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RE: Open Range (All Lemons)
DH and I have a 2011 Open Range. We have only had one big issue with our 5th wheel in the two years that we have owned it. Last November, we had a lower side panel that popped open as we were driving in a STRONG headwind. The panel was sticking out at a 180 degree angle from the 5th wheel. Our dealer replaced the panel, then checked the other panel on the opposite side and reinforced it. They also checked the roof and found that the roof was just about to let go because it had been installed incorrectly. No big deal, they replaced the roof. We are getting ready to go out in a few weeks to a concert and our first camping trip in 2013.
We love our Open Range and would definitely buy another one. This 5th wheel is our 3rd trailer and is the best quality (with the least problems) that we have owned so far. It isn't fair to label all Open Range products as "lemons". They offer several different lines, with varying features, quality, etc. I am sure it is frustrating to have a dealer who doesn't seem to have your interests in mind when working on your trailer. Our dealer has been fantastic and if you check the Open Range forum, you will find that Open Range tries hard to satisfy its customers. Perhaps (as mentioned in an earlier reply), you should contact Open Range directly instead of your dealer.
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ttstansfield
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04/15/13 11:15am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Newb question: Stranger approaches your RV
We allowed a young woman in our 5th wheel to use our bathroom about 5 years ago. We were at a tailgate for a Jimmy Buffett concert and the public bathrooms were overflowing and stinky. I knew that we didn't have anything in the 5th wheel worth pilfering. Would DH and I do it again? Maybe. Ask me after this year's Buffett concert! :)
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ttstansfield
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04/05/13 11:41am |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Ever suggest a restaurant for Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives
DH and I have tried several of them. There have only been three that we didn't like--one in Santa Fe, one in Salt Lake City and one near us in Oklahoma. Just because we didn't like the food in that particular place doesn't mean that it is bad--just not to our taste. On the other hand, we found a place in Omaha that we wouldn't have known about otherwise and it is in a part of town that we would never have ventured to on our own. We make a point of stopping there (California Taco) every time we are in Omaha. We have been to almost all of the ones listed for Santa Fe, New Mexico and only disliked one of them. I still enjoy watching the show and it gives me ideas for my own cooking.
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ttstansfield
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03/14/13 11:35am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Need comments on Open Range trailers
DH and I have a 2011 Open Range 398RLS. We have owned it for 2 years and love it.
We have only had one major issue with it--one of the big metal panels came loose while we were traveling last November. It bent up into a 90 degree angle (we were towing into a huge headwind). We were able to stop on the shoulder and duct tape it until we got home. The dealer replaced that panel, checked the panel on the other side and replaced it. While we had it at the dealer's for repairs, they checked our roof and discovered that the manufacturer had not fastened down the roof correctly, so it had come loose and needed to be replaced. Everything was covered under warranty--we only had one week remaining on the two year warranty--and our dealer and Open Range were excellent in taking care of the repairs.
This is our 3rd trailer and we will probably replace it with another Open Range when the time comes. We have had absolutely no problems with the cable slides. Since we visit Nebraska often, we do camp in cold weather and we have had no problems keeping our 5th wheel warm and cozy. We would definitely recommend an Open Range to other prospective buyers.
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ttstansfield
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02/28/13 11:12am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Need for more dog parks..
Perhaps we are just very lucky to have a good group of people at our regular dog park in Tulsa. I guess that says a lot about the people who frequent the park. We aren't even the "posh" dog park. Ours is the first dog park that was created in town and it is an old baseball field that is split in half. We just don't have a lot of problems with poop, aggressive dogs, aggressive people, etc. It stays open all year and many of us go out there, even if it is cold and windy and wet. Since one of my 12 year old dogs has arthritis, long walks are not an option any longer. We do walk around the dog park with the older dogs and keep an eye on the younger one. DH and I truly value the dog park here and love it when we can find a dog park when we are traveling--either at the RV park or in the city we are visiting. A dog park allows the older dogs to walk at their own (slow) pace and our younger dog to frolic with other dogs.
It all boils down to the problem lying with the owners who don't clean up or act responsibly regarding their dogs in RV dog parks. Unfortunately, it is the dogs who get the blame.
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ttstansfield
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02/19/13 10:49am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Need for more dog parks..
It is really sad that several of you have such a negative opinion about dog parks. We have two dog parks in our city and we are regular visitors (3 to 4 times per week)to one of them. DH and I have three terriers, 2 of them are 12 years old and one of them is nearly 2 years old.
