Open Range 5ver's? Avalanche?

[Nomad2009]

Guys, Any opinion on these Open Range 5th wheels? I was looking at Keystone Avalanche and came across these and thought they were very interesting.Any opinions and the Avalanche's any owners and or thoughts? tx u

[cmssorrell]

I have the 2012 Avalanche 330 and love it. Its been great so far (knock on wood), no problems.
Love the layout and it has lots of storage space.

Mark

[campingcpl]

We have been looking ahead at upgrading to a 5th wheel in the future and have been compairing a lot of different brands. We really liked the the Keystone/Thor brands but have been leaning a little towards the Open Range. Compaired to the Avalanche they have a few more standard options, are lighter weight, they are wider (100" wide compaired to 96" wide), better priced, and has a 2 year warranty compaired to the 1 year on the Avalanche. The nice thing is the dealer we usually deal with carries both on their lot so we can walk through the one and then go through and compair with the other without having to even leave the lot. The only thing that scares me about the Open Range is that they are a small privately owned company and haven't been in buisness as long as say a Forestriver or Thor company.

[Outbackmel]

Buying an RV is like being at a carnival....who knows the outcome...maybe you win that teddy bear, maybe not...:)

Do your comparison and buy what YOU and YOUR FAMILY like the best. Almost 100% of the appliances, etc have an outside warranty by the manufacturer. Open Range is around and you can certainly get info from your dealer as to business ethics, financial stability,etc. I see plenty of them around, so someone is selling many. Never talked to an owner so no comment there. BUT, If I liked one, why not buy it. Search around and I'll bet you can find owners willing to share experiences.

Remember; LOOKING IS HALF THE FUN!

Whatever your choice, good luck and happy camping....

[Nomad2009]

Thanks guys

[rconkin]

I was ready to order an Open Range and went to my local dealer that I have now bought 3 5ers from and when I talked to my salesman, same one all 3 times, he steered me to the Montana. I know, it's unusual to trust a salesman, but I have developed a relationship with this dealer over the years and my dad bought campers from the same dealership. They carry both lines so they would order whichever one I wanted and the floorplans we were looking at were close in price so I don't think it was a commission thing either. Anyway, we are very happy with our Montana and I would just suggest looking them both over very well and then decide which one is better built and which floorplan is best for you. There are people on rv.net that are very satisfied with their Open Ranges also.

[Keeper]

I have a 2011 Avalanche. No major problems so far, just a few warranty issues that were resolved. That's to be expected with any new RV. If I had to do it again, I would buy the same Avalanche again. It's a quality 5th wheel for the price.

Do yourself a favor and do more research before you make this decision.

[Jeffrey11]

Guys, Any opinion on these Open Range 5th wheels? I was looking at Keystone Avalanche and came across these and thought they were very interesting.Any opinions and the Avalanche's any owners and or thoughts? tx u

Hi all my first trailer was an open range it was so bad the dealer bought it back to avoid a law suit. It had electrical problems, gas leaks, water leaks,furniture fell apart, sides delaminates, and the factory did nothing. Then they gave us a new trailer, fridge fell out of wall, door never fit right, cargo doors had bends in frame to fit latches but never locked tight, water pump failed due to line leaks, hvac had vents clogged, dirt and dust in every unseen spot, wires for the landing gear connected to moving parts that tore out when raised or lowered, cables for slide frayed and snapped, wires under slide got wrapped around wheels whil driving as the support failed. This is an evil poorly made brand that abuses customers and does not support its product. Bottom line stay away!

Have a keystone fuzion although perfect we like it very much.

[OldCountryBoy]

We had a 26ft Open Range TT for about a year. There were a few problems, but were usually fixed by the dealer without hesitation. I was not completely satisfied with some of the craftmanship, but I have the same concerns with my new Vizion.
Wish I would have had the checklist available from this site when I did the initial walk thru, or while I was shopping.

All in all I would go with the Keystone, simply because they are so big, andy every body sells at least one of their lines.

Happy RVing...........

[Herap]

When DW and I were searching for a 5th wheel, over a period of several months, we narrowed our choices down to an Open Range and a Montana. With the options and pricing, we were leaning towards the OR. What finally settled it was the newness of the company compared to the Montana history. Basically we wanted something we could trust immediately without waiting. Perhaps somewhere down the road, time will show that picking the OR 'may' have been the prudent choice. We just didn't want to wait. Good luck on either choice as the Avalanche is also a fine pick.

Ray

[Nomad2009]

Great info thanks!

[dakotagypsy]

I too looked at both Keystone and Open Range. After reviewing hundreds of postings, I have seen only one complaint about OR - the one listed in this forum. EVERY other comment about OR has been positive. Of course, their units have problems; as does every manufacturer. What impressed me about OR was the way OR handled every problem I heard about.

What I am saying is that I believe the complaint in this forum is vastly exagerated. It goes against everything I have seen or heard about OR.

I ended up buying a 2013 Open Range 416RLS. I ordered it from the factory and got most of the options. My wife and I love this unit. Sure, it had a few glitches when we picked it up but we spent the night in the dealer's lot (free electric hook-ups) and the dealer (General RV) fixed everything the next morning. We would have been out before noon but we bought a washer and dryer from them and had them install them too. With all that, we were out by about 3pm.

I cannot say enough about our OR. Everywhere we go, people come up and comment on how nice it looks. We are always glad to show it off and when people come inside the response is always the same; this is the nicest RV they have ever been in.

What is it about the OR Residental model we purchased? Name one other RV that comes standard with a Frigidaire residential fridge ( 23 Cu Ft ! ) with ice and water in the door, a residential type pantry with swing out shelves, a king size bed, nitrogen filled tires, remote control for all four slides, huge electric awning, kitchen table that seats six, 40" TV in the living room, and many other things that are options on other RV's. All this for less than most other fivers that I looked at.

My first trip was 1,300 miles - absolutely no problems. After 2 months of full-timing, still not one problem. Even stayed comfortable in the 105 degree we've had here in Texas (with the optional second a/c).

You can't go wrong with Open Range IMHO.

DakotaGypsy