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Post by wxtrader on Feb 27, 2017 11:14:23 GMT -5
First time post on this forum...nice site!
I have owned campers for about 7 years...started (as most do) with fold outs...then graduated to a hybrid...with my current camper being a 2012 JayFeather X213 (which has been a very good unit for me).
Getting "tired" of my current unit and have been shopping around for a new unit this winter. Parking space limitations means that I can't buy anything too big. Just need a "couple's camper" as my daughter will be leaving for college in a couple years.
We really like the floor plan in the KZ Connect C241RLK...which is basically the same floor plan as the Coachmen Apex 250RLS...or Forest River Heritage Glen 24RLS...or JayFeather 23RLSW...or Coleman 2515RL...or Keystone Passport 2520RL...among others.
What I can't figure out is how/why the the C241RLK has EVERY feature that the others have...but also has SO MANY FEATURES that the others do not! It has an outdoor kitchen. It has a rear bike rack. It has a toy lock. It has an under-mount kitchen sink. Itt has a linen closet in the bathroom. And there are other things too small/numerous to mention. NONE of the other brands/models have ANY of these features.
Even with all of these extra features...the C241RLK is no more expensive than others...and in fact we have three different offers from three different dealerships (admittedly none of them close to home) that are CHEAPER than any other model!!!
The C241RLK has everything that I want...it has MORE features than comparable models...and I can get it at a fair price. Can someone convince me why I should not go with the KZ Connect?
I guess that I am afraid of the "if it is too good to be true...then it must not false" logic. And of course a lot of the dealers go out of their way to bad-mouth KZ, and one can find very bad KZ reviews on the Internet from the public.
Are the KZ Connects poorly made? Is that why KZ can offer all of the extra features while still keeping asking prices at/below the competition?
Thanks for any/all help anyone/everyone can give me.
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Post by jetzen on Feb 27, 2017 15:14:30 GMT -5
wxtrader, let me try to explain. I have been camping for a LONG time and have had some sort of RV since 1982. KZ is a small niche/ever expanding RV manufacturer. They started as a slide in truck camper manufacturer and became an overwhelming favorite in the travel trailer market. They also manufacturer mid to high end 5th wheels and Toy haulers. This is what I believe that you see happening, if you look at the MSRP of a particular model/style/size trailer you will see a price that is close throughout the manufacturers with KZ most likely right in the middle. KZ being just recently purchased by THOR is also most likely trying to increase the sales of KZ and is offering incentives to the dealers which in turn pass them on to you. This is the case with me, I am coming out of a M-----a into a Durango Gold because of incentives. The DW and I were ready to pull the plug on a new M-----a but a similar model Durango Gold with some different (not necessarily better) twists and a MSRP within $1,000 of each other and a bottom line price tag that was $10,000 less for the KZ.
Second, KZ quality is going to be about the same as any other Thor product which is better than all the other manufacturers (ie Forest River products). THOR will not let one of their companies fail because of quality. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with another manufacturer or that a THOR product is perfect, I saying that the chances of a poor product is less likely with a THOR than with others. You must also realize that a RV is the some of MANY manufacturers and the likely hood of a failure of say a furnace or A/C unit or refrigerator is more likely than a structural problem. So many RV manufacturers get a bad rap for a component problem that was not their fault like bad Norcold refrigerators (read No cold).
Third your Selling/servicing dealer can also effect your experience with any brand of RV. If the service department of dealer XXX sucks your opinion of the dealer and the brands he sells will suck also, just sayin'.
Forth and final, if you buy an RV and never expect to have a problem your in for a big surprise. |
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Post by johnr on Feb 27, 2017 15:42:09 GMT -5
Wife and I were loyal Jayco people for a lot of years. We wouldn't even look at anything else.
Went to our normal dealer (Jayco only) and wanted to buy a new RV and they promised to get us information and ignored several of our requests. We went to the next closest Jayco dealer who happened to also be a KZ dealer and he said "I can show you Jayco, but let me show you something..." KZs are made practically next door to Jayco, using the same materials and the same type of employees.
We walked through several of the high end KZ models and ended up buying a unit sight unseen. We love our Durango. Just a couple months ago I asked the wife if she wanted to go to a big RV show and look around and she said no. That's how comfortable she is with it. I will put a disclaimer on here that my unit was purchased before Thor bought them out.
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Post by jetzen on Feb 27, 2017 15:51:17 GMT -5
And now THOR owns Jayco.
johnr who did you purchase you KZ from?
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Post by Chuck on Feb 27, 2017 16:25:09 GMT -5
wxtrader
Like jetzen we have just bought a new KZ product, we looked at a number of other brands but were
impressed with the construction, I saw no press board anywhere, it looked to be wood thought out
the unit, saying this we bought a higher end Kz product but I believe the build quality is there
other wise we would not have bought ours ..