Our dogs LOVE going to the dog park. We think that it is important to their socialization. The two older dogs are not very active and they tend to sit near us and watch the activity in the park. The nearly two year old (who is a boy), has so much fun and comes home exhausted and happy. Although our dogs are under 30 pounds, we take them on the large dog side. They are terriers and play too rough for the little dogs. In the nearly 2 years that we have been going to this dog park, we have NEVER had any major problems with any of the dogs there. The few owners that have caused problems have been told to clean up their act or leave. We self-police the dog park for aggressive dogs, unfixed dogs, etc. Most owners are very good about picking up after their dogs and there are many receptacles around the park. People donate store bags (ie. Target, Walmart, etc.) and newspaper bags for picking up poop. It isn't stocked with poop bags. We also have little shovels and pans to scoop up the poop. If you are a campground owner and don't want to pay for poop bags, then why don't you stock the dispensers with used store bags or newspaper bags? If we are at the dog park and see loose poop, them most of us will pick up the extra poop and dispense of it in the proper receptacle. We value our dog park and we maintain it so we can keep it.
We have one campground that we frequent that has a large dog park. It is CampAWay in Lincoln, Nebraska. Our dogs love to be able to run up and down the hill. It is huge for a campground dog park. We value having it there and have stayed there over other places due to the dog park. You don't see hardly any poop in the dog park and there are poop bag dispensers and a trash can at one end.
If you are an owner that doesn't want to frequent a dog park, then don't utilize one. Please don't tell people that you should never take your dog to a dog park if you have never been to one though. Our dogs know that when I get home and it is still daylight outside that it is a dog park day and they start whirling with excitement. I never knew the benefits of the dog park until we got our younger dog. It has made a huge difference in his life and in the lives of the other two older dogs. It also benefits my mental health. I can have the worst day at work and go to the dog park and come home with a smile on my face.
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ttstansfield
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02/18/13 11:50am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Open Range,Sanibel
DH and I have a 2011 Open Range 385 RLS. We love our 5th wheel and have only had a couple of problems with it. Our dealer worked with us to fix the problems under warranty. Open Range has a good reputation for working with their customers and making things right when you have problems. We like the quality of the 5th wheel. It isn't the best trailer ever built, but we didn't pay for a top of the line trailer. It is good quality for the price and definitely better than the two previous trailers that we owned. We would absolutely consider another Open Range when we get ready to trade trailers again.
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ttstansfield
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01/28/13 11:18am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Lost Dog
You might try using www.findtoto.com. I'm not sure if they charge a fee, but they seem to have a good success rate.
Good luck in finding your furry pal. I have had two of mine do a walkabout in our neighborhood and I remember the panicked feeling when I realized that they had escaped. We now have a 6' high privacy fence with a padlock on it.
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ttstansfield
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01/22/13 11:49am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: NOW I miss the Endura!
Try checking at the RV places (if you haven't already) for generators. When our big ice storm hit in December 2007, there were no generators to be had anywhere in town at the hardware stores. We called our local RV place and found a generator. We camped in our driveway for 3 days until power was restored. It was just enough to power the TT that we had at that time. Since I still had to go to work, it was wonderful to have heat and power and hot water.
Good luck to everyone in the path of Sandy. Stay safe.
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ttstansfield
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10/29/12 11:27am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Anyone have a Chicken Tortilla soup recipe to share?
If you only want a couple of portions, Schwans sells a wickedly good chicken tortilla soup. It has some spice to it and it is more of a brothy soup than a creamy one--just like I like it. It comes frozen, so I split it into two portions and freeze them separately and then seal-a-meal them to save freezer space.
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ttstansfield
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10/23/12 11:15am |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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RE: Anyone know anything about Open Range Mesa Ridge?
DH and I have a 2011 Open Range 385RLS. We have owned it for over a year and have not had any delamination issues or problems with our cable slides. The tanks are on a slide out tray, so it is easy to access them. DH loves the leveling system. The build quality is better than our previous trailers (Gulfstream and Forest River). We love our Open Range and would be happy to buy another one when ours needs replacement. There is an owners forum (www.openrangeowners.com) if you are interested in talking to other owners.
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ttstansfield
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09/18/12 11:22am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Open Range or Cougar
I have had a Keystone 5'r and now have an Open Range. The Keystone products are NOT built any better than the Open Range. And the Open Range trailers are NOT built any better than the Keystones, either. So no difference in quality, either way. Buy the one that has the better floorplan for you and is best bang for the buck.
In my mind the O.R. has a 2 year warranty and is new. So any major problems might not be an issue. The cougar having been pre-owned, probably has had all major problems resolved. But do check the frame. And look for water leaks. And plan to replace the tires in a couple years. And keep in mind that the auto leveling system adds about $4K to the price.
