Carado Banff

[jharu]

Originally Posted by mumkin

Actually the Banff and the Sunlight appeared at about the same time. The first ones were the Sunlight in US at CW... and in Canada, it came out as the Carado Banff within a month or two.

When the Carado website appeared, it had the Axion and the Banff... and on the Banff page it said... sold only in Canada.

It seems odd that they are selling the same unit under two names in the US now...

Thanks, @mumkin.
I think the best thing we can do for now is wait.
Let's see if Hymer listens to its customers.
I am also eager to see any photos that contributors to this thread post here

[willk]

Originally Posted by dougbaty

Note: The Roseville CW Sunlight V2 had soft creamy-white leatherette upholstery in place of black fabric. Rather nice. Perhaps that is one difference between the V1 model and the V2. Also this V2 had a trailer hitch, so I didn't see a big black drain pipe crossing under the rear bumper (also noted above).
DougB

I saw that V2 in Roseville too. I agree the quality seems better than what I had heard. I don't understand why they couldn't spring for a fantastic fan.

[jharu]

Originally Posted by willk

I saw that V2 in Roseville too. I agree the quality seems better than what I had heard. I don't understand why they couldn't spring for a fantastic fan.

Well put. "Better" does not mean "good" or "acceptable"

[wincrasher]

Originally Posted by jharu

I have a question for @wincrasher.
You have been warning about the bad value of some Hymer products and you have been a Winnebago Travato fan.
Did you buy some kind of extended warranty to match the 6 year warranty of a RoadTrek?

Of course not. Travatos have been relatively problem free. Mostly that is due to the simplicity of the systems, plus the WGO workforce is experienced and hasn't been subject to alot of disruption.

Except for the Aktiv, the rest of the Hymer line appears to be garbage. Don't really know why people won't listen to the more experienced voices on this forum.

If you are willing to deal with it all, plus what Camping World brings to the table, go ahead and save a few bucks up front. After all the frustration correcting poor workmanship, plus all the mods, and the headaches from Camping World, you'll still have a van that will have an extremely poor resale value.

Good luck!

[Ron J. Moore]

In reading this I keep hearing about the Roadtrek Warranty vs the Travatos - and then the Hymer is brought to the table as an alternative...that is really a wide range of comparisons. i have the RT and the six year warranty - it has been problem free thus far; I read the Travato has the one year warranty - it is problem free. Knowing what we have read and seen in the videos, I wonder why you are willing to take the risk; the cheaper price now could prove damned costly downstream. Ron

[BBQ]

.

There is nothing more painful than getting warranty service from a RV dealer. They will schedule you 3~4 months out.

Then they drag their feet and wait for approval from the factory.
Then they wait for parts.
And then they nickel and dime you to death on what is covered and what is not.


CA$H is King. Your RV has a problem? They will it on the spot.

[Ron J. Moore]

Amen to that. Ron

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

There is nothing more painful than getting warranty service from a RV dealer. They will schedule you 3~4 months out.

Then they drag their feet and wait for approval from the factory.
Then they wait for parts.
And then they nickel and dime you to death on what is covered and what is not.


CA$H is King. Your RV has a problem? They will it on the spot.

Typing too fast.
I mean...

CA$H is King.
Your RV has a problem? Pay cash and they will fix it on the spot.

[willk]

Originally Posted by jharu

Well put. "Better" does not mean "good" or "acceptable"

I am withdrawing my "better" quality posting. I just looked at pictures I had taken under one of the bench seats. I was looking there to see how easy it would be to install seat belts. The interior wall and wheel well are bare metal. No insulation.

[booster]

Originally Posted by willk

I am withdrawing my "better" quality posting. I just looked at pictures I had taken under one of the bench seats. I was looking there to see how easy it would be to install seat belts. The interior wall and wheel well are bare metal. No insulation.

If you are comparing it to other Roadtreks, that would certainly not be unusual at all. The much more expensive and considered higher quality, Roadtrek Chevy models also have totally uninsulated or soundproofed wheelwells, we have a 2007 190P so know for certain. Roadtrek has always been very spotty on insulation in their units, with some insulation here and there, but big areas with essentially no insulation.