I'm not saying there may be problems, any RV no matter how high priced they will have problems, your
dreaming if you do not believe that. But looking at many brands at a RV show we went to doors were
already ajar, trim falling down, lights already not working.
We saw none of these problems in the KZ products we saw an ended up buy the 5th wheel floor model they
had. We Did this because after two days of people walking thought the trailer we saw none of the
above was apparent, the trailer was solid, no trim hanging, doors opening and closing without any problems
an everything seem to work, as well the trailer talk to us as to say I'm the trailer for you....
As with jetzen and a few others on this reflector the price was right with many extra's, I look up the
MSRP the other day on a web page, our KZ 5th wheel with all the extra's was listed at $96K,It was listed
at the show as $62K, we talked them down under $60K and got a $10K trade in so we were out the door at
around $55K with tax and Lic ...
Lastly I can't say this enough, the dealer you buy from is I believe one of the most important things
in buying a trailer, if the sales person talks down to you or acts like what I call Slick Willey walk
away, as well if the dealer can not provide good service in a timely fashion then you need to go else
were.
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Post by trex380 on Feb 27, 2017 21:11:52 GMT -5
wxtrader
Welcome to the site. My wife and I are on our second KZ product. We like most here started out with a pop-up and moved up. Our first KZ was a 2010 Coyote CL180 and then last spring we purchased a Spree Connect 260RKS. We love it. Like others have said you can't expect to not have some issues. We did with the Coyote and with the Connect. They were all minor and easily fixed by our dealer. Don't think you will be disappointed if you choose a KZ.
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Post by johnr on Feb 28, 2017 7:46:22 GMT -5
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Post by jetzen on Feb 28, 2017 19:00:13 GMT -5
johnr, Do they have a good service department
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Post by johnr on Mar 1, 2017 11:52:22 GMT -5
I've had my ups and downs with their service department. When it really counted after a mishap and I needed my RV in after a camping trip and back in a few days to leave again, they did get me in and turned around quickly. Did have arguments over a couple issues. Overall though, there's nothing that would stop me from buying there again.
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Post by jetzen on Mar 1, 2017 13:40:19 GMT -5
johnr, Huffenagle, Majors is actually closer for me but I've have issues with them in the past when they were a Montana dealer with my current 5ver. That's one of the drawbacks when you purchase from a manufacturer show. You get a great price on the unit and you pick what dealer you want to pick it up at and do the PDI and hope other dealers will service it under warranty. I know where Hartville RV is I will have to check them out. Thanks
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Post by Chuck on Mar 2, 2017 12:31:57 GMT -5
We have the forever warranty on our D384RLT, supposedly any dealer over 150 miles from our dealer that honors the forever warranty is suppose to repair the unit without you going to the back of the line as long as you pay the $99 a year for inspection and tune in the paperwork ... As well while under warranty any Kz dealer is suppose to repair the unit without question an not put off or refuse to fix anything ....  Do I believe either, maybe, do I think it will happen, we will see, I'm hoping the solid way the trailer is built I will never have a problem, but it's a trailer and bouncing down the road things come loose and sometime brake.... So far our dealer has bent over backwards to make sure we are happy, they called the other day asking if we had any problems, were happy with the unit. My answer was, I love looking at it sitting in my driveway, now all we need to do is get out and go camping so we can enjoy it Ugh  |
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Post by freddyp on Apr 18, 2017 16:17:53 GMT -5
wxtrader
We sold our 36 ft Bounder Class A and recently purchased a KZ Connect C241RLK in Alabama. We have been camping 3 times, total of 2 weeks use, and have had no major issues. The biggest selling point was that it was 1/2 ton towable. We have had some minor issues like, lock cylinder at cargo bay door comes out, cabinet door hits AC vent when you open it, broken wire for the DVD player, Back up camera does not work, small LED light at shore power hook up cover went out, Refrigerator/Freezer door do not lock. Other than these small issues, which should be taken care of this week, I would recommend KZ to anyone who will listen.
The kitchen counter space was a plus for the wife. The shower stall is a little tight but the bathroom is roomy. Be sure to get the Premium Package and Advantage Package and some options like the outside grill, pillow top mattress, rear drop down carriage rack, back up camera, when mine gets fixed I will let you know if it is worth it. I did not order these, my dealer orders them fully equipped with what he said as must need options. Again coming from an older Class A it takes a little getting used to the smaller size Travel Trailer.
I am enjoying the electric tongue jack and well as the power awning and leveling jacks. And a no crank up antenna...........welcome to the new school of camping.....LOL
So wxtrader, If I can help you out any other way just let me know and Welcome to the board and KZ
Chuck
I also have the warranty forever, but my dealer told me it was $200 a year and you must get started in the program at least a couple of months before your original warranty ends. He also tells me that they will repack bearings and check all major items. This is the only way the Forever Warranty will work, I guess I need to discuss that price with him, $99 is better than $200 any day. I'll get back to you and the group after my findings.