If you the out the door price difference is $10K or less, I'd lean towards the newer trailer. Remembering the $4K value for auto levelling... 10K to 15K a toss up. And dealer choice may make the difference. More than 15K, the older one is the best deal. That is if you like them both EQUALLY well. But don't think there is a quality difference. Cause there is not. JMHO.
My comments on build quality were specifically made versus our prior 5th wheel (Gulfstream) and our prior TT (Flagstaff). The build quality will differ between the manufacturers. The Open Range that we own is a better quality than either of those trailers. We haven't had problems with our Open Range so far--which is unlike what we experienced with the other units that we owned. No big glitches or major problems at all and we've had our Open Range for 1 1/2 years.
The leveling system is worth its weight in gold, according to DH. We never had any problems with leveling our other trailers, but it just goes so much faster now with the automatic system.
Also, our Open Range is insulated better than our prior trailers. If you do any cold weather camping--which we do occasionally for football games in Nebraska--you might want to compare the insulation in the Keystone versus the Open Range.
Good luck in your choice. I am sure you will be happy with whichever one you choose to buy.
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ttstansfield
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08/17/12 11:19am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Open Range or Cougar
DH and I have a 2011 Open Range 385 RLS. We absolutely love it and the build quality is so much better than our previous 5th wheel and travel trailer. We haven't had any problems with our slides or the cables. DH loves the leveling system--just pushes the button and lets the leveling system do the work. We would definitely look at purchasing another Open Range when the time comes to replace our current 5th wheel.
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ttstansfield
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08/16/12 11:09am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Christmas. Where to go?
If you've never been to Santa Fe, New Mexico during Christmas, then you might want to consider it. It would be a long drive for you though. We went a couple of years ago and it was magical. It snowed on December 22nd or 23rd and the Christmas Eve walk in the art district was so beautiful. people were caroling as they strolled among the art galleries. The city offered free bus rides down to the Christmas Eve walk--we parked at the big mall and took the bus down. No hassles with parking--just pure enjoyment. We loved seeing the farolitos lit up all along the rooftops all through the city. We drove out to the Jemez Mountains and just enjoyed the pristine scenery. We would definitely go back again. It was cold and we had to unhook our water hose daily, but it was well worth it for the experience.
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ttstansfield
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08/14/12 11:22am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Hello and Newbie advice
We have a 2011 Open Range 5th wheel--it is 39 feet long. We have three dogs (all terriers) and have no space issues. You might consider an Open Range when you are ready to full time. Ours has a residential size fridge and a large pantry. We love our 5th wheel as it seems to be well built and a good quality for the price. I would consider changing our couch as our dogs like to sit on the cushions and look out the window. the cushions we have now are too soft to take their weight (about 20 pounds) and they slowly sink downward as they gaze at the squirrels, etc. :)
Hope you find a 5th wheel that you can enjoy for many years.
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ttstansfield
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07/31/12 11:12am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Admission Corner...
DH and I went to Durango and Santa Fe in early July. On our second day of vacation, DH noticed that the truck (2005 GMC 3/4 ton truck) was not handling well. Luckily, he didn't mention it until AFTER we crossed Wolf Creek Pass! :E We took the truck into a garage in Durango the next day and found out that our tie rods were failing (along with a couple of other things that go along with it). We didn't want to let the repair ruin our day, so we rented a car and went up to Silverton. The repair bill was $2300. We still had a wonderful time in Colorado and then headed to Santa Fe. Upon our arrival in Santa Fe, I went into the 5th wheel to find the living room TV on the floor against the couch. It had pulled off of the mount and flew across the room and no longer worked. DH thinks he forgot to secure the TV before we left Durango. We were in a hurry to get out of our spot before the 4th of July kids parade in the campground.
We didn't let the misfortunes ruin our vacation. The tie rods could have caused an accident while we were towing, but they didn't. The television could have damaged something in the 5th wheel, but it didn't. I'm sure someone in the campground thought they hit it lucky when they saw the TV in the trash--so it brought them happiness (until they plugged it in!). :) You just have to learn to "roll with the punches" and enjoy the time with your family and ignore the bad things. We also had all three of our dogs get sick around the same time as our trip (they are all okay now) . It will get better, but it will never be "perfect". We haven't had a "perfect" trip yet, but we still have a ton of fun when we go out in our 5th wheel. It isn't about having a perfect trip, it's about enjoying your time on this earth. Go out and have fun with your family. :)
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ttstansfield
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07/23/12 02:35pm |
General RVing Issues
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