redwood fits our fulltime life style great, we are looking forward to many more years of living in our Redwood.

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