K.Z. Fifth wheel

[SDDamm]

Wondering if anyone has experience with the K.Z. line of fifth wheels. Specifically the toy haulers, but any information is helpful. We are looking to escape soon and really like this particular model. There is only one dealer in our area, within 500 miles area. Wondering if there is a reason for this? Any information is greatly appreciated. 

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums.

It is pretty uncommon for RV dealers in close proximity to carry the same line of RVs. They are typically much more widely separated than car dealers because they serve a much smaller market. While I have never owned any fifth wheels, I do currently own a travel trailer by KZ and our son has a hybrid also by KZ. They aren't the very top of the line in terms of quality but neither are they at the top of the price range. They do build a competitive product in the price/quality market that they sell to. Of course, the dealer you buy from is just as important as is the company who builds the RV you choose. 

[mb36912]

We have been full-timing with a KZ 5th for 4+ years now.  In looking for a replacement for our 10 year old unit, we couldn’t find anything we liked for a price we liked so we opted to for a refurb.  We just dropped the truck and trailer off in Indiana to get new carpet/flooring, fridge, wheel bearings, general refurb, etc.  It has been a great rig with very few issues:  IS, disc brakes, heavy frame, double pane windows, hydraulic leveling (added), H-rated tires and wheels (added).  The refurb will not be cheap but it will be way less than any new, quality rig.  We are hoping it will be good for another 7-10 years when finished.

[SDDamm]

First thank you. Mr. Wood I’ve seen and read many of your replies and value your opinion. You are a great asset to this community and did check out your adventure site and saw your KZ travel trailer. Very nice. My thoughts, or better concerns are, finding a dealer to help us if we have an issue on the road. There aren’t a lot of KZ dealers in the New England area, not that we plan on staying here much. As nb36912 stated the quality of the rig is what I’m looking into. We don’t want bells and whistles. We want a simple under 16klbs fifth wheel that is comfortable enough. We are looking in a reasonable price range that a modest budget can afford. It’s becoming discouraging to find exactly what we want in the budget we need to be in. Seems every time we see one the carpet gets pulled from under us but the KZ seems to always be a good fit and available. I’m just concerned of the support after the sale. 

[Kirk W]

As far as factory support, KZ is no better or worse than others in the same market range. All factory support is through dealers. 

[mb36912]

K-Z factory support used to be absolutely great and we could access their factory service center any time we needed.  But since Thor bought them, the factory service center in Shipshewana has been so busy with warranty service, we can no longer get an appointment when we pass through the area.  Kirk is correct; today, K-Z is no better or worse than any of the others in that same price range.

As an aside, you may want to consider a rig that is a few years old.  Hopefully, it will have had all the potential issues and squawks resolved by then and you can get a trouble-free rig for substantially less money.  That was part of the sage advice Mr. Szmyt gave us in 2011 and resulted in the rig we have now.