It may not be used in Chinese grids, but it is all manufactured there. I can say for certain that all of the NM cables are ran in China as the cabinetry and wiring is all done before the outer skin is installed. I wouldn't be surprised if the boxes are installed there too. I've seen a lot of crap work on RVs, but nothing ever as consistently terrible as this. I'd really like to attribute it to a foreign installer being ignorant rather than a US installer being that incredibly negligent. Either way the lack of QC here should be criminal.
Black Series fire hazard
- Thread starter Anon_Tech
- Start date
Thanks for bringing these issues to the attention of the community.
I was just about to pull the trigger on an HQ19 now I’m seriously reconsidering. So let me ask, would you definitely stay away from BS?What are the best ways to safeguard against these potentially hazardous electrical issues in a unit you might want to purchase? Is there some sort of pre- purchase inspection that needs to happen?
If you say definitely no to BS, whichtravel trailer should I be looking at with similar “off-road” capacity?
I was just about to pull the trigger on an HQ19 now I’m seriously reconsidering. So let me ask, would you definitely stay away from BS?What are the best ways to safeguard against these potentially hazardous electrical issues in a unit you might want to purchase? Is there some sort of pre- purchase inspection that needs to happen?
If you say definitely no to BS, whichtravel trailer should I be looking at with similar “off-road” capacity?
eatSleepWoof
Do it for the 'gram
Personally, there is no way in hell I'd pay their asking prices given the "quality" they're delivering. What I see in these photos (and other reviews online) is inline with Forest River-produced garbage.
If you've got money to spend, get a Kimberley Kruiser.
FordGuy1
Adventurer
That is exactly how my wife and I felt. We kept looking at the different brands and we just kept getting discouraged from the very poor quality. In the end, we order a Kimberley S3. It is over priced for sure, but we just did not want to deal with quality issues.
DRAX
Active member
Not really on-topic for the quality concerns, more of a question for those of you that were/are considering BS trailers that live here in North America. More specifically the dual-axle trailers like the HQ19.
Where do you plan on towing those monsters off-pavement? I can see Africa, Australia, etc...but...outside of the desert/southwest, where would you be able to tow these that would justify their cost/capabilities? All of the places I've gone and plan to go overlanding there's no way trailers of this size or weight would be viable options. And by weight I'm referring to the tow vehicle's low-speed/4LO ability to drag these up trails without roasting the transmission.
What am I missing?
Where do you plan on towing those monsters off-pavement? I can see Africa, Australia, etc...but...outside of the desert/southwest, where would you be able to tow these that would justify their cost/capabilities? All of the places I've gone and plan to go overlanding there's no way trailers of this size or weight would be viable options. And by weight I'm referring to the tow vehicle's low-speed/4LO ability to drag these up trails without roasting the transmission.
What am I missing?
calicamper
Expedition Leader
There are now several “branded” Chinese import trailers being sold in the US all are built in the same facility. All likely are pre wired by the same people “in China”.
At the prices the dealers are asking no one in their right mind should be buying these.
I was getting close to an upgrade from my 4x6 tent on a trailer to something more weather and bear friendly pre pandemic. The Opus 15 was advertised in the $38-43k ish zone with the Taxa Mantis in the $32-36k zone. The Black Label stuff was already getting lots of bad feedback on junk parts and difficult to fix those were in the $45-53k ish advertised range. Today they are all being advertised for insane prices with nothing done to improve quality.
After looking at several different options I have decided I’ll get a aluminum wall/roof geo pro 19FBTH with air bag trailing arm suspension. Then basically go thru the entire thing fixing and rebuilding it to my needs. I find them in the $18-20k range. No slides, less garbage cabinets in a TH to deal with, air ride US made suspension that doesn’t have torsion axle failure issues which is plaguing every maker using them (cheap Chinese parts) etc.
None of these trailers can be hauled off graded roads without shaking all the fasteners loose and chafing wires and hoses.
You guys want well built durable? Get a basic 4x6 trailer and toss a RTT on it.
Oh and I sail too. No way in hell I’m ever paying more $ for a chopper spray gun fiberglass shell RV than a engineered composite quality sailboat.
At the prices the dealers are asking no one in their right mind should be buying these.
I was getting close to an upgrade from my 4x6 tent on a trailer to something more weather and bear friendly pre pandemic. The Opus 15 was advertised in the $38-43k ish zone with the Taxa Mantis in the $32-36k zone. The Black Label stuff was already getting lots of bad feedback on junk parts and difficult to fix those were in the $45-53k ish advertised range. Today they are all being advertised for insane prices with nothing done to improve quality.
