My family purchased our first RV 12/26/2019, a 2013 40’ Heartland bunk house 5er. It has served my wife, 2 kids, 1 dog, and I pretty well, but each trip I’m finding myself repairing just a little more than the last and we’ve decided we’d like to try a little newer unit to hopefully reset the curve on repairs. I’m aware I’m asking this on a Alliance owners group, and that the opinions I’ll receive are worth what I’m paying for them, but data is data, and I hope I’m not breaking any rules with this post (I did look). I’m verbose. I apologize.
I have been drinking the Brinkley kool-aid for a couple years, but I’ve been trying to stay as objective as possible, and have been considering Alliance and GD as well. In each of these, I’m considering 2024 MY or newer for various reasons. Ideally, our unit would be shorter than the 39’-6” we’re already pulling, but isn’t a hard requirement. I’m not willing to add more than about a foot to the length though. This has led me to the G3500, 36 or 37 v11 Alliances, and a couple GD units whose models escape me. I’m picky about certain things. e.g. I’ll never own a Schwintek slide. I’ve excluded all the Thor brands as each has some form of “deal breaker” for me, and Thor. Not interested in anything bumper pull. TV is a 2025 F350 DRW.
I’ve consumed countless hours of content about these units and Alliance and Brinkley continuously rise above the rest in my research. Lately I’ve been seeing some talk about the wall cracking on various models. How pervasive is this really? Additionally, does anyone who has purchased used have experience with dealing with this issue? Spending 6 figures or very near, then another 20-30k on repairs would be a nightmare scenario for me. Not because of affordability, but because the initial cost already has me questioning whether RV vacations are the right choice for us. We usually spend 3-4 weeks a year on the road, but we travel quite a few miles for those trips. Between 4500 and 9000 miles per year, and often encounter horrible roads.
Our current unit has aluminum walls, so I have to assume that even though aluminum is completely unsuitable for structural members (read up on fatigue limits of steel vs aluminum), I know that it can survive horrible roads for long periods. That said, all aluminum construction, like ATC, is not something I view as an asset. Not to mention I hate their floorplans.
We’re shopping toy haulers only because we’re hauling bicycles and I haven’t found a suitable solution to haul 4 bikes that doesn’t tear up the interior. Our last trip I tried a Swagman hitch mounted rack. By 300 miles in, it was already cooked and when I reached our destination, it found its way into a dumpster because I figured our bikes would become projectiles on the way home.
I’d be happy to hear that I’ve completely overlooked some brand or option, but my research feels fairly exhaustive. Would love if Northwoods built something in this segment, but can’t help but think there’s a reason they don’t. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
I have been drinking the Brinkley kool-aid for a couple years, but I’ve been trying to stay as objective as possible, and have been considering Alliance and GD as well. In each of these, I’m considering 2024 MY or newer for various reasons. Ideally, our unit would be shorter than the 39’-6” we’re already pulling, but isn’t a hard requirement. I’m not willing to add more than about a foot to the length though. This has led me to the G3500, 36 or 37 v11 Alliances, and a couple GD units whose models escape me. I’m picky about certain things. e.g. I’ll never own a Schwintek slide. I’ve excluded all the Thor brands as each has some form of “deal breaker” for me, and Thor. Not interested in anything bumper pull. TV is a 2025 F350 DRW.
I’ve consumed countless hours of content about these units and Alliance and Brinkley continuously rise above the rest in my research. Lately I’ve been seeing some talk about the wall cracking on various models. How pervasive is this really? Additionally, does anyone who has purchased used have experience with dealing with this issue? Spending 6 figures or very near, then another 20-30k on repairs would be a nightmare scenario for me. Not because of affordability, but because the initial cost already has me questioning whether RV vacations are the right choice for us. We usually spend 3-4 weeks a year on the road, but we travel quite a few miles for those trips. Between 4500 and 9000 miles per year, and often encounter horrible roads.
Our current unit has aluminum walls, so I have to assume that even though aluminum is completely unsuitable for structural members (read up on fatigue limits of steel vs aluminum), I know that it can survive horrible roads for long periods. That said, all aluminum construction, like ATC, is not something I view as an asset. Not to mention I hate their floorplans.
We’re shopping toy haulers only because we’re hauling bicycles and I haven’t found a suitable solution to haul 4 bikes that doesn’t tear up the interior. Our last trip I tried a Swagman hitch mounted rack. By 300 miles in, it was already cooked and when I reached our destination, it found its way into a dumpster because I figured our bikes would become projectiles on the way home.
I’d be happy to hear that I’ve completely overlooked some brand or option, but my research feels fairly exhaustive. Would love if Northwoods built something in this segment, but can’t help but think there’s a reason they don’t. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
