I an new to this forum and we are considering buying this used Cameo fifth wheel. It has the Arizona Slide which has lots of windows and the roof on the slide is all skylights. DH and I are concerned that this might be a lot colder in cold weather and a lot hotter in hot weather. We are worried about condensation if the skylights get frost on them (would they drip once the frost melts from sun or when we turn the furnace higher once we get up in the morning). Does anybody have this model of 5er and please give us your comments on it. We have researched quite thoroughly and are impressed with how the Cameo by Carriage is built. Your comments would be most appreciated.
Lucky Lil
Luvglass said
11:41 AM Nov 9, 2008
Hi Lil,
We are happily living in a Cameo 35KS3 for almost 3 years now and would definitely recommend any Carriage product. We don't have the Arizona room option though, so can't comment directly. However we do have the dual pane windows in ours and can report that there is no problem with condensation in cold weather, not difficulty in air conditioning in hot.
For direct comments, I would encourage you to join the Yahoo Carriage group where I know there are a number of participants that have the Arizona room. Here's a link
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Carriage_RV/
Good luck,
Fred
Lucky Lil said
11:32 PM Nov 10, 2008
Hi Fred,
Thanks for your response. I was hoping folks that have the Arizona Slide would reply to this. I don't really want to join another forum until we actually purchase a Cameo. From other posts it sounds like it is hard to join that fourm. We are probably going to go and look at this unit this coming weekend ( in 4 days time), so I was hoping for a reponse from folks before we go. Thanks.
Lil
Luvglass said
04:33 AM Nov 11, 2008
Lil,
Carriage is a small company in the RV world, they only sell about 2,000 units a year, and I doubt that 5% of them have Arizona rooms, so the odds of finding a member on this group is rather slim.
Your best bet is the Carriage group. I don't know what the problems being reported are, but I don't think you even have to be approved to join it.
Give it a try,
Fred
island girl said
11:14 AM Nov 14, 2008
I am also looking at a Cameo with an Arizona room so was interested in replies to this question. I did go to the Carriage site and didn't find any problems with the Arizona room but found so many other complaints about Carriage that I am re considering the units I was looking at.
Roz said
11:24 AM Nov 14, 2008
It is wise to consider, Island Girl
. . . that those as happy with the unit as Fred and so many others most likely have not posted how happy they are. The posts you will see are the ones complaining. This is true for any brand of RV, and it is true for just about any product.
Those most vocal have a gripe. If you have a serious interest in Cameo, I would call someone at Cameo to discuss the issues raised on the forum. At 2,000 per year, there are surely well more than 10,000 on the road, and how many gripes were there on the forum.
If the issues are serious, then maybe reconsider. There are issues with any product. What is important is how the manufacturer responds to issues.
island girl said
12:25 PM Nov 14, 2008
I do realize that unhappy people speak the loudest. I must say there were lots of happy people and even people with problems who were still happy overall. I guess it was the talk of "exploding waste tanks" that scared me...and water leakage problems. It seems to me, from what I have read, that there are often problems with showers leaking etc. on almost any new unit regardless of the company. We will only be able to make this purchase once and can't afford to make the wrong decision as this will have to be our permanent home for at least 10 years! Being from Canada and needing a four season unit warranteed for full time also limits our choices. I never realized deciding on our new home could be so stressful.
Angela
wmalefyt said
04:01 PM Nov 14, 2008
We have been researching 5th wheels for a couple of years as we wait for the real estate market to turn around. One thing I have found from owning 4 Rv's over the last 30 years is that there are 2 kinds of RV's: Those that leak and those that will leak eventually!
Keeping water from entering an Rv is a constant battle that involves resealing roof seams, window frames and slide seals. As far as exploding holding tanks, that's one area I haven't encountered thank goodness!
You might want to check out the NuWa Owners Forum: http://www.nuwaowners.org/ Here you will find many happy NuWa owners along with a few that have had some problems, but in my opinion the positive far outweighs the negative.
NuWa has been in business for 40+ years. They just announced plans to shutdown production around mid December and waiting to see what happens in the Spring. Sales have been very slow in the RV market so most manufacturers are hurting big time. Hopefully NuWa will come back as they build one of the best 5th wheels in the industry and their customer service is 2nd to none.
If NuWa stays in business we plan on buying one as soon as our condo sells.
Good luck!
Bill
Luvglass said
12:58 PM Nov 16, 2008
As others have said, when people have a problem they sometimes become angry and repeatedly post their complaints.I think I f you look at the "exploding tank" issue you will see it was one or 2 people who had this problem. There are over 1300 members of the Carriage group and just in that sample it represents only one one hundredth of one percent. Miniscule, by any measure.
More importantly I think, is how Carriage handled the problems. Are any of these people claiming that when contacted, Carriage refused to fix the issue? Thats the sign of a good company and I feel Carriage is one. I've had a number of issues with my trailer and have received good service from Carriage dealers around the country, all at no expense to me.
good luck,
Fred
Speedhitch said
02:39 PM Nov 18, 2008
Lucky...my BIL and SIL have the Arizona room on an Extreme 5 and they are happy with it. They have had it in cold and hot weather and it has not made that much difference. I would go for it if I could. Beside that if you stay where the temps are mild who would notice the difference??? The view out the windows is well worth it believe me.
Speedy
Lucky Lil said
10:56 PM Nov 22, 2008
Thanks so much for your comments on the Arizona Slide. We bit the bullet and bought a 2007 Cameo F35KS3 with the Arizona Slide. It is in mint condition. We are quite excited and can't wait until the end of April to be able to take it out and use it. Thankfully we still don't have snow but it is coming.
Lucky Lil
I an new to this forum and we are considering buying this used Cameo fifth wheel. It has the Arizona Slide which has lots of windows and the roof on the slide is all skylights. DH and I are concerned that this might be a lot colder in cold weather and a lot hotter in hot weather. We are worried about condensation if the skylights get frost on them (would they drip once the frost melts from sun or when we turn the furnace higher once we get up in the morning). Does anybody have this model of 5er and please give us your comments on it. We have researched quite thoroughly and are impressed with how the Cameo by Carriage is built. Your comments would be most appreciated.
Lucky Lil
. . . that those as happy with the unit as Fred and so many others most likely have not posted how happy they are. The posts you will see are the ones complaining. This is true for any brand of RV, and it is true for just about any product.
Those most vocal have a gripe. If you have a serious interest in Cameo, I would call someone at Cameo to discuss the issues raised on the forum. At 2,000 per year, there are surely well more than 10,000 on the road, and how many gripes were there on the forum.
If the issues are serious, then maybe reconsider. There are issues with any product. What is important is how the manufacturer responds to issues.
We will only be able to make this purchase once and can't afford to make the wrong decision as this will have to be our permanent home for at least 10 years!
Being from Canada and needing a four season unit warranteed for full time also limits our choices.
I never realized deciding on our new home could be so stressful.
Angela
Keeping water from entering an Rv is a constant battle that involves resealing roof seams, window frames and slide seals. As far as exploding holding tanks, that's one area I haven't encountered thank goodness!
You might want to check out the NuWa Owners Forum:
http://www.nuwaowners.org/ Here you will find many happy NuWa owners along with a few that have had some problems, but in my opinion the positive far outweighs the negative.
NuWa has been in business for 40+ years. They just announced plans to shutdown production around mid December and waiting to see what happens in the Spring. Sales have been very slow in the RV market so most manufacturers are hurting big time. Hopefully NuWa will come back as they build one of the best 5th wheels in the industry and their customer service is 2nd to none.
If NuWa stays in business we plan on buying one as soon as our condo sells.
Good luck!
Bill