After looking at several different options I have decided I’ll get a aluminum wall/roof geo pro 19FBTH with air bag trailing arm suspension. Then basically go thru the entire thing fixing and rebuilding it to my needs. I find them in the $18-20k range. No slides, less garbage cabinets in a TH to deal with, air ride US made suspension that doesn’t have torsion axle failure issues which is plaguing every maker using them (cheap Chinese parts) etc.
None of these trailers can be hauled off graded roads without shaking all the fasteners loose and chafing wires and hoses.
You guys want well built durable? Get a basic 4x6 trailer and toss a RTT on it.
Oh and I sail too. No way in hell I’m ever paying more $ for a chopper spray gun fiberglass shell RV than a engineered composite quality sailboat.
Alloy
Well-known member
IRV2 isn't a good place to go with issues. Remember reading about someone was sold a brand new RV that was build with double (so 4"thick) walls to cover up delamination. The owner posted a FYI and he was jumped on by people protecting the brand.
For me the HQ19 is large! I was leaning more toward the 15 but also considering the 19 perhaps as a more family-friendly size. I agree there are fewer areas to bring such a large brick into but here in Montana there are plenty of options to get off-road where a solid suspension is needed, off-grid capabilities a must, and protection from the cold is appreciated outside of the 3 summer months. It's harder than I thought to find a pull behind that checks all those boxes and of course, nothing in the BS line will withstand sub-freezing temperatures regardless of the shoddy quality.
Anyway, after this thread and talking to a couple of dealers who have dropped BS due to poor quality control, I have moved on from this manufacturer. The search continues!
Obsessed2findARuggedHybid
Well-known member
What are you top three trailers you are considering?
calicamper
Expedition Leader
Thats just the thing. There really aren’t any places you can drag stuff bigger than a 4x6 into that gets that rugged. And if you do take those big heavy trailers into Trail areas your soon called out by the other trail users as the idiot blocking up the route with a freaking RV?♂️.
I’m not too far from probably the best Remote camping accessible to trailers in the west. And you can find stock Rpods perched in spots near creeks being fly fished etc. Again these are dirt roads not trails. Stock vehicles easily traverse them and an occasional rough spot from a wash out being the biggest challenge easily fixed with a shovel and rock stacking on an otherwise well worn dirt road.
These Australian style trailers from China are not the trailers you see on Australian YouTube channels being hauled 100’s of miles across dirt routes in Australia. The Chinese trailers are just knock offs being sold to silly Americans for 4x profit. Not really any different than that cheap Redarc hardware with the funny stickers you found on Ebay for 1/2 the cost of the real stuff ?.
FordGuy1
Adventurer
We owned a FWC for 9 years. It was on a very capable Superduty. We took it to some incredible remote areas. We really struggled over the decision to go with a trailer because we like to camp in the middle of no where. My wife and I are getting close to 60, and we wanted to be a hare more comfortable in any weather, with a lot of off-grid capability. I think that with a very capably tow rig, the Kimberley will work. God, I hope it does.
DRAX
Active member
That's what I figured, and I'm not trying to disparage anyone's choice in vehicle, I was truly wondering if I was missing something. Like, maybe the goal is to have them as a base camp just off pavement and not actually take them down challenging (for the trailer) trails.
I wish I knew. I guess for the moment, the Imperial Outdoors Xplore X22, the Kimberly Kampers Karavan, and supposedly there is some new model by High Altitude called the Roamer X (currently the XT105 on their website). https://highaltitudetrailer.com/
Honestly, it's all getting a little expensive for my tastes. I might just go back to my good old Seek Outside SilNylon tipi with a wood stove. I'm certainly open to suggestions.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
There aren’t any places out west that I have gone where a trailer over 6ft wide and say 15ft hitch to tail lights will go beyond the well worn dirt road. Many people will go to great lengths to drag stuff farther in than they should thats not really the type of stuff I consider logical people doing with expensive trailers and tow rigs. Its one thing to camp off the pavement away from RV parks its a whole different thing to drag a wide long trailer back into a primitive trail / camp. In many cases today especially out west we will see more restrictions on large vehicles that pose evacuation risks due to fire danger and poor egress routes. IE we no doubt will see more law enforcement and posted restrictions regarding trailers on rough routes where they pose a serious risk to those trying to escape a wild fire. Even some paved state routes thru the Sierras are likely to see length / size restrictions on RVs to reduce fire evacuation risks. Some roads have already had them for a long time. But I do expect to see more especially after the Creek Fire and the Mammoth Pool mess. There were way way way to many people packed into that area and far far far to many very large RV trailers packed into that area. The road getting back into that region is usually harsh enough to limit people dragging huge trailers back in there. But that fire event sure highlighted the fact that way way to many large rigs are getting way back in there where they shouldn’t be. Definitely not the same as a smaller more compact rig but the same idea applies to smaller trailers getting dragged way up into tight trails they shouldn’t be.