One of the funniest comments I ever saw on an off road forum was when someone referred to Black Series as "the Jayco of the off road".
On a serious note. The Black Series used to advertise their HQ19 GVWR at 10,000lbs. That always seemed too good to be true based on the quality of the brand. As an example, the X22 comes in at a GVWR of 8,820lbs, and it's a toy hauler. Having owned both, to what would you attribute the difference?
You are talking about the GVWR. The HQ19 empty, weighs about 6,500- 6800lbs. Each swing arm is rated for a max load of 3,000 lbs, but the axles have the same bearings as standard 5200 lb axles. A 10,000 lb GVWR is reasonable, but unlikely to ever be seen in real life. More likely they will be around 8,000 lbs ready to go with water and gear, and they have tongue weight of 800 lbs. with gear. Until a year or so ago, they all came with Load Range C tires, which were barely adequate.
The X22 is not a toy hauler. The XR22 is the toy hauler. They are smaller than a BS HQ19 and no black tank. They have torsion suspension with hydraulic ride height adjustment and a perimeter frame. Compared to the HQ19, the bathroom is much lighter, it has no washing machine, fewer cabinets and less counter space lighter solar, and lithium batteries instead of AGMs. The X has a tankless WH instead of the six gallon tank heater in the HQ. The HQ has two 50 gallon tanks and a 16 gallon drinking water tank. The X has one 30 gallon tank. It also has a smaller dinette and table. It has no Anderson charging system, but simply a plastic cover over the propane tanks, instead of the BS aluminum storage area. it also has a composite floor instead of plywood. They both have aluminum skeleton body frames, but the X is done in a much better way and includes a truss roof design that cannot puddle and offers more room for insulation. It weighs about 5,350 lbs with (2) 5,000 lb rated axles and a GVWR of about 8,800 lbs. It is rated to carry about 3,000 lbs of cargo and is sprung rather stiffly. The same basic trailer can be a toy hauler or a conventional style trailer, depending on the big rear door, bed and battery arrangement, etc. So, the X22 is about 1,500 lbs lighter than the BS. The tongue weight is about 600 lbs with gear.
The Black Series suffers mainly from poor workmanship in Los Angeles, where they are finished after being shipped over from China. But there are also material problems with the interior and electronics. Serious problems. The electronics are no-name Chinese units that no parts are available for. They were cheapened about a year ago and have never improved their quality control. There are tremendous warrantee problems that BS mostly refuses to pay for. Consequently, they are in trouble financially as more and more people find out about it. I have tried to help them, but their arrogance is their own worst enemy. I just had lunch with the owner of Black Series a couple of weeks ago, and once again tried to get his take on the situation and what he intends to do about it. Meanwhile the largest dealer in the US, by a wide margin, dropped them. Now, other dealers are doing the same. New dealers are being signed up that know nothing about them and consequently cannot fix them.
Imperial is made in Wisconsin. They have now dropped the X22 and XR22, in favor of building the X145 and X195, as well as the Roamer 1. These new trailers are a lot different with air bag Cruisemaster ATX suspension, composite walls with no aluminum skeleton, much higher insulation value, much nicer materials in the cabinetry, larger and better solar systems and larger battery capacity. They have compressor fridges that are wonderful. And the Roamer 1 has an induction cooktop. Not sure about the X195 . The 195 has a North South bed and rear bath, like the BS, but it is a much better trailer. The electronics are GoPower.