My opinion is that Roadtrek quality has always been less than stellar, I know it was on our van, but I think folks are actually a bit less willing to admit poor quality if they pay premium price, than if they pay economy model price. I have seen lots of $130K+ Roadtreks with very marginal workmanship and overall quality.

A thing that IMO everyone needs to remember is that a long warranty is not a good indicator of a high quality unit. In fact, it can be just the opposite and just indicate that the manufacturer has decided it is a good sales feature and raised the pricing to cover the costs of the long warranty. Roadtrek put the long warranty in at a time when they were getting lots of blowback on their quality, to reassure purchasers of etreks that they were covered, so certainly wasn't because they were sure their quality was so good the warranty would not be needed.

[jharu]

Originally Posted by booster

A thing that IMO everyone needs to remember is that a long warranty is not a good indicator of a high quality unit. In fact, it can be just the opposite and just indicate that the manufacturer has decided it is a good sales feature and raised the pricing to cover the costs of the long warranty.

Amen to that!


After seeing some of the RoadTreks first hand, I think they have managed to scare me off.
I think there is already some harsh criticism on the quality of the Banff, and I for one, have certainly contributed to it.

I agree with @wincrasher - that at this stage, it would be unwise to buy Carado - 2 yr warranty or not.

[jharu]

Originally Posted by BBQ

Typing too fast.
I mean...
CA$H is King.
Your RV has a problem? Pay cash and they will fix it on the spot.

I'll certainly keep that in mind

I am a total novice when it comes to Class Bs - I am at the shopping stage.
I have had a Casita Travel Trailer for years, and it is unsophisticated and totally trouble free.

Thanks for all the great advice on this thread.

[BBQ]

.

KISS is the key to happy RVing.

If you stay with the tried old tech, the basic warranty is sufficient.

AGM battery is covered by the manufacturer for more than 1 yr. You usually get a prorated exchange.

Truma furnace and water heater has a 2 yr warranty.

Most solar panels carry a 25 year performance warranty.

Many chargers and inverters come with a 10 year warranty.

FantasticFan will give you any replacement parts, free. Just give them a call and they will mail it to you, regardless of age. This American company stands behind its products.

Winnebago's screen door supplier will send you replacement parts. Again, free of charge.


As long as the product is not proprietary, getting service is easy.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.
KISS is the key to happy RVing.
If you stay with the tried old tech, the basic warranty is sufficient.
AGM battery is covered by the manufacturer for more than 1 yr. You usually get a prorated exchange.
Truma furnace and water heater has a 2 yr warranty.
Most solar panels carry a 25 year performance warranty.
Many chargers and inverters come with a 10 year warranty.
FantasticFan will give you any replacement parts, free. Just give them a call and they will mail it to you, regardless of age. This American company stands behind its products.
Winnebago's screen door supplier will send you replacement parts. Again, free of charge.
As long as the product is not proprietary, getting service is easy.

Exactly, in my van I went for the compressor fridge to be immune from levelling, a well proven technology.

[Tami2]

I finally picked it up. I Wish I had a picture sans slush and salt. But, hey, it’s January. It is what it is. More pics later when I get out of snow country. This is definitely NOT what they were selling at Camping World. No quality issues yet. I will post as I learn more about it. The Banff.

[Tami2]

Interior pictures

[cruisefx]

Originally Posted by Tami2

Interior pictures

Congratulations!

I noticed that your kitchen counter shows that you have a stove cover and thus a smooth counter top. That's different from what I see at the dealers. Was that a custom order?

[Tami2]

Thank you.

Yes. I did custom order the flat stove. The Hymer guy told me that would probably become standard because, of course, everyone wants the flat stove. If they didn’t put it in, I was going to change it out. I added the touch screen GPS, back-up camera, and remote start. I paid less than $1000 for all that because it was already pre-wired.

Another modification I just did, that took all of 8 minutes, was to cut the board that goes between the beds. The bed is a king with the full board. I don’t need that much bed. I cut the board so I can use half. I cut it to match the cushion lengths. Now I can lie sideways and still have room to walk down the isle. There is room to have the table up, and the bed out that way. This was a game changer.

Argh with the sideways picture. I tried to fix it. It won’t work.

[Phoebe3]

Very nice. Looks like a nice, open floor plan.

[mumkin]

I presume that the change in the cook top took away your only drawer in the galley.

It really needs a flip up counter top too...