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Post by freddyp on Apr 19, 2017 16:12:36 GMT -5
My follow up.......Opelika RV fixed all the small problems today, I am very pleased with the service I received today. As far as the Warranty Forever, my salesman was off today, I will have to call tomorrow.
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Post by Chuck on Apr 21, 2017 0:06:36 GMT -5
wxtraderWe sold our 36 ft Bounder Class A and recently purchased a KZ Connect C241RLK in Alabama. We have been camping 3 times, total of 2 weeks use, and have had no major issues. The biggest selling point was that it was 1/2 ton towable. We have had some minor issues like, lock cylinder at cargo bay door comes out, cabinet door hits AC vent when you open it, broken wire for the DVD player, Back up camera does not work, small LED light at shore power hook up cover went out, Refrigerator/Freezer door do not lock. Other than these small issues, which should be taken care of this week, I would recommend KZ to anyone who will listen. The kitchen counter space was a plus for the wife. The shower stall is a little tight but the bathroom is roomy. Be sure to get the Premium Package and Advantage Package and some options like the outside grill, pillow top mattress, rear drop down carriage rack, back up camera, when mine gets fixed I will let you know if it is worth it. I did not order these, my dealer orders them fully equipped with what he said as must need options. Again coming from an older Class A it takes a little getting used to the smaller size Travel Trailer. I am enjoying the electric tongue jack and well as the power awning and leveling jacks. And a no crank up antenna...........welcome to the new school of camping.....LOL So wxtrader, If I can help you out any other way just let me know and Welcome to the board and KZ ChuckI also have the warranty forever, but my dealer told me it was $200 a year and you must get started in the program at least a couple of months before your original warranty ends. He also tells me that they will repack bearings and check all major items. This is the only way the Forever Warranty will work, I guess I need to discuss that price with him, $99 is better than $200 any day. I'll get back to you and the group after my findings. Well they told us that we had to get in inspected early so they could get the paperwork turned in on time, So I plan on having mine done in Early to middle of November since our buy date is in February. Thus I will also have them winterize it at the same time since we do not snow bird and stop camping in November an start back up in March ... Under the warranty they are suppose to inspect, repair anything they find (no repair work covered by self inflicted problems), repack bearings, check all fluid levels an replace if needed .... This is a yearly thing, per my dealer must be done even under the warranty period, but I may be wrong on this because it's been since early February since we did our PDI. I do have an appointment this mouth and will ask again on this subject, But I am sure of the $99.00 for the yearly inspection .... |
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d2
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 9 
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Post by d2 on May 8, 2017 19:06:25 GMT -5
Just sold our rpod,time to move into something bigger but we had a lot of fun with it. Pick up our 241rlk on the 23 of May,it fit the bill for us, can't think of anything else we would need but I am sure we will think of something.lol.
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Post by hunt1up on May 17, 2017 9:31:57 GMT -5
We picked up our 241RLK last weekend. I pulled it against a 25 mph wind with my 1/2 ton Avalanche. We only went about 60, due to the 35 mph gusts, but it went pretty well!
As far as layout and features, we really enjoy it so far. I have never had a full size camper (previous tear dropper here!) but when I showed my friends around, they kept pointing out features they wished they had on theirs!
We got the premium package because it came with the couch that folds out longer than normal (we plan to take grandkids a lot and the regular jack knife couch just didn't look like it would work well in this unit), the outside grill works great, TV is already installed, and I like the front shell too.
What are the super handy things so far?
Battery shut off, kills all juice with one switch.
Motion sensing lights, kick on when you reach into storage areas.
Electric jack with lighting.
Magnets to hold storage doors in place.
Friction hinge to hold door in position, even in windy conditions.
Lighting under awning.
Can't wait to take it out again.
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Post by Chuck on May 18, 2017 16:07:21 GMT -5
hunt1up Sounds like you have a really nice trailer with all the bells and whistles  Don't forget about the Kz Rally this summer to show off your new trailer to other Kz owners who are going from all over the country Safe Travels Chuck |
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rcb28
Newbie RV’er
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Post by rcb28 on May 18, 2017 17:16:42 GMT -5
My wife & I have a 2017 Spree Connect 260RKS and got it last year. We are very happy with the layout and it seems to be doing good for us! I like our KZ Spree Connect!
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Post by bc75 on May 18, 2017 21:05:18 GMT -5
I bought a 06 frontier last year my first KZ we love it.I don't see me buying any other brand.
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d2
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 9
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Post by d2 on May 24, 2017 7:35:05 GMT -5
Took ownership of our new 2018 connect spree 241rkl yesterday, finally in the driveway getting ready for our first outing.
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