We are considering the purchase of a Carri-Lite 36XTRM5 fifth wheel. I would like to hear opinions of some folks who own one. If you like it, why, and if you don't like it, why not.
I considered the same model as you and probably would have bought one if the dealer hadn't been such a jerk. Carri-Lite is a great buy for the money when you are looking at upper level 5'ers. One problem is the lack of dealers nation wide.
Dave
We owned one, 5 slides, Arizona room for about 4 years. Mostly good, though the skylights in the Airzona room leaked, finally stopped with a lot of caulking. The drawers were poorly mounted. I had to replace the slides on all of them withing the first year or two. They were weakly mounted at the back end tothe trailer wall, and quickly tore lose with the bouncing down the road.
We traded it off for a 32.5 HH for one reason only. Almost any 36 foot trailer forces you to use Goodyear G rated tires, because the weight per wheel will be around 3300#, too high for E rated tires. NO ONE else makes a G rated tire in 16". I blew up about 8 of them on two trailers over 9 years, around $1500 damage to the trailer most every time. Yeah I'm a slow learner.
People will tell you the Goodyear G is OK. It's not. I tried higher pressures, lower pressures, stopping every 50 miles to measure pressure, etc. Just kept blowing them. Goodyear gave me complete new sets of tires several times, came out with new & improved G's once or twice, still blew up.
Just enjoying my smaller trailer with Michlin X, or whatever they are called. Peace of mind!
Can't speak for the 36XTRM5 but, our 32RS3 has been trouble free and we love it. IMHO Carriage made a mistake in dropping the 32' Carri-Lite, I have a waiting list if we ever decide to part with it.
We have a Carri lite 36SBQ. Have no serious problems with it. This is our 4th 5th wheel and we think it is the best we have had so far. Would recommend them. Bought ours in Missouri at a great dealer. They were recommended to us. Drove from Colorado to get this Carri lite.
Do not have the AZ room. Ordered and bought our Carriage last year.
Love our Carriage and if we ever buy another 5th wheel it will be a Carriage product.
Our tires are Good year G rated and have not had a problem with them. We do have the Doran tire monitors to let us know if we have a problem.
Have not had a problem with the drawers.
2008 dodge 5500, diesel, bedsaver, pressure pro tire.
2008 Carri-Lite 36SBQ, 4 slides,dishwasher,washer/dryer,2 fireplaces
D & D
Two Schnauzers, & cat
We dont own a Carri-Lite but do own an 08 Cameo...they are all built on the same assembly lines by the same employees.
Carriage seems to do a nice job with certain aspects of their 5th wheels. Before making a decision however, I would ask the dealer to pull panels, appliances, etc revealing the substance behind the apparent beauty. I have found numerous examples of shoddy workmanship and QC in our 08 Cameo. They are nice units overall, but seem to the product of certain QC compromises being deemed acceptable. They claim to be the finest 5th wheels in the world, and as such, invite much closer scrutiny than "run of the mill" units. I would be certain you feel that moniker is deserved before handing over your hard earned cash.
08 Carriage Cameo F34CK3
07 GMC Sierra 2500 HD 6.6 Duramax
00 Chevrolet Tahoe (retired T/V)
55 Beautiful, brunette RV loving Wife
06 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel "Roxy"